David W. Tollen's Blog, page 5
August 30, 2019
This Week in 30 BC: Augustus in Egypt
Caesar Augustus, f.k.a. Octavian
During this week in 30 BC, Roman strongman Octavian completed his invasion of Egypt. He ordered the execution of Marcus Antyllus, eldest son of his defeated rival, Marc Anthony, who’d committed suicide. He also executed Caesarion, teenage son of his great uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar. Caesarion’s mother was Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt and lover of both Caesar and Antony, who’d also committed suicide a few weeks before. The boy held the Egyptian throne for only a few weeks after the death of his mother, and he wielded no power. But he was the last ruler of Egypt’s Ptolemaic dynasty and the ancient country’s last Pharaoh. His death ended 3,000 years of Egyptian monarchy.
Octavian went on to establish a new form of government for the Roman world, which he ruled as Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first emperor.
© 2019 by David W. Tollen. All rights reserved.
The post This Week in 30 BC: Augustus in Egypt appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
July 26, 2019
New Novel: Secrets of Hominea
Dear friends,
My new novel just went on sale! Secrets of Hominea is a magical middle grade fantasy: a tale of giants, gnomes, queens, and adventurers — and of science and history. It’s for readers age 9 to 14.
I hope you’ll buy a copy and help spread the word. You can get a paperback or e-book at Amazon and most other retailers. And schools and teachers can buy through Ingram.
As you may know, my first novel, The Jericho River, won multiple awards, including wins at the Next Generation Indie awards and the London Book Festival, as well as a bronze medal in the Readers’ Favorite awards.
I hope you enjoy Secrets of Hominea! Thank you!
The post New Novel: Secrets of Hominea appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
January 17, 2019
Great Review from Ancient History Encyclopedia!
The Jericho River just got a wonderful review/endorsement from Ancient History Encyclopedia!
To read it, just click the headline or the image below …
Get Your Kids Interested in World History!
The post Great Review from Ancient History Encyclopedia! appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
January 9, 2019
Explorers Discover Sunken WWII Aircraft Carrier
This should grab most kids’ attention — and teachers’ too.
Usually, we publish our own articles, but CNN did a great job describing this. Just click the photo to go to the CNN article …
The USS Lexington leaving San Diego on October 14, 1941
The post Explorers Discover Sunken WWII Aircraft Carrier appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
January 7, 2019
Fat Men’s Clubs
Did you know America used to have fat men’s clubs? They proliferated during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. And they played just the role you might guess: venues for very overweight men to socialize and network. One famous club in Vermont had a secret handshake and a minimum weight of 200 lbs. (The average 200-pound man carried more fat then than now, since body-building was rare, and we’re taller.)
Apparently, the fat men’s clubs gave wide waistlines their last hurrah as an icon of status. For most of history, getting enough to eat was an achievement, and getting fat suggested serious wealth. Those days were over by the time of the fat men’s clubs, but the idea still lingered. Yet an element of deprecating humor apparently played a role too. That same Vermont club’s motto was, “We’re fat and we’re making the most of it! … I’ve got to be good-natured; I can’t fight and I can’t run.”
NPR has a great (longer) article on the subject (and a good photo of a club).
Photo courtesy of rockcreek from Washington, D.C., via Wikimedia Commons
© 2019 by David W. Tollen. All rights reserved.
The post Fat Men’s Clubs appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
January 4, 2019
Ancient History Encyclopedia Wins Lovie Awards!
I’m delighted to announce that Ancient History Encyclopedia won at the 2018 Lovie Awards! In fact, we won twice — both the People’s Choice Award and the Silver Medal for Schools & Education.
The Lovies are sponsored by Google, and they recognize excellence in the European Internet community. Ancient History Encyclopedia is a non-profit company publishing the world’s most-read history encyclopedia. I’m proud to serve as a member of the AHE’s Board of Advisors.
You can read a great “Lovie Letter” about AHE at the Lovie site. And of course, you can always visit Ancient.eu for fantastic content: articles, photos, audio recordings, and other resources about history.
The post Ancient History Encyclopedia Wins Lovie Awards! appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
August 24, 2018
School Library Connection Recommends The Jericho River!
I’m delighted to announce that School Library Connection has recommended The Jericho River! The review appears in the In the August/September issue. Here’s an excerpt:
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the history and the strange creatures Jason meets and befriends along the way. Another great thing about the book is its relevancy to the classroom, featuring a nice set of lesson plans in the back. The story is well told and the characters are well-developed. I feel that readers with a love of history will really enjoy this book.
~ Kelly A. Tyler, Penn Yan (New York) Middle School
In case you don’t know it, School Library Connection is a multi-channel publication providing professional learning, reviews, advocacy, and other resources for K-12 school libraries.
And The Jericho River is both an adventure through history and a tool for teachers. It’s spell-binding, award-winning YA novel that uses fantasy to teach history and mythology. It covers the Ancient Middle East and Western Civilization, providing an ideal learning tool for high school and middle school classes.
The post School Library Connection Recommends The Jericho River! appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
August 12, 2018
Britain Admitted the American Revolutionaries Were Right
Did you know Great Britain essentially admitted that George Washington and the rest of the American Revolutionaries were right? And I don’t mean recently, like in an ambassador’s speech at a Fourth of July barbecue. It happened while veterans of the American Revolution still lived.
