Thursday, October 30, 2014

Textbook Assignment #4



Eleazar Resendez
LSSL 5360
October 30, 2014
                                                                                Textbook Assignment #4




Bartoletti, S. (2005). Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.
When talking about Nazi Germany, most people discuss the party’s ideology, and its effects in Europe. The atrocities left by the Hitler-led group are also described, as well as their eventual demise. In her book, Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow, Susan Bartoletti takes a different approach when discussing that era in German history as she focuses on the “Hitlerjugend” or the Hitler Youth. Through extensive researc  Thanks to the writings these individuals left behind, Bertoletti is able to show the reader what the youth of Germany and its neighboring countries went through during the years before, during and after World War II. Young adolescent readers will be taken aback by what children their age went through as Hitler built his callous army of desensitized teens.  The death and destruction non-Jewish German children participated in as well as the suffering many Jewish sympathizers went through, is all documented and cited in this gripping work of non-fiction.
h, the author managed to compile the writings and photographs of some of the most influential members of the children’s division in the Nazis regime.









Curtis, C. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963. New York: Delacorte Press.
Kenny Watson thought his life was complicated. He was expected to survive the cold frigid weather of Michigan, and the constant bullying of his brother, Byron. Little did Kenny know, his life was about to get a lot more complicated when his family decides to take a summer trip to Birmingham, Alabama. Set around the civil rights era (1963) in the segregated southern city of Birmingham, this story focuses on a boy’s need to brave the perilous environment he finds himself in. Kenny is not oblivious to the race issues going on in the south, but it is only until he witnesses it firsthand that he realizes how sad the problem is.  Also, his brother discovers that he can channel his rage for a good cause.  It is because of his brother that Kenny is able to overcome his fears, and begin his new life as an assertive young adult.







Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship: The story of Negro League baseball. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.
In his book, We are the Ship, Kadir Nelson presents the side of baseball history most people aren’t even aware exists.  Since its emergence in the 1920’s until its fall after World War II, Negro League baseball has undoubtedly left a great legacy in baseball sport’s history even if most casual fans don’t know it. Set from the turn of the century, on through the roaring twenties, and later the depression and war eras, We are the Ship takes its reader through the rural and segregated South and on to the big cities of Chicago and New York.  Written as a firsthand account, the author’s style is so realistic that at times the reader might question if Kadir Nelson was actually riding along with Negro Baseball great’s such Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige during those time periods. Baseball fans in particular will delight in knowing all stats and stories are well documented and carefully cited at the end, and the book‘s foreword is written by one of the baseball legend discussed in the book, Hank Aaron.







 
Schlitz, L., & Byrd, R. (2007). Good masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a medieval village. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.
In her book, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a medieval village, Amy Schlitz paints a picture of just how tough life was in England during the middle ages. Written to be performed as a play, Schlitz presents twenty two character monologues from different walks of life, and brings them all together by showing how their lives are intertwined. Though every character has his or her own conflicts that require resolution, all seem to be impeded by the lack of knowledge that seems to abound modern day readers.
The style of writing she applies allows readers to submerge themselves in the time period adequately.  Though some of the vocabulary might seem difficult, the author makes sure to define all challenging terms within the same page. This allows for easy understanding of the material while still keeping with the vocabulary of the era. For customs, events, and beliefs that require more information to be provided, Schlitz utilizes the breaks in between the monologues to add a concise yet detailed summary of this information as well.










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