2005-2006 Selections
FMC - First Mennonite Church Shalom Reader's Collection
LCL - Available to borrow at Lincoln City Libraries
CBD - Available for purchase at ChristianBook.com
AMZ - Available for purchase at Amazon.com
Darby - FMC - CBD
by
Jonathon Scott Fuqua. Candlewick Press, 2002. Darby stirs up strong
emotions in her small South Carolina town when she writes a story for
the local newspaper promoting racial equality.
Esperanza rising - FMC - LCL
by
Pam Munoz Ryan. Scholastic, 2000. Esperanza and her mother are forced
to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the
labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh
circumstances facing Mexican farm workers.
The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the struggle for equal rights - LCL - CBD
by
Russell Freedman. Clarion Books 2004. Tells the life story of singer
Marian Anderson, describing her famous 1939 Lincoln Memorial
performance.
Previous Selections
Assassins in the Cathedral
by
Dave and Neta Jackson. Bethany House, 1999. A young Ugandan Christian
boy learns the strength of loving enemies through tragedy in his family
and the love of his church leaders during the terrible reign of Idi
Amin.
The Betrayer's Fortune
by Dave and Neta Jackson,
Bethany House Publishers, 1994. In Antwerp, Belgium in 1543 after his
mother is arrested as a heretic, 15 year old Adrien Wens flees with the
Anabaptist preacher Menno Simons and must decide whether or not to turn
Simons in to save his mother from death.
Blizzard's Wake
by
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor; Atheneum, 2002. A survival story is combined
with a teenage girl's struggle to overcome hatred and learn to forgive.
The Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare. Houghton
Mifflin, 1961. This novel traces Daniel Bar Jamin's contact with Jesus
and how it transforms his life.
Color Me Dark
by
Patricia McKissack: Scholastic, 2000. Like many other African
Americans, Nellie Lee's family moves north in search of a better life,
hoping so escape the racism of the rural south and take advantage of
opportunities in the city.
Crash
by Jerry Spinelli.
Knopf Books for Young Readers: 1996. "Crash'' has always been
comfortable with his aggressive behavior, until his relationship with
an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider
the meaning of friendship.
The Fighting Ground
by Avi.
Harper & Row, 1984. The reader follows one day in the life of
Jonathan, a Revolutionary War 13 year old as his view of war changes.
Friends and Enemies
by
Louann Gaeddert. Antheneum Books, 2000. In 1941 in Kansas, as America
enters WW II, 14 year old William finds himself alienated from his
friend Jim, a Mennonite who does not believe in fighting for any reason
and refuses to support the war effort in any way.
Gideon's People
by
Carolyn Meyer. Gulliver Books, 1996. Two boys, one Jewish, the other
Amish, face youth-full rebellion against their traditional heritage and
find similarities between the 2 religions.
Grab Hands and Run
by
Frances Temple. Orchard Books, 1993. A boy, his younger sister, and
their mother make the dangerous journey north to Canada from El
Salvador after the boy's father disappears and is presumed murdered by
government soldiers.
Henry's Red Sea
by Barbara
Smucker. Herald Press, 1955. A contemporary Mennonite history story of
people fleeing homes and villages in Russia for new beginnings. The
story of MCC, Peter and Elfrieda Dyck and the miracle of deliverance to
freedom.
How Many Days to America?
by Eve Bunting.
Houghton Mifflin, 1990. A modern Thanksgiving story in which a boatload
of Caribbean refugees wonder if they will make it to America and how
they feel when they arrive.
Jim Thorpe, 20th Century Jock
by Robert Lipsyte. Harper Collins, 1993 A biography of an outstanding Native American athlete.
Journey to Jo'burg
by
Beverly Naidoo. Harper & Row, 1986. 13 year old Naledi and her 9
year old brother, Tiro, travel by themselves through over 300
kilometers of South African countryside to save their baby sister.
The Land I Lost; Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam
Huynh Quang Nhuong. Harper Collins, 1982. The true story of a Vietnamese boy
describes the tragedy caused by conflict.
A Long Way From Home
by
Maureen Crane Wartski. Westminster, 1982. A Holocaust survivor recounts
her liberation from a Nazi Concentration camp, her search for surviving
family members and her struggle to reach America.
Maniac McGee
by
Jerry Spinelli. Little Brown & Co. 1990. After his parents died his
life changed and he became a legend. Kids still talk about how fast he
could run and his fame at untangling a knot.
