Recommended Nonfiction

Think of a famous person you'd like to learn more about, and look for a biography or autobiography about that person's life!

In the February Tab Book Order,  these nonfiction books would work for this project:
Now or Never by Anthony Shepard
Escape from Alcatraz by Eric Braun
You can go online at    clubs.scholastic.com
Please use our class code: GKLJW.

A sample of a nonfiction story:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/amplify-assets/pdf/ELA_DramaticReading_FrederickDouglass_HD_1.mp4?__hssc=261304018.1.1519441121145&__hstc=261304018.cd1825aeec828738f05515611326b97e.1519441121144.1519441121144.1519441121144.1&__hsfp=2842414501&hsCtaTracking=c239c319-aeb2-489e-97d7-978037de502b%7C8830c47e-218d-40f1-8da0-87bed3eecedc

Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough.

• Hardcover: 384 pages   

The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming     for advanced readers

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• There was a real Anastasia -- and her family. 
• 
  

I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka

The New York Times bestselling true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

• Paperback: 416 pages

Pure Grit by Mary Cronk Farrell In the late 1930s and early 1940s, many American women signed up to be U.S. Army nurses. But their peacetime duty changed dramatically after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Suddenly, nurses serving in the Philippines were tasked with treating mortally wounded soldiers, and at risk of capture by the Japanese.     Hardcover: 160 pages

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle

Enchanted Air is a memoir in poetry, about Engle’s childhood split between Cuba, her mother’s home, and Los Angeles, where she spends most of her time. As the Cold War intensified with revolution in Cuba and the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Engle must face the tension between the homes that she loves.Paperback: 224 pages

Girling Up by Mayim Bialik    Girls and science, for the win. 

• Actress Mayim Bialik, probably best known for her role on The Big Bang Theory, explores the challenges of being a teenage girl through the eyes of a scientist by sharing data, personal experience, and other anecdotes.                             Lexile Measure: 1160     Hardcover: 192 pages

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group   by  Susan Campbell Bartoletti 

• Paperback: 176 pages

 Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker.    -- in our media center -- 

What is the connection between the city of Halifax in Canada, World War I, and the Christmas tree in 
Boston, Massachusetts? Two thousand deaths in the largest man-made explosion before the atomic 
bomb, that's what.

Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive  Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of a former Olympian's courage, cunning, and fortitude following his plane crash in enemy territory. 

Breakaway: Beyond the Goal  BIO-MOR in our Media Center  

The Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player details her path to success, from her childhood in California to her time on the United States' National team.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown -- in the media center 

Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines 
by  Paul Fleischman     -- in the media center 

Chew on This by Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser (YA version of Fast Food Nation)

Knots in My Yo-Yo String -- autobiography of Jerry Spinelli  (great fun!)

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Hoose, Phillip M.  133 pages.

With Their Eyes: September 11th--The View from a High School at Ground Zero  by Annie Thomas (editor) 

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish  Famine, 1845-1850 by Susan Campbell Baroletti 

 An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Newbery Honor Book) by Jim Murphy 

Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880 - 1824 by Deborah Hopkinson 

Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman

The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War by Jim Murphy 

Now Is Your Time!  The African-American Struggle for Freedom by Walter Dean Myers 

Guinea Pig Scientists by Dendy and Boring 

Survive the Savage Sea by Robertson
  

Left for Dead (the story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis)  

Homesick by Jean Fritz  

Brian's Song  by Blinn  (a screenplay about Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo) 

Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid by Ralph Fletcher   Try it out at Google Books.

The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World by Mary Losure.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

The Boys in the Boat

The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation): The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics
by Daniel James Brown (Author)

“I raise up my voice-not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”
― Malala Yousafzai

The President Has Been Shot!: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson
    -- in the media center

Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II by Martin W. Sandler
    -- in the media center

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream  by Tanya Lee Stone 

Amelia lost: the life and disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming 

     -- in the media center

The Great and Only Barnum by Fleming, Candace      -- in the media center

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)   by Sue Macy 

The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz

Before My Heart Stops: A Memoir by Paul Cardall

Black and White Airmen: Their True History by John Fleischman

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind:creating currents of electricity and hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

How to Be Like Jackie Robinson: Life Lessons from Baseball's Greatest Hero by Pat Williams

Children of the Dust Bowl
The True Story of the School at
Weedpatch Camp
by Jerry Stanley
6th grade & up

Dust to Eat
Drought & Depression
in the 1930s
by Michael Cooper
6th grade and up

Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille

BY RUSSELL FREEDMAN

The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919 (Hardcover)
by Deborah Kops 

The Great Molasses Flood


Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy (Hardcover) 
by Albert Marrin 

Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy (Hardcover) 
by Albert Marrin 

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (Hardcover)
by William Kamkwamba 

Children of the Great Depression-  by Russell Freedman   118 p.  -- in the media center

Life was hard for children during the Great Depression: kids had to do without new clothes, shoes, or toys, and many couldn't attend school because they had to work. Even so, life still had its bright spots. Take a closer look at the lives of young Americans during this era. (grades 5-8)

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice - by Philip Hoose   133 p.

