SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS

with Deborah Heiligman and Karen Blumenthal

April 29 at 1pm ET / 10am PT

Join award-winning non-fiction writers Deborah Heiligman (Torpedoed) and Karen Blumenthal (Bootleg and Jane Against the World) as they discuss lesser-known historical tales—from the rise and fall of prohibition to the WWII group of ordinary children turned heroes after a fateful event. Come with questions for the author Q&A and prepare to be amazed!

Featuring

Deborah Heiligman has written many books for children, including Printz Honor, YALSA Nonfiction Award Winner, and Boston Globe - Horn Book Award Winner Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers, National Book Award Finalist Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, and The Boy Who Loved Math. She lives with her family in New York City.

Karen Blumenthal is an award-winning children's nonfiction writer and a long-time journalist. Her book Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition received four starred reviews and was a finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. Later, Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929, was named a Sibert Honor Book, and Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, won a Jane Addams Children's Book Award. Karen's recent book, Tommy: The Gun That Changed America, explores the history and controversy of the famous and deadly Tommy gun. She lives in Dallas, Texas.

Get the Books!

Order Torpedoed

From award-winning author Deborah Heiligman comes Torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship SS City of Benares, which was evacuating children from England during WWII.

Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set sail for Canada with one hundred children on board.

When the war ships escorting the Benares departed, a German submarine torpedoed what became known as the Children's Ship. Out of tragedy, ordinary people became heroes. This is their story.

Order Jane Against the World

From award-winning author Karen Blumenthal, Jane Against the World is deep and passionate look at the riveting history of the fight for reproductive rights in the United States.

Tracing the path to the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade and the continuing battle for women's rights, Blumenthal examines, in a straightforward tone, the root causes of the current debate around abortion and repercussions that have affected generations of American women.

This eye-opening book is the perfect tool to facilitate difficult discussions and awareness of a topic that is rarely touched on in school but affects each and every young person. It's also perfect for fans of Steve Sheinkin and Deborah Heiligman.

This journalistic look at the history of abortion and the landmark case of Roe v. Wade is an important and necessary book.