D is for Drum

ABC meets multicultural in this Alphabet Book on Native Americans. Each letter of the alphabet stands for a different aspects of Native American life (Bison, Corn, Drums...) Some letters stand for other things that have influenced Native Americans such as Gold, which brought many foreigners to the their land. Other letters stand for groups of Native Americans such as the Anasazi, Kiva & Kachina. Each letter has a short description of how that word is connected to Native Americans, along with a more in depth explanation in a side bar. This book is a must have for any unit on Native American studies.

Rachael - 4th/5th Teacher

Amelia to Zora

Cynthia Chin-Lee dedicated much research to create this unique Alphabet book. Each letter of the alphabet is dedicated to a different influential woman in history. Readers learn about the background and lives of Cecilia Payne-Gopaschkin, an astronomer and the first woman professor at Harvard University, Nawal El Sadaawi a woman's rights activist from Egypt, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit the first woman president of the United Nations... I love the illustrations which were done by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy. They have a scrap-booking feel with various layers of pictures and illustrations, yet at the same time the pictures also depict aspects of the different womans' lives. Another thing that I appreciated is that the women in this book come from around the globe instead of just from the United States, and had a world-wide influence. This book would be a great re-aloud for the elementary grades, and a wonderful addition to a middle or high school classroom. It would be a wonderful resource for a unit on influential women, and can be the catalyst for future research on women in history.

Rachael - 4th/5th teacher