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Summer Book Discussion Group for Middle School Students (Grades 5-8)
The job of a children’s librarian is never done. Just as I’ve finally caught my breath with a number of programs and projects, the summer planning is looming ahead of me. Each year we offer our rising 5th – 8th graders two different book discussion opportunities. The first is called…
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33 Minutes
A lot can happen in 33 minutes… just ask Sam Lewis, who is going to get his butt kicked in 33 minutes by his former best friend, Morgan Sturtz. Written in a span of time that takes only 33 minutes, Todd Hasak-Lowy creates a typical middle school environment where anything can happen. …
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The Second Life of Abigail Walker
Bullying has become a huge issues in schools across America and it has clearly bled into children’s literature as well. The Second Life of Abigail Walker by Frances O’Roark Dowell is a book about rising above the bullies and believing in yourself, even when you’re not quite sure what that means. …
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Navigating Early
Clare Vanderpool has an amazing quotation on the header of her website from Madeleine L’Engle, “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” I think this is just what Vanderpool did in…
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Tracing Stars
Tracing Stars is a coming of age story for a young girl in a small coastal town where being different makes you stand out. Indie Lee Chickory is a fish freak – she’s knows everything there is to know about the fish that can be found in the ocean that borders town. She…
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The Encyclopedia of Me
The Encyclopedia of Me written by Karen Rivers was an interesting take on the middle school drama that all girls go through. Rather than a novel, The Encyclopedia of Me is actually written as an encyclopedia with entries for each letter that actually works really well as a story too!…
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Almost Home
Almost Home written by one of my personal favorites – Joan Bauer and is about a 12-year-old girl named Sugar. When her grandfather dies and her father runs off yet again, Sugar’s mother loses their home and Sugar is left homeless – lost and confused and unsure where to turn.…
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The Whole Story of a Half Girl
The Whole Story of a Half Girl written by Veera Hiranandani grabbed my attention, again due to the cover. It was definitely something I wanted to read and I’m so glad I did! Sonia Nadhamuni’s father loses his job and she is forced to go to public school for 6th grade. Never has her…
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The Boy On Cinnamon Street
I am in love with Phoebe Stone’s cover art for many of her books. I recently read The Romeo and Juliet Code and I just picked up The Boy on Cinnamon Street this weekend. Her cover art is always something that makes me want to pick up her books and…
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Dear Blue Sky
There are a number of middle grade stories about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but Dear Blue Sky written by Mary Sullivan, is one of the most realistic, heart wrenching, and real accounts of what life is like both for Americans and for people across the globe. The story begins…