Posts Tagged «middle school»
Monday, February 7th, 2011
By Susin Nielsen, 229 pages, Grades 6-8
Violet is having a hard year. She almost poisons her step-sisters (unintentionally, of course), she breaks a classmate’s nose (less than unintentionally), she crashes into a movie star’s car (honestly by mistake), only to name a few of the mishaps of her seventh grade year. Really, Violet is only tying to make it through middle school, survive visits with her dad and Jennica (her dad’s new wife, who is fake in more ways than one), and make sure her mom doesn’t fall for the wrong guy again, but somehow nothing seems to go as planned. If only she could get George Clooney to write her back, she is sure he will love her mom and make her real sister’s and her life much better.
If you enjoy realistic fiction with a bit of humor like Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison, or Absolutely Normal Chaos, by Sharon Creech, then Dear George Clooney… might be for you.
Tags: brothers and sisters, coming of age, divorce, families, family problems, friendship, Hollywood, humor, middle school, realistic fiction, step_siblings, teens
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Sunday, November 28th, 2010
By Raina Telgemeier, 213 pages Grades 5-8
The author, Raina Telgemeier, was just racing her friends to the front door after a Girl Scout meeting when she tripped, fell and knocked out her two front teeth. From that moment, middle school became a blur of surgeries and dentist/orthodontist appointments mixed with the more typical crushes, teasing and embarrassments. This graphic memoir vividly depicts the mixed bag of middle school. Will high school be better?
Connections: For other humorous autobiographies/memoirs, try reading John Sciezka’s Knucklehead or How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen. For other graphic memoirs/biographies with a much more serious tone, check out Maus by Art Spiegelman or Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Tags: beauty, dental care, girls, graphic memoir, humor, middle school, self-esteem
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Thursday, November 4th, 2010
By Kathryn Erskine, 235 pages, Grade 6-8
Caitlin and her father are feeling broken after tragedy strikes their family a second time. Caitlin’s mother died of cancer three years before and now her brother, Devon, is dead after a violent incident at school. On “the day their lives fell apart”, as Caitlin calls it, Devon’s door was slammed shut and Caitlin doesn’t feel like she can open it. She misses her brother, and his room and all it holds especially a special place next to his bed where she used go for comfort. It was Devon who used to help her cope with the worlds of the town, the classroom and the playground. He always said Caitlin was brave; he even liked to call her Scout after the character in To Kill a Mockingbird. Now that Caitlin’s dad spends a lot of time crying and Caitlin, who has Asperger’s syndrome, has to be especially brave. She would like to help her family put the pieces back together, but she is not sure how to do that. After talking to the school counselor one day, she decides what they need is “closure” and she is on a mission to get it. But, first she has to find out what it is and how you get a hold of it.
For other stories about how families find closure try Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park, or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.
Tags: brothers and sisters, coping strategies, endurance, families, family problems, identity, middle school, outsiders, realistic fiction, resilience, sad stories, spectrum disorders, tragedy, Young Adult
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
By James Howe, 189 pages Grades 6-8
<!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–>“Being who you are isn’t a choice.” Although he had always lived this life lesson, it wasn’t until his favorite aunt gave him a button printed with these words that thirteen, year-old Joe really thought about what it meant for him, as a gay 7th grader, as well as for his schoolmates. Joe’s family and friends have always encouraged him to be himself (including dressing-up in dresses, playing with Barbies and cooking in an Easy-Bake oven) and he has always embraced his originality even when it led to teasing. Through an alphabiography project for his teacher, Joe shares his growing awareness of himself and his friends.
Connection: Joe and the other characters were first introduced in Howe’s novel, The Misfits. For other stories where characters share their life experiences through school writing assignments, try reading Love That Dog or Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge, or Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls.
Tags: coming of age, family life, friendship, homosexuality, middle school, multicultural, realistic fiction, schools
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Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
by James Preller p. 226 Grades 5-8
Bully? Accomplice? Bystander? Victim? Upstander? Which will Eric be? As a new student at Central Middle School, he quickly sizes up the situation and recognizes immediately that pudgy David is a victim and that good looking, charming Griffin is at the top of the pecking order. At first, Eric is drawn in by Griffin’s charisma and attention but soon sees the creep beneath the smile. When ulitmately Eric refuses to do what Griffin demands, he becomes the target. Eric, however, is not a victim, and with the help of Griff’s ex-girlfriend, he devises a plan.
