Readers often gravitate towards fiction for their pleasure reading, but there are tons of great books that are completely true and make for compelling reading. Here are some newer titles that you may have missed. MS = middle school
Barb Rosenstock’s book American Spirits recounts how sisters Kate and Maggie could explain strange rapping sounds in their house by communicating with the spirit of a murdered peddler. As media interest grew, so did their fame and fortune, but questions arose during the Civil War when the nation’s dead started piling up. MS
Candace Fleming’s book Death in the Jungle tells how Jim Jones rose from a charismatic preacher in the 1950s and ‘60s to become the leader of a notorious cult in the 1970s, and convinced nearly 1000 people to die by suicide. MS
Rebecca E. Hirsch’s book A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants catalogs dozens of plants that sicken and kill, along with their actual uses in history and literature. Be careful of what you eat! MS
In Flamboyants, George M. Johnson profiles the lives of a number of icons of the Harlem Renaissance who lived their lives more or less openly during a time when homophobia and racism were the accepted norms.
In Hurdles in the Dark, Elvira K. Gonzalez tells how she strove to leave behind poverty and violence by training to become the greatest track star of her time. Her new coach helped her push her body to the limit, but when he turned his attentions to her personally, her life changed for the worse.
Michael Eric Dyson’s book Represent explores the unequal history of voting rights in the United States, focusing on average citizens who worked all their lives to make voting accessible to all citizens, including women and Black people.
In Shift Happens, by J. Albert Mann, the author explores the history of the labor movement in America, and how worker actions gave us weekends, equal pay, labor unions, and an end to child labor.
In The Swans of Harlem, Karen Valby recounts how five gifted Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem contributed their talent and grit to create fine art in the face of racism.
Cynthia Levinson’s book Who Owns the Moon? studies the history of space exploration and how the nations of Earth decided questions of ownership and responsibility before we even landed on the Moon. MS
~ posted by Wally B.