Books with author Joanna Halpert Kraus

Can a young boy defy the strict regulations of his Mormon community?The story is set in 1877 in Orderville, Utah, a planned Mormon community. Many of the families who volunteer to live there had been starving before they came and so they willingly agree to all the rules and regulations. One specifies that until the clothing you wear is worn out you must not apply for anything new. Eleven-year old Gideon wonders why everyone has to dress in the same drab gray clothes and annoyed that though his pants are too short, his application is denied.He'd heard about the new transcontinental railroad that went clear across the country. As silver pours from the earth and the railroad flashes its glitter across the continent, brand new products arrive in the west. One day making a delivery of sheep's wool to the General Mercantile Store he sees, for the first time, a pair of blue jeans. He knows that he shouldn't covet them, but that doesn't stop his overwhelming desire. Secretly he takes some of the sheep-sheared wool and exchanges it for a pair of store-bought jeans. When he appears in the doorway in the midst of a square dance, everyone is shocked. His Pa is furious. Mama is in tears. The Board of Management summons Gideon to a meeting. There he must relinquish the jeans and receive his punishment for taking community property. But the other boys have now seen the jeans, and they want new pants. Deliberately they all ruin what they are wearing. Exasperated, the Board orders bolts of cloth from the nearby cotton mill. Since there's an over-abundance of denim, that's what is sent. Blue jeans and change come to Orderville. The Blue Jeans Rebellion, an early reader chapter book, is inspired by a little-known anecdote of Mormon (Latter-day Saint) history.Includes a Glossary and Discussion Questions for classroom study.Elementary Grades Reader

Can a young boy defy the strict regulations of his Mormon community?The story is set in 1877 in Orderville, Utah, a planned Mormon community. Many of the families who volunteer to live there had been starving before they came and so they willingly agree to all the rules and regulations. One specifies that until the clothing you wear is worn out you must not apply for anything new. Eleven-year old Gideon wonders why everyone has to dress in the same drab gray clothes and annoyed that though his pants are too short, his application is denied. He'd heard about the new transcontinental railroad that went clear across the country. As silver pours from the earth and the railroad flashes its glitter across the continent, brand new products arrive in the west. One day making a delivery of sheep's wool to the General Mercantile Store he sees, for the first time, a pair of blue jeans. He knows that he shouldn't covet them, but that doesn't stop his overwhelming desire. Secretly he takes some of the sheep-sheared wool and exchanges it for a pair of store-bought jeans. When he appears in the doorway in the midst of a square dance, everyone is shocked. His Pa is furious. Mama is in tears. The Board of Management summons Gideon to a meeting. There he must relinquish the jeans and receive his punishment for taking community property. But the other boys have now seen the jeans, and they want new pants. Deliberately they all ruin what they are wearing. Exasperated, the Board orders bolts of cloth from the nearby cotton mill. Since there's an over-abundance of denim, that's what is sent. Blue jeans and change come to Orderville. The Blue Jeans Rebellion, an early reader chapter book, is inspired by a little-known anecdote of Mormon (Latter-day Saint) history.Includes a Glossary and Discussion Questions for classroom study.Elementary Grades Reader

Play script. First produced by the Department of Theatre, State University of New York College at Brockport. A one-act, participatory play designed for a student audience of 4th through 7th graders. The script may also be used as a theatre-in-education vehicle. Study guide included. Simple interior set. Easy to tour. 1936 upstate New York costumes. CAST: 10 (5 F, 4 M 1 Either) or 6 (3 F, 2 M, 1 Either) with doubling.A mongrel dog is accused when a boy drowns. This drama, based on one of America's most unusual court cases, results in a trial which gets nationwide coverage, splitting the town in half. The testimony of the witnesses is contradictory. It is up to the audience to vote whether the shaggy dog should live or die. The ending will vary among performances.