Catch You Later, Traitor Companion Booktalks

America in the 1950s

Edmund Lindop with Sarah Decapua
21^st Century Books, 2010

• Topic-centered chapters, e.g.: the transition from WWII, the Korean War, the 50’s economy and society, the Red Scare

• Photo-illustrated

• Report material galore, including substantial back matter

Bat 6

Virginia Euwer Wolff
Scholastic, 1998

• In rural Oregon not long after WWII, the annual softball game between 6^th grade girls from two towns is a cauldron of secrets, simmering racism, class divide, hope and friendship.

• Quick-reading, multiple-viewpoint narrative shared by all the girls and some adults provides a “you are there” report of the big event

• Jane Addams Peace Award, an SLJ Best Book of the Year

Belles of the Ballpark: Celebrating the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Diana Star Helmer with Thomas S. Owens
Summer Games, 2015

• The 1992 film A League of their Own is now a generation old and possibly unknown to many young students; this book is perfect for those just discovering the women’s-league topic or for fans of the film that want to know more

• Detailed league history from its origins during WWII, through its 12 seasons

• Loads of photos and many interviews

Catch a Tiger by the Toe

Ellen Levine
Viking Juvenile, 2005

• It’s 1953 in New York, and 13-year-old Jamie’s father IS a communist; life changes

• Communists in the ‘50s were often very involved in civil rights actions; this novel explores the relevance of that connection to the “witch-hunting” and finger-pointing

• Author’s note and additional back matter

City of Spies

Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan
illus by Pascal Dizin
First Second, 2010

• It’s 1942 and the world is at war, and in New York 10 year old Evelyn has the run of the city; adventure ensues in this graphic novel

• Visual blend of old-style-American comics (Evelyn reads them and draws her own) and updated European (Tin-Tin) visual storytelling

• Seeing the enemy everywhere—a great current topic for discussion and a terrific narrative backbone for a mystery

Cold War

Josepha Sherman
Lerner Publications 2004

• Begins with historical background on the “rise of the superpowers,” including a brief rundown on both the US and Russian revolutions and the partitioning of Europe during and after World War II.

• Strong photo illustration

• Back matter includes glossary, timeline of Cold War events, maps, and reading list

Fabulous Fashions of the 1950s

Felicia Lowenstein Niven
Enslow, 2011

• 48-page overview of the fashion era

• Photo illustrated, with reproductions of actual 50s advertising

• Glossary and fashion timeline in back matter

The Green Glass Sea

Ellen Klages 
Viking Books, 2006

• And you think your family has a secret… A novel about growing up in the shadow of the Manhattan project

• Set in 1943, provides context for why the Soviet Union and communism would loom as such a foe in the 1950s

• Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction

How I Discovered Poetry

Marilyn Nelson
illus by Hadley Hooper
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014

• Childhood memoir—fictionalized—in poems, each set in the years 1950-1959

• Illustrations and black and white photographs expand the “curb appeal” for the reader wary of poetry

• Coretta Scott King honor book

Life: Our Century in Pictures for Young People

edited by Richard B. Stolley
adapted by Amy E. Sklansky
Little, Brown and Co., 2000

• Before, during, and after the 1950s. Great context for study and discussion of the decade

• Introductory essays for each decade written by notable children’s authors, including Lois Lowry, Patricia and Frederick McKissack, Avi, and Katherine Paterson.

• Illustrated with photos from the Life magazine archives

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

Karen Cushman
Clarion Books, 2005

• Communism, the Red Scare, injustice; also, friendship and being 13

• Detailed and unusual setting (1950 Los Angeles, a Catholic school) with many cultural reference students will enjoy exploring; discussion guide  

• Newbery medal author

Spy

Richard Platt  
DK Eyewitness Books, 2009

• History of spying with many bios of famous spies

• Gadgets galore

• The usual DK magic potion of well-done visuals and text

We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved

Fay Vincent
Simon & Schuster, 2008

• Interviews with some of baseball’s best players from the 1950s and 1960s

• Second installment of the author’s project, an oral history of baseball; interested readers can go back to Volume 1 (1930s and 40s) or jump to Volume 3 (1970s and 80s)

• Illustrated with period photos