Stuart Stotts writes mostly non-fiction for upper elementary and middle school students. His books include Wisconsin-focused themes like “Curly Lambeau: Building the Green Bay Packers,” or “Father Groppi: Civil Rights Leader” which are both part of the Badger Biography series from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. He’s also written “Books in a Box: Lutie Stearns and the Traveling Libraries of Wisconsin,” and the award-winning “We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World.” A complete list of his writing appears here.
The Bookcase Ghost: A Storyteller’s Collection of Wisconsin Ghost Stories.
Published in 1997, The Bookcase Ghost by Stuart Stotts and Elizabeth Matson contains 18 spooky Wisconsin tales, suitable for adults and kids above the age of 9 or so. Gathered from local sources and historical archives, these stories will raise the hair on your neck, or make you laugh with suspenseful joy. The book also include a primer on telling ghost stories.
Available through Amazon or a local bookseller.
Books in a Box: Lutie Stearns and the Traveling Libraries of Wisconsin.
Curly Lambeau: Building the Green Bay Packers.
Without Curly there would be no Green Bay Packers, and the NFL itself would have had a very different beginning. Coach, star athlete, owner, manager and football icon, Curly Lambeau’s story gives insight to history of the only publically owned major league sport franchise in the United States, and to the history of football itself.
Lucius Fairchild: Civil War Hero
We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World.
Father Groppi: Civil Rights Leader
Over the Rainbow: The Life and Rhymes of Yip Harburg
Yip Harburg was one of the greatest lyricists of his time, creating words to some of the most memorable songs ever written, including “Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz, and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime,” the unofficial anthem of the great Depression. Because of his support for working people and equality, Yip was blacklisted in the McCarthy witch hunts of the 50s, but nothing could tame his joyful spirit, his playful intellect, and his deep seated irreverence toward pomposity, pride, and pretension. Rising from poverty on the Lower East Side of New York, Yip’s work stands with that of other giants of lyric writing like Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstein, and Lorenz Hart as a testament to the enduring beauty that happens when a well-turned phrase meets the lure of a musical hook.
Available from Amazon here.
An excellent overview and discussion, complete with videos about Yip Harburg.
Beyond Nice: 149 Ideas to Nurture Kindness in Young Children.
Telling Tales: 14 Stories to Share With Young Children
Who Is My Neighbor: The Story of the Good Samaritan Through the Windows of Chartres Cathedral
Dancing on the Wall. A novel based in the year leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.