Celebrate Women's History Month!

It's March  -- Women's History Month!   Of course, I can't wait until women's history is celebrated all year long, but for now we'll have to settle for the month of March!

Since I'm all about books, I've made a list of some great titles for you to read this month!  Some are hot of the press and others are not-to-miss classics.  Enjoy!


Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors?  The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell, by Tanya Lee Stone
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists by Jeannine Atkins
Almost Astronauts:  13 Women Who Dared To Dream, by Tanya Lee Stone
Elizabeth Leads The Way, by Tanya Lee Stone
Mary Anning and The Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins
Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli
Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea and Bethanne Anderson
Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
The Bobbin Girl, by Emily Arnold McCully
The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom, by Emily Arnold McCully
Janis Joplin by Ann Angel

Teacher Workshop on the Shakers

I had the pleasure of serving on the Board of the Shaker Heritage Society and now have the pleasure of passing on this great opportunity for teachers at Siena College.


      Heaven on Earth: Shakers, Religious Revival and Social Reform in America, a NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop for School Teachers will take place at Siena College in two separate sessions this summer. The first session will run from July 7 to July 13. The second session will run from July 14 to July 20.

      The drive to construct a model society has played a vital role in the making of American culture ever since the English Puritans set out to build a “city upon a hill.” This NEH Landmark Workshop examines the Shaker movement as a model for understanding this utopian impulse.  

     K-12 educators are invited to undertake their own fieldwork in the history of American Shakerism. Participants will engage in interactive seminars with scholars; investigate Shaker artifacts and primary documents at the New York State Museum and New York State Library, and tour three historic Shaker sites: Hancock Shaker Village, Shaker Museum Mount Lebanon and Watervliet Shaker Historic District. Workshop participants will brainstorm with the workshop faculty and each other on how to apply their discoveries to curriculum that will bring the fascinating history of American Shakerism to life for contemporary students. 

For more information about Heaven on Earth, please contact Jennifer Dorsey directly at shakerworkshop@siena.edu or 518-782-6947. 

Sugarplums Dancing In My Head

In the last two years the Nutcracker has popped back into my life in a big way.  Last year my cousin's daughter danced the role of Clara.  Watching her brought back all of my ballerina years of tutus and toe shoes.  She was just beautiful!

This year I am watching it with different eyes.  My critique buddy, Kyra Ties, has been working for months redesigning the costumes for the party scene in the Northeast Ballet's production.  I can't wait to see her costumes under the lights!    It has truly been a labor of love for her.  In addition, her daughter is dancing in the production!

Although this is the Northeast Ballet's 25th production of The Nutcracker, the ballet has a much longer history.  With music by Tchaikovsky it first premiered the week before Christmas in 1892.  The Moscow Ballet has been performing it ever since and, as you know, it has become a staple of the holiday season throughout the world.

The classic tale was originally written by E.T.A. Hoffman and has been adapted into many books.  I think my favorite is illustrated and retold by Susan Jeffers.

There are so many other variations you can find in bookstores.  My suggestion is to take your kids to a local production followed by a bookstore visit to let them choose their favorite book to commemorate their special day!  It doesn't get more magical than that!

The Dust Bowl - Three Books For Your Shelf

Did you get to watch Ken Burns' documentary, The Dust Bowl, on PBS?   It was riveting.  I only wish it were longer.  So you can imagine how excited I was to see a copy of Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan's companion volume to the special in the bookstores.  The Dust Bowl: An Illustrated History chronicles the epic 1930s environmental and human disaster with more than 300 photographs and numerous first hand accounts.

Another great book to read is Albert Marrin's nonfiction book, Years of Dust.  Marrin goes right to the heart of the tragedy and discusses the causes that led to it.  If you're looking for a title for your classroom, this is a great one to share with your middle schoolers!

I would be remiss if I didn't include Karen Hesse's award winning work of historical fiction, Out of the Dust.   Her beautiful spare language puts the reader in the midst of the Oklahoma experience.  Hesse will leave you craving a deep breath of fresh air as you follow the ordeal of 14-year old Billie Jo.  

 

Venice Reads and Sees

The month of May was been a whirlwind for me.  So many wonderful events in my family topped off by a vacation to Europe, which included my first visit to Venice.  In celebration of that trip, I'd like to highlight some wonderful books and movies set in that magical city for both kids and adults.

Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli

From Publishers Weekly:
Napoli returns to the locale of Stones in Water and For the Love of Venice, this time for a costume drama set in the late 16th century. At 14, Donata Mocenigo and her twin sister watch carefully as their noble parents set about finding a husband for their older sister. Venetian economics dictate that one daughter of a noble family will surely wed, but only with luck will a second daughter be married the remaining daughters either enter convents or care for a married brother's children. Eschewing a traditional romance, Napoli forges a plot with contemporary elements. Donata wants to see Venice and receive the same education as her brothers; she studies the family business and embraces what facts she can uncover about Venetian history and politics. Obtaining a working-class boy's clothes, she disguises herself and sets out on furtive daytime explorations of her beloved city. Soon she is befriended by an attractive young Jewish boy, who helps her find a morning job as a copyist (even though she can't read or write); with help from her sisters, her escapades go unnoticed by her parents. Enjoying the tour of historical Venice and the taste of its complex society and government, readers may not mind Donata's seeming immunity to the mores and prejudices of her day not even when, to avoid an arranged marriage, she anonymously and falsely denounces herself as a convert to Judaism and still earns herself a happy ending. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker

I loved this book, set in 18th century Venice, when I read it years ago.  Now that I've been to Venice I think I have to reread it.  Here's a great review from the Historical Novel Society.


Summertime, starring Katherine Hepburn (1955)


My aunt's favorite movie.  On her recommendation, I downloaded it to watch on the plane.  Wonderful Venice views and the amazing Kate Hepburn.  A win-win!

These titles just brush the surface.  There are so many more.  Please recommend your favorites!

Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen

Years ago my daughter asked her global history teacher why they weren't discussing Cleopatra….after all they were learning about ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt.  How could you NOT include the famous or infamous queen?  Well, the answer both dismayed and saddened us.  The NYS Regent in Global History didn't cover the great queen.  

I so wish I had this book to hand to my daughter that year!  Cleopatra Rules is smart, hip, and fun.  Vicky Alvear Shecter has delivered a well-researched piece that should intrigue teens.  

"So what did the romantic newlyweds do for their honeymoon?  They planned a war.  Because nothin' says lovin' quite like dead bodies on a battlefield."  

Kudos, Ms. Shecter!  You've created a biography that will not only get picked up for those school biography assignments, but for pleasure!

Readers will get a glimpse into the "bookish nerd" who became Queen of Egypt while coming away with a fascinating lesson in world history!  

Unraveling Freedom and Ann Bausum

Ann Bausum thoughtfully describes the events leading up to the European conflict that later became World War I in Unraveling Freedom.  Well-researched and illustrated, it is no wonder this title received a starred review.   Read an interview with Ann about her new title, Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor fights, and Civil Rights Set the Stage for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Hours (NatGeo 2012) on the TeachingBooks Blog