Number the Star
by
Lois Lawry. Dell, 1992. Somehow Annemarie must find strength and
courage to save her best friend's life in 1943 as the Nazi soldiers
march through towns and the war progresses. Life in Copenhagen, Denmark
is experienced with food shortages and changes.
On Fire For Christ
by Dave and Neta Jackson. Herald Press, 1989. A collection of stories about Anabaptist martyrs.
The Ramsey Scallop
by
Frances Temple. Orchard Books, 1994. A betrothed young girl and young
man in the early 14th century are sent by the village priest on a
mission for the village. They learn each other's strengths and how to
work together.
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
by Mildred
Taylor. Dial Books 1991. During the 1930's the Logan family children
struggle to understand and do not accept the disparities they face in
their school and everyday lives compared to the white school and
community.
Runaway to Freedom, a Story of the Underground Railroad
by
Barbara Smucker, Harper Collins, 1979. Two young slave girls escape
from a plantation and wind a hazardous route toward freedom.
Running On Eggs
by
Anna Levine. Front Street/Cricket Books, 1999. When Karen and Yasmine
become friends while members of a mixed Arab and Jewish track team
their family and friends disapprove. But the girls hold onto their
friendship and the others learn from it.
Sara's Summer
by Naomi R. Stucky. Herald Press, 1990. A gentle story of everyday life in a Hutterite Colony.
The Second Bend in the River
by
Ann Rinaldi. Scholastic Press, 1997. An historical romantic novel about
a friendship between a white pioneer girl and a powerful Indian chief.
Shades of Gray
by
Carolyn Reeder. Macmillan, 1989. Fiercely loyal to the Confederate
cause, 12 year old Will has lost all his immediate family in the Civil
War and goes to live with his aunt and her family where he learns that
although Uncle Jed refused to fight, he is not a coward or a traitor.
Sounder
by
William H. Armstrong. Harper & Row, 1969. This classic story tells
what it is like to be poor, cold, and starving while your father is in
jail.
The Storyteller's Beads
by Jane Kurtz. Harcourt
Brace, 1998. Two Ethiopian girls face hardships and overcome prejudices
in order to survive as they flee famine and war.
Summer of My German Soldier
by
Bette Greene, Dial Press, 1973. The story of an unlikely friendship
between a 12 year old Jewish girl and an escaped German POW from an
Arkansas camp during the 1940's.
Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti
by
Frances Temple. Orchard Books, 1992. Djo, a 17 year old boy, tells his
life story from a hospital bed after being beaten by government thugs.
Jeremie listens and also tells her story. They both worked for Father
(and later President) Aristide.
To Life
by Ruth Minsky
Sender. Puffin, 1990. A Holocaust survivor recounts her liberation from
a Nazi Concentration camp, her search for surviving family members and
her struggle to reach America.
Under the Same Sky
by
Cynthia DeFelice. Farrar Straus & Girous: 2003. While trying to
earn money, a teen-aged boy becomes involved with the Mexicans who work
on his family's farm. A thought-provoking book on the role and rights
of migrant workers in the U.S.
The War Game
by Michael Foreman. Arcade Publishing, 1993. Some soldiers form friendships with "the enemy" during WW I.
Waiting for the Rain : A Novel of South Africa
by
Sheila Gordon. Orchard Books, 1987. The story covers 9 years in the
lives of 2 friends, 1 black and 1 white and the conflicts imposed on
them by their cultures.
The Well: David's Story
by
Mildred Taylor. Dial Books, 1995. When the wells run dry an African
American family shares their well with all neighbors including white
ones who are not happy about the situation.
Winnie Mandela, the Soul of South Africa
by Milton Meltzer, Viking, 1986. Winnie Mandela has endured hardship and banishment to challenge her nation's racist policies.
The Witness
by
Karen Hesse. Scholastic Press, 2001. In a series of poems, people in a
small Vermont town tell their story of how the KKK came and went.
Words By Heart
by
Ouida Sebestyan. Bantam Books, 1981. A young Black girl learns that
winning a scripture memory contest may not overcome racial prejudices.
Zlata's Diary, A Child's Life in Sarajevo
by Zlata Filpovic. Viking, 1994. A teenage girl chronicles her life while there is a war in her country and city.
