Nonfiction Companions

REVOLUTION IS NOT A DINNER PARTY: This nonfiction companion to Ying Chang Compestine's novel explores life in China during Mao's Cultural Revolution in the 1970s. A CLOSER LOOK: Find out more about 1970's China––from foods and traditions, to medicine and marketing, as well as Mao's rise to power, the Red Guard, Barefoot Doctors, Chinese New Year, and origami. NONFICTION COMPANIONS: This series of 48-page books takes popular, grade-appropriate fiction titles and provides a more in-depth understanding of them. Also includes a glossary and before- and after-reading activities for home or the classroom! BENEFITS: Students will love to take a closer look at books that are already familiar to them, reading about the histories, author backgrounds, and real-life facts surrounding books they know and love! WHY ROURKE: Since 1980, we've been committed to bringing out the best non-fiction books to help you bring out the best in your young learners. Our carefully crafted topics encourage all students who are "learning to read" and "reading to learn"!

ESPERANZA RISING: This nonfiction companion to Esperanza Rising discusses the lives of Mexican farm workers in California during the Great Depression, including workers' strikes, immigration and deportation, and class differences. A CLOSER LOOK: Find out more about workers' strikes, immigration and deportation, and class differences, as well as background about elements of daily life——weekend fiestas, popular foods, dust storms, and Valley Fever! NONFICTION COMPANIONS: This series of 48-page books takes popular, grade-appropriate fiction titles and provides a more in-depth understanding of them. Also includes a glossary and before- and after-reading activities for home or the classroom!

AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS: This nonfiction companion to Al Capone Does My Shirts explores what life was like for the children and families who lived on Alcatraz in the mid-1930s. A CLOSER LOOK: Get the facts about the history of Alcatraz and the criminals housed there, and examine the views of autism in the 30s and today. NONFICTION COMPANIONS: This series of 48-page books takes popular, grade-appropriate fiction titles and provides a more in-depth understanding of them. Also includes a glossary and before- and after-reading activities for home or the classroom! BENEFITS: Students will love to take a closer look at books that are already familiar to them, reading about the histories, author backgrounds, and real-life facts surrounding books they know and love! WHY ROURKE: Since 1980, we've been committed to bringing out the best non-fiction books to help you bring out the best in your young learners. Our carefully crafted topics encourage all students who are "learning to read" and "reading to learn"!

THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE: This nonfiction companion to Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's award-winning novel delves into the context of the World War II fiction novel, exploring what life was like in 1940s London and the English countryside for child evacuees during the war. A CLOSER LOOK: Find out more about the real spies of World War II, ration books, the dangers of poverty, horses in the English countryside, and contributions women made on the home front! NONFICTION COMPANIONS: This series of 48-page books takes popular, grade-appropriate fiction titles and provides a more in-depth understanding of them. Also includes a glossary and before and after-reading activities for home or the classroom! BENEFITS: Students will love to take a closer look at books that are already familiar to them, reading about the histories, author backgrounds, and real-life facts surrounding books they know and love! WHY ROURKE: Since 1980, we've been committed to bringing out the best non-fiction books to help you bring out the best in your young learners. Our carefully crafted topics encourage all students who are "learning to read" and "reading to learn"!

HATCHET: This nonfiction companion to Hatchet explores many of the elements Brian Robeson encounters as he struggles to survive in the wilderness, including basic survival skills, the landscape, and common animals of the Canadian North Woods. A CLOSER LOOK: Get the facts about the dangers Brian faces in the Canadian North Woods and learn about foraging, fishing without gear, and how to start a fire without matches. Would you have what it takes to survive on your own? NONFICTION COMPANIONS: This series of 48-page books takes popular, grade-appropriate fiction titles and provides a more in-depth understanding of them. Also includes a glossary and before- and after-reading activities for home or the classroom! BENEFITS: Students will love to take a closer look at books that are already familiar to them, reading about the histories, author backgrounds, and real-life facts surrounding books they know and love! WHY ROURKE: Since 1980, we've been committed to bringing out the best non-fiction books to help you bring out the best in your young learners. Our carefully crafted topics encourage all students who are "learning to read" and "reading to learn"!

BUD, NOT BUDDY: This nonfiction companion to Christopher Paul Curtis's novel Bud, Not Buddy explores what life was like during the Great Depression, particularly in the African American community. A CLOSER LOOK: Find out more about jazz, unions, Hoovervilles, and Pullman porters, all elements of life in Flint, Michigan, during the 1930s. NONFICTION COMPANIONS: This series of 48-page books takes popular, grade-appropriate fiction titles and provides a more in-depth understanding of them. Also includes a glossary and before- and after-reading activities for home or the classroom! BENEFITS: Students will love to take a closer look at books that are already familiar to them, reading about the histories, author backgrounds, and real-life facts surrounding books they know and love!