You've Got to Read These Books! Counting Coup and Under Copp's Hill

Both of these books are historical.  They take in a wide view of life in the early 1900s

Author: Chief Joseph Medicine Crow, et. al

Title: Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond
Genre:Memoir
What I like about this book: As I mentioned in a previous post, I stumbled on this book when cleaning out my classroom library one day.  Its name caught me as I was mindlessly sorting books and arranging them neatly in their bins.  The book's name had triggered something I'd been hearing my husband talk about as he explained his latest project on The Battle of The Little Big Horn.  The Crow Indian warriors "counted coup" on their enemies in battles, such as The Battle of The Little Big Horn.  I took the book home and decided to read it.

I took several weeks to finish as I would pick it up for a few minutes' reprieve from grading or watching the news, or whatever.  I always found his stories interesting.  Chief Joseph talked about growing up in a time of change on the reservation; the elders in his tribe remembered the days before the reservation, and he was among the first to attend White, Baptist schools offered on the reservation, and later a boarding school.

The stories made the experiences of American Indians more clear in my mind.  I honestly know more about European settlement, and more about American history from the Midwest-east than to the west.  I knew that what I got from movies was not an accurate portrayal, and there was a lot of room for growth.  That curiosity was part of what made this book so fun to pick up.  It was enjoyable to read his personal recollections and perspectives on things like Indian battles, both with the government and with other Indian tribes; the fighting in World War II; and the relationship between European-American and the American Indians in the early 1900s.

I would recommend this book to anyone 3-6th grade who likes Indian history, stories of honor and courage, and humor.  Boys might get an extra kick from his boyhood antics and what his grandpa did to "toughen" him up in the winter (it has to do with snow an no clothes)!  The reading level would begin in late-3rd grade. 


And a second recommendation:

I read this book today.  It was a sunny Saturday afternoon - it seemed perfect for reading by the window.  On the other hand, a rainy Saturday would have probably seemed perfect too!  It was given to me as a Christmas gift from a student.  I am sorry I waited so long to get to it! 

Author: Katherine Ayres

Title: Under Copp's Hill
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
What I like about this book: I am interested in history and American history in particular.  This book follows the lives of an 11-year-old girl who lived with her extended family of immigrants from Italy in Boston, Massachusetts.  The story was based around real events and real places of the time, the early 1900s.  My great grandma was born in the year of the Chelsea fire, which plays an important role in the plot.  I really enjoyed imagining the times when she was young.  So much of what we take for granted was not the norm at the turn of the previous century.

I am also a mystery enthusiast.  This story even invokes ghosts, which I LOVED reading about in elementary school.  The combination of the real history with interesting characters, and a puzzle to solve makes this a great book for girls to read.  I resonated with the girl-empowerment message as well.  I think the main character would make a great hero for any girl.  I also appreciated the multi-cultural awareness message as well.  The main character, from a big Italian family is Catholic, and a friend she makes is Jewish.  The final pages offer more background for readers.  I learned that many families did not want their children making friends with children from other ethnic backgrounds, but the "melting pot" of America often meant friendships were made anyways.


I would recommend this book for girls of 3-6th grade ages.  I can see it read in a small group during reading time, literature-circle-style. Bonus: as of this writing, the book is free on Kindle from Amazon!