EntertainerandtheDybbuk_Cover

This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms.  I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links.  I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk
by:  Sid Fleischman

Summary: A struggling American ventriloquist in post-World War II Europe is possessed by the mischievous spirit of a young Jewish boy killed in the Holocaust. (Includes author’s note which details the murder of over one million children by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s.)

Author Web Site: http://sidfleischman.com

Related Resources:  Children During the Holocaust

Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam
Online exhibits, Photos, and Information about Anne Frank and her World-Famous Diary including a 3-D Tour of Anne’s Hiding Place (The Secret Annex)

Holocaust Cybrary @ remember.org
Powerful Art by Children and Survivors as well as a Virtual Tour of Auschwitz

Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust:  Children
Produced by the FL Center for Instructional Technology (Lots of Web Resources for Teaching About the Holocaust and Children)

United States Holocaust Museum:  Anne Frank
Informational Articles, Photos, and Web Links

United States Holocaust Museum:  Children During the Holocaust
Informational Articles, Photos, Videos, and Web Links

Related Resources:  Vaudeville

American Studies @ The University of Virginia:  Vaudeville
Information about Vaudeville Performers, Audio, and Video Footage from Actual Performances, and Web Links

Library of Congress’ American Memory:  American Variety Stage
Collection of Materials About American Variety Stage from 1870-1920 Including Theater Bills, Photos, Sound Recordings, and Video

Vaudeville:  A History
Short Articles About Vaudeville

Related Resources:  Ventriloquism

Ventriloquism During the Vaudeville Era
Historic Information and Photos of Ventriloquists  from 1900-1930

Ventriloquist Video (YouTube Version)

Description:  YouTube Video of Terry Fator Performance on Letterman
Please view this version of the video, as it is from the original source, if possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPmwzhqEgw

Ventriloquist Video
(Version for Schools Who Cannot Access YouTube)

Description:  YouTube Video of Terry Fator on Letterman
This posting of the same video is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering.  Please view the video from the original source if possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPmwzhqEgw

Related Resources:  War Crimes Prosecution

Famous War Trials:  Nuremberg Trials (Faculty Project of University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law)
Account of Trial, Chart of Defendants, Diagram of Courtroom, Transcripts and More in Easy to Read Format

Nuremberg Trials:  Wikipedia
Great Article with Lots of Photos and Links

United States Holocaust Museum:  War Crimes Trial
Information, Photos, Videos of Personal Narratives, Historical Film Footage and More

Read Aloud Recommendation:
Students love a good ghost story and this is no exception!  Teachers will find this to be a good read aloud to use as part of a study of the Holocaust and War Crimes Trials that followed World War II.

The Sorta Sisters by:  Adrian Fogelin

Summary: In Florida, Anna Casey lives with what she hopes is the last in a long line of foster mothers, and Mica Delano lives with her father on their small boat, and when the two of them begin corresponding, they discover they have a lot in common.

Author Web Site:  http://www.adrianfogelin.com

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Currently Available

Related Links:  Islamorado, Florida

About the Florida Keys (with Link to You Tube Video about Islamorado, FL)

Description: Islamorado Chamber of Commerce Video (Same Video Found in Link Shown Above)
This posting of the same video is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering. Please view the video from the original source if possible.

History of Islamorado, FL

Islamorado, Village of Islands (Photo Gallery)

Panoramic Views of Islamorado, FL  (The Florida Keys in 360 Degrees!!)

Related Links:  Manatees

Florida Manatees @ Defenders of Wildlife Web Site (Includes Video and Slideshow)

Manatees @ National Geographic for Kids (Facts, Photos, Video, etc.)

Save the Manatees (Facts About Manatees, Videos, Public Service Announcements)

Related Links:  Tallahassee, Florida

Slide Show @ Tallahassee Online Visitor’s Guide Web Site

Tallahassee Nature Video (You Tube)
Description:  YouTube Video about Tallahassee Nature
Please view this version of the video, as it is from the original source, if possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwctKuura78

Description:  YouTube Video of Tallahassee Nature
This posting of the same video is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering.  Please view the video from the original source if possible.

