John+S.

**Book Summaries:**
Name: John Schoenrock

1. **Book Title: __The Hunger Games__**
2. Author: Suzanne Collins

3. Date of Publication: 2008

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words. Katniss Everdeen does what she needs to do in order to ensure survival of herself, her little sister, Prim, and their mother against the stern rule of the Capital in this post-United States story. Katniss volunteers to take the place of Prim in the Hunger Games, a Survivor-type game the Capital stages every year between the 12 Districts that pit two teenage tributes from every district in a death match with a sole winner being the last one alive. She must survive on her own and learn who she can trust as other tributes seek to kill her as thousands watch from their homes. Katniss must also discover whether fellow District tribute, Peeta, is friend or foe and deal with new emotions the Games brings forward.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title? __Hunger Games__ by Suzanne Collins can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. The story can be paralleled with __The Lottery__ by Shirley Jackson. Both stories show how people are subject to oppressive rule of their government. Along the same lines the story can parallel events in history like the Roman gladiators battling for life and death in the Coliseum. And obviously today’s contestant-driven television programs like Survivor can be used as tie-ins to the book. Because the book takes place in North America, geography can be tied in by using clues from the book to locate the various districts.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1. Prior to the start of the Hunger Games, Peeta says, “I want to die as myself. I don’t want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I’m not.” At the end of the book, do you feel Peeta was successful in staying true to himself?

2. Peeta reveals he has feelings for Katniss in his interview. Haymitch encourages this storyline to gain sponsors during the Hunger Games. How much of this storyline is for the pubic and how much is real? What clues from the story led you to that answer?

3. Explore Katniss’ relationship with other characters in the book. What does this tell you about Katniss’ personality? How does her relationship with other characters affect her ability to trust Peeta and Haymitch during the games?

**1. Book Title: __Chains__**
2. Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

3. Date of Publication: 2008

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words. The story is centered on Isabel, a 13-year-old orphaned slave girl in Rhode Island. After her mistress dies she believes she and her five-year-old little sister Ruth have been freed by her late owner’s will. However the nephew sells the girls to a New York loyalist, keeping the girls enslaved. While in New York working for the harsh Mrs. Lockton, Isabel meets Curzon, a slave boy dedicated to helping the Patriot’s cause. Through this connection, Isabel is lured into acting as a spy for the Patriots in hopes of obtaining freedom for her and her sister. When her help goes unrewarded, she dismisses the Patriot’s cause of freedom while slaves like her remain in bondage. While continuing to serve the Lockton household, Mrs. Lockton sells of little Ruth. Furious, Isabel attacks her mistress and is tried and branded with an ‘I’ for her insolence, leaving Isabel scarred and deliberate to find her sister. Although still angry at Curzon for giving her false hope of freedom after spying for the Patriots, she recognizes him as her only friend. She goes against her mistress’s wishes and smuggles food to Curzon after his capture and imprisonment by the British. Empowered to attempt an escape, Isabel repays a debt to Curzon by helping him escape his prison and sale for South Carolina to find Ruth. The book is followed by a 2010 sequel __Forge__.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title? __Chains__ by Laurie Halse Anderson can be used in conjunction with the study of the American Revolution. Anderson does a good job of relaying the events of New York during the early years of the war and peeks inside the world of house slaves of New England. The book can be used to compare and contrast Patriots and Loyalists (Tories) of the day or be used to look at the budding metropolis of New York. The book likewise can be used to study the world of slavery and the other social classes of the colonial period.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1. Describe New York during the Colonial Period. How does the author show the differences between the social classes and the roles of men and women of the time? How do slaves play into those differences?

2. Thomas Paine’s __Common Sense__ plays an important role in the story. Why does the bookseller give the book to Isabel? How the words in the pamphlet are dangerous for Isabel and what meaning does she eventually uncover in the words?

3. In the story Isabel has two owners. How was Mrs. Finch different in her treatment of Isabel and Ruth than Mrs. Lockton? Which owner is Lady Seymour most like? Was Isabel treated any differently by the British troops than their American counterparts? Why or why not?

1. **Book Title; __Fever 1793__**
2. Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

