Category Archives: Books

Here s a list of books written for teachers that are worth reading. Enjoy!

Tisha chronicles engaging story about teaching in the Alaskan wilderness

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One of my favorite “teacher” books of all time is Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness. The volume is the memoir of pioneer teacher Anne Stevenson Hobbs, as told to masterful chronicler Robert Specht.

I absolutely love this action-packed true story about a young teacher who travels to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1920’s to teach in a frontier school. This book is as much an adventure story and a romance as it is a chronicle of early Alaskan history.

At the age of 19 in the 1920’s, Anne Hobbs, a plucky young lady, travels from her home in Colorado to the Alaskan wilderness with the intention of setting up a frontier school. She knows nothing about Alaska or living in the wilderness, and she is completely naive about the social conditions or customs there, but she is full of a desire for adventure. She certainly finds it when she lands in a small village called Chicken. Besides encountering the expected lack of teaching materials and frigid temperatures, Anne heroically battles prejudice against the Native Alaskans when she falls in love with one of them.

If you haven’t read this book yet, run—don’t walk—to your nearest brick-and-mortar bookstore and buy it right away! You can also order Tisha on Amazon.com, but don’t wait too long to read this exciting story. This tale will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Chalkboard books make inspirational summer reading!

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I love to tell stories about outstanding teachers. There are so many phenomenal stories that could be told! I believe that teachers represent the best our country has to offer, and, as a group, they are among the most dedicated, hardworking, and talented people anyone can know.

During this summer vacation, you may be interested in reading stories about some of these wonderful teachers. I have included 12 of them in my book, Chalkboard Champions: Twelve Remarkable Teachers Who Educated America’s Disenfranchised Students. I shared 12 more stories in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and their Deeds Valor. The educators included in these volumes were not only talented teachers, but they were also pioneers, trailblazers, and social reformers influential in America’s history. Both books are available online Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

It fills me with joy to be able to share the stories of just a few of the amazing individuals who have made such significant contributions to the lives of so many. And it fills me with pride to know that, every day, talented educators all over the country are making significant contributions to the lives of their students.

Happy summer reading to all!

Chalkboard books honored as 2024 American Legacy Book Awards finalists!

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I am beyond excited to announce that BOTH my books about exceptional teachers have been selected as finalists for the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards by American Book Fest! Both books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes, were among the five finalists named in the Education//Academic category.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest, stated that this year’s contest yielded thousands of entries from authors and publishers from around the world. These entries were then narrowed down to the final results. Books were judged in over 100 categories, with one winner and two to five finalists in each category. Awards were presented for titles published between 2010 and 2023. To see the entire list of this year’s winners, click on this link: 2024 American Legacy Book Awards.

My first book, Chalkboard Champions: Twelve Remarkable Teachers Who Educated America’s Disenfranchised Students, was published in 2012 by Wheatmark. This volume was followed by Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor, published in 2015, also by Wheatmark. Both books share biographical sketches of inspirational educators and their pioneering work in America’s public schools.

In addition to recognition from the American Legacy Book Awards, both volumes have earned praise from educators and educational authors (see the press page), and they have been placed in numerous academic and university libraries throughout the United States, including the University of Southern Mississippi, Rutgers University, Berea College, City University of New York, the University of Chicago, and the Autry Museum of the American West. Chalkboard Champions is also part of the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Thank you so much, American Legacy Book Awards judging committee!

Chalkboard books honored as 2024 American Legacy Book Award finalists!

Posted on by

I am beyond excited to announce that BOTH my books about exceptional teachers have been selected as finalists for the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards by American Book Fest! Both books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes, were among the five finalists named in the Education//Academic category.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest, stated that this year’s contest yielded thousands of entries from authors and publishers from around the world. These entries were then narrowed down to the final results. Books were judged in over 100 categories, with one winner and two to five finalists in each category. Awards were presented for titles published between 2010 and 2023. To see the entire list of this year’s winners, click on this link: 2024 American Legacy Book Awards.

My first book, Chalkboard Champions: Twelve Remarkable Teachers Who Educated America’s Disenfranchised Students, was published in 2012 by Wheatmark. This volume was followed by Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor, published in 2015, also by Wheatmark. Both books share biographical sketches of inspirational educators and their pioneering work in America’s public schools.

In addition to recognition from the American Legacy Book Awards, both volumes have earned praise from educators and educational authors (see the press page), and they have been placed in numerous academic and university libraries throughout the United States, including the University of Southern Mississippi, Rutgers University, Berea College, City University of New York, the University of Chicago, and the Autry Museum of the American West. Chalkboard Champions is also part of the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Thank you so much, American Legacy Book Awards judging committee!

 

Great Black History Month read: Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals

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Like many teachers, I am always interested in learning more about historical events relating to the education of America’s disenfranchised students. Black History Month is a great opportunity to zero in on the education of our African American students. To learn more about this topic, there are many excellent books you can add to your reading list. Here’s a well-told first-person account about struggles of African American students in Arkansas at the onset of the Civil Rights Movement. The book is Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, one of nine heroic African American students known as famous Little Rock Nine.

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education which declared segregated schools unconstitutional. Three years later, the schools of Little Rock, Arkansas, were still segregated. A plan for gradual integration generated an intensely hostile response from Little Rock’s staunch segregationists. Nevertheless, nine courageous African American students were selected to challenge the status quo and integrate the city’s Central High School.  Clinging stubbornly to Jim Crow tradition, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to block the entrance of the nine black students into the school, and, in response, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and charged the troops with protecting the lives of the nine and enforcing the Supreme Court’s ruling. Every school day that year, the Little Rock Nine braved angry mobs spewing hostilities, racial epithets, and threats to their lives simply for seeking the right to enter their school.

This book, Warriors Don’t Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High, tells the story of Melba Pattilllo Beals, one of those valiant nine students. When you read this compelling account, you wonder how any kid could have that much fortitude. This book is a great read for teachers, students, and history buffs. You can acquire a copy of Warriors Don’t Cry from amazon.