Smoky Night by Eve Bunting

• Bunting, Eve, and David Diaz. Smoky Night. San Diego [u.a.: Harcourt Brace, 1994. Print. 40 pages.
• ISBN-10: 0152699546
• ISBN-13: 978-0152699543

During a night of rioting in Los Angeles, fires and looting force neighbors--who have always avoided one another--to come together. David Diaz was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his bold acrylic paint and photo-collage illustrations.
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=0152018840


I thought this was a great little book with wonderful illustrations.  The sense of community within this book was a great message that students could really take home with them.  I think that students could learn a little about imagery from this book because David Diaz really did a wonderful job telling the story not only through the words, but through the pictures also.

Backwater by Joan Bauer

Bauer, Joan. Backwater. New York: Putnam, 1999. Print. 192 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0399231412
• ISBN-13: 978-0399231414

Ivy Breedlove longs to be understood, to break free from her family's expectations that she study law. All Breedloves are lawyers. Ivy is researching her family's history when she finds a Breedlove who left the family, a Breedlove who isn't a lawyer, Ivy's Aunt Josephine. No one will talk about Josephine who is a "backwater," Ivy's family's word for someone who doesn't fit in. Ivy believes she is a backwater too and is determined to locate her mysterious aunt.
http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-backwater.html


This book could be good for students who feel a little outcast sometimes.  Ivy Breedlove is a relatable character that I think some middle school students could really connect with.  This could be a fun project in class to have students see that it is okay to be a little different, and talk about what sets each of the apart from their families, peers, etc.

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Hartinger, Brent. Geography Club. New York: HarperTempest, 2003. Print.

240 pages. ISBN-10: 0060012218; ISBN-13: 978-0060012212

Russel is gay, and he knows he better keep it secret, or he'll be a total outcast in his small-town high school. But then he discovers that there are others like him--including Min, his longtime best friend, and her lesbian lover, as well as gorgeous, popular jock star Kevin. Seven of them form a support group (the "Geography Club" is their cover-up name), and for a short time, life is blissful. Russel has friends with whom he can be himself, and he also makes love with Kevin. Then things fall apart. Russel refuses to have sex with a girl, and word gets out that he's gay. Kevin can't come out, so he and Russel break up. Things are settled a little too neatly in the end, but there's no sermonizing. With honest talk of love and cruelty, friendship and betrayal, it's Russel's realistic, funny, contemporary narrative that makes this first novel special. The dialogue is right on; so is the high-school cafeteria; so is the prejudice. http://www.amazon.com/Geography-Club-Brent-Hartinger/dp/0060012218

This would be good in middle school to help students who may be struggling with the idea of homosexuality, and maybe open the eyes of some who do not understand it or may be interested in learning more.  I of course do not want bullying to occur, and I think that the first step to that is to make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn about someone a little different than themselves. This book would provide that opportunity for my students.

Only Passing Through by Anne Rockwell

Rockwell, Anne F., and R. Gregory Christie. Only Passing Through: the Story of Sojourner Truth. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print. 40 pages. 

• ISBN-10: 044041766X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440417668

Born in 1797, and sold three times by the time she was 13 (and beaten many more times), a tall young slave girl named Isabella grew in her determination to fight the evils of slavery and speak for human rights. At the age of 46, having been a free woman for 17 years, Isabella woke from a dream telling her she must travel the country, conveying to people what it meant to be a slave. On that day, Isabella renamed herself.
http://www.amazon.com/Only-Passing-Through-Story-Sojourner/dp/0679891862


In my field work, the English class I am in is a "Link" class where they link their English and Social Studies classes.  I think that this would be a good book to connect with their History class when their are learning about slavery in America.  I like that it is in the perspective of a woman who grew up in slavery and then takes a stand when she gets older.  I also liked that the illustrations are pretty unique compared to what I usually see in other books.

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Woodson, Jacqueline, and Earl B. Lewis. The Other Side. New York: Putnam's, 2001. Print.

