middle school book recommendations

All posts tagged middle school book recommendations

I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Published April 21, 2014 by Dagmar

malalaDespite being only 16 years old, Malala Yousafzai has won many prizes around the world for her activism in the fight for girls’ education and women’s rights before the Taliban’s attempt to silence her in October 2012.  Malala survived their attack and went on to win even more accolades, including Pakistan’s Youth Peace Prize, the Sakharov Prize, awarded for leadership in human rights and freedom of thought and a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2013.  Together with Christina Lamb, she wrote this memoir about her life, the history of the Swat Valley and her time living under the Taliban.

I have a student that patiently waited for me to buy this book and catalog it so that she could check it out.  She came to my library to return the book last week but said that she actually didn’t want to return it.  She wanted to just keep it, because she was moving to another town over spring break and wanted to keep reading the book.  She is a very sweet girl who has read every book with Muslim characters in my library.  I was really touched by the way she connected with the book.  It inspired me to delete it from our collection (I will replace it) and just give it to her.  She hugged the book and me. It was totally worth it.

Here is what she and I both saw in this book.

This book is as much a story of Malala’s fight for girl’s education as it is as a history of the Swat Valley, an introduction to her Pashtun culture, the story of how the Taliban entered and affected the Swat Valley and all of its inhabitants, and the conflict the Swat Valley’s residents felt about the Pakistan Army’s fight against the Taliban.  It’s a fascinating insider’s perspective into current events and an area of the world few in the United States have seen.

Malala is a straight A student, the daughter of her school’s founder.  She loves studying and treasures her school books.  From the outset of the book, you see that Malala will follow in her father’s footsteps as an activist.  Her father is an outspoken advocate for education, specifically girls’ education and bringing peace to the Swat Valley.  It is no surprise that we learn that Malala began anonymously writing a blog for the BBC about life under the Taliban when she was just 11.  She then begins speaking in public about her belief that girls should be educated and her insistence that the Pakistani government use some of the billions of dollars received in aid from the United States to rebuild schools destroyed by the Taliban.  All her public appearances as well as her father’s bring her to the attention of the Taliban.  Both Malala and her father receive death threats from the Taliban.  This only steels Malala to bravely continue her advocacy.

I was fascinated by this book as was my student.  The pictures in the book help the reader connect with Malala on a more personal level.  I would recommend this to middle and high school readers.

 

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The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Published April 12, 2014 by Dagmar

giverThe Giver, is a book that has stayed with me since I first read it years ago.  It made an equally big impact on my son when I read it to him.  The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal.

I read aloud to my sixth graders each week and decided to read them The Giver. I wondered what our students would make of the society Lois Lowry created.  In the Giver, Jonas is a boy living in a society that protects its people from all pain, horror, sadness and loneliness, but also doesn’t allow them to feel happiness, love or excitement.  Everyone exists in a comfortable, unchanging environment. There is one person, however, who is able to feel everything.  His name is the Giver, and he serves the community by holding all of its memories for them, both painful and joyful.  He alone knows the history of the community before it changed to protect its citizens.  When issues arise in the community, the Giver is called upon for advice on how to address the issue, using his knowledge of the past.

Jonas, as a 12 year old, is ready to receive his life’s assignment in the community.  Some children are assigned to care for the elderly, some become lawyers or teachers. Jonas receives the most prestigious job of all, Receiver.  Every day, Jonas goes to meet with The Giver, to receive the memories of the community.  He learns about war, sickness and disappointment but also about colors, the warmth of sunshine, the cold of snow and the excitement of riding a sled.  He is told that he cannot speak of his experiences with everyone.  He soon feels isolated from his former life and his community.

Jonas’ father is a Nurturer.  His job is to care for infants and toddlers before they are assigned to their family units.  Jonas’ father is troubled by a baby, Newchild 36, who doesn’t seem to be able to fit in.  The baby cries at night and is not adjusting to his environment as the other children are.  As a result, 36 is not able to be assigned to a family unit.  Jonas’ father convinces his bosses to let him bring the child home at night, thinking that it might help him.  Although they are only supposed to know the child’s birth number, Jonas’ family learn that the child’s name is Gabriel.  Despite all Jonas’ family’s efforts, Gabriel doesn’t improve.  Jonas’ father informs Jonas that Gabriel will be “released”.  When he discovers what will happen to Gabriel, Jonas makes a fateful decision that will change not only his own destiny, but the destiny of his community.