3. Date of Publication: 2001

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is a typical young teenage girl in 1793. She likes to sleep late and avoid as much work as she can for her widow mother’s coffeehouse in Philadelphia. Her Revolutionary War veteran grandfather also stays with Mattie and her mom and Eliza, a free African helps to run the coffeehouse. When a childhood friend suddenly dies a series of events will test Mattie’s will. Yellow fever as stricken the capital city. Mattie is determined to stay and help with the family business, but when Lucille Cook is stricken with the fever, Mattie and her grandfather flee the city. Captain Cook and Mattie are turned away from an outlying city and while caring for her ailing grandfather, Mattie is stricken with the fever. Cared back to health by a make-shift fever hospital in the country, Mattie and her grandfather head back to the city to search for her mother. Back in the virtual ghost town of what is left of Philadelphia; Mattie must deal with the sudden death of her grandfather and the discovery of a young orphan girl. Determined to survive, Mattie focuses on searching for her mother and saving the coffeehouse and cope with the fever-stricken city.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title? This book can be used in conjunction with the study of post-Colonial America. The book shows the life in the still young country and the city that first served as its capital. It can be used to show the lifestyle of both the middle class and the elite of Philadelphia and the role of free blacks during the era. The book can also be used to study the early history of Philadelphia following the end of the Revolutionary War. One activity students can do is to track the streets mentioned in the book to a map of Philadelphia, circa 1793. This would merge map skills with literature. Students can also compare what Maddie recalls says about the outbreak of yellow fever to what actual documents/news reports of the outbreak. Another activity that would merge the book to history class would be follow reports on the historical figures mentioned in the book.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1. Mattie often recalls the time she watched a balloon sail up from a city jail yard. What does the balloon symbolize for Mattie throughout the book?

2. Lucille Cook wants to have Mattie marry into the prominent Oglivie family even though Mattie’s father was from the working class. Why is Lucille determined in this matter? What is Mattie’s opinion on who she marries?

3. Mattie is shown as a typical young teenager at the beginning of the story. Her experiences have changed her by the end of the book? In what ways has she changed? In what ways has she remained the same?

1. Book Title: __Smiles to Go__
2. Author: Jerry Spinelli

3. Date of Publication: 2008

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words. Will is a very sensible freshman boy with a very sensible life. Everything is in order for Will. He loves science and skateboarding. He plays Monopoly every Saturday with his friends, BT and Mi-Su, and looking at the stars. He even has an understanding with his younger sister, Tabby, that her job is to annoy him and he is to be annoyed. Life was perfect until Will finds out that protons die. Now nothing stays the same. Shortly afterwards, BT skates down Dead’s Man Hill, Will spies Mi-Su kissing BT under the stars and that prompts a sudden change in their friendship and Will develops a bond with the five-year-old neighbor who likes his sister. Will likes Mi-Su in a whole other way and begins to plan ways to kiss Mi-Su and take her to the freshman dance. But does Mi-Su sees Will as just a friend? As Will prepares for the annual chess tournament, a tragic accident makes Will re-evaluate his relationships with those closest to him.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title? //Smiles to Go// is a great book for teens. The book explores internal emotions and perspective on life. Teachers can use this book to have each student celebrate their own life and their own value and to look at the big picture of life while appreciating the little things in life.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book.

1. Talk about symbolism. What do the unwrapped gifts represent in the book? Dead Man's Hill? Will seeing tiny flashes? How are each of these important to the story? 2. BT misquotes the ending to a Robert Frost poem by saying, “And smiles to go before I weep.” What do you think BT meant when he said that last line and was the misquote intentional? 3. How has Will’s outlook on life changed by the end of the book? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

**1. Book Title: __Chasing Lincoln’s Killer__**
2. Author: James L. Swanson

3. Date of Publication: 2009

4. What is the book about? Give brief plot summary in your own words. This book is a condensed version of Swanson's //Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer//. This YA version of his adult book reads a quick pace and with building suspense as a novel. It follows the course of America’s most famous assassin John Wilkes Booth and his escape from Washington following his shooting of President Abraham Lincoln. Along with David Herold, a co-conspirator in the assassination plot, Booth and Herold make their way south through Maryland and into Virginia. Swanson brings to life several of the helpers along Booth’s trail south to possible freedom and into history. Swanson includes several original broadsides, pictures and newspaper images to enhance the telling of this historic manhunt. Also included at the back of the book is a map of Booth’s escape with key points to help readers follow the path. The book is 194 pages and a fast read thanks to Swanson’s dramatic writing style.

5. How could a teacher use this book in the classroom? What instructional strategies might you choose to incorporate with this particular title? This book could be used in several ways in the classroom. Obviously, it ties into the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Lincoln. As a social studies teacher, I see this book as an excellent example of disputed history. Swanson portrays Dr. Samuel Mudd as part of kidnapping plot Booth plans out prior to the assassination plot. Mudd maintained having no part of that conspiracy and scholars are divided on his role other than coincidentally meetings of Booth. A teacher can use this book to show how different historians interpret facts to arrive at their conclusions.

6. Write three higher level thinking questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. 1. Several people helped Booth escape from Washington. Why do you think only four people were hanged for their role in the conspiracy? Do you feel the others received proper punishment while others received none? 2. Looking at Booth’s escape plans, what errors did Booth encounter that hurt his escape? What could have Booth done differently? 3. Dr. Samuel Mudd maintained his innocence of the kidnapping plot until his death. Some historians agree with him and others are convinced of his guilt. Do you agree with Swanson’s depiction of Dr. Mudd? Why or why not? Find another source to back up your opinion.