Lincoln’s Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever

I’ve been to Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. and I’ve stood in the Presidential box where Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and President Abraham Lincoln sat watching the comedy Our American Cousin with Mayor Rathborn and his finance’ Clara Harris.  It is chilling to read the account of what fateful event took place in that theater.

Lincoln’s Last Days is an excellent, highly accessible account of the events leading to the end of the bitterly fought Civil War, the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, and the chasing of the assassins.  Filled with archival photos, lithographs, maps and artifacts from the period, the story unfolds in a highly readable text.

Most chilling to me was the reading about the brutal attack on Secretary of State William Seward and his family in their home known as the Old Club in Washington, D.C.  by co-conspirator Lewis Powell. Lincoln’s assassination took place in the Presidential theater booth. Even after Wilkes’s attack on the President, the formidable strength of Lincoln’s physical body was remarkable considering the grave, mortal wounds to his head.

 Students will be fascinated by this nonfiction book!

 

Girl Stolen, by April Henry

Cheyenne has already survived some horrendous life experiences.  When she was thirteen, her mother was literally ripped from her life when a driver hit her, her dog and her mom as they were walking alongside a road.  Cheyenne lost her sight as a result of the trauma she endured; her mother and her dog were killed outright.  She has finally recovered from her injuries and has begun to embrace life fully when the car in which she is waiting is stolen with her inside it!

The car thief has no idea the car he’s stolen has a blind girl just diagnosed with pneumonia in the rear seat.  Griffin’s father Roy is a professional criminal.  He and his other two workers TJ and Jimbo are into stripping cars and selling them for parts.  This is known as running a Chop-Shop.

When Griffin’s father Roy discovers Cheyenne is the daughter of the owner of Nike, he sets his sights on a five million dollar ransom.  Imagine Cheyenne’s fright at being kidnapped by these thieves!  Will she survive?  Will they really let her live if she can identify them by their voices or their location?

Liar, Liar by Gary Paulsen

This highly humorous book is considered realistic fiction because it could happen! 

Kevin, 14, lives with his brother Daniel, 15, and his older sister, Sarah, 16.  Their mother works a lot of hours and their father travels extensively for business and is never home.

Kevin is highly ‘inventive’ in his response to teachers, parents, siblings, and even his fellow classmates.  Another word for inventive could be liar or master manipulator.

Kevin is paired with Katie for a class project.  He can’t stand the idea of spending a week working with her.  His whopper of a lie involves medical problems.  Then Kevin instantly falls in love with Tina.  The lies keep coming from Kevin.  He’s trying to make room in his school day to be with Tina.

Will he ruin his chance with Tina?  Will his parents ever trust him?  Will his friends ever believe him again? Will his lies lead to failing grades? 

Read Liar, Liar to find out!

Crush by Gary Paulsen

Fourteen year old Kevin Spencer is on a mission.  He wants to find out how to meet and make friends with girls- especially one particular girl--Tina Zabinski.  This companion novel to Liar, Liar  and Flat Broke  has a humorous spin.  Its subtitle is The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Love.

Kevin decides to conduct scientific experiments to analyze how other couples behave.  In true Kevin style, he manages to botch the best of intentions!

Read about Kevin’s attempt to create the perfect date for his parents.  Will his attempt to get a blind date set up with Gooper and the former homecoming queen be a bust?  Will he succeed in getting six hockey players to match up with six girl figure skaters?  But lastly and most importantly to Kevin, will he dare to speak to Tina?



A Soldier’s Secret: the incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero by Marissa Marr

Sarah Edmond’s father is an abusive, bullying husband and father.  After years of enduring watching her mother and her brother being physically abused by him, Sarah is quick to learn she needs to stay clear of him, especially when she sees that he has been drinking.  When the horse named Trig which Sara has broken and cares for is sold without her permission, Sarah is heartbroken.  When she is told two years later at the age of 16 that she has been sold into marriage to the old man who bought her beloved horse, she decides to run away and assume the identity of Frank Thompson.  As a man, Sarah will have more control over her life.  Surprisingly, she is able to pass as a young male once she chops off her long hair and trades her confining women’s clothing for a pair of trousers and a man’s shirt.

When the Civil War starts, Sarah has escaped from Canada into Michigan and decides to enlist.  Will she be able to pass herself off as a male soldier? Will she be able to live among a company of men without being caught?  Does she have the stamina to withstand the horrors of war? To actually kill the enemy?

Read this excellent, well researched, fictional account of this female heroine of the Civil War.