Europe+-+Renaissance

=Europe - Renaissance= "Achievements in medicine, science, mathematics and geography by the Islamic civilization dominated most of the Mediterranean after the decline of the Roman Empire. These achievements were introduced into Western Europe as a result of the Muslin conquests, Crusades and trade, influencing the European Renaissance." (Content Statement - Feudalism & Transitions) "The Renaissance in Europe introduced revolutionary ideas, leading to cultural, scientific and social changes." (Content statement - Feudalism & Transitions)

Historical Fiction
Blackwood, Gary. **//The Shakespeare Stealer.//** Dutton Children's Books, 1998. A boy named Widge is orphaned and is the apprentice of Dr. Bright. He learns the doctor's method of shorthand and is soon brought to Simon Bass. Simon Bass wants Widge to steal Shakespeare's newest play, Hamlet, by transcribing it secretly. Once Widge gets inside the Globe Theather though, he is overcome by the play and taken in by the company. Widge is soon torn by his fear of his mater, his loyalty to the people at the theater and his growing desire to continue as an actor. Ages 9 and up (Alyson)

Klein, Lisa. **//Ophelia.//** Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2006. The focus of this book is Ophelia and it uses Hamlet as the basis of the tale. Ophelia's father, Polonius, doesn't pay to much attention to her, her mentor, Gertrude, her lover, Hamlet and her loyal friend, Horatio are some of the characters in the book. But once you get past the play the novel continues and Ophelia's life continues. The story is brought full circle. Grades 8 and up. (Alyson)

Garden, Nancy. **//Dove and Sword//**. Point, 1997. In 1455 in France, Gabrielle is visited by Pierre d'Arc, a brother of Joan of Arc, and with him reminisces about their childhood together in Domremy and Joan's subsequent trial and buring at the stake at Rouen twenty-four years before. Ages 12 and up. (Kaelin)

Stevenson, Robert Louis. **//The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses//**. Scribner, 1987. In fifteenth-century England, when his father's murderer is revealed to be his guardian, seventeen-year-old Richard Shelton joins the fellowship of the Black Arrow in avenging the death, rescuing the woman he loves, and participating in the struggle between the Yorks and Lancasters in the War of the Roses. Grades 7 and up. (Kaelin)

**Information Books**
 ** Ryles, **** Briony and **** Hall, Derek. ** //** Medieval period and the Renaissance. **// Brown Bear Books, 2009. This book describes the scientific and technological advances in China and the Arab world during the Medieval time as well as exploring how the Renaissance became a great period of learning and discovery in Europe. Grades 7 and up. (Michelle M.)

Grant, Neil. **//Renaissance Europe//**. Zak Books, 2009. Presents an overview of the history of Europe during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, discussing the cultural and intellectual advances throughout the Renaissance period. Grades 5-8. (Elyce)

Stewart, Gail B. //**The Renaissance**//. Blackbirch Press, 2006. This book closely examines important leaders who influenced and shaped the Renaissance in Europe. The book includes entries on Marco Polo, Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Johann Gutenberg, Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo de' Medici, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Michelangelo, Martin Luther, Galileo, and many others. A great resource on the time period. (Rachel)

Macaulay, David. //**Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction.**// Sandpiper, 1981.

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"This marvelous book recreates the building of a French Gothic cathedral from the hewing down of half a forest to the placement of the last sheet of lead on the spire. Macaulay uses voluminous knowledge and pen-and-ink sketches accompanied by a brief clear narrative." -//Time Magazine// ======