Books -
An Iowa Connection
Books are set in places all over the world. We have found several books that have been set in Iowa but we would like to know even more.
Bowen, Fred. Off the Rim. Illustrated by Ann Barrow. Peachtree, 1998. pb. ISBN: 1-56145-161-4.
Chris is a middle school basketball player. He needs to get some playing tips and goes to his friend Greta's mother. She played girls 6 on 6 basketball in Iowa during her high school days. He learns a lot about teamwork.
--by Clair
Emberley, Barbara. The Story of Paul Bunyan. Illustrated by Ed Emberley. Prentice-Hall, 1963; Simon & Schuster, 1994 pb. ISBN: 067-188-6479 (pb).
Paul Bunyan was clearing the state of Iowa so Iowa's farmers could plant the crops. The farmers planted corn. Paul was a lumberjack and he needed a quick way to take the logs to New Orleans, so Paul dug a river. The
river is still known as the Mississippi River.
--by Brittany
Gensicke, Mary Ann. I Is for Iowa. Illustrated by Lonna Nachtigal.
Iowa State University Press, 1995. ISBN: 0-8138-2404-4.
When I read this book I found out about "Snake Alley." I would like to ride my bike down there. Snake Alley is located in Burlington. It is the curviest street in the world. I also found out that Eskimo Pies were invented in Iowa in 1921. It has a ton of facts about Iowa. Once you
start reading this book you can't stop. If you are studying Iowa, this is a great book for researching Iowa.
-- by Joe
Heath, May. Iowa Hannah. Illustrated Charles Walker. Hastings House, 1961. No ISBN number available.
Hannah and her family finds a place to live in the wilderness. When the children go to school they go to a
one-room school house, When they get home the mother invites the neighbors over to their house and they weave and sew a rug. The family lived in the wilderness for almost a year.
-- by Jena
Lowry, Lois. Switcharound. Houghton Mifflin, 1985. ISBN:
0-395-39536-4.
This book is about J.P. and Caroline. They didn't want to go to their dad's house in Des Moines, Iowa. When they got there, their dad and their stepmother had twins. J.P. and Caroline did not like that too much but it
turned out that they liked it. Some of the book is funny. The rest is kind of serious. It's a really good book to read.
-- by Eric
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Beetles, Lightly Toasted. Atheneum,
1987. ISBN: 0-689-31355-1.
This book is set near West Union, Iowa. Andy and his rival, Jack, heard about a contest on the WMT radio (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). The essay contest
is being sponsored by Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa). Andy and Jack both enter the contest and both are sure they will win. Andy's essay is going well, but he realizes that if he does win the contest, he's in big
trouble.
-- by Kristin
San Souci, Robert. Kate Shelley: Bound for Legend. Illustrated by
Max Ginsburg. Dial, 1995. ISBN: 0-8037-1289-8
Kate Shelley was a real hero and saved the lives of people who were on a train during a raging storm. Always modest when asked about her heroic deed, Kate would say, "I believe that God makes strong the weakest and
makes the poorest of us able to do much for her merciful purposes." Kate Shelley lived near the Honey Creek Bridge which carried railroad trains over Honey Creek, a small creek off the Des Moines River between Moingona,
Iowa and Boone, Iowa.
--Books annotated by Mrs. Crowley's Class and others.
If you know of other books that are set in Iowa and want to tell us about them, send us the information and we'll try to add it to our page.
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©Copyright 1996, 1999, 2000 by 150 Years of Literacy in Iowa -- All Rights Reserved
These pages initially developed by Sharron L. McElmeel and students attending Harrison Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The pages are maintained by Sharron L. McElmeel and hosted by the Grant Wood Area Education Agency.