This book is perfect for tweens and middle school readers.  My students loved the book and many went on to read the entire Giver series.  The entire series, in order: The Giver, Gathering Blue, The Messenger, and Son, published in 2012.

In case you’re interested in sharing this book with students, here is a link to Lois Lowry’s interview, on Scholastic.com, answering questions submitted by students about The Giver.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/lois-lowry-interview-transcript

Here’s another link I found that with interesting discussion questions:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDUQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.christina.k12.de.us%2FLiteracyLinks%2F2008%2520Units%2FUnit%25208_Appendix%2520E_Journal%2520Topics_The%2520Giver.doc&ei=RxiqUoKYDs32oASJ34CgAg&usg=AFQjCNFxHhCFTB3wSAsxRnOg_FeCcGDhbQ&bvm=bv.57967247,d.cGU

 

Touching Spirit Bear

Published October 28, 2013 by Dagmar

TouchingSpiritBearMy son read Touching Spirit Bear for his sixth grade English class.  He loved the book as did many of his classmates.  I took this feedback and put the book on my library shelves in the middle school section.  It was checked out almost immediately by a sixth grader.  He hasn’t given it back to me yet. 🙂  He has renewed it for three weeks and has read the book three times.  I was so impressed with the feedback, I read the book, too.

Touching Spirit Bear is at times brutal, beginning with a frank recounting of Cole Matthew’s violent assault of a fellow classmate, Peter Driscal.  Cole’s attack results in very serious injuries for Peter.  The injuries are so severe that Cole could be tried as an adult and sent to prison.  Cole is given an option by an Indian parole officer named Garvey to take part in Circle Justice, a Native American criminal justice technique where a circle of concerned citizens and those involved in the crime, victims and perpetrators, participate in a circle to decide how best the perpetrator can pay for his or her crime and begin a healing process.  Cole’s circle includes his victim Peter, Peter’s family, Peter’s attorney, Cole and his abusive father and his alcoholic mother, his parole officer Garvey, a Tlingit tribe elder named Edwin, and members of the community join together to find a way for Cole to pay for his crime without going to prison.  They decide to banish Cole to a remote Alaskan island where he will live by himself for a year under the watch of an Tlingit Indian elder.  spirit bear

Garvey tells Cole about the Spirit Bear, a rare American Black Bear that is white and is generally found near British Columbia.  Although it is rare to find a spirit bear as far North as Cole’s island, Cole sees a spirit bear within his first few days on the island.  His encounter with the bear will change the direction of Cole’s life, both physically and mentally.

This book really moved me.  Cole is a hard character to like.  His anger and arrogance are extreme.   I was touched by the dedication and honesty of the two men, Garvey and Edgar, who commit themselves to helping Cole understand the severity of his crime and that the way to rehabilitate himself is through helping his victim recover.  I was also moved by Cole’s connection to the spirit bear, the natural world and the Native American traditions Garvey and Edgar taught him.

I think this is great book for middle school readers.

The author’s note talks about the effectiveness of Circle Justice, now being used in some cities instead of jail time.

Legend, by Marie Lu

Published August 27, 2013 by Dagmar

legendLegend is my favorite dystopian novel.  My students agree.

Legend moves quickly between chapters written by June and Day.  June is a brilliant 15 year old girl who got a perfect score on the Republic’s trial and is being trained to be one of the Republic’s top soldiers.  Day is 15 year old boy who failed the trial, escaped a labor camp, has become a criminal and the Republic’s number one enemy.

Day and June live in Los Angeles where the rich live alongside the poor in different sectors.  The rich live in beautiful modern buildings and have plenty of food.  The poor live in broken down buildings and and fear the plagues that spread regularly throughout their neighborhoods.  Day and June have never met, but June knows that the most important mission in the military is catching Day.

Their lives intersect when Day’s little brother contracts the plague.  Day, desperate to find vaccines to save his family, breaks into a hospital.  As he tries to escape, June’s brother, a Republic soldier is killed.  Day is accused of killing him, and June is consumed with the need to find and arrest Day.  In her quest to caputure Day, June uncovers things that shake her belief in the Republic and make her wonder if Day is really the enemy at all.

This book combines fast-pacing, mystery, action, suspense and a little romance into a great novel.  Highly recommended for tweens and middle school.

I’m looking forward to reading Marie Lu’s sequel to Legend, Prodigy.