A diary account of thirteen-year-old Anetka's life in Poland in 1896, immigration to America, marriage to a coal miner, widowhood, and happiness in finally finding her true love.

I Do traces Montana weddings and circumstances that influenced them from the 1860s gold rush to the present day. Engaging stories, insightful analysis, and intriguing photographs provide an intimate and surprising look at an important tradition.

Historical fiction helps young adults imagine the past through the lives and relationships of its protagonists, putting them at the center of fascinating times and places--and the new Common Core Standards allow for use of novels alongside textbooks for teaching history. Perfect for classroom use and YA readers’ advisory, Crew’s book highlights more than 150 titles of historical fiction published since 2000 that are appropriate for seventh to twelfth graders. Choosing award-winners as well as novels which have been well-reviewed in Booklist, The Horn Book,Multicultural Review, History Teach, Journal of American History, and other periodicals, this resource assists librarians and educators bySpotlighting novels with a multiplicity of voices from different cultures, races, and ethnicitiesFeaturing both YA novels and novels written for adults that are appropriate for teensOffering thorough annotations, with an examination of each novel’s historical contentProviding discussion questions and online resources for classroom use that encourage students to think critically about the book and compare ideas and events in the story to actual historyThis book will help teachers of history as well as school and public librarians who work with youth to promote a more inclusive understanding of America’s story through historical fiction.

A significant body of scholarship examines the production of children's literature by women and minorities, as well as the representation of gender, race, and sexuality. But few scholars have previously analyzed class in children's literature. This definitive collection remedies that by defining and exemplifying historical materialist approaches to children's literature. The introduction of Little Red Readings lucidly discusses characteristics of historical materialism, the methodological approach to the study of literature and culture first outlined by Karl Marx, defining key concepts and analyzing factors that have marginalized this tradition, particularly in the United States. The thirteen essays here analyze a wide range of texts—from children's bibles to Mary Poppins to The Hunger Games—using concepts in historical materialism from class struggle to the commodity. Essayists apply the work of Marxist theorists such as Ernst Bloch and Fredric Jameson to children's literature and film. Others examine the work of leftist writers in India, Germany, England, and the United States. The authors argue that historical materialist methodology is critical to the study of children's literature, as children often suffer most from inequality. Some of the critics in this collection reveal the ways that literature for children often functions to naturalize capitalist economic and social relations. Other critics champion literature that reveals to readers the construction of social reality and point to texts that enable an understanding of the role ordinary people might play in creating a more just future. The collection adds substantially to our understanding of the political and class character of children's literature worldwide and contributes to the development of a radical history of children's literature.