Related Links:  Wakulla River/Springs

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park

Springs Exploration:  Wakulla Springs Interactive Feature (Click on the Audio Feature of the Wakulla River to Experience a Virtual River Boat Tour)

Wakulla Springs @ Tallahassee Online Visitor’s Guide Site

Read Aloud Recommendation:  This book, with alternating narrative perspectives, letters, and sepia drawings depicting wildlife and packages that the main characters, Anna Casey and Mica Delano, discuss and exchange in the course of the novel, is best suited for individual readers.  In my opinion, the reader would lose a certain intimacy if this book is read aloud.  Students who read this book will definitely want to read others in the series.  At this time, the author has written five novels set in her Tallahassee neighborhood.  These novels, in order, are:

Crossing Jordan

Anna Casey’s Place in the World

My Brother’s Hero
The Big Nothing
The Sorta Sisters

Someone Named Eva by Joan M. Wolf

Summary: From her home in Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in 1942, eleven-year-old Milada is taken with other blond, blue-eyed children to a school in Poland to be trained as “proper Germans” for adoption by German families, but all the while she remembers her true name and history.

Author Web Site:  http://www.jmwolf.com

Teacher’s Guide:  Kids’ Wing Activities

Related Links:  Czechoslovakia (The Czech Republic and Slovakia)

The Czech Republic:  The CIA Factbook

Slovakia:  The CIA Factbook

Related Links:  Holocaust

AP Story of Lebensborn Children

Children of the Holocaust (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Deadly Medicine:  Creating the Master Race @ the Jewish Museum Berlin

Lebensborn Program:  Jewish Virtual Library

Lidice Memorial:  Children’s Victims Memorial

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Photo of War Crimes Trial:  Maria Dolezalova, One of The Children Kidnapped by German Forces After Destruction of Lidice (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Ravensbruck:  Concentration Camp for Women @ The Jewish Virtual Library

Related Links:  WWII

Interactive Map of World War II in Europe

The Third Reich in Ruins (Photos of Historical Sites:  Then and Now)

WWII:  The World Almanac

Read Aloud Recommendation: This book, based on a true story, will allow students a glimpse into the lives of children in Nazi occupied countries during World War II. This is a compelling story of one girl’s struggle to maintain her identity despite being torn away from her family and country.  I believe students will be immersed in this story from the first chapter.  I recommend it for students in grades 5 and up.  It is an essential piece of literature for World War II study.

Elijah Of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Summary: Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family’s freedom.

Author Web Site: http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com

Author Resources:

Author Interview @ Reading Rockets

http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/curtis/transcript

Biography of Christopher Paul Curtis @ Random House

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/christopherpaulcurtis/christophercurtis.htm

Biography and Interview (Text) @ Kidsread.com

http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-curtis-christopher-paul.asp

Biography @ Scholastic Web Site

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3261

Teacher’s Guides for Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 @ Random House Web Site

Video Interview by Scholastic (Part I and II)
Description:  YouTube Videos of Interview with Christopher Paul Curtis
Please view this version of the videos, as it is from the original source, if possible.

Part I URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5HkR1o2LiI
Part II URL:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaky2QAapVw

Description:  YouTube Videos of Interview with Christopher Paul Curtis
This posting of the same videos is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering.  Please view the video from the original source if possible.

Teacher Resources:

Booktalk @ Scholastic Web Site Including Link to Video Version of Booktalk

Discussion Guide @ Scholastic Web Site

Extension Activities @ Scholastic Web Site Including Web Links

Related Links:  Elgin Settlement at Buxton

History of the Elgin Settlement @ the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum

Photos of the Buxton National Historic Site (Including a School Built in 1861 and a Log Cabin Built in 1852)

Related Links:  Frederick Douglass

A Short Biography of Frederick Douglass (Links to Additional Information)

Frederick Douglass @ Africans in America by PBS (Links to Teacher’s Guide)

Frederick Douglass @ America’s Stories from America’s Library (Library of Congress/Primary Resources)

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Related Links:  John Brown

John Brown @ Africans in American by PBS (Links to Teacher’s Guide)

John Brown’s Holy War @ American Experience Site (PBS-Includes Maps, Timeline, Primary Resources, and Teacher’s Guide)

The Kennedy Farmhouse @ johnbrown.org (Staging Site for Raid on Harpers Ferry)

