The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 follows the Watson family's trip from Flint, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Kenny Watson is a 10-year-old boy who goes with his family so that his misbehaving older brother Bryon can stay with their grandmother. Upon arriving, they are unaware of the dangers of racism they will face. Joetta, Kenny's little sister, attends a church that is bombed, shocking Kenny and changing his life. We Are The Ship discusses the struggles of early African American baseball players in the 1900s and the creation of the Negro National League. It profiles star players like Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier, but had

2. THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM-1963
Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1995. The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963. NY: Delacorte
Kenny Watson is a typical African American ten year old boy living in Flint with his older brother, younger
sister, and parents. When Kenny’s older brother, Bryon, starts getting himself into trouble at home it causes
the Watsons to make a trip to Birmingham where his mother is from. His parents had the idea of taking Bryon
to his grandmother’s house to stay for a while so he could straighten up. At this time African American people
were fighting for equal rights. In his hometown of Flint there wasn’t much going on compared to the south.
Some readers may be able to relate to what the Watsons are going through in this era of time. The Watsons
arrived to Birmingham safe but little did they know what was headed their way. Joetta, Kenny’s little sister,
awoke Sunday morning ready for Sunday school. What happened next changed Kenny’s life in a matter of
seconds. The church where Joetta was attending Sunday school was bombed. Thankfully nothing happened
to his sister, but Kenny on the other hand was in shock and it took him awhile to overcome what he had seen
at the church that morning. The Watsons Go to Birmingham focuses on the life of Kenny Watson and his
family in an awful time in American history.

3. WE ARE THE SHIP
Nelson, Kadir. 2008. We Are The Ship. NY: Hyperion
We Are The Ship is a book based on great African American baseball players and the struggles they went
through to play the game. Dating back to the early 1900s we see how these ballplayers were treated. Some
of them were forced to leave the field in crutches due to runners spiking them. At the time protective gear
wasn’t required so there was a lot of mistreatment against them. Soon Rube started The Negro National
League. It was different from the majors. The Negro League was fast, flashy and daring. Throughout the book
we learn about many gifted African American players such as Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson. We learn
about the struggles these players had to overcome such as having to play on a daily basis without any rest
as well as not being able to eat in certain restaurants due to their skin color. Soon some of these ball players
where moved up to the majors. This may have started the end of the Negro League. Jackie faced some hard
times during his time in the major leagues. To the extent of his family being threated. This book is based in
time era when African Americans were looked down upon because of their skin color.

4. HITLER YOUTH
Bartoletti, Susan. 2005. Hitler Youth. NY: Scholastic.
Hitler Youth is a book written about children in Germany that were basically brainwashed by Hitler himself. At
a time when Germany was suffering from a weak and unstable government, high unemployment, and poverty
Hitler promised the young generation a brighter future if they joined the Hitler Youth, an organization
dedicated to Adolf Hitler. Many joined willingly. At the time Hitler was the leader of the National Socialist
Party. Later he became the dictator of Germany. Herbert Norkus was the first youth to die for the cause of
National Socialism. Many other young children devoted their lives to Hitler not knowing what they were really
doing. They didn’t know that that they were admiring a mass murder. Sophie and her brother Hans Scholl
were fortunate enough to discover what was really happening and secretly fought back trying to make
people aware of what Hitler was really doing, but unfortunately they were caught and killed. This book tells of
the lives of children during the the rise of Hitler. It tells how they were devoted to him to the point of going
against their own parents. To the point of going against the Jews even if a one point they were friends with
many of them.

5. GOOD MASTERS! SWEET LADIES!
Schlitz, Laura. 2007. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Boston, MA: Candlewick Press
Good Masters, Sweet Ladies is a book that consists of seventeen short plays based on medieval times. The
setting is based on a medieval manor so some of the characters know each other. For example, Taggot, the
blacksmith daughter meets Hugo the Lord’s nephew while working on his horse. Thomas is the son of the
Lord’s doctor. When reading this book the reader will learn how people survived during the medieval times.
Each character plays a different role in the manor. They all some how interact with each other. We see how
each one deals with their own problems in their own way.