Thursday, May 22, 2014

History -- Graphic Novel Style


Graphic novels count for your summer #bookaday and for the 48 Hour Book Challenge, so put these on your TBR if you teach grades 4-8 or simply if you want to brush up on your American History.



by Nathan Hale
Harry N. Abrams, August 1, 2012
review copy purchased for my classroom

With a given name like Nathan Hale, how could you NOT write about Nathan Hale? This book is the set-up for the whole series. Nathan Hale is about to be hanged for treason. (On the cover, bottom left is the British officer in charge and, bottom right, the doofus hangman.) When Hale says his famous words, he is sucked into the Book of History and can see ALL of history. He delays his hanging by telling the Brit and the Hangman great stories from history. In this book, the focus is Hale's story, and the big picture is the American Revolution.




Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad!
by Nathan Hale
Harry N. Abrams, August 1, 2012
review copy purchased for my classroom

Big Bad Ironclad focuses on the race between the North and the South during the Civil War to develop ironclad ships. Big picture: Civil War.



Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party
by Nathan Hale
Harry N. Abrams, August 6, 2013
review copy purchased for my classroom

The Donner Dinner Party should also be known as "How Many Bad Decisions Can Be Made Based on Pride, Greed, Stubbornness and Competition?" Focus: surviving a winter stranded in the Sierra Nevadas. Big picture: Westward Movement.



by Nathan Hale
Harry N. Abrams, May 13, 2014
review copy purchased for my classroom

If you're like me, you're a little fuzzy on why World War I was fought. The politics of WWI are extremely (EXTREMELY) complicated, but Nathan Hale does a masterful job of bringing them down to kid level. To help the reader keep track of all of the countries involved, he draws each nationality as a different animal. 

2 comments:

  1. Nathan Hale is very popular in my class. It is fun to watch the look on a student's face when she figures out what is for dinner.

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  2. Nathan Hale made these historical periods interesting and entertaining. I read The WWI tale first and was very impressed by all the research that went into the book, I think if you don't know much about the war the animals work well. The Donner Party was also filled with lots of information and I can just imagine that reaction to "dinner". I do appreciate the fact that he gives the reader the option to skip ahead too.

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