Special Collections
Amplify ELA Curriculum Grades 6-8
Description: Here you will find the books listed as Core texts and the Extra texts for each unit of the Amplify ELA Grade 6-8 Curriculum.
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Gris Grimly's Frankenstein
by Mary ShelleyGris Grimly's Frankenstein is a twisted, fresh, and utterly original full-length, full-color graphic-novel adaptation of Mary Shelley's original text, brought to life by acclaimed illustrator Gris Grimly."Grimly enlivens the prose while retaining its power to both frighten and engage sympathy for the monster-creator Victor Frankenstein. This is a richly morose nightmare of a book, a primer for young readers on the pleasures and dangers of decadent languidness."—New York Times Book ReviewThe first fully illustrated version to use the original 1818 text, this handsome volume is destined to capture the imagination of those new to the story as well as those who know it well.New York Times bestselling illustrator Gris Grimly has long considered Frankenstein to be one of his chief inspirations. From the bones and flesh of the original, he has cut and stitched Mary Shelley's text to his own artwork, creating something entirely new: a stunningly original remix, both classic and contemporary, sinister and seductive, heart-stopping and heartbreaking.
Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths
by Bernard EvslinThe bestselling compendium of ancient Greece&’s timeless tales and towering figures of mythology from a classics expert. The world of Greek mythology contains some of the most exciting and imaginative stories ever told. In Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths, bestselling author Bernard Evslin shares his passion for these fabulous tales and the eternal themes they so beautifully express. In this accessible overview, you&’ll get to know the iconic gods, heroes, and tragic figures: Zeus, the all-powerful king of the gods; Hera, his cunning and jealous wife; King Midas, whose touch could turn anything into gold; the sculptor Pygmalion, who falls in love with his own creation; and many more. With each story, Evslin brings new life to these legendary characters and the magical world they inhabit. Translated into multiple languages, and with more than ten million copies sold, this invaluable resource has become a classic in itself.
Hero on a Bicycle
by Shirley HughesItaly, 1944: Florence is occupied by Nazi forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though -- and neither have thirteen-year- old Paolo and his sister, Costanza. As their mother is pressured into harboring escaping POWs, Paolo and Costanza each find a part to play in opposing the German forces. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings -- with only a bicycle to help them -- do against a whole army? Middle-grade fans of history and adventure will be riveted by the action and the vividly evoked tension of World War II.
A History of Us
by Joy HakimA History of US is a 10-volume, award-winning series about the birth and development of the United States as related by master storyteller Joy Hakim. All the People, the last volume in the series, covers US History from the end of World War II to the present. This updated fourth edition covers, for the first time, events that have taken place in the past 6 years, including the 2008 election of Barack Obama and the signficance of this election. All the People focuses on Civil Rights in the last half of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st, ensuring that readers will have a firm grasp of the groundbreaking nature and lasting importance of this movement. Throughout the book, which has been completely redesigned with a bold new look, Hakim portrays contemporary American life in a lively, engaging way. Readers will encounter fascinating stories about famous Americans (Joe McCarthy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Nixon), historical events (the Vietnam War, the first man on the moon), and major cultural movements (1960s counterculture, feminism). Interspersed features provide further anecdotes about the characters that have shaped the last 65 years--for instance, one conjectures about what Alan Greenspan might hide in his briefcase; another discusses the life and times of Mark I, the world's first automatic computer. Sidebars, illustrations, definitions and quotes line the margins, providing illimitable sources of information and entertainment. About the Series: Master storyteller Joy Hakim has excited millions of young minds with the great drama of American history in her award-winning series A History of US. Recommended by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy as an exemplary informational text, A History of US weaves together exciting stories that bring American history to life. Hailed by reviewers, historians, educators, and parents for its exciting, thought-provoking narrative, the books have been recognized as a break-through tool in teaching history and critical reading skills to young people. In ten books that span from Prehistory to the 21st century, young people will never think of American history as boring again.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet JacobsTormented by her master, a young mother plots a daring escape, in this courageous and captivating slave narrative When her mother dies, six-year-old slave girl Linda Brent is sent to the big house, where she grows up serving a gentle mistress who teaches her to read and write. But the mistress&’s death brings about a sudden and terrible change in Linda&’s fortunes. Her lecherous new master torments Linda mercilessly, making her life a living hell. Unable to join her two young children in their escape to the North, Linda hides in the attic above her grandmother&’s house. For seven years, she waits for the opportunity to flee North Carolina and reunite with her son and daughter in the land of freedom. But when the chance finally comes, Linda discovers she has yet more pain to endure. Based on the true story of Harriet Jacobs&’s escape from the South, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is one of American literature&’s most powerful indictments of the evils of slavery. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
The Innovators
by Walter IsaacsonFollowing his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson&’s New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed The Innovators is a &“riveting, propulsive, and at times deeply moving&” (The Atlantic) story of the people who created the computer and the internet.What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail? The Innovators is a masterly saga of collaborative genius destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution—and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. Isaacson begins the adventure with Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron’s daughter, who pioneered computer programming in the 1840s. He explores the fascinating personalities that created our current digital revolution, such as Vannevar Bush, Alan Turing, John von Neumann, J.C.R. Licklider, Doug Engelbart, Robert Noyce, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee, and Larry Page. This is the story of how their minds worked and what made them so inventive. It’s also a narrative of how their ability to collaborate and master the art of teamwork made them even more creative. For an era that seeks to foster innovation, creativity, and teamwork, The Innovators is “a sweeping and surprisingly tenderhearted history of the digital age” (The New York Times).
