IRL: Resources for Teaching YA Nonfiction

The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked & Found by Martin W. Sandler By Shohei Hada, Heven Heard, Angela Huang, and Samantha Jimenez  Book Summary Author's Biography and Profile Martin W. Sandler is the author of the book The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found. Sandler wrote several award-winning nonfiction books that focus on historical events throughout history such as Imprisoned , Lincoln Through the Lens, The Dust Bowl Through the Lens , and Kennedy Through the Lens ( national book foundation). He has been a finalist for YALSA award which is an award for books that are written for young adult audience. For example, this group's projects book focuses on the history behind the piracy that occurred in the new world which exposes many unknown facts to the audience. Sandler specializes in writing about historical events in the new world and the United States due to his career in teaching history. Other than being an author, Sandler is a professor of American...

Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune Written by  Pamela S. Turner Illustrated by  Gareth  Hinds Reading review Throughout the novel Samurai Rising, we are brought to light the tumultuous life of Minamoto Yoshitsune. From being captured as a child and being forced into monkhood, he decided to break the rules and become a samurai, something that was both feared and hated. It was a life that was fueled by revenge. In a descriptive way, the novel is written in a story-like organization, which gives the reader an opportunity to feel like they are reading something fiction-like.  The book entails the trauma, loss, and the epic nature of his time as a samurai and a man in hiding. A main highlight in the novel is how he was the key to ending the rule of the Taira Clan, the then rulers of Japan. In the life of Yoshitsune, the story reflects a past that readers can feel like they are back in the Heian Period watching the events happen, through the many battles ...

  We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai Reviewed by Sierra Ruiz, Soraya Naranjo, Etna Sanchez, Isabel Rosas Review: The non-fiction novel We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World features part of Malala’s story as an activist for female education who had to leave her home after being shot by the Taliban. Malala traveled to different refugee camps worldwide and listened to the stories of other girls like her to highlight how every day and terrifying these experiences are. Malala prefaces each chapter by explaining how she met the ten girls included in the book and lets them tell their stories about how they became refugees and how the experience of being refugees has affected them. Mala puts in her first impressions of the girls and what she heard about them before the girls tell their own stories, putting the reader in Malala’s position of discovering who these women are. These girls come from all over the world, not just the Middle East.  T...