Author Description

For teachers We know that the Common Core State Standards are encouraging you to reevaluate the books that you assign to your students. To help you decide which books are right for your classroom, each free ebook in this series contains a Common Core–aligned teaching guide and a sample chapter. This teaching guide for An American Tapestry by Rachel L. Swarns is designed to help you put the new Common Core State Standards into practice. "Riveting.... A microcosm of this country's story.... The real-life saga of struggle, survival, triumph and tragedy serves as an uplifting companion to Alex Haley's Roots."—USA Today In this extraordinary feat of genealogical research, author Swarns, a respected Washington-based reporter for the New York Times, tells the fascinating and hitherto untold story of Ms. Obama's black, white, and multiracial ancestors; a history that the First Lady herself did not know. At once epic, provocative, and inspiring, American Tapestry is more than a true family saga; it is an illuminating mirror in which we may all see ourselves.