Inside Out and Back Again
by Thanhha LaiNo one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.
For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
Inventing Ourselves
by Sarah-Jayne BlakemoreA tour through the groundbreaking science behind the enigmatic, but crucial, brain developments of adolescence and how those translate into teenage behaviorThe brain creates every feeling, emotion, and desire we experience, and stores every one of our memories. And yet, until very recently, scientists believed our brains were fully developed from childhood on. Now, thanks to imaging technology that enables us to look inside the living human brain at all ages, we know that this isn't so. Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, one of the world's leading researchers into adolescent neurology, explains precisely what is going on in the complex and fascinating brains of teenagers--namely that the brain goes on developing and changing right through adolescence--with profound implications for the adults these young people will become.Drawing from cutting-edge research, including her own, Blakemore shows:How an adolescent brain differs from those of children and adultsWhy problem-free kids can turn into challenging teensWhat drives the excessive risk-taking and all-consuming relationships common among teenagersAnd why many mental illnesses--depression, addiction, schizophrenia--present during these formative yearsBlakemore's discoveries have transformed our understanding of the teenage mind, with consequences for law, education policy and practice, and, most of all, parents.
A Lady's Life In The Rocky Mountains
by Isabella L. BirdBorn in 1831, Isabella, daughter of a clergyman, set off alone to the Antipodes in 1872 'in search of health' and found she had embarked on a life of adventurous travel. In 1873, wearing Hawaiian riding dress, she rode on her spirited horse Birdie through the American 'Wild West', a terrain only recently opened to pioneer settlement. Here she met Rocky Mountain Jim, her 'dear (one-eyed) desperado', fond of poetry and whisky - 'a man any women might love, but no sane woman would marry'. He helped her climb the 'American Matterhorn' and round up cattle on horseback.The wonderful letters which make up this volume were first published in 1879 and were enormously popular in Isabella Bird's lifetime. They tell of magnificent unspoilt landscapes and abundant wildlife, of small remote townships, of her encounters with rattlesnakes, wolves, pumas and grizzly bears and her reactions to the volatile passions of the miners and pioneer settlers.
Liberty for All?
by Joy HakimEarly nineteenth-century America could just about be summed up by Henry David Thoreau's words when he said, "Eastward I go only by force, but westward I go free." It was an exuberant time for the diverse citizens of the United States, who included a range of folk, from mountain men and railroad builders to whalers and farmers, as they pushed forward into the open frontier and all their hopes and fears are captured in Liberty for All? In addition to colorful accounts of the massive westward migration, the California Gold Rush, a war with Mexico, the Oregon boundary conflict, Texas and the Alamo, Liberty for All? takes a deep look at the issue that began to gnaw at the country's core: How, in the land where "all men are created equal," could there be slaves? This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 4-5 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Life of Pi (Illustrated)
by Yann Martel and Tomislav TorjanacAfter the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan--and a 450-pound royal bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years.
Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.
In 2005 an international competition was held to find the perfect artist to illustrate Yann Martel's Man Booker Prize-winning novel. From thousands of entrants, Croatian artist Tomislav Torjanac was chosen. This lavishly produced edition features forty of Torjanac's beautiful four-color illustrations, bringing Life of Pi to splendid, eye-popping life. Tomislav Torjanac says of his illustrations: "My vision of the illustrated edition of Life of Pi is based on paintings from a first person's perspective--Pi's perspective. The interpretation of what Pi sees is intermeshed with what he feels and it is shown through [the] use of colors, perspective, symbols, hand gestures, etc."