• ISBN-10: 0399231161
• ISBN-13: 978-0399231162

One summer, a little girl lived on one side of a fence. Her mother told her that she could never climb over that fence when she went out and played, because it wasn't safe. That same summer another little girl would climb up on that same fence and stare out over the other side. Sometimes the first little girl would stare back. The first little girl would keep playing with her friends on her own side of the fence. When the second little girl asked if she could play, too, one of the first little girls' friends said "no". The first little girl would watch the second little girl play in puddles from her window. One day, the little girls meet at the fence. They decide to sit on the fence together. The first little girl doesn't get in trouble. After all, she didn't climb over the fence. She just sat on the fence. What happens when both little girls sit on the fence? Find out for yourself by reading "The Other Side," by Jacqueline Woods.
http://www.xomba.com/childrens_book_review_the_other_side_by_jacqueline_woodson


I thought that this was a very cute book, and a great story of friendship.  It shows how two children broke the lines of segregation.  I think this could be used to show middle school students that just because someone is different from you, or not in your "clique," does not mean that you can't be friends with them.  I would like my classroom to be very open where people don't have to worry about things like that, and I think this book can exemplify that.

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

Lovell, Patty, and David Catrow. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2001. Print. 32 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0399234160
• ISBN-13: 978-0399234163
• 
  

Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy, has buck teeth, and has a voice that 

sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor.  She doesn’t mind.  Her 

grandmother has always told her to walk proud, smile big, and sing loud, and she 

takes that to heart.  But then Molly Lou has to start in a new school.  A horrible bully 

picks on her on the very first day, but Molly Lou Melon knows just what to do about 

that! 

http://www.spokenartsmedia.com/StudyGuides/Stand%20Tall.pdf

This story would be great in Middle School addressing self-esteem.  I could read this to my students and have them write about what they may be embarrassed about themselves, or get made fun of for.  They could talk about how it makes them feel when they get picked on by their peers and discuss some ways to combat the issue of bullying.

Inside Out by Terry Trueman

Trueman, Terry. Inside out. New York: HarperTempest, 2003. Print. 128 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0064473767
• ISBN-13: 978-0064473767
• 
  

Zach suspects that things might not be going well when two armed teens burst into the coffee shop where he is waiting for his mother. When their attempted hold-up goes wrong, the teens take everyone in the shop hostage, including the confused Zach. What the robbers don’t realize is that Zach suffers from paranoid adolescent schizophrenia. This condition has left the boy, even with proper medication, in a state of never really knowing the motivations behind other people’s emotions and actions. It also means that if he doesn’t get his medicine on time, two of his worst mental projections, Dirtbag and Rat, may come and torment him to the point of suicide. And time is running out…
http://www.myshelf.com/teen/fiction/04/insideout.htm


I absolutely loved reading this book.  It was a quick read which I think that a lot of middle school students would enjoy.  Also, it is not an overwhelming book which I think is important for students who are not very strong readers.  Sometimes seeing a 500 page book is a little too much and can squash their confidence.  I thought the topic of schizophrenia was a very interesting also.  Seeing the transition from the normal mental state to the schizophrenic mental state is fascinating.  I think it would make a great fiction novel to accompany one's knowledge/learning about the disorder.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

Aardema, Verna, and Beatriz Vidal. Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: a Nandi Tale. New York: Dial, 1981. Print. 32 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0140546162
• ISBN-13: 978-0140546163

This is an old African folktale about a herdsman named Ki-pat. Ki-pat needs rain for the grass to grow, so his cows do not die. Ki-pat makes a bow and arrow and shoots the arrow into the black rain cloud. The arrow helps to change the weather so the grass can grow and the cows can live.

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-literature/SECurtis.html


This book would be a good introduction to students about some of the different cultures in Africa.  It also using repetition and rhyming techniques.  Something the students could do for this would be to write something about an unfamiliar culture they are learning about and use some of the techniques shown in this story.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. New York: Wendy Lamb, 2009. Print. 208 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0385737424
• ISBN-13: 978-0385737425

When You Reach Me, a young adult novel that was a winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal, was written by Rebecca Stead. Set in New York City in the late 1970s, it's an engrossing story about a young girl, her relationships with her friends, her single mother and her mother's boyfriend, and a mystery. 

Miranda is in the sixth grade when she begins to receive a series of notes that indicate knowledge about Miranda's life that is seemingly impossible for anyone to have. Miranda's attempts to understand why she is receiving these notes and what they mean are beautifully illustrated through Miranda's interior monologues about growing up on the upper west side of Manhattan in 1979 and the trials and joys of sixth grade.

The story raises philosophical questions about the nature of time, the nature of friendship, courage and trust,  and the meaning of life and death. It would be a marvelous book to read along with a middle-school-aged child (I read it along with my twelve-year-old son) or to read to a class of upper elementary school students. I couldn't put it down!

