To better support your independent reading, both at home and at school, please browse some of the novels I have suggested below. Though I have read most but not all of the select books, students and teachers highly recommended these titles. Please make reading an important part of your middle school life, both in the classroom and not. Happy reading.
"Ive traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~ Anonymous ~"
For more suggestions please visit NPR's suggested summer reads too ("The Ultimate Backseat Bookshelf 100 must reads for kids aged 9-14)
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/05/207315023/the-ultimate-backseat-bookshelf-100-must-reads-for-kids-9-14
"Ive traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~ Anonymous ~"
For more suggestions please visit NPR's suggested summer reads too ("The Ultimate Backseat Bookshelf 100 must reads for kids aged 9-14)
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/05/207315023/the-ultimate-backseat-bookshelf-100-must-reads-for-kids-9-14
Recommendations for the Beginning of the Year
Please Write in This Book
This book will suit both boys, girls, and even adults, I’m sure. It’s funny, and contains views from all possible characters. The interesting people and plot keep your eyes glued to the pages. Mary Amato has created a book for positively everyone. Ms. Wurtz decides to place an empty notebook in the Writers Corner of her classroom. The kids love writing in the book, but they don’t always get along. It’s a lot of fun to read the hilarious views of Luke and the bold words Lizzy wants to get out there. The kids have a number of adventures-there is the Stinky Feet Experiment, and the different styles of cute drawings are just making the book better. This story is quite the read. I suggest you check at your library, got to the bookstore, just find the book!"
http://girlknowsbooks.com/2011/02/09/please-write-in-this-book/
http://girlknowsbooks.com/2011/02/09/please-write-in-this-book/
Seedfolks
This novela (short novel) does a great job of reminding us how important communities are. It's full of wisdom, beautiful language and brave characters. If you are a student who values other points of view or enjoys characters who are forced grow by learning about themselves and others, this is a good choice for you.
The Library Card
Jerry Spinelli has written some of my favorite most beloved books including Maniac Magee. The library card is actually a collection of short stories about a magical library card that forever changes the lives of students who have become sick and tired of school and all the endless work. This is a great book that will leave any reader captured by the magic of reading a good novel.
"In the first story in which we meet Mongoose and Weasel, two friends who are always getting into trouble (stealing, spray painting, ditching school) until Weasel finds the magical library card and gets turned on to learning."
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/literature-tool-community-building-classroom
"In the first story in which we meet Mongoose and Weasel, two friends who are always getting into trouble (stealing, spray painting, ditching school) until Weasel finds the magical library card and gets turned on to learning."
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/literature-tool-community-building-classroom
The Misfits
"A marvelous story of friendship, The Misfits chronicles the efforts made by a group of outcasts to elect one of their own as student council president. Their goal is to force the teachers at their school and their peers to recognize them as worthy individuals. Throughout the tale the kids evolve as they take their protest against labeling and name-calling to a whole new level."
taken from: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/books/showbooklist.cfm?catid=6&list=middlereaders
taken from: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/books/showbooklist.cfm?catid=6&list=middlereaders
Reading Suggestions for History Lovers
How brave are you, little Annemarie?" Uncle Henrik asks his ten-year-old niece. It is 1943, and to Annemarie Johansen, life in Copenhagen is a complicated mix of ordinary home and school life, food shortages, and the constant presence of Nazi soldiers. Bravery seems a vague virtue, one possessed by dragon-slaying knights in the bedtime stories she tells her younger sister, Kirsti. Too soon, she herself is called upon for courage."
taken from: http://www.loislowry.com/number_stars.html
taken from: http://www.loislowry.com/number_stars.html
Listening for Lions
"After the influenza epidemic of 1919 leaves her an orphan, Rachel -- the daughter of missionary parents living in Africa -- is manipulated by neighbors into traveling to England and assuming their dead daughter's identity. How will Rachel make things right?"
taken from: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/books/showbooklist.cfm?catid=6&list=historicalfiction
taken from: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/books/showbooklist.cfm?catid=6&list=historicalfiction
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing
"In the afterword, Anderson writes that if he had written "a fantasy novel", Octavian would have built his own utopia. Escaping the battle between the rebels and the redcoats, he "would orchestrate the desperate clash of these two great nations and engineer the toppling of both governments. There would be gargantuan, cleansing battles, and in their wake, our heroes would found a new realm."
Taken together, the two parts of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing form a long, complex and often uncomfortable narrative, which will demand stamina, concentration and a wide vocabulary from any reader. None of that should dissuade teenagers - or anyone else - from reading these exceptionally interesting and imaginative novels"
taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/17/books-children-octavian-nothing-anderson
Taken together, the two parts of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing form a long, complex and often uncomfortable narrative, which will demand stamina, concentration and a wide vocabulary from any reader. None of that should dissuade teenagers - or anyone else - from reading these exceptionally interesting and imaginative novels"
taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/17/books-children-octavian-nothing-anderson