America’s Founding Fathers did not originally want independence. During the 1760’s and early 1770’s, they just wanted more self-government: more power for locally elected colonial governments. Britain’s leaders, however, considered that demand preposterous and refused. The result was the War for Independence, from 1775 to 1783.
British soldiers face Canadian patriot/rebels during what could have become the Canadian Revolution
Just fifty-five years later, Britain faced similar trouble in Canada: rebellious colonists demanding local control. The British government called for a report on the situation from Canada’s new Governor-General, George Lambton, Earl of Durham. In his 1839 report, Lord Durham recommended that Britain give the Canadians what they wanted: control of their own affairs, through an elected colonial legislature. British historian Niall Ferguson puts it best: “[What] the Durham Report … did was to acknowledge that the American Colonists had been right. … What Durham called for in Canada was exactly what an earlier generation of British ministers had denied the American colonies.”
Best of all, Parliament accepted the Durham Report and ultimately ceded control to a new Canadian legislature.
How often does a country get to say, “I told you so,” and hear a former enemy reply, “Yeah, you were right”?
© 2018 by David W. Tollen. All rights reserved.
Image: Back view of the church of St. Eustache and dispersion of the insurgents, Charles Beauclerk (1813-1842), 1840.
The post Britain Admitted the American Revolutionaries Were Right appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
July 27, 2018
History Teacher’s Review of The Jericho River
John Mulloy is a high school teacher and college history professor, and he recently reviewed The Jericho River . We’re very grateful to Professor Mulloy for his time and care. His review is below.
John Mulloy
The Jericho River, by David W. Tollen, Winifred Press, 978-0985451721, $ 12.95, 2015, 338 pages
As a High School History Teacher and College Professor of History I enjoy finding new, fun, and innovative ways to spark the love of history with my students. I have used historical novels, and counterfactuals, as a way to teach history finding those resources a helpful tool. So, when asked to review David Tollen’s historical novel about a magical trip through the timeline of “The Jericho River” I was excited to give the book a read.
The main character, Jason Gallo, is the son of a noted historian who volunteers to go into a comma with the help of a Doctor Valencia in an attempt a rescue his father William Gallo who is trapped in the mystical dream world. William Gallo had fallen into a mysterious coma entering into the timeline of ancient civilizations of Sumer, Babylonia along with others in the Middle East called “The Jericho River”.
David W. Tollen’s, “The Jericho River” interested me on a professional level because of the way Tollen added tools for teachers to use in the classroom. I also like the way this work is cross curricular and can be used in both Social Studies and English Language Arts classroom. “The Jericho River” is not only historical novel it is a work that wraps actual history into the story. Tollen has provided an assortment of teaching aids including, sample questions for each chapter and a sample lesson plan. As a teacher I found this part of Tollen’s work to be a one of the best parts of this work for potential use in the classroom. These pieces allow the student to use critical thinking skills to examine historical events.
After reading “The Jericho River” and before making a final judgment on Tollen’s work I reached out to many of my students to see what they felt about the book. The students that read a section of the book came from a wide range of social economic, ethnic, and academic backgrounds. From Public Schools, Charter Schools, and a private Catholic School. These student ranges from “At Risk” to highly advanced students. What I found with my past students is the students across the board enjoyed Tollen’s work. Some of the less advance student did not hate the book, but said they are not sure they would enjoy reading it. This non–scientific study indicated to me that this book should keep student interest.
Although, I found the book to be a bit simplistic and sometimes the construction is clunky. Still, “The Jericho River” can be a very helpful tool in the classroom. “The Jericho River” can be used for students as young as the sixth grade through high school. In conclusion, “The Jericho River” is a magical adventure story that will keep student interest. Tollen’s work is multi-curricular piece that can used by the creative teacher in the Social Studies or English Language Arts setting. It is also a book that a teenage read could read for just the enjoyment of an Jason Gallo’s adventure.
Reviewed by John Mulloy, history teacher, Saginaw High School, MI
Adjunct college professor
The post History Teacher’s Review of The Jericho River appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
July 7, 2018
A Middle School Lesson Plan for The Jericho River
We’ve posted our first lesson plan for middle school classes — related to The Jericho River! You can see it at our Resources for Teachers page. Just scroll down to “DESIGN A LUMIN LESSON PLAN … Middle School Version” (next to the blue-gold picture of Jason and Zidu).
The plan was written by Lisa Meyers, a retired history teacher. In the lesson, students create their own lumins: the history-based mythical creatures from The Jericho River. The lesson plan enhances and applies historical understanding of a past civilization. It supports Common Core State Standards ELA-Literacy RL 8.9 and ELA-Literacy W.7.9 in reading, writing, and research. And students practice key social studies and language arts skills.
The new plan supplements the three high school lessons we’ve already posted. I hope you find them all useful!
An ancient Egyptian lumin from The Jericho River, by Maia Kobabe
The post A Middle School Lesson Plan for The Jericho River appeared first on DavidTollen.com.
_(2).jpg){kind=link}