Informational Text Week

Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
This relatively short book describes the chronological order of events that would be remembered by history as "The Salem Witch Trials." Having read The Crucible by Arthur Miller, I was pretty familiar with the people and events involved in the witch trials. However, unless someone has read The Crucible or has closely studied Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600s, this book provides just enough detail for its readers to have a good understanding of the events that transpired without requiring a big time commitment to read it. For middle schoolers, I think this book not only answers questions about an infamous moment in American history, but it also shows how life was lived back then. While the ideas and fears of witchcraft, wizardry, and the Devil may seem ridiculous and illogical today, Puritan communities took them very seriously--as evidenced in the Salem Witch Trials. Out of pure fear, the Salem community was willing to accuse and prosecute "witches," even at the expense of having a fair judicial system. In its description and order of the events, this book allows its readers to recognize the importance of providing strong and incriminating evidence in the legal system. I think middle schoolers would recognize the importance of upholding fair courts, requiring tangible evidence, and question the perspectives of all parties.


The Queen's Progress: An Elizabethan Alphabet, by Celeste Davidson Mannis, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
This picture book describes and illustrates Queen Elizabeth I of England and her royal progression. The pictures are colorful and detailed, showing an accurate depiction of the fashions, landscapes, and people that constituted Elizabethan England. I did not, however, like how idealistic the Queen and England are represented. Having studied Britain's Protestant Reformation at Oxford University, I knew a good bit about the religious controversies that swarmed throughout England. The book mentions that Elizabeth's sister, Mary, threatened the Queen's throne and well being, but it does not explain why. And while Elizabeth was widely popular with her subjects, she was cruel to heretics and Catholics. In a classroom, I would probably use this book to show examples of the fashions worn during this time period, but I would not use it for its informational content. 


The Boston Tea Party, by Russell Freedman, illustrated by Peter Malone
Wow! I loved this book. In my opinion, it does everything an informational picture book should do: be historically accurate, include primary and secondary accounts, have engaging illustrations. Last semester, I taught an 8th grade Georgia studies class, where we spent a solid week on discussing the events that led up to the Revolutionary War. Several students definitely struggled with this unit because it involved so many specific details in several different locations. I definitely wish I had known about this picture book so that could have incorporated it into my lesson on the Boston Tea Party. The picture book not only focuses on the Boston Tea Party, but it describes the events that caused it as well as Britain's reaction to the rebellion. A timeline of events is provided at the end of the book, which is useful when some students still have a hard time connecting the Boston Tea Party with the rest of colonial America. This book is definitely sophisticated enough for 8th graders and would even be useful in a high school American history classroom. I will most certainly be recommending it to anyone studying this time period.