We Will Not Be Silent

Freedman, Russell. (2016). We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement that Defined Adolf Hitler. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company: New York, NY.

Awards: Rober F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
and YALSA 2017 Quick Picks
Pages:112
Ages: 10+


Summary: Hans and Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, and a group of university students banded together to form The White Rose Student Resistance Movement to oppose the Nazi regime. Sophie gets in trouble for reading a book by a Jewish author and Hans questions enforced rules by the Hitler Youth Group. They joined an anti-Hitler pamphleteers to stand and speak out for what they believed is right. The group secretly creates thousand of leaflets in a secret cellar denouncing the atrocities of the Nazi regime and its evil dictator, Hitler. They showed great courage to stand against hate knowing that their resistance will cause them arrests, detentions, trials, and eventually execution. They went down in history just like their father told them they would.

Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst, leaders of the White Rose resistance organization. Munich 1942. (USHMM)

Reader response: Personal snapshots, portraits, and archival photographs give strong visuals of the facts and events during the White Rose resistance. The author, Russell Freedman, does an extraordinary job telling the story of the Nazi Germany and the Holocaust keeping the White Rose in the focus point of the documentary. What I like about this non-fiction book is that the photographs say what text does not, and the text states facts that the photographs can't represent. This 100 page documentary is a great way to introduce the Holocaust in history class and to have a discussion about current resistance in our country or around and how youths are taking a stand. History is a great way to teach the current and future events. Readers can definitely connect with this non-fiction book because is about real values and real controversies that still reflect todays society.

White Rose Holocaust Research Project

Other books to consider:

Other award winning books by Freedman: 

Drowned City

Brown, Don. (2015). Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Awards: 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens
Grade Level: 6+
Lexile Level: GN920L

Summary: On August 2005 Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans with waters 25 feet above normal and 121 MPH winds. More than a million people evacuate, but many have no money or transportation to flee. People struggle to find shelter in attics, roofs, some make it, but many don't. While survivor's wait for the slow reaction of the government, they fight infested waters, billions of mosquitos and gnats, foul odors, and lack of food and water. Temper's rise and the city gets looted. The aftermath takes 1,400 lives and hundred of thousand survivors are spread across the country. By 2012, only 80% of the residents return, and slowly New Orleans is builds itself up.

Reader's response: Don Brown's non-fiction graphic novel explains the series of events that took place during and after Hurricane Katrina. His illustrations paint the panic and despair of the city. The illustrations alone can recount the tragic events, but Brown's detailed choice of words in his dialogue speech bubbles support the facts. There are many harrowing scenes through out the novel, like a couple using a knife to make a hole to escape through the attic and a hopeless hospital working without electricity.

Lesson Ideas: Social Studies: Government/Social Welfare
                       Geography: Natural Disasters
                       Language Arts: Point of View


Get Graphic: The World in Words and Pictures

Don Brown's Official Website
                     

Other Young Adult novels to commemorate Hurricane Katrina:

Reflections 6-9

Awards, Poetry, Literary Elements, and Historical Fiction

Sisters

Telgemeier, Raina. (2014). Sisters. Scholastic: New York, NY.

Genre: Non-fiction (Memoir)

Format: Graphic Novel

Pages: 208

Ages: 8-12

Topics: Siblings relationships

Summary: Raina wishes for a little sister, but when Amara is born she wishes she could take it all back. They argue over everything. Their small apartment doesn't seem big enough for the two of them. To make her life more dramatic she also gets a little brother. The family, except for dad who stays behind to look for work, drive to Colorado Springs to a family reunion. The road trip becomes intense when the sister's different personalities clash. Raina tunes out everything and everyone with the help of her Walkman and some cassette tapes. She is lost in her own world that doesn't pick up the clues of her parents arguments, but Amara is being observant. Amara's questions and comments make Raina pay more attention to her parent's relationship. They need to figure out how to get along and stop fighting like cats and dogs to save the family. 

Reader's response:  The author uses her cartoon-like illustrations to bring emotion to the minimal text. The book is a easy read since the illustrations do most of the "talking." It is so interesting how words and sounds are drawn with different fonts and colors to signal how they are intended to sound.  I like the plot of the story because is something many can connect with. Who doesn't fight with siblings? Everybody has been to family reunions were you feel awkward with extended family members you feel you have nothing in common with. But we all realize that when things get to hard to handle on our own, we have our family to turn to. That's what family is for. 

This is a great graphic novel to include in the classroom because it increases comprehension and vocabulary for reluctant readers and ESL leaners. It also serves as a bridge between low and high levels of reading. 

Story Starter by Scholastic

Teacher's Guide by Scholastic

Teaching with graphic novels

Other books by Raina Telgemeir:

House of Dolls

Block, Francesca Lia. (2010). House of Dolls. Harper Collins: New York, NY.

Genre: Soft Fantasy

Reading interest: Juvenile

Pages: 80

Topics: Dolls, Doll House, Loneliness
resentment, jealousy

Favorite quote from the book: "The combination of boredom and jealousy is a dangerous thing."

Summary: Madison Blackberry is bored in her fancy all-white-and gray penthouse, bored with her fancy toys, bored without any friends.She is jealous of her mother who attends gala parties and never has time to play with her. She is jealous of her father who is always traveling. She is jealous of her little brother who gets all the attention. But most of all, she is jealous of her dolls, Wildflower, Rockstar, and Miss Selene, and their boyfriends Guy and B. Friend. She envies the fancy dresses her grandmother makes for the dolls, but she has not made one dress for Madison. Out of anger Madison takes away all of the dolls' fancy dresses. She sends Guy to war and B. Friend goes MIA. Madison's jealousy melts away when finally her family realizes that all she needs and wants is their time and attention.

Reader's response: House of Dolls is a contemporary fairy tale where the lives of the dolls are affected by the complex relationships of their owners. Madison's family seems to be lost in pride and avarice that they forget about Madison. This book can be use in the classroom to have a discussion about the importance of family relationships. It can also be use to introduce students to writing their own fairy tale stories. Students can also write a different ending to the story. 

Other books from Francesca Lia Block:

Other books about dolls:

The Doll People by Ann Mathews Martin

Doll Bones by Holly Black