In Montgomery, AL, in March 1955, 15-year-old Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She was arrested, and although she received some help from local civil rights leaders, they decided that the sometimes-volatile teen was not suitable to be the public face of a mass protest. Later that year, Rosa Parks sparked the famous bus boycott. Colvin was left with a police record and soon faced the additional problems of an unwed pregnancy and expulsion from school. In spite of those troubles, she consented to be named as a plaintiff in the court case that eventually integrated Montgomery's buses. Thus Colvin played a central role in the city's civil rights drama, but her story has been largely lost to history. Hoose, who had been curious about the often-unidentified teen who first defied bus segregation, persuaded her to tell her story. His book puts Colvin back into the historical record, combining her reminiscences with narrative about her life and the tumultuous events of the boycott. He includes background about segregated Montgomery and places Colvin's story into the context of the larger Civil Rights Movement. The text is supplemented with black-and-white photos, reproductions of period newspapers and documents, and sidebars. While virtually all students know Rosa Parks's story, this well-written and engaging book will introduce them to a teen who also fought for racial justice. (grades 5-up)

Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth-  by James Cross Giblin   244 p.   -- in the media center

Most people know the name John Wilkes Booth, but few likely have heard of his elder brother Edwin. Find out about the brothers through first-hand accounts. Learn how alike and how different they were, and how each made a lasting impression on American history. (grades 6-9)

Guinea Pig Scientists: bold self-experiments in science and medicine- by Leslie Dendy   213 p.

Presents ten fascinating, inspiring, and at times disturbing stories, which open a window onto not only the scientific and medical ground these men and women explored, but also the very lives they led in search of such monumental discoveries. Spanning from the 1770s to the present, these accounts uncover the science behind digestion, the spread of yellow fever, the development of the first heart catheter, and more. (ages 9-12)

The Journey that Saved Curious George: the true wartime escape of Margret and H.A. Rey- by Louise Borden   72 p.

The book is divided into two parts: the first gives background on the couple's childhoods and early life together; the second half is devoted to their dramatic escape from World War II-torn Europe. Husband and wife were both Jewish, born in Hamburg. After serving in the German army during World War I, Hans sailed to Brazil, where he wore a big hat and sailed down the Amazon. Margaret, an old family friend, joined him in 1935, and they soon married. Their honeymoon in Paris lasted four years. It was here that they began writing children's books about a curious little monkey named Fifi. By May of 1940 it was clear they must flee. So begins the second part. Tirelessly cycling by day, they boarded train after train as the Nazis occupied Paris, finally sailing to Rio. From there, it was on to New York, and within a year, Curious George was published. An afterword describes the balance of their lives. Borden spent years going through personal papers, notebooks, and photographs, and contacted people who knew the Reys. (ages 9-12)

Shipwrecked: True Story of a Japanese Boy- by Rhoda Blumberg   79 p.

In 1841, rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions castaways on a remote island, fourteen-year-old Manjiro learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first Japanese person to set foot in the United States.   (ages 9-12)

Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board- by Bethany Hamilton   222 p.

Readers may not recall the name Bethany Hamilton, but after a glance at the cover photo, they'll recognize her as the girl who lost her arm to a shark while surfing. Hamilton tells her own story, though in many places the narrative sounds more like it's from an adult's perspective--perhaps from an adult coauthor. It begins with the moment a giant white shark chomps off her arm. She then goes back to discuss the events leading up to the attack and to describe what her life was like before the tragedy--home-schooling in a strong Christian household and lots of competitive surfing. Hamilton's account is suffused with her feelings for God and His impact in her life. Perhaps because of this relationship, she never seems depressed about her situation; in fact, she is surfing again.  (ages 11-14)

Three Cups of Tea (youth version)- by Greg Mortenson   209 p.

One man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia: in 1993 Greg Mortenson was an American mountain-climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's Karakoram. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of a Pakistani village, he promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time--Mortenson's one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. In a region where Americans are often feared and hated, he has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself--at last count, his Central Asia Institute had built fifty-five schools. (young adult)

Truce: the Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting- by Jim Murphy   116 p.

