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4-6
Craft relates his experiences during two summer seasons in the late 1950s playing semi-pro baseball as the only white player in the West Texas Colored League. Though the writing is unpolished, Craft recounts with immediacy both game moments and his unusual journey to overcome his own prejudices as well as those of his teammates and opponents. Vintage photographs add interest. Bib.
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YA
Headstrong Liberty Justice Jones, sixteen, intends to win the "Best Christmas Tree in Texas" contest to save her family's farm. While the prejudice against Liberty's new Mexican friend, Rudy, could use more context, readers will warm to the emotional core decorated with lively historical details. This Depression-era tale crackles with voice and heart.
111 pp.
| Texas Tech
| April, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-89672-681-9$18.95
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4-6
Illustrated by
Randall Pijoan.
In 1790, with drought threatening his Spanish colonial village in the Kingdom of New Mexico, young Raymundo must figure out how to keep his family's bean field watered. He turns to the Clay Woman--a Native American and suspected witch--who helps him craft clay pots that ultimately save the village. Though the story is overwritten, its powerful themes--racism, violence, and survival--are compelling. Glos.
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4-6
Illustrated by
Jeanne A. Benas.
In this collection of spooky stories, moralizing is often equally as important as the fright factor. Bad things don't just happen, they happen for a reason, usually because the protagonist has strayed from using good sense. The tales are accompanied by black-and-white illustrations that add a little levity to the scenes.
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YA
Hunsaker uses letters, diaries, and other primary documents to convey the experience of travelers on the Oregon Trail. The dense, academic text will be off-putting to some; for those who persevere, discussion questions, essays interpretating the sources, archival photographs, and a timeline enhance the presentation, which will be of more use in high school classrooms than for individual study. Bib., ind.
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4-6
Lone Star Journals series.
A format similar to the Dear America series (a faux diary followed by a section of factual background material) relates information about the 1900 hurricane that decimated Galveston, Texas. Though the book gets off to a slow start, with J. T. prosaically recounting his daily experiences in Galveston, the eventual detailed description of the big hurricane and its aftermath is compelling.