TheApple

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf is a great book for middle school girls. It lets them know that everything isn't perfect at that age and can bring on good discussions of their struggles.

personally, I loved sci-fi and fantasy in middle-school. Especially Piers Anthony's Xanth series.

Although I haven't had a chance to use it in a class yet, I love Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. I have found that it is difficult to find good books for both boys and girls and I think that this is great for that. The movie is also good, so it can be used as a culminating activity. It's also a great book to use when learning about environmental issues and endangered animals. I created some activities to go along with this book because it allows for so much extension and cross-curricular connections.

Sherman Alexie, who is an amazing author of books for adults, recently released a book called 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.' It's currently #2 on the Book Sense Bestsellers List for Children. It's also nominated for The National Book Award. It really is very powerful. Many students of all ages tend to think of Indian people only in the past sense. I teach fifth grade right now and when I mentioned something about Indian people today, one of my students replied, "There's still Indians alive today!?" This book deals with the struggles of a modern day Indian teenager. Some parts will probably make read-aloud a little uncomfortable and I'm sure that this book will also make The Banned Books List which is usually a sign of a really good book! You can check out reviews on Alexie's site: www.fallsapart.com