Book Lists

2012 Teacher's Choices-Advanced Readers (Grade 6-8)

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Since 1989,  the International Reading Association started the Teachers' Choices project  that will encourage young people to read. These are books that kids will enjoy—and that contribute to learning across the curriculum. Teachers and parents will  find exceptional for curriculum use or reading aloud uses.

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Saving Zasha

by: Randi Barrow
Saving Zasha
In post-WWII Russia, one boy dares to save an entire race of outlawed dogs -- the German shepherd!World War II has just ended when thirteen-year-old Mikhail finds a dying man and his German shepherd, Zasha, in the woods. It's dangerous -- some say traitorous -- to own a German dog after Germany attacked Russia, so Mikhail must keep Zasha a secret to keep her alive.But Mikhail's rival, Katia, is determined to find the dog she is sure he's hiding. At the same time, a soldier named Dimitri is breeding a new Russian dog at a nearby farm. So many dogs were lost in combat, to starvation, and in the slaughter of German dogs that the country is in dire need of every kind of dog.Dimitri, too, has suspicions of Zasha's existance, and would like nothing more than to add her to his breeding program. He'll have to compete with the armed dog thieves who are also on her trail.Mikhail's inspiring journey to save his best friend, the last German shepherd in Russia, forces him to face some of life's hardest lessons about war, hate, forgiveness, hope, love, and man's best friend.

Saga of the Sioux

by: Dwight Jon Zimmerman
release date: Oct 25, 2011
Saga of the Sioux

This new adaptation of Dee Brown's multi-million copy bestseller, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, is filled with photographs and maps to bring alive the tragic saga of Native Americans for middle grade readers. Focusing on the Sioux nation as representative of the entire Native American story, this meticulously researched account allows the great chiefs and warriors to speak for themselves about what happened to the Sioux from 1860 to the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1891. This dramatic story is essential reading for every student of U.S. history.

Requiem

by: Paul B. Janeczko
release date: Aug 09, 2011
Requiem
Presents a collection of poetry inspired by the history of the people in the Terezín concentration camp during the holocaust.

Okay for Now

by: Gary D. Schmidt
Okay for Now
While Doug struggles to be more than the thug that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer, as they explore Audubon's art.

Inside Out and Back Again

by: Thanhha Lai
Inside Out and Back Again
Inside Out & Back Again is a verse novel by Thanhha Lai. The book was awarded the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and one of the two Newbery Honors. The novel was based on her first year in the United States, as a ten-year-old girl who spoke no English in 1975.

Hidden

by: Helen Frost
release date: May 10, 2011
Hidden
When fourteen-year-olds Wren and Darra meet at a Michigan summer camp, both are overwhelmed by memories from six years earlier when Darra's father stole a car, unaware that Wren was hiding in the back. Years after Darra Monson's father stole a minivan with Wren Abbott hiding in the back, the girls come face to face at summer camp, and together they try to work through what happened to them and the impact it had on their lives.

Heart and Soul

by: Kadir Nelson
release date: Sep 27, 2011
Heart and Soul
The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. In Heart and Soul, Kadir Nelson's stirring paintings and words grace 100-plus pages of a gorgeous picture book—a beautiful gift for readers of all ages, a treasure to share across generations at home or in the classroom. Heart and Soul is about the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination, and triumphs. Kadir Nelson's Heart and Soul—the winner of numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor, and the recipient of five starred reviews—is told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator. This inspiring book demonstrates that in striving for freedom and equal rights, African Americans help our country on the journey toward its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.

Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students

by: Mignon Fogarty
release date: Jul 05, 2011
Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students

Named to the International Reading Association's 2012 Teachers' Choice book list

Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students is a complete and comprehensive guide to all things grammar from Grammar Girl, a.k.a. Mignon Fogarty, whose popular podcasts have been downloaded over twenty million times and whose first book, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, was a New York Times bestseller.

For beginners to more advanced students, this guide covers it all: the parts of speech, sentences, and punctuation are all explained clearly and concisely with the warmth, wit, and accessibility Grammar Girl is known for. Pop quizzes are scattered throughout to reinforce the explanations, as well as Grammar Girl's trademark Quick and Dirty Tips―easy and fun memory tricks to help with those challenging rules.

Complete with a writing style chapter and a guide to the different kinds of writing―everything from school papers to letter writing to e-mails―this guide is sure to become the one-stop, essential book on every student's desk.

City of Orphans

by: Avi
City of Orphans
The streets of 1893 New York are full of life: crowded, filthy, dangerous. If you are a newsboy like thirteen-year-old Maks Geless, you need to watch out for Bruno, leader of the Plug Ugly Gang whose shadowy, sinister boss is plotting to take control of all the newsies on the lower East Side. With Bruno's boys in fierce pursuit, Maks discovers Willa, a strange girl who lives alone in an alley. It is she, stick in hand, who fights off the Plug Uglies -- but further dangers await. Maks must find a way to free his sister Emma from The Tombs, the city jail where she has been imprisoned for stealing a watch at the glamorous new Waldorf Hotel. Maks, believing her innocent, has only four days to prove it. Fortunately, there is Bartleby Donck, the eccentric lawyer (among other employments) to guide Maks and Willa in the art of detection. Against a backdrop alive with the sights and sounds of tenement New York, Maks, as boy detective, must confront a teeming world of wealth and crime, while struggling against powerful forces threatening new immigrants and the fabric of family love. - Publisher.

Alexander Hamilton

by: Jean Fritz
release date: Jan 19, 2012
Alexander Hamilton
Award-winning biographer Jean Fritz brings one of America's favorite Founding Fathers to life!

Most people know that Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, and that his face is on the ten-dollar bill. But he was much more than that, and here acclaimed biographer Jean Fritz explores all facets of his life. Born in the West Indies, Hamilton arrived in New York as an outsider. He fought in the Revolution and became Washington's most valuable aide-de-camp. He was there for the writing of the Constitution and became the first Secretary of the Treasury. Fritz's talent for bringing historical figures to life shines as she shares her fascination with this man of action who was honorable, ambitious, and fiercely loyal to his adopted country.
Categories: Nonfiction / Biography, Nonfiction / History
10 results found


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