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.