On July 29th 1914, the world’s peace was shattered as the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire began shelling the troops of the country to its south. What followed was like a row of falling dominoes as one European country after another rushed into war. Soon most of Europe was fighting in this calamitous war that could have been avoided. This was, of course, the First World War. But who could have guessed that on December 25 the troops would openly defy their commanding officers by stopping the fighting and having a spontaneous celebration of Christmas with their "enemies"?

In what can only be described as a Christmas Miracle, this beautiful and heartrending narrative will remind everyone how brotherhood and love for one another reaches far beyond war and politics. (grades 4-8)

We are the Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball-by Kadir Nelson   88 p.

Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. (ages 9-12)

Armstrong – Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World L1090

Farrell – Invisible Enemies:. . . Infectious Disease L1200

Hawking – A Brief History of Time L1290

Ritter – The Story of Baseball

Wilson – The Ingenious Mr. Peale

Northup, Solomon -- Stolen Into Slavery: The True Story of Solomon Northup, Free Black Man  1060L

Students recommend:

Agent Bishop by Mike McPheters

A Child Called It

Try these links to find more:

http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3369237

http://www.jocoteenscene.org/templates/JCL_Booklist.aspx?id=1656

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/nonfiction/nonfiction.cfm

PDF -- http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/newsandeventsb/BooktalkingArnold.pdf

http://www.amazon.com/2008-Books-Young-Adults-Non-Fiction/lm/R19UNEDBIR6O7D

Dive!: World War II Stories of Sailors & Submarines in the Pacific

Paperback Book

• Grades: 5 - 12

• Ages: 10 - and up

Reading Level: LEX: 1090L

This Side of Wild

Paperback Book

• Grades: 6 - 9

• Ages: 12 - 14

Reading Level: LEX: 1210L

The Freedom Summer Murders

Paperback Book

• Grades: 9 - 12

• Ages: 14 - and up

Reading Level: LEX: 1130L

Hidden Like Anne Frank

Paperback Book

• Grades: 5 - 7

• Ages: 10 - 12

Reading Level: LEX: 790L

The Making of a Navy SEAL

Paperback Book

• Grades: 7 - 12

• Ages: 12 - and up

Reading Level: LEX: 1020L

In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives

Hardcover Book

• Grades: 6 - 12

• Ages: 12 - and up

	An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 1130L			Move | Delete
	10 True Tales: Heroes of Pearl Harbor Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 1100L			Move | Delete
	10 True Tales: Heroes of 9/11 Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 980L			Move | Delete
	Ten True Tales: World War II Heroes Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 970L			Move | Delete
	10 True Tales: Heroes of Hurricane Katrina Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 1080L			Move | Delete
	The Finest Hours Paperback Book Grades: 6 - 12 Ages: 12 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 1140L			Move | Delete
	Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 8 Ages: 10 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 890L			Move | Delete
	We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 1020L			Move | Delete
	The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club Paperback Book Grades: 7 - 12 Ages: 13 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 970L			Move | Delete
	Sabotage: The Mission to Destroy Hitler’s Atomic Bomb Hardcover Book Grades: 5 - 12 Ages: 10 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 1070L			Move | Delete
	10 True Tales: Crime Scene Investigators Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 940L			Move | Delete
	10 True Tales: FBI Heroes Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 1100L			Move | Delete
	10 True Tales: The Secret Agent and Other Spy Kids Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 980L			Move | Delete
	The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery Paperback Book Grades: 6 - 9 Ages: 11 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 990L			Move | Delete
				Move | Delete
	Outcasts United Paperback Book Grades: 6 - 12 Ages: 12 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 980L			Move | Delete
	Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - 13 Reading Level: LEX: 1090L			Move | Delete
	Lost in the Pacific, 1942 Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 8 Ages: 10 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 880L			Move | Delete
	Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon Paperback Book Grades: 7 - 12 Ages: 12 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 920L			Move | Delete
	Almost Astronauts Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 980L			Move | Delete
	Navy SEAL Dogs Paperback Book Grades: 7 - 12 Ages: 12 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 1140L			Move | Delete
	National Geographic: Paws of Courage Paperback Book Grades: 3 - 6 Ages: 8 - 12 Reading Level: LEX: 1110L			Move | Delete
	Lincoln's Grave Robbers Paperback Book Grades: 6 - 9 Ages: 11 - 14 Reading Level: LEX: 930L			Move | Delete
	Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - 13 Reading Level: LEX: 1030L			Move | Delete
	Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark Paperback Book Grades: 5 - 8 Ages: 10 - 13 Reading Level: LEX: 1040L			Move | Delete
	Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific Paperback Book Grades: 6 - 12 Ages: 12 - and up Reading Level: LEX: 1000L			Move | Delete
	Titanic: Voices from the Disaster Paperback Book Grades: 4 - 7 Ages: 9 - 13 Reading Level: LEX: 1040L			Move | Delete