Man Booker Prize winner
Life on the Mississippi
by Mark TwainA stirring account of America's vanished past... The book that earned Mark Twain his first recognition as a serious writer... Discover the magic of life on the Mississippi. At once a romantic history of a mighty river, an autobiographical account of Mark Twain's early steamboat days, and a storehouse of humorous anecdotes and sketches, Life on the Mississippi is the raw material from which Twain wrote his finest novel: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
by Oliver SacksIn his most extraordinary book, the bestselling author of Awakenings and "poet laureate of medicine&” (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients inhabiting the compelling world of neurological disorders, from those who are no longer able to recognize common objects to those who gain extraordinary new skills.Featuring a new preface, Oliver Sacks&’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with perceptual and intellectual disorders: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; whose limbs seem alien to them; who lack some skills yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. In Dr. Sacks&’s splendid and sympathetic telling, his patients are deeply human and his tales are studies of struggles against incredible adversity. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine&’s ultimate responsibility: &“the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject.&”
Moondust
by Andrew SmithThe Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and 1970s have been called the last optimistic acts of the twentieth century. Twelve astronauts made this greatest of all journeys and were indelibly marked by it, for better or for worse. Journalist Andrew Smith tracks down the nine surviving members of this elite group to find their answers to the question "Where do you go after you've been to the Moon?" A thrilling blend of history, reportage, and memoir, Moondust rekindles the hopeful excitement of an incandescent hour in America's past and captures the bittersweet heroism of those who risked everything to hurl themselves out of the known world -- and who were never again quite able to accept its familiar bounds.
Murphy, Gold Rush Dog
by Alison HartA girl, her mother, and their dog must find a way to survive in gold rush-era Alaska.After escaping from his brutal and merciless owner, Murphy is taken in by a young girl named Sally. She and her mother have just arrived in Nome, Alaska, intent on joining the other gold seekers and making a new life. Yet even with Murphy at their side, Sally and Mama find living in the mining town harsh and forbidding. When it seems they may have to return to San Francisco, Sally and Murphy decide to strike out on their own, hoping to find gold and make a permanent home. But dangers await them—not only blizzards and grizzly bears, but also Murphy's original owner, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.The Dog Chronicles series features fast-paced, fascinating historical fiction about working dogs, perfect for readers who love books.
My Art, My Life
by Diego Rivera and Gladys March"Engrossing as a novel … throws a clear white light on one of the most spectacular artists of our time." — Chicago Sunday TribuneThis remarkable autobiography began with a newspaper interview the artist gave journalist Gladys March in 1944. From then until the artist's death in 1957, she spent several months each year with Rivera, eventually filling 2,000 pages with his recollections and interpretations of his art and life. Written in the first person, this book is a richly revealing document of the painter who revolutionized modern mural painting, was a principal figure in launching the "Mexican Renaissance," and is ranked among the most influential artists of the twentieth century.As the colorful narrative unfolds, Diego Rivera seems always to be in the midst of political, artistic, and romantic turmoil. As the reviewer for The New Republic observed, "Rivera reveals a keen appreciation of this prowess in art, sex, and politics, and the record seems to be complete on the series of spectacular rows he got into over all three."The book details his bold confrontations with dictators and presidents, the battles that erupted over his murals in Rockefeller Center and the Hotel del Prado, his tempestuous marriages to Lupe Marin and artist Frida Kahlo, and much, much more. "There is no lack of exciting material. A lover at nine, a cannibal at 18, by his own account, Rivera was prodigiously productive of art and controversy." — San Francisco Chronicle. 21 halftones.
