From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White . Buller, Beverley Olson; Kansas City, MO, Kansas City Star Books, 2007. Grade Level: 6-8 ISBN # & cost: 978-1-933466-44-6, $24.95 Blanket Permission to Reproduce Book Jackets: © 2007 Kansas City Star Books. Used with permission. |
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Synopsis:
The biography of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner William Allen White, this book describes the life and family relationships of the distinguished Kansas citizen for whom a children's book award named in his honor is given each year. White comes to life as a small town Kansas boy who eventually looks far beyond his Kansas roots and becomes a world renowned newspaper editor, globe trotter, and friend and confidante of presidents, but who stays true to the small town Kansas values he absorbed as a child.
General Review:
Children and teachers of Kansas will be interested to learn more about the real William Allen White after reading so many “William Allen White books,” as the students vote for the winner of this award each year. Formerly an individual who may have seemed so distant from them, White is described as a person who could inspire them to look beyond their own backyards and discover the wonders of issues throughout the world. William Allen White is humanized as a real person, as the book includes descriptions of his close relationship with his wife, as well as his grief when one of his children succumbs to an untimely death. Many photographs depicting White's life are sprinkled throughout this eye-appealing book, as well as reproductions of some primary documents, including excerpts from editorials and letters he wrote.
Subject areas: White, William Allen, 1868-1944; Journalists – United States – 20th Century; Emporia (Kan) – History; Emporia gazette (Emporia, Kan)
Themes: White, William Allen, 1868-1944; Journalists – United States – 20th Century; Emporia (Kan) – History; Emporia Gazette (Emporia, Kan)
Author information: Beverley Olson Buller is a school librarian in Newton, Kansas and an active member of the William Allen White Children's Book Awards Committee. View the following website for more information.
http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/sch/ch/From%20Emporia.htm
Discussion Questions: (Standard 3; Benchmark 3)
• Brainstorm adjectives that best describe White as a boy, a man, an editor, and a critic of the world around him.
• White wrote in the Emporia Gazette that “people run all over the world looking for beauty, and the truth is only they who stay at home find it.” What do you think he meant by this statement? Why did White stay in Kansas, even after writing that “Kansas has gone downhill” in the editorial entitled “What's the Matter with Kansas?”
• What effect did the “ocean of books” in the White household have on his children Bill and Mary's lives? List some specific actions of White's children that might have resulted from growing up in this atmosphere.
Activities:
• Ask students to write letters to William Allen White describing the connections they made to his life and their reactions to the book. (Standard 5, Benchmark 3)
• Ask students to conduct further research on the city of Emporia, Kansas. (Standard 1, Benchmark 5)
• Investigate further information about White's friend, President Theodore Roosevelt. Write a report on his accomplishments as President. (Standard 2, Benchmark 4)
• Ask students to compare and contrast the life of William Allen White with another leader, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. (Standard 3. Benchmark 2)
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- Eleanor Roosevelt: a Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman
- Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale (Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend) , by Deborah Hopkinson
- What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! by Barbara Kerley
