Who is Julius Lester?
Biography
Popular Books & Awards
Classroom Use
Fun Facts
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What does he do for a living?
What is an American writer of books for children and adults.
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When and where was Julius Lester born?
What is January 27, 1939 in St. Louis, Missouri.
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What awards has Julius Lester's book 'To Be A Slave' won?
What is The 1968 nonfiction book has won: Newberry Honor Medal ALA Notable Book Award School Library Journals Best Book of the Year 1970 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
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How could you use the book 'To Be a Slave' in the classroom?
What is this book explores what it was like to be a slave and includes personal experiences from former slaves. This book would be beneficial for student's to see a different perspective for what it was like for African Americans during this time period. This book could be used during a history lesson on slavery and the Civil Rights Movements. A possible activity that this book could be used for is having the students write journal entries on how they would react/feel if they were living during this time period.
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Other than teaching, did Julius Lester have any other jobs?
What is He hosted a radio show from 1968-1975. He also co-hosted a TV show for two years with Jonathon Black.
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Was he a teacher?
What is Lester taught at Massachusetts Amherst for 32 years. He taught courses in five departments which include: Comparative Literature, English, Afro-American Studies, Judaic Studies, and History.
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Where did Lester receive a college degree from and what was it in?
What is he received his BA from Fisk University in Nashville, TN with a major in English and a minor in Art and Spanish.
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What awards has Julius Lester's book 'John Henry' won?
What is John Henry (published in 1994) has won: ABC Children's Bookseller Choices Award 1995 Aesop Prize 1994 Boston Globe- Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature 1995 Golden Sower Award 1997 Parents Choice Award 1994 Caldecott Medal 1995 Honor Storytelling World Resource Award 1999 Honor
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How could you use the book 'John Henry' in the classroom?
What is This book is great for classroom use because it explains the folklore tale of John Henry, describes what life was like in the 1800s, and shows students the meaning of strength and courage. An activity that could be used with this book is having the students draw pictures of their own imaginary folk heroes, and describe why their characters are heroic and what their special abilities are.
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What is a fun fact about his books?
What is His books have been translated into eight different languages.
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What else does he do?
What is he is also a photographer and a musician. He recorded two albums of folk music and original songs. His photographs have been included in an exhibit of images from the civil rights movement at the Smithsonian Institution.
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Does he have a family?
What is he married Joan Steinau and they had two children, Jody and Malcolm. In 1970, Joan and Julius divorced.
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What award has Lester's book 'Sam and the Tigers' won?
What is Sam and the Tigers (published in 1996) has won: ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award 1997 Delaware Diamonds 1999 Parents Choice Award 2000 White Ravens Award 1997 Notable Children's Trade Book
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How could the picture book 'Sam and the Tigers' be used in the classroom?
What is This book is a retelling of the story 'Little Black Sambo.' This book teaches kids how to accept others that are different from themselves and how to deal with difficult obstacles that they face in life. This book uses a lot of alliteration and personification. Therefore, this book would be beneficial to use for a lesson over figurative language. One activity you could have the students is make a flip book of examples of figurative language they find in the book.
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What kind of books did Lester enjoy as a child?
What is He liked to read western and mystery novels.
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How many books has he written?
What is he has written 44 books; 8 of them are nonfiction, 31 children books, 1 of poetry and photographs, and 3 adult novels.
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What about his ethnicity and beliefs?
What is He is African American and converted to Judaism.
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What awards has Lester's book 'Day of Tears' won?
What is Day of Tears (published in 2005) has won: Coretta Scott King Book Award 2006
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How could the book 'Day of Tears' be used in the classroom?
What is This book is a dialogue that takes place in 1859, when one of the largest slave auctions in American history took place. It shows the multiple points of views of different people at this time. The relationships between slaves, as well as between slave and owner are represented in this novel. This book would be a great addition to a history unit on slavery. An activity that could be used regarding this book would be to have the students create an essay, written in the perspective of either a slave or slaveowner from the book. This activity would be better for middle school or high school students.
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What was one of the highlights of his photography career?
What is Lester traveled to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War to document the effects of the US bombing missions. He went on to write several adult books on political themes.
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What is another interesting fact about Julius Lester?
What is he has published more than 200 essays and book and film reviews for such publications as The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Op-Ed page, The Boston Globe, Village Voice, The New Republic, Moment, Forward and Dissent.
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What was his first book?
What is an instructional book on how to play the 12 string guitar published in 1968.
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What are other awards Lester has received for his works?
What is All other awards: Lewis Carroll Shelf Award 1972 and 1973 National Book Award Finalist 1973 Parents Choice Storybook Award 1987 Coretta Scott King Award 1983 Reading Magic Award 1988
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Overall, how could Julius Lester's books be used in the classroom?
What is Many of Julius Lester's books are based on slavery, civil rights movement, and life as an African American. Because of this, many of his books would work in a multicultural or history lesson. An activity that would be good in a multicultural unit would be to create a RAFT (role, audience, format, topic). Students can choose a character from one of his books and come up with a role the character can take, the target audience, how the information is presented, and the topic they want to focus on.
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Who inspired some of Julius Lester's works?
What is William Shakespeare!
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