Good Masters, Sweet Ladies

Schlitz, L.A. (2007). Good masters, sweet ladies. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Good Masters, Sweet Ladies is a collection of short plays. Each play tells the story of a person's life in the Middle Ages. Through each character, the reader learns about the many different traits that existed during this period of time. We learn of the difficulties of the poor, pilgrimages, and even the life of the wealthy. In her book, Schiltz also includes side notes to help readers better understand each play. Robert Byrd, uses ink and bright watercolors in his illustrations to enhance every story. The book includes a Table of Contents and a Bibliographical Reference.
If you enjoyed reading this book by Laura Amy Schlitz, you might also like her book, A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama.

We are the Ship

Aaron, H. (2008). We are the ship the story of Negro League Basebal. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.


This story is told by the point of view of members of the Negro League of Baseball. It tells about the struggles African Americans faced for doing what they loved in a time of segregation and racial discrimination. Through their hard work and perseverance these baseball players were able to overcome the limits that had been set before them. After the signing of Jackie Robinson, the doors were opened to African Americans in the major leagues bringing an end to the Negro Leagues.  The book is organized in sections referred to as "Innings" instead of chapters.   An index is also provided to make the finding of certain topics fast and easy. Through his book, Kadir Nelson, uses oil painting based on actual photographs during these historical events. These help the reader by giving faces to some of the players as they learn about them in the story.

  As an extension to the reading of this book, students can do a research project on a player that they learned about in this story. Students can do their research and present their work on a poster board or even a PowerPoint presentation.

The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963

Curtis, C.P. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

In The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963, we meet a family who has been living in Flint, Michigan. Although they seem like a normal family, sometimes they do things that make others think they are "weird". One of the children in particular, Byron, always ends up doing things that get him in trouble. His parents finally decided that they would take Byron to stay with his grandmother in Alabama for a while. The visit to Birmingham Alabama ends up being like nothing they expected. The family is shocked when on one Sunday morning they witness the hate and violence targeted towards African Americans. Immediately the family returns to Flint, Michigan and try to deal with the realities that exists in the South. Although the author, Christopher P. Curtis, created the characters and a fictional story, they reflect events that are similar to what went on during this time in history. The plot and the setting in The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963, give a glimpse to readers of things that occurred prior to the Civil Rights Movement.

As an extension after reading this book, students can research an important person that helped during the Civil Rights Movement. Some examples would be Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, or some of the people mentioned in the epilogue of the The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963.