Related Links: Liberty Bell of Buxton

News Article on Symbolism of Buxton Liberty Bell

News Release with Photos @ the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Web Site

Related Links: Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad:  Presented by National Geographic Online

Read Aloud Recommendation: I am ambivalent about my recommendation on this book.   I do not want to turn anyone off to the story.  I think it is a “must read” for students in grades 5 and up, but I have to be straightforward with teachers who may be looking for a page turning, “keep ‘em on the edge of their seats” read aloud. I found the first half of the book difficult to read because I found it hard to relate to the main character, Elijah.  In fact, it took me longer to read this book than any of the other Georgia Book Award nominees.   I think that the dialect and the author’s use of stories within the story distant the reader at first.  However, the last six chapters of the book redeemed it for me.  The last part of the book is very powerful, particularly the scene in the barn where Elijah finds five captured slaves.  It will make students think about slavery in terms that a dry textbook will never be able to do.  Because this book explores the topic of slavery from a different perspective, that of a child born into freedom in the Canadian settlement of Buxton, and because of the humor in the story, I believe students will find the first part of the book enlightening and enjoyable, but slow paced.  However, they will find the last part of the book exciting, moving, and memorable.  I highly recommend this title for students (grades 5 and up) who are learning about the history of slavery in the United States.

Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O’Connor

Summary: In North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains, a troubled boy and his mother, a happy family seeking adventure, a man and his lonely daughter, and the widow who must sell the run-down motel that has been her home for decades, meet and are transformed by their shared experiences.

Author Web Site:  http://www.barboconnor.com

Greetings from Nowhere, Author Blog

Teacher Guide:  From Teacher Section of Author Web Site (pdf)

Related Links:  Great Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Photos and Multimedia:  National Park Service Web Site

North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains

Related Links:  North Carolina Attractions Referenced in Story

Dollywood

Ghost Town in the Sky, Maggie Valley (Cowboytown)

Maggie Valley Attractions

Ruby Falls

Tuckaleechee Caverns

Read Aloud Recommendation: Because of the alternating perspectives of the story (Aggie, Willow, Loretta, and Kirby), students may need a graphic organizer in order to keep their perspective as the story is read aloud.  This book would be most appropriate for students in grades 5 and up.  Personally, I think this book would be best read on an individual basis, so that the reader can take his or her time understanding how the stories and lives of the characters intertwine.  This story, about wounded people who help each other heal, is not the best choice for reading aloud.

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous
by:  Suzanne Crowley

Summary: In the small town of Jumbo, Texas, thirteen-year-old Merilee, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, tries to live a “very ordered existence,” but disruptions begin when a boy and his father arrive in town and the youngster makes himself a part of the family.

Author Web Site:  http://www.suzannecrowley.com

Other Author Resources:

School Library Journal Article:  The Voices of Autism (August 1, 2009)

Author Interview about The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous and Writing @ Cynsations

Author Interview about New Book, The Stolen One, and The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous @Kathyerskine’s Blog

Multimedia Resources:

Link to Audio Excerpt of The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous @ Harper Collins Web Site

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Currently Available

Related Links:  Autism-Asperger’s Syndrome

Autism Spectrum Disorders:  Fact Sheet (Introduction to Asperger’s Syndrome)

ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education:  Asperger Syndrome FAQ

General Information about Asperger’s Syndrome @ kidshealth.org

Related Links:  Dragons

Dragon Links from The Dragon Theme Page (Created by Jerri S. Cheek at the ETTC, Kennesaw State University) Lots and lots of Web resources!!

Dragons Featured on Animal Planet (includes multimedia segments of new show about dragonsincluding mythology of dragons)

Related Links:  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Information @ the Mayo Clinic Web Site

Related Links:  Ghost Lights

Earth Lights:  Spooklights and Ghost Lights

Haunted Georgia:  Surrency Ghost (A Local Legend)

Read Aloud Recommendation: In my opinion, it takes quite a few chapters to understand the complexities of the characters in this story, and therefore, it may not be the best story for reading aloud with younger students.  More mature students could handle the slower pace of the story as the characters develop.  I recommend this book for older students, grades 5 and up.   It is a wonderful story if readers can hang in there.