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Advanced Civics (5-6+)
Theme Addressed: Citizens' Rights and Privileges

 
* Book is located in the University of Delaware Library 
* Book is located in the Education Resource Center (ERC) 

Citizens' Rights and Privileges in Children's Literature Grades: K-2 | 3-4 | 5-6 | Literature Index 
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Title Author Subject Brief Description
"In Response to Executive Order 9066" in Celebrate America in Poetry and Art** Dwight Okita Japanese internment during WWII A moving poem that tells about a Japanese-American's loss of her best friend because of the relocation order. The child hopes her friend will miss her and not forget her when she is gone.
A Fence Away from Freedom: Japanese Americans and World War II Ellen Levine Japanese internment during WWII Collection of oral histories from Japanese Americans who were children or young adults at the time of WWII. Histories cover life before the war, the immediate effects of Pearl Harbor, and life in the camps.
Big Annie of Calumet: A True Story of the Industrial Revolution* Jerry Stanley Worker's rights and human rights True story of the role women played in the Copper Country mining area. Women saw the inherent dangers in mining and led the effort to get U.S. workers legal rights to organize for safe working conditions and higher working wages.
Dancing to America Ann Morris Immigration and rights Tells the story of a young boy whose family emigrates from the Soviet Union to America in order to gain both religious freedom and freedom of expression.
Fighting for Honor* Michael Cooper Japanese internment and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team An easy to understand, captive history of the long-standing prewar prejudice against the Japanese Americans, the Japanese internment during World War II, and the experiences of the Japanese American infantry battalion, the most highly decorated unit in U.S. Military history. Also explores the problems the Japanese Americans faced after the war. Excellent photographs.
Grandpa's Mountain Carolyn Reeder Taking property away from people to make the Shenandoah National Park. The Great Depression Carrie spends her summers with her grandparents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. This particular summer they must all grapple with the decision of the government to clear all homesteads out of the area that is designated to become the Shenandoah National Park. Grandpa uses every legal means to try to stop the movement. Others are happy with the offer of a home and land near schools and hospitals to replace their poorer accommodations in the mountains. Economic themes as well.
Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor* Russell Freedman Child Labor This book contains amazing photographs, taken by Lewis Hine, of child labor in the United States before World War I. During this time, Hine was working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee.
Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters* Andrea Davis Pinkney Black Freedom fighters and civil rights. This book is a compilation of short biographies about black women who fought for their rights and the rights of other people. The women covered in this book are; Sojourner Truth, Biddy Mason, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ella Josephine Baker, Dorothy Irene Heights, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn.
Letters from Rifka** Karen Hesse Immigration and freedoms Story of immigration to gain religious and other freedoms
Radical Red James Duffy Women's suffrage movement Story of a young girl and her mother who become involved in the suffrage movement despite opposition from their father/husband.
The Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition Karen Zeinert Rights of slaves Account of the historic slave revolt on the ship La Amistad which was bringing slaves to America from Sierra Leone. Gives the intricacies of court cases, summary of individuals on the slave ship, and maps.
The Children of Topaz: The Story of a Japanese-American Interment Camp, Based on a Classroom Diary* Michael O. Tunnell and George W. Chilcoat Japanese internment during WWII Actual journal entries kept by a third grade class in 1943 which provide a daily account of life in the internment camp through the eyes and voices of children.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall: The Cold War Ends* Nigel Kelly Freedom of speech This books explains how the Cold War began, persisted, and ended in a way that elementary students can understand.
The Invisible Thread Yoshiko Uchida Japanese internment during WWII Author recounts her childhood in California , her father's imprisonment after Pearl Harbor and the family's internment at a camp in Utah.
The Last Safe Place on Earth Richard Peck Right to free expression conflicts with other rights Various vignettes of what happens when rights conflict with others' values and rights.
The Printer's Apprentice Stephen Krensky

Bill of Rights

Article

 

This story presents the trial of John Peter Zenger, a 1700s New York newspaper publisher, whose landmark case significantly affected American journalism.
The Rifle Gary Paulsen Highlights conflict between right to bear arms and right to life Details story of a young boy who is accidentally killed when a fireplace spark ignites the powder in a Revolutionary War era rifle that is on display in a home.
Tinker v. Des Moines: Student Rights on Trial Doreen Rappaport Nonfiction account of conflicts among rights Includes narrative text about the famous free speech case as well as newspaper clippings, excerpts from the trail and judge's decision and interviews with the major players in the case 27 years later. Can use to structure a mock trial activity.
When Justice Failed: The Fred Korematsu Story* Steven A. Chin Japanese Internment during WWII; the Supreme Court trial of Fred Korematsu who challenged the internment as a violation of Constitutional rights. Fred Korematsu, a law-abiding American citizen, challenges the internment of himself and other Japanese Americans.  His case is heard at the US. Supreme Court, and he loses the case.  In 1983, evidence that has been suppressed by the government lawyers, was presented in San Francisco Federal Court, and the government had to admit its error in the Supreme Court case.  Ultimately, the government apologized and made reparations to all of those internees still alive.
You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?** Jean Fritz Women's suffrage
movement
Biography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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