By: Cynthia Kadohata
Weedflower is the story of a twelve-year-old Japanese-American girl named Sumiko living in the 1940s during World War II. Sumiko is the only Japanese girl in her school, and she has very few friends. But Sumiko finds comfort with her family and their garden. Sumiko's entire world is turned upside down as a result of Pearl Harbor. Even though Sumiko was born in America and had never been to Japan, she and her family are forced into an interment camp, because everyone believes they are spies. Sumiko soon learns that she is just as unwanted in the internment camp, as she was at home. The reason Sumiko is so unwanted is because the internment camp she is forced to live in was built on a Mohave reservation. As Sumiko learns this she tries to befriend a Mohave boy in an attempt to feel less unwanted.

This is a really great book about World War II, and how the American public turned on Japanese-Amercans because they were Japanese. It shows the discrimination they faced and how they chose to deal with being outsiders. Sumiko never really let being an outsider stop her from doing what she liked, and it is important for children to know they can follow their dreams even if it's not the norm.

By: Doris Gwaltney
Homefront is a story that takes place in 1941 America. It's about a teenaged girl named Margaret Ann and all she wants is her own room. When her older sister leaves for college, Margaret Ann is about to get everything she wants. This all changes when she finds out her British cousin is coming to live with her. To Margaret the war in Europe isn't real, and she can only focus on how her cousin is ruining all her plans. It isn't until Margaret's older brother enlists in the Navy, the becomes all too real for Margaret. She then finds an unlikely friend in her cousin.

This is a good book on World War II, because it shows the war from the perspective of a child instead of an adult. It's also a good book on friendship. Margaret dislikes her cousin because she feels like she's ruining everything. But then Margaret realizes there are more important things for her to be concerned about than having her own room. Once she realizes this she puts aside her and her cousin's differences and they become friends.

By: Chen Jiang Hong
The Magic Horse of Han Gan is about a young boy who loves to draw and paint, but his parents cannot afford to buy him the brushes and paper he needs. So he works for a delivery service to help out his family and on one of the deliveries he starts drawing a horse in the sand. The person he delivered the food to just happened to be a famous painter and he sees Han's drawing and tells him to come back the next day. When Han returns the next day there are paper and brushes for him to use to paint. Han Gan only every paints horses though, and he becomes a very famous painter. He then is sent to an art institute by the emperor because he has such great talent.

This is an excellent book for young children to read because it encourages creativity and following your dreams. Han Gan didn't get discouraged that his parents could not afford brushes and paper for him to paint on. Instead he continued to follow his passion of painting and eventually he fulfilled his dream of becoming a famous painter. It is really important for children to know that they should never be discouraged to follow their dreams, and this book helps show them that.

By: Linda Buckley-Archer
The Time Travelers is about Peter and Kate who are just two normal teens living in Derbyshire, England. When they visit Kate's father's laboratory there is a freak accident with the anti-gravity device and Peter and Kate are knocked unconscious. When they wake up they are in 1792 England and are running for their lives. They meet Gideon, who is a cutpurse and a gentleman and enlist his help to retrieve the time machine that was stolen from them. The time machine is their only way home and they must venture throughout London on a quest to get it back.

This is an excellent book about friendship. At the beginning of the story Peter and Kate can't stand each other, but as they travel throughout London they learn to appreciate each other. They also learn how to trust each other when their lives depend on it. This book also encourages imagination and a sense of adventure. These are both very important parts of growing up and should be encouraged always.

By: Zora Neale Hurston
The Six Fools is a story about a man who wishes to marry a girl. The parents accept the man's proposal and the girl goes down to the cellar to get the man a glass of cider. As she's pouring the cider she becomes distracted by thoughts of her future children and what they should name them. The cider spills onto the floor, as one by one her parents join her foolish daydreaming. The man exclaims that he will travel the world and if he can find three people as foolish as the girl and her parents he will return and marry the girl. He travels the world and finds three other people that are just as foolish and eventually returns to the girl.

This is a really great book for students to read because it encourages laughter and a sense of humor. It also takes a look at problem solving, which is important for children to learn. The man encounters people that he thinks are foolish because of how they tried to solve their problems. Their solutions are somewhat crazy, and impractical. When the man suggests a more practical way to solve the problems, the people simply say "I never thought of that!" This shows students that there are many ways, both practical and impractical, to approach and solve a problem.

By: Sara Pennypacker
Clementine is a story about friendship, and how far you would go for a friend. Clementine's best friend Margaret gets glue in her hair during an art project, and Clementine decides to help her out. Clementine's idea of help is to cut off Margaret's hair, and this lands her in extremely hot water with the principal and Margaret's mother. As Clementine's week progresses she keeps getting into more trouble as she tries to fix her problems. She ends up cutting off all her hair to make Margaret feel better, and she makes Margaret a hat to cover up Margaret's missing hair, but on Thursday Margaret stops talking to Clementine. By Saturday, even Clementine's mother is upset with her, and its up to Clementine to fix her friendship with Margaret, and get out of trouble with her parents.

This is a really great book about friendship. It shows how far Clementine was willing to go to help Margaret feel better. And it also takes a look at how children solve problems versus how adults solve problems. What seems like a good solution to the problem of Margaret's hair getting cut off is for Clementine to cut off her own hair. As an adult, we know that this is probably not the right thing for Clementine to do, and when she was "helping" Margaret cut off her hair she should have gotten an adult to solve the problem. This is also a good book on how everyone can have a bad week, like Clementine, but it is never too late to turn your week around.

By: Ellen Klages

The Green Glass Sea is the story about a young girl named Dewey who lives with her father on the Hill. Technically they don't exist, and neither does the Hill, all it is is a P.O. box number. The Hill is located in Los Alamos, and the scientists there were working on a top secret project that will help them win the war and defeat Hitler. Dewey is not the only child living on the Hill, and she soon becomes friends with another girl there named Suze. Dewey lives on the Hill from November of 1943 up until the atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. The whole time Dewey is living on the Hill, she wants to know what it is the scientists are working on, but it is forbidden for her to ask questions about the project. Eventually the project is completed and everyone on the Hill is able to view the test run. After seeing the demonstration, the scientists begin to realize what a huge mistake they have made, and they understand that they could never actually use this weapon on other human beings.

This is an excellent book for teaching students about World War II and the development of the atom bomb. This book is from the perspective of the children living on the Hill, and through them the perspective of the scientists is expressed. At first the scientists feel like the completion of their project is a matter of life and death, and it is the only way to defeat Hitler and the Japanese and win the war. They pay no attention to the consequences this project may have on other people. It is only until they see the destructive power of the bomb that they realize the real evil they have created. This is a great book because it tells the same story of World War II, but it expresses a side that was a secret at the time of the war.

I really enjoyed this book, and the different take on World War II that is presents. I obviously have a strong connection with this book because it takes place so close to home. I personally have been to Los Alamos and have seen pictures of Hiroshima after the atom bomb was dropped. I also have been to White Sands, the area where they first tested the atom bomb. Overall, this was an excellent novel and i would enjoy teaching it to students.