Feathers

Title: Feathers
2008 Newbery Honor Book
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Published: 2007
Plot Summary: A white boy is the new kid at a predominately black school in Brooklyn during the 1970s. His classmates nickname him Jesus Boy. Fannie's contemplations of faith, hope, prejudices, etc are sparked by school events surrounding Jesus Boy and by family life.
Main Characters: Frannie, Jesus Boy, Sean, Samantha
Theme(s): the ways in which people find hope in the world
Reader's Response: Readers grapple with the things that give us hope and the things that threaten that same hope.
Teaching Idea: Students compare and contrast the ways in which the civil rights movement and the black panther movement worked to bring about change.
Grade Level: 4 - 7
Reading Level (Lexile): 760

The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963

Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963
1996 Newbery Honor Book
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Published: 1995
Plot Summary: This historical novel is based on the Birmingham Church bombing which resulted in the deaths of four African American girls. In this novel, 10 year old Kenny light heartedly describes his family's trip to a turbulent South during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Kenny is jarred by the events that take place in Birmingham. Kenny's brother Byron, his sibling rival, consoles Kenny and helps ease Kenny out of his troubled state.
Main Characters: Kenny, Byron, Wilona, Joetta, Daniel
Theme(s): the family as a shield against racism and discrimination
Reader's Response: Readers reflect on the ways in which people deal with trauma and how they acknowledge and manage their emotions during tough times.
Teaching Idea: Students create a photo gallery of pivotal moments during the 1960s civil rights movement. Students use voice over to provide commentary for each photo.
Grade Level: 6 - 8
Reading Level (Lexile): 1000

The Hundred Dresses

Title: The Hundred Dresses
1945 Newbery Honor Book
Author: Eleanor Estes
Published: 1944
Plot Summary: This is the story of a poor Polish immigrant named Wanda Petronski who tells her well-off American classmates that she has 100 dresses. Wanda classmates, observing the shabby clothing that signifies poverty, deride and tease Wanda. Maddie realizes the brutality of her silence as she watched her friends tease Wanda day after day.
Main Characters: Wanda Petronski, Maddie, Peggy
Theme(s): the complicity of silence in carrying out injustices
Reader's Response: Readers will examine the process by which group identity is often formed and legitimized by marginalizing people from different backgrounds.
Teaching Idea: Discuss bullying. Have students create 2 to 3 minute short videos about bullying scenarios and how to deal with bullying.
Grade Level: 3 - 4
Reading Level (Lexile): 870