Phillip Hoose

Duct Tape on My Book Spine

With the right twang, that blog title could be a country western song.  We saw this great review of We Were There Too!: Young People in U.S History on Amazon and could not help belting it out. “My copy has been read so often that the spine had to be taped. For years, every time… Read more »

Pilgrim Children Gave Parents “Great Greefe”

“many of the [English children]…were drawn away by evil examples into extravagant and dangerous courses…to thee great greefe of their parents and dishonour of god.” –William Bradford In celebration of Thanksgiving, author Phillip Hoose spoke to his local public radio station, MPBN, about the Pilgrim’s motivation to leave their adopted Holland because of their worry… Read more »

An undeniable connection

Every student knows the Rosa Parks story.  When students discover there was a teenager before Rosa and a teenager that was silenced, their sense of injustice is piqued.  The students connect with Claudette Colvin because they know what it feels like to be ignored or dismissed because of their age. Katherine Rosario spoke nicely about… Read more »

Why Not In English Class?

Our thanks to Bloggity Blog Blog for the post More Than Just a History Lesson for encouraging a taste of Civil Rights History in English class… “Although I know that there will be English teachers who won’t like to teach a book like this and see it better fit in a history class, we as… Read more »

Did You Know…

“Did you know that someone before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white person?  Did you know that someone was a fifteen year old girl” So begins the wonderful review of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Ms. Hughes who teaches 6th Grade Reading at Wilde Lake Middle… Read more »

Ant, The Philosopher

Since the boy is more powerful than the ant, does that mean it’s okay for him to squish the ant?  Can you think of anyone you are more powerful than?  Does that mean its okay for you to hurt them? These are just some of the questions posed by Lauren Flinner at Teaching Children Philosophy. … Read more »

Forever Young

Phillip Hoose was pleased to be invited to write an essay for The Nature Conservancy’s new youth programs.  Phil is a conservation planner for The Nature Conservancy where he has been a staff member since 1977. “…the youthful experience of nature itself may be headed for extinction. Children living even in remote villages experience life… Read more »