Building+our+Libraries

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The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger I have used this book in my sixth grade math classes. The readability is probably at a 4th or 5th grade level. It is fiction and refers to several mathematicians and interesting mathematical concepts such as the Fibonacci sequence. In my opinion the one drawback to the back is the use of fictitious, though similar sounding names, for said mathematicians and concepts. This is all cleared up in a glossary in the back of the book, however.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky I would love to teach this book. There are so many ways it could be used. You could teach it from an economic standpoint or even a geological one (i.e. many cities in Europe are named because of the the salt mines they were near). You could even use it to teach a vocabulary lesson on how the latin word //sal// is connected to other common words such as //salary//.

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife Many students do not realize that zero is an invention of man. Fewer realize how the very idea was punishable by death!

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner The inside flap poses these questions that are bound to intrigue your students. Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? (They both cheat!) What did impact did //Roe v. Wade// have on violent crime?

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson How the Marconi wireless invention captured a brutal murderer in Edwardian London.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson The parallel story of a serial killer and the Chicago World's Fair. Historical notables include Fredrick Olsted, the designer of Central Park in New York City and Gustave Eiffel involvement with the creation of the worlds first Ferris Wheel.

Guys Write For Guys Read edited by Jon Scieska An amazing collection of short stories and illustration from famous male authors and illustrators. Many of the focus on how they became inspired to read, write, or draw. Others are simply funny stories.

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts About many of the unsung women who shaped the American Revolution. Many of these women are only presented in a sentence or two in American history texts. Roberts fleshes out their stories and connects them to the men who became famous of the Founding Fathers.

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden & Hal Iggulden I dare you to not to find something you could use in this book. Lots of science based activities, interesting bits of history, games and puzzles, even a list of Latin phrases every boy should know. Look for the companion book for girls for more!

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Humorous travel writer Bill Bryson takes on the history of the universe, physics, Newton, Einstein, and more!

1491: New Revelations of the Americans Before Columbus by Charles Mann An important book that avoids American-centric assumptions about the native people on the North and South American continent

[|The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor of the Nation by M.T. Anderson] The first book of this fictional series about an educated slave.

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich The true story about how six M.I.T students took the Vegas casinos for millions. I don't recommend card counting but there are obvious connections to math through integers and probability.