Teaching Materials

The Rock and the River

The Rock and the River

Book — Fiction. By Kekla Magoon. 2010. 304 pages.
Coming-of-age story that shows the close connections between the civil rights and Black power movements through an intimate and relatable lens.
Continue reading

Trouble in Timbuktu

Book — Fiction. By Cristina Kessler. 2009. 368 pages.
Two young people take great risks to protect the ancient manuscripts of their city from being stolen by two tourists.
Continue reading

Hurricane Dancers

Book — Fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2011. 160 pages.
Historical fiction in the form of poetry about the conquest and resistance.
Continue reading

Sylvia & Aki

Book — Historical fiction. By Winifred Conkling. 2011. 160 pages.
Based on the true story of two girls who meet in 1940s California and a landmark lawsuit on education.
Continue reading

The Porcupine Year

Book — Fiction. By Louise Erdrich. 2010. 224 pages.
The third in a series of novels for middle and high school students about an Ojibwe family in the mid-19th century. The story parallels the time of the widely-read Little House on the Prairie.
Continue reading

The Game of Silence

Book — Fiction. By Louise Erdrich. 2006. 288 pages.
The second in a series of novels for middle school and high school students about an Ojibwe family in the mid-19th century. The story parallels the time of the widely-read Little House on the Prairie series.
Continue reading
Ninth Ward (Book) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Ninth Ward

Book — Historical fiction. By Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2010. 224 pages.
Historical fiction for grades 6-12 about the devastation when the levees broke in New Orleans and how people drew on their wits, community, and history to survive.
Continue reading

A Moment in the Sun

Book — Fiction. By John Sayles. 2011. 955 pages.
Spanning five years and half a dozen countries, Sayles' novel of historical fiction paints a picture of the late 1890s — from the racist coup in Wilmington, North Carolina, to the bloody dawn of U.S. interventionism in Cuba and the Philippines.
Continue reading

Journey of Dreams

Book — Fiction. By Marge Pellegrino. 2009. 250 pages.
Historical fiction for young adult readers about the experience of Central American refugees and the long journey north.
Continue reading
Aani and the Tree Huggers

Aani and the Tree Huggers

Book — Historical fiction. By Jeannine Atkins. Illustrated by Venantius J. Pinto. 2000. 32 pages.
Based on an event that took place in India in the 1970s, children and women in the village hug the trees to save them from being logged.
Continue reading
Sacred Leaf

Sacred Leaf

Book — Fiction. By Deborah Ellis. 2009. 206 pages.
A story based in Bolivia about a group of peasants who organize against the military.
Continue reading

Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule

Book — Fiction. By Harriette Gillem Robinet. 1998. 144 pages.
Historical fiction featuring 12-year-old Pascal, 8-year-old Nellie, and their older brother Gideon, a Union Army aide, as they claim and farm the land promised to them during Reconstruction.
Continue reading

Uprising

Book — Fiction. By Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2007. 352 pages.
Three young women march against unfair labor practices in the Shirtwaist Strike of 1909-10, only to find themselves engulfed in the raging flames consuming the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.
Continue reading
Zora and Me (Book) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Zora and Me

Book — Fiction. By Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon. 2010. 186 pages.
A coming-of-age story inspired by the early life of Zora Neale Hurston for ages 10 and up.
Continue reading

One Crazy Summer

Book — Fiction. By Rita Williams-Garcia. 2010. 224 pages.
Chapter book for middle school introduces readers to the Black Panthers in 1960s Oakland.
Continue reading

Alligator Bayou

Book — Historical fiction. By Donna Jo Napoli. 2010. 288 pages.
Historical fiction for young adults based on the true story of the lynching of Italian Americans in late 19th century Louisiana.
Continue reading

Behind the Mountains

Book — Fiction. By Edwidge Danticat. 2004. 192 pages.
A riveting novel detailing the struggles of a young Haitian girl as she adjusts to life in New York.
Continue reading
A Boy from Ireland 9780892553310 (Book Cover) | Zinn Education Project

A Boy from Ireland

Book — Fiction. By Marie Raphael. 2007. 217 pages.
Historical fiction about the life of the Irish in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century for ages 12+.
Continue reading

Bread and Roses, Too

Book — Fiction. By Katherine Paterson. 2006. 275 pages.
Moving young adult historical-fiction novel based on a major strike in Lawrence, Mass., in 1912.
Continue reading

Bull Run

Book — Fiction. By Paul Fleischman. 1993. 128 pages.
A historical novel for middle school and above about the Civil War Battle of Bull Run drama told in 16 voices.
Continue reading

Freedom Songs

Book — Fiction. By Yvette Moore. 1992. 176 pages.
When Sheryl's Uncle Pete joins the Freedom Riders down South, she organizes a gospel concert in Brooklyn to help him.
Continue reading

Freedom Road

Book — Fiction. By Howard Fast. 1944. 294 pages.
The politics and economics of Reconstruction told through memorable historical fiction.
Continue reading