The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson is about a young black named Clover who wonders about why her mom won't let her go on the other side of the fence where a white family resides. A girl named Annie lives on the other side of the fence. After not very long, Clover begins to be curious about Annie. One day, they decide to sit on the fence together. I believe this book is an excellent way for teachers to address political and social implications. In my classroom, I would use to teach students about segregation and how it affected the way people treated each other. 

Lexile: AD490L

AR: 2.9

Grade Level: 3rd-6th

Summary: Boycott Blues is a book all about how people, during the civil rights movement, dealt with segregation. The story is told from a "dog-tired hound", which makes the book even more interesting! 

Idea: I absolutely fell in love with this book the first time I read it! The fact that it's told from a dog, who's singing the "boycott blues" is amazing! I also love the fact that the author personifies segregation, as a menacing bird. This is an amazing book to intertwine social studies with, and to teach figurative language!

Interesting book on how the government ignored the Constitution to create segregate communities of African-Americans and Caucasians.  I learned a lot and much made me angry.  He gives the history of how and when this happened and remedies to correct the past.  At times I didn't understand but he wrote so that I could understand the concept.  He documents everything.  I especially liked the FAQ section.  Worth reading.

Just picked this one up via Amazon Vine.  Can't wait to get into it.

Water Tossing Boulders: How a Family of Chinese Immigrants Led the First Fight to Desegregate Schools in the Jim Crow South.

A generation before Brown v. Board of Education struck down America s separate but equal doctrine, one Chinese family and an eccentric Mississippi lawyer fought for desegregation in one of the greatest legal battles never told.

On September 15, 1924, Martha Lum and her older sister Berda were barred from attending middle school in Rosedale, Mississippi. The girls were Chinese American and considered by the school to be colored; the school was for whites. This event would lead to the first US Supreme Court case to challenge the constitutionality of racial segregation in Southern public schools, thirty years before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. In this case confronting the separate but equal doctrine, the Lum family, along with an eccentric Mississippi lawyer, fought for the right to educate Chinese Americans in the white schools of the Jim Crow South.

Through extensive research in historical documents and family correspondence, Berard illuminates a vital, hidden chapter of America s past and uncovers the powerful journey of an oppressed people in their struggle for equality."

A smart mystery set in WWI era England that features an intelligent young heroine who can match wits with the theoretically (but not actually) retired Sherlock Holmes AND there are lots of sequels already published--what more could you ask of the first book in a series?