Connections: Other books with this theme are Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen, Schooled by Gordon Korman, and Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn. Young adult titles for mature readers include The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Don’t Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer, and Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardner. For nonfiction, try Bullying : How to Deal with Taunting, Teasing, and Tormenting by Kathleen Winkler, Sticks and Stones by Karen L. Maudlin or Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain written and illustrated Trevor Romain.
Tags: boys, bullies, fiction, middle school, new kid, realistic fiction, schizophrenia
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Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
by Jane Smiley p. 232 Grades 5-8
If you own a horse or wish you did, this is the book for you. Famous adult author Jane Smiley, who wrote Horse Heaven, seems to have written this book with middle school girls in mind. Seventh grader Abby Lovitt lives on a horse ranch in California. It sounds like a perfect situation for a girl who loves horses, but it isn’t. Her father buys and trains horses to sell. He doesn’t want the family, especially Abby to become attached to the horses, so he won’t allow her to name them. The geldings are all called George and the mares are Jewel. But each horse has its own personality, and Abby adds an adjective to each name. Ornery George becomes her challenge. Her dad can’t sell the horses until they are tame enough for a girl to ride them. Ornery George has bucked Abby off so many times that she defies her strict father and refuses to ride him . . . until one day when a stranger arrives at the ranch.
Connections: Here are some other good horse stories: Dairy Queeen by Catherine Murdock; Willow King by Chris Platt; and Hero by S. L. Rottman. Two short story collections are Horse & Pony Stories compiled by Christine Pullein-Thompsonand Horse Stories edited by Felicity Trotman. Classics include King of the Wind by Margerite Henry, National Velvet, and My Friend Flicka.
Tags: fiction, girls, horse stories, horse training, Horses, middle school, ranches, realistic fiction
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. p. 196 Grade: Young Adult
During the summer before eighth grade, Kenny Sykes has begun each morning rescuing the hundreds of crickets that keep jumping into his backyard swimming pool. As an inside joke with his little brother, Kenny assumes the super-hero identity Cricket Man and creates a t-shirt that he wears to school concealed under his regular shirt. The rest of his time he spends skateboarding or spying on and trying to get the attention of his beautiful sixteen-year-old neighbor, Jodie Poindexter. When Jodie appears to have fallen into a deep depression, it’s Cricket Man to the rescue.
Connections: These novels for young adults also focus on special and unusual friendships: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes; The Wild Kid; Stoner and Spaz and Define Normal.
Tags: depression, fiction, friends, friendship, heroes, middle school, realistic fiction, skateboarding, super heroes, teenagers, Young Adult, younger brothers
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Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
by Jordan Sonnenblick. p. 264 Grades 6-8
It’s tough being the new kid especially in January of the eighth grade. San Lee has moved around and changed schools a lot, and this time it’s because his dad has gone to prison for fraud. His mom’s short on money because of his dad’s legal fees, and even though it’s the middle of the winter in Pennsylvania, San heads off for his new middle school in sandals and the light windbreaker that were fine in Texas. Adopted from China as a baby, San is the only Asian American at his new school. When he discovers that his social studies class is studying Buddhism, which he studied last year, he pretends to be a Zen master. This deception wins him the attention of a beautiful girl but spins out of control in both serious and comical ways as more and more kids believe he’s the real thing.
Connections: Books where a new kid makes a big impact on the other students in a school are Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, The Gypsies Never Came by Stephen Roos, Schooled by Gordon Korman and, for mature readers, Jake Reinvented by Gordon Korman as well as Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardner. If you’d like to know more about Zen Buddhism, try browsing the 294.3 section of the library.
Tags: Chinese Americans, humor, love stories, middle school, multicultural, new kid, outsiders, romance, teens, Zen Buddhism
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Monday, July 20th, 2009
by Lauren Tarshis. p. 169 Grades 5-8
Emma-Jean Lazarus is different from the other seventh graders at William Gladstone Middle School. She’s super smart and super logical and finds the social interactions among her peers interesting but totally irrational. Yet she is drawn to use her super problem solving skills to help sweet, hypersensitive Colleen when Emma-Jean discovers her crying in the girls’ bathroom. Emma-Jean’s meddling not only leads to some hilarious situations but also to her beginning to make friends. In the sequel, Emma Jean Lazarus Fell in Love, Emma Jean develops a crush herself while trying to help Colleen discover the secret admirer who left a note in Colleen’s locker. If you enjoy quick, humourous reads about quirky characters, you’ll love Emma Jean Lazaus!
Connection: Other good novels with quirky characters include The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen, Susan Patron’s Higher Power of Lucky, Way Down Deep by Ruth White and the adult novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
Tags: friends, humor, interpersonal relations, love stories, middle school, outsiders, problem-solving, quirky characters, teens
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