Teaching Materials Archive

The Mystery Woman in Room Three

Book — Fiction. By Aya de León. Serialized in six parts at Orion Magazine. 2021.
A young adult novel that deals with immigration rights, climate justice, the Green New Deal, and youth activism. Available for free download at Orion Magazine.

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Book — Fiction. By Walter Mosley. 2006. 272 pages.
A young boy learns to survive under slavery and struggles for his own liberation with help from a mysterious stranger, Tall John.

Standing Up

Book — Fiction. By Ellen Bravo and Larry Miller. 2021. 284 pages.
This collection of stories highlights the importance of collective struggle, both in the workplace and in the community.

Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots

Book — Historical fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2018. 192 pages.
A novel that uses free verse to tell the story of the 1943 Zoot Suit (or Sailor) Riots through a wide range of characters.

The Journey of Little Charlie

Book — Fiction. By Christopher Paul Curtis. 2018. 256 pages.
A novel for young adults that that shows how slavery was state-sanctioned terrorism and the impact of the Fugitive Slave Law.

Warning from My Future Self

Book — Fiction. By Jean Tepperman. Illustrated by Alfred Twu. 2017. 34 pages.
A dystopian call-to-action story about the threat of climate change and the need for young people to act now.

Crossing Ebenezer Creek

Book — Historical fiction. By Tonya Bolden. 2017. 240 pages.
A moving account of the Civil War massacre at Ebenezer Creek in Georgia.

The Fog Machine

Book — Fiction. By Susan Follett. 2014. 389 pages.
A young adult novel of historical fiction based on Freedom Summer.

As Fast As Words Could Fly

Book — Fiction. By Pamela M Tuck. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 2013. 32 pages.
Based on her father’s experience in 1960s North Carolina, Pamela Tuck tells how a family and community challenge racism where they work, shop, and go to school.

Revolution

Book — Fiction. By Deborah Wiles 2014. 544 pages.
Historical fiction for young adults set in Greenwood, Mississippi during the 1964 Freedom Summer.

The Return of Gabriel

Book — Fiction. By John Armistead. 2002. 218 pages.
Confronted with decisions well beyond their years, three friends grapple with eternal issues of shifting loyalties and the nature of heroism

Lion Island (Book) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Lion Island: Cuba’s Warrior of Words

Book — Fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2016. 176 pages.
Story of three friends fighting for freedom in Cuba during the 19th century.

Unbound: A Novel in Verse

Book — Fiction. By Ann E. Burg. 2016. 352 pages.
Story of a family fleeing slavery written in verse for grades 4-8.

Dayshaun’s Gift

Book — Historical fiction. By Zetta Elliott. 2015. 88 pages.
Time travelling historical fiction for upper elementary school students on the New York City Draft Riots.

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

Book — Fiction. By Joseph Marshall III. Illustrations by Jim Yellowhawk. 2015. 176 pages.
A contemporary Native American boy learns about the history of Crazy Horse in a journey with his grandfather.

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal

Book — Fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2016. 272 pages.
Historical fiction in free verse about the building of the Panama Canal.

House of Purple Cedar

Book — Fiction. By Tim Tingle. 2014. 326 pages.
A young girl's story of growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma.

Chains

Book — Historical fiction. By Laurie Halse Anderson. 2010. 336 pages.
Historical fiction based on the life of an enslaved teenager during the Revolutionary War.

The Wild Book

Book — Fiction. By Margarita Engle. 2012. 144 pages.
A portrait in verse of a young girl struggling with dyslexia in Cuba at the turn of the 20th century.

Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story

Book — Fiction. By Beverley Naidoo, illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 1988. 96 pages.
A brother and sister take their sick sibling to the city of Johannesburg to get their mother at work, and come to understand the struggle for freedom and dignity taking place in South Africa.