Books with author Marilyn Nelson

It might seem impossible to drive from Alaska to Argentina, but with a passport handy, thats a road trip people can take. The Pan-American Highway is a system of connected roads and highways that travel roughly north to south through North and South America. Readers learn about the many environments travelers would drive through on such a journey as well as the history of the highway. Full-color photographs illustrate the many cool destinations along the way as fun fact boxes suggest places to see along the route.

Red Cloud did something no other Native American leader was able to: He successfully led his people against the United States in order to keep their historical lands. While the Sioux were forced off their lands less than a decade after he signed a peace treaty with the United States, Red Cloud still stood up for his people with great bravery. Readers are introduced to Red Cloud and his great leadership and historical images complement both the biographical information and the historical context surrounding Red Clouds life. A new perspective on westward expansion allows readers to see an often overlooked cultural viewpoint.

The visual effects weather has on the form of our planet are as subtle as a roads potholes following a tough winter and an overflowing stream during a spring storm. Readers are introduced to the basic concepts of weathering and erosion in an accessible, fun way that supports the science curriculum. Descriptive fact boxes build on essential science content throughout the book, aided by colorful photographs and real-life examples.

In The Fields of Praise, Marilyn Nelson claims as subjects the life of the spirit, the vicissitudes of love, and the African American experience and arranges them as white pebbles marking our common journey toward a “monstrous love / that wants to make the world right.”Nelson is a poet of stunning power, able to bring alive the most rarified and subtle of experiences. A slave destined to become a minister preaches sermons of heartrending eloquence and wisdom to a mule. An old woman scrubbing over a washtub receives a personal revelation of what Emancipation means: “So this is freedom: the peace of hours like these.” Memories of the heroism of the Tuskegee Airmen in the face of aerial combat abroad and virulent racism at home bring a speaker to the sudden awareness of herself as the daughter “of a thousand proud fathers.”Whether evoking spiritual longing or a return to the wedding at Cana, Nelson renders the interior landscape of all her speakers with absolute precision. This is a beautiful collection indeed, and readers will come away from The Fields of Praise with a reawakened appreciation for life’s minor miracles, one of them being the power of the word.

No road in the United States is more iconic than Route 66. From a song named after the route to being a setting in famous books On the Road and The Grapes of Wrath, Route 66 has made an impression on American popular culture. Through this lens, readers are introduced to the almost 100-year old highway as well as the many fun road trip stops along its length. Fun fact boxes offer interesting historical context and destination suggestions as full-color photographs highlight this famous road. ?

The Stars and Stripes, with its iconic colors and patterns, has long been a symbol of freedom in the United States and all over the world. But the US flag were familiar with today has only been around since 1959. Before that, the flag took on many different arrangements. Readers will learn about the many versions of the US flag that came before our current version. Colorful, patriotic photographs aid readers in understanding the text, as do informative graphic organizers.