An Outlaw Thanksgiving, written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully
      This book takes place in 1896. Clara and her mother are traveling by train to meet Clara's father for Thanksgiving. At one of the train stations, Clara sees a poster hanging up with a wanted man's face on it. The man's name is Robert LeRoy Parker and his alias is Butch Cassidy. Clara sees that Butch Cassidy is wanted for train robbery among other crimes. Soon, her mother takes her to another train, but this train gets snowed-in on the tracks and cannot move. A kind man that Clara and her mother met on the train called Mr. Jones offers to take them with him to Brown's Hole which was over a day's journey from where they were. Upon arriving there, they enjoy hospitality and a Thanksgiving feast. However, one of the men seems familiar to Clara and she finally realizes that it is Butch Cassidy and the rest of the men and women are outlaws as well. Butch Cassidy tells her that he will not rob her train and that he is just there to give thanks and enjoy the holiday. He gives her a silver dollar to remember her time at Brown's Hole and the Thanksgiving festivities. In the end, Clara and her mother are reunited with her father and she plans to tell her father about her adventure once they arrive in California. The last page of the book is the author's note. Here, the author describes the real outlaws of the time and the history of train travel and its dangers. This book is a Caldecott Medal winner.
          This book is most appropriate for second through fourth graders. It would be an excellent book to accompany a lesson about train travel at the time and how it revolutionized the United States. This book also brings to life the dangers and expectations of Americans in the late 1800s. For instance, the people who owned the railway companies famously cared more about making money than keeping people safe. This would begin a great discussion about the ethics of running a business and what happens when those in power abuse their employees and consumers. Additionally, it leads to modern connections like how airplane travel and even video calls have changed the way that people communicate and travel. This book has the potential to deepen the students' understanding of the people of the time and offers opportunities for students to make connections from history to the present time.

The King at the Door, written and illustrated by Brock Cole
        This book begins with a servant boy named Little Baggit who meets a man claiming to be the King outside of an inn. Little Baggit runs into the inn to tell his master that the King is outside wanting something to drink. His master, the innkeeper, does not believe that this man is truly the King, so he gives Little Baggit dishwater to give to the King. Little Baggit comes back inside saying that the King did not want the dishwater, so Little Baggit gave him some of his own ale. This pattern repeats throughout the book: the requests an item, the innkeeper gives him lowly gifts, so Little Baggit gives the King a better item that belongs to him. Eventually, the King says that he will take Little Baggit back to his palace in his carriage. When Little Baggit tells his master, of this news, the innkeeper disregards it with the same disbelief as before. However, the book ends with the King's carriage arriving to take the King and Little Baggit to the palace.
         This book is most appropriate for second and third graders because it is a picture storybook that has too many words on each page to hold the attention of most first graders. This book would be fun to accompany a lesson about monarchy and their subjects. This book displays the relationship between a King, an innkeeper, and a servant boy. The King in this book was kind to his subjects by taking in the young servant boy who gave his belongings so freely to the King. This could begin a conversation with the students about how a king or queen should rule and how monarchs in the past have acted towards their subjects. Additionally, this book shows a good example of returned kindness. The King rewarded Little Baggit's kindness of sacrificial giving. This would also lead to a great conversation about doing kindness even if it is not rewarded like in the story.

Freedom Over Me, written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan
         In this book, Coretta Scott King Award-winner Ashley Bryan has taken the records from an estate that owned slaves in the 1800s and has given a voice to eleven slaves from the records. She has beautifully illustrated what each of them may have looked at. In free verse poems, she writes a short biography and their dreams for their lives. My favorite person that she brought to life is Athelia, a 42-year-old woman who was sold for $175. Athelia works with the laundry and helps the men during harvest time. However, she enjoys the company of a young slave girl named Dora. Dora's presence helps Athelia not focus on the hardship of her slavery. Having this private life that the masters do not know or understand allows Athelia to enjoy a small taste of freedom that she calls "our precious secret." Athelia dreams to be free and that her African heritage may continue to inspire her and the slaves around her.
        This book would be most appropriate for second through fifth graders. Even though this is a picture book, the stories and illustrations work together to make the content relevant for older elementary students. Since Bryan created these beautiful stories based on the records from a nineteenth-century estate, it would be an interesting activity for students to complete an activity with a similar process. Students could gather information from their history books and other non-fiction resources to create works of historical fiction that bring historical events and time periods to life. Additionally, students could each choose one of the slaves from this book to read and then present it to the class or to small groups as a discussion. No matter how this book is used in classrooms, it has the great potential to develop conversations, understanding, and empathy for the students and teachers.

Changes for Addy, by Connie Porter, Illustrated by Dahl Taylor
           This book is a continuation of Meet Addy and is the last book in the series. Addy's family is in Philidelphia living with more freedom than they ever had on the plantation. However, the family is not completely reunited because Esther, Addy's baby sister, is not with them. However, Esther's caregivers are bringing her to meet the family in Philadelphia. These caregivers are older and the husband dies right before reaching Addy's family, and the wife dies shortly after giving Esther to her mother. This deeply grieves Addy especially since this couple did not get to enjoy freedom for long after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The book ends with Addy grieving the loss of this couple, but still carrying on with her reading of the Emancipation Proclamation for her church around Christmas time. After her reading, the entire congregation breaks into a joyful celebration.
         
This book is most appropriate for third and fourth graders. It would also be a great book for them to transition from picture storybooks to chapter books. It is a short chapter book that has a few illustrations throughout it. This book also focuses on the importance of freedom and how to grieve the loss of loved ones. I would love to use this book to allow students to see how Addy dealt with the loss of her adopted grandparents because many of them may experience a similar loss at their age. This book also has nonfiction details in the back that explains the real history of slaves claiming their freedom in nineteenth-century America. Therefore, this book would be useful to show a first-person view of the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation and the struggle that slaves had to gain their freedom even after this was signed.

Meet Addy, by Connie Porter, Illustrated by Dahl Taylor
This American Girl book is set in the mid-1800s during the Civil War. Addy is a young girl who is a slave on a tobacco plantation with her mother, father, older brother, and baby sister. Addy overhears her parents wanting to run away from the plantation to freedom before Master Stevens can split the family up by selling them. However, shortly after this conversion Master Stevens sells her brother and father. So, her mother decides to run away to Philidelphia with Addy. The mother has to leave Addy's baby sister, Esther, behind at the plantation because she would give them away by crying loudly, and they would be captured again. Her baby sister, Esther, remains with two other slaves on the plantation who acted like grandparents for Addy. Addy and her mother face many dangers as they journey through the woods. They are bruised and scratched from the rocks and thorns around them. They hide during the day and travel at night. Additionally, they almost drowned while crossing a rushing river in the night. In the end, they arrive at the safe house and from there travel to Philadelphia to reach freedom. Addy and her mother hold on to the dream of their whole family reuniting in Philadelphia one day.
This book is most appropriate for third and fourth graders to read. I would love to use this book when teaching about the Civil War because of the point of view it offers. The reader has the opportunity to develop empathy by reading about the way that Addy and her family are treated and how they react to situations. This book has the potential to start great conversations about this time period and allows the Civil War to come to life. Additionally, this book is great for transitioning students from picture storybooks to chapter books. This book is divided into chapters and does not have an overwhelming amount of words on each page. There are also a few illustrations scattered throughout the book. Overall, this book is beneficial in developing a deep connection to history and for introducing students to chapter books.