Great Books: Fact and Fiction for Grades 3-6
Here's a selection of nonfiction, historical fiction, and fiction/nonfiction book sets you and your students will love. Plus books to celebrate African American History month, coming in February.

Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused & Mispronounced Words
from the New York Times
384 pages, hardcover
This collection of the words that make us stumble in speech and writing is both an invaluable resource for the classrooms and fascinating to read. Great for vocabulary building, teaching word usage, and conducting classroom trivia games.

So You Want to Be President?
By Judith St. George
Illustrated by David Small
52 pages
A fun and interesting portrayal of the American Presidents. Caldecott Medal Book, 2001

Tell All the Children Our Story
by Tonya Bolden
128 pages
This scrapbook of letters, photos, artwork, testimonials, and more, tells the story of African-American history from the perspective of children who lived through it. It begins with the first recorded birth of a black child in Jamestown and ends with present day. "This impressively researched, imaginatively presented history evokes deep appreciation for the struggles, perseverance and triumphs of young black Americans." –Publishers Weekly
FREE Discussion Guide available with user-friendly questions and topics as well as background information on the book and author. Go now.

We the Kids
by David Catrow
32 pages
Using wacky illustrations depicting three kids and a dog on a backyard camping trip, a well-known political cartoonist encourages readers to consider the meaning of each phrase of one of the most important American texts. Share this innovative book with your students and challenge them to come up with their own interpretations!

Historical Fiction:
Classroom Teaching Plan: Teaching History Through Literature

Don't You Know There's a War On?
by Avi
208 pages
Best-selling author, Avi, gives a realistic portrayal of the United States during World War II through the day-to-day routines of two school kids, Howie and Denny, in Brooklyn, NY. It's perfect for studying American history!

Freedom Crossing
by Margaret Goff Clark
160 pages
A young Southern girl finds her loyalties challenged when she returns to her home in the North and discovers her father and brother have been helping runaway slaves.
Available in the Scholastic Teacher Store.

Freedom's Wings: Corey's Diary, Kentucky to Ohio, 1857
by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
108 pages
In a diary that shows young readers the power of literacy, 9-year-old Corey recounts his desperate attempt to escape from slavery. His father has already fled and his pregnant mother can't continue the journey, so Corey can only rely on the Underground Railroad strangers who shelter and feed him, the stars that guide his way, and the skill his father secretly taught him -- to read.
Available in the Scholastic Teacher Store.

The Land
by Mildred D. Taylor
400 pages, Hardcover
Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel and the prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Set in the Deep South right after the Civil War, The Land tells the story of Paul-Edward Logan, a boy of mixed race, who is caught between racial identities. He grows up in privilege on his white father's plantation, but as he grows older he encounters the racist attitudes and violence of the outside world.
FREE Discussion Guide available with user-friendly questions and topics as well as background information on the book and author. Go now.

Play to the Angel
by Maurine F. Dahlberg
192 pages
Young Greta dreams of being a pianist, but just when success is in sight, the Nazis invade Vienna—and Greta discovers that her piano teacher is in great danger. "Dahlberg re-creates the time and place aptly, touching on the economic climate and recounting the infiltration of Nazism into Austria." —School Library Journal

The Ransom of Mercy Carter
by Caroline B. Cooney
256 pages
In 1704, the inhabitants of Deerfield, Massachusetts, were attacked by Mohawk Indians and taken to Canada. Cooney has woven these historical details into a remarkably balanced novel about a young girl who must weigh her own destiny and choose a path for life. "Cooney artfully combines the intense drama of the situation with historical details of the period and the Indian culture . . . Cooney carefully draws her other characters to show myriad reactions to the capture." —School Library Journal
Contains language or subject matter that may be considered objectionable.