Reading into Mockingbird is a series of posts about the historical themes in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (the Reading into History Teen Summer’s 2015 read).Through these posts, we will provide historical background to enhance your understanding of the book and your participation in our Goodreads discussions and teach-in event at the Museum…

Among dozens of excellent submissions, one book stood out to the panel of historians, educators, and families:  Salt, by Helen Frost. The story weaves a tale of cross-cultural friendship threatened by the War of 1812. Written in verse, Salt is set in the Indiana Territory at the start of the conflict and unfolds through the…

It’s October, so the Reading into History family book club decided to tackle a scary topic in history and, unfortunately, today: disease outbreaks. Our book this month has been Deadly by Julie Chibbaro, and we’ll meet to discuss the book on Sunday, October 19 from 3-5 pm here at the Museum.  If you want to…

Even though school has started and homework assignments are already piling up, it’s important to remember to read for fun! We’ve got that covered here at the Reading into History Family Book Club. This Sunday, kids ages 9-12 and their adults will gather to discuss Jim Murphy’s incredible book The Giant and How He Humbugged…

In August, 2012, our Reading into History family book club read Walter Dean Myers’ Harlem Summer. At the time, Mr. Myers was serving as national ambassador for young people’s literature, and he was kind enough to appear here at the DiMenna Children’s History Museum at a meeting to discuss his book. Now, we are deeply…

Birds are everywhere at the New-York Historical Society right now! The second floor of our museum has been taken over by Part II of our tripartite series, Audubon’s Aviary, which features many of John James Audubon’s original watercolors for his revolutionary work, The Birds of America. This year, we are showing works that relate to…

How many girls today dream of becoming scientists? In the twenty-first century, these girls can achieve their dreams far more easily than could girls in the nineteenth century. This Sunday, Reading into History book club families will learn about nineteenth century women in science by discussing The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. In…

This Sunday, families who take part in our Lost Arts: Scrimshaw program will get to see examples of scrimshaw, an art form practiced by sailors on whaling expeditions in the nineteenth century.  Scrimshaw makers, called scrimshanders, most often made elaborate carvings into sperm whale teeth. Families will see examples of these and will carve their…

This Sunday, March 9, our family book club will meet to discuss No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, a book that looks at Lewis Michaux and the National Memorial African Bookstore. This bookstore was the intellectual heart of Harlem from roughly 1939 to 1975 and a favorite spot of such figures as Muhammad Ali and Malcolm…