What Mary Jo Shared by Janice May Udry

Udry, Janice May., and Eleanor Mill. What Mary Jo Shared. Chicago: Albert Whitman, 1966. Print.
32 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0590437577
• ISBN-13: 978-0590437578

This book tells the story of a young girl who is afraid to share during show and tell at her school. She anticipates things that she could share with her class, but she often gets discouraged because the things are not spectacular enough. Each day at school, her teacher asks her if she would like to share anything, and she declines. Eventually, the young girl decides to bring her father to share with the class. She is happy when she is accepted by her fellow students in the class. Sharing her father with the class happened to be the best choice that she could have made.
-Robin Simmons
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/422825.What_Mary_Jo_Shared


This was a fun read!  It was a cute little book and I loved the positivity.  This would be good in the classroom to encourage students to participate.  Mary Jo was very shy until she worked up the courage to bring her dad in for show and tell.  This could help the shy students see that speaking up and actively participating in class is a good thing and not actually that bad once you get over the fear of it.

Runaway Dreidel by Leslea Newman

Newman, Lesléa, and Kyrsten Brooker. Runaway Dreidel! New York: Henry Holt, 2002. Print. 32 pages.

• ISBN-10: 031237142X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312371425
• 
  

Set to the cadences of "The Night Before Christmas" ("Twas the first night of Chanukah and on the fifth floor/ There was holiday bustling and bustling galore"), Newman's (Matzo Ball Moon) verse narrative describes a runaway dreidel that finds a home in the night sky. The chief virtue of this forgettable tale may be its having occasioned more of Brooker's (Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street) idiosyncratic mixed-media art, oil paintings into which she seamlessly applies cut-paper photo elements. Everything in these illustrations is affectionately skewed, from the slightly oversize heads of the characters to the Brooklynesque street scenes occasioned by the boy narrator's pursuit of the toy. The dynamically dizzy world happily challenges readers to stay on their toes.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Runaway-Dreidel/Leslea-Newman/e/9780312371425


This is a fun book to read and a great way for children to learn a little bit about Jewish culture.  It could be great around the holidays, especially since Christmas is typically what is talked about, and not everyone celebrates Christmas.  It is always good to make sure none of  your students are excluded, and this book is a fun way to bring a little bit of a different culture into your classroom.

All Cats Have Asperger's Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann

Hoopmann, Kathy. All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2007. Print. 72 pages.

• ISBN-10: 1843104814
• ISBN-13: 978-1843104810

This book provides information about Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) by comparing cats to children with this high-functioning form of autism. The information is presented with accompanying pictures and helps ease the child into an understanding of his differences from his peers.

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-best-autism-childrens-books-a51081


First of all I love cats, so I thought this was pretty cute and creative.  I think that Asperger Syndrome is something that students really need to be familiar with because it is pretty likely that they will encounter a peer at some point who is diagnosed with this syndrome.  I remember a student at my high school with Asperger's who was ridiculed a lot, and I don't think most people knew that he had been diagnosed.  This book would be an easy way to explain Asperger's to students to give them an idea of what others are going through.

A is for Amazing Moments by Brad Herzog

Herzog, Brad, and Melanie Rose. A Is for Amazing Moments: a Sports Alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear, 2008. Print. 36 pages.

• ISBN-10: 158536360X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585363605

From the first woman to swim the English Channel to the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, there have been some incredible and amazing events and milestones in the world of sports. Now in A is for Amazing Moments: A Sports Alphabet, sportswriter Brad Herzog showcases those events that set sports records while impacting American history and world views.

http://www4.shopping.com/A-is-for-Amazing-Moments:/hDpuOef_2FPZMNL1jzDxeg==/info


This is a sports highlights book with great illustrations.  It shows some of the great moments and records set in sports.  It has people of various races that have made these accomplishments and I think that is very important.  It is good to show the students that all kinds of people make these achievements, and it doesn't matter what race you are, you can still excel at what you want to.

Wild Wild Sunflower Child Anna by Jerry Pinkney

Carlstrom, Nancy White., and Jerry Pinkney. Wild Wild Sunflower Child Anna. New York: Aladdin, 1991. Print. 32 pages.

• ISBN-10: 0689714459
• ISBN-13: 978-0689714450

Rhyming verse tells of the summertime adventures of a young girl as she romps through the countryside. Watercolor, gouache, and color pencil illustrations accompany the text.
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/7225989/used/Wild%20Wild%20Sunflower%20Child%20Anna


The illustrations in this book were beautiful and I loved the rhyming verse technique Pinkney used.  I liked that it showed a girl living in the countryside because I think it is a beautiful place that not a lot of people see.  Students living in urban and suburban areas may enjoy seeing this different side that they are unfamiliar with.