Cyrus Peirce Middle School 2007 Summer Reading Packet and ...

Civil Rights Movement are the focus of this remarkable book. History is told through theexperiences of two young men of disparate backgrounds, one black John Lewis, the other whiteJim Zwerg. A foreword by each man precedes chapters that compare and contrast their families,childhoods, and teenage years, and the events leading up to, and their participation in, thehistoric rides of the early 1960s. Dramatic black-and-white photographs, accompanied by clear,engaging captions, support the text. Each of the seven chapters is preceded by a full-pagephotograph. Bausum's narrative style, fresh, engrossing, and at times heart-stopping, brings thestory of the turbulent and often violent dismantling of segregated travel alive in vivid detail.Genius: A Photobiography of Albert Einstein by: Marfe FergusonWhile the myriad photographs are fascinating, the bigger draw here is the wonderfully simpleexplanations of some of Einstein's theories. For example, in clarifying the physicist's quantumtheory of light, Delano says, "Simply put, Einstein showed that photons in the light beam knockthe electrons out of metal." And, to make the concept of spacetime easier to understand, sheasks readers to contemplate spacetime as a trampoline with a bowling ball resting on it. Thisvisual perception helps to make the theory understandable for all students. The black-and-whiteand sepia photographs follow Einstein from boyhood to old age and show him in a variety ofsettings: at the blackboard, delivering a speech, taking the oath of U.S. citizenship, in hisPrinceton home with children who survived the Holocaust, and so on. Many have appearedelsewhere. Cartoon illustrations add to the clarity of the very readable text. Personal thoughtsand feelings abound. To make Einstein human to the audience, his mistakes are mentioned, aswell as his celebrity. Complete quote sources are appended. An introduction by EvelynEinstein, the scientist's granddaughter, is included. This entertaining effort displays clarity andintelligence. It has plenty of information for reports and is also a good choice for browsing.Hope for the People by: Cesar ChavezThe son of poor Mexican Americans, Cesar Chavez grew up in grinding poverty. In 1962, he setout to do what many before him had tried and failed to do -- organize a trade union for farmworkers. With courage and determination, he transformed the plight of the workers into aninternational cause.Into Thin Air by: Jon KrakauerInto Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. InMarch 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on anexpedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the otherleaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the storyof the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Writtenwithin months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everestlandscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recallingthe triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguishover what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timelessquestions.Life is so Good: by George DawsonA 101-year-old retired laborer who enrolled in a literacy class near his Dallas, Tex., home at theage of 98, George Dawson now reads and writes on a third-grade level. From Dawson's eloquentwords, co-writer Glaubman, a Seattle elementary school teacher, has fashioned two engrossingstories. First is the inspiring saga of how someone who was the grandson of a slave managed tonavigate the brutally segregated small Texas town of Marshall, where Dawson was born, withoutlosing his integrity or enjoyment of life. Although he worked from an early age and was neverable to attend school, Dawson credits his strong family, especially his father, for giving him theskills to survive. His father told him to work hard, to do no wrong and always to avoid troublewith white people--advice that was brutally underscored the day he and his father witnessed awhite mob lynching a black neighbor. The other theme running through these recollections is