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
by Sojourner TruthFrom slavery to liberation to life as an abolitionist, feminist, orator, and preacher—the autobiography of a woman who refused to be anything but free. Born into slavery in New York around 1797, then sold from master to master, Sojourner Truth spent her formative years witnessing the cruelty inherent in the institution of slavery. Escaping to a friendly household before emancipation, she learned that her young son had been sold illegally and launched a lawsuit that would end with his release—the first time in America that a black woman went to court against a white man and won. But Truth hadn&’t even begun her work. She made it her life&’s mission to free all those who were considered less than equal—both those in chains and those held down because of their gender—ultimately inspiring her friends and followers with the legendary speech that came to be known as &“Ain&’t I a Woman?&” So great was Truth&’s renown and respect that she met with President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. She was later named one of the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time by Smithsonian magazine. Published in 1850, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth was spoken aloud to Truth&’s friend and neighbor Olive Gilbert, as she herself was illiterate. Along with The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, it remains one of the most moving and eloquent slave narratives—a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave (Civil War Classics)
by Frederick DouglassTo commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Diversion Books is publishing seminal works of the era: stories told by the men and women who led, who fought, and who lived in an America that had come apart at the seams. One of the most important figures of the Civil War, Frederick Douglass, was born into slavery but rose to become a tremendous orator, an impassioned abolitionist, and a representative of all who remained voiceless through slavery and oppression. His narrative resonates today with its eloquence, its incendiary history, and its profound and moving arguments for the humanity, and the equality, of Americans.
Night
by Elie WieselBorn into a Jewish ghetto in Hungary, as a child, Elie Wiesel was sent to the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. This is his account of that atrocity: the ever-increasing horrors he endured, the loss of his family and his struggle to survive in a world that stripped him of humanity, dignity and faith. Describing in simple terms the tragic murder of a people from a survivor's perspective, Night is among the most personal, intimate and poignant of all accounts of the Holocaust.
A Night to Remember
by Walter Lord#1 New York Times Bestseller: The definitive book on the sinking of the Titanic, based on interviews with survivors, by the author of The Miracle of Dunkirk. At first, no one but the lookout recognized the sound. Passengers described it as the impact of a heavy wave, a scraping noise, or the tearing of a long calico strip. In fact, it was the sound of the world&’s most famous ocean liner striking an iceberg, and it served as the death knell for 1,500 souls. In the next two hours and forty minutes, the maiden voyage of the Titanic became one of history&’s worst maritime accidents. As the ship&’s deck slipped closer to the icy waterline, women pleaded with their husbands to join them on lifeboats. Men changed into their evening clothes to meet death with dignity. And in steerage, hundreds fought bitterly against certain death. At 2:15 a.m. the ship&’s band played &“Autumn.&” Five minutes later, the Titanic was gone. Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, Lord&’s moment-by-moment account is among the finest books written about one of the twentieth century&’s bleakest nights.
The Odyssey
by HomerRobert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning new modern-verse translation. "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. " So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey, which Jasper Griffin in The New York Times Review of Books hails as "a distinguished achievement. " If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of everyman's journey through life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces, during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, is at once the timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance. In the myths and legends that are retold here, Fagles has captured the energy and poetry of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom, and given us an Odyssey to read aloud, to savor, and to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox's superb Introduction and textual commentary provide new insights and background information for the general reader and scholar alike, intensifying the strength of Fagles' translation. This is an Odyssey to delight both the classicist and the public at large, and to captivate a new generation of Homer's students. @IthacaStateOfMind Uh oh. This cave is a giant's lair. He has a taste for cheese, and my companions. He also has only one eye. Trying to keep from laughing. Got him drunk. Put a hot poker in his ONE EYE when he blacked out. That will show him - if he could see. LOL. Time to leave. Damn. Poseidon pissed. How was I supposed to know One-Eye was his son? What Olympian whore did he sleep with to get an issue like that? From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less .
Pale Blue Dot
by Carl Sagan and Ann DruyanIn Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time.
Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier--space. In Pale Blue Dot Sagan traces the spellbinding history of our launch into the cosmos and assesses the future that looms before us as we move out into our own solar system and on to distant galaxies beyond. The exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds is neither a fantasy nor luxury, insists Sagan, but rather a necessary condition for the survival of the human race.
The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton JusterWhen Milo finds an enormous package in his bedroom, he’s delighted to have something to relieve his boredom with school. And when he opens it to find – as the label states – One Genuine Turnpike Tollbooth, he gets right into his pedal car and sets off through the Tollbooth and away on a magical journey! Milo’s extraordinary voyage takes him into such places as the Land of Expectation, the Doldrums, the Mountains of Ignorance and the Castle in the Air. He meets the weirdest and most unexpected characters (such as Tock, the watchdog, the Gelatinous Giant, and the Threadbare Excuse, who mumbles the same thing over and over again), and, once home, can hardly wait to try out the Tollbooth again. But will it be still there when he gets back from school? This new edition of Norton Juster’s classic story includes a special “Why You’ll Love This Book” introduction by award-winning author, Diana Wynne Jones.
Phineas Gage
by John FleischmanPhineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn&’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.