Young Adult

I confess that I picked this book from the shelves because I thought it was a grammar book and wound up treated to a book that teen boys love. Great characters come together in a money-making scheme gone awry. Funny and touching at the same time.

Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of the most popular young adult authors in America, and the reason is because of her mastery to create realistic teen characters in realistic situations in much the way that filmmaker John Hughes managed to capture teen dilemmas during the 1980s. I use this book to inspire middle schoolers to write, especially as I have taught girls like Tish Bonner who sit in the back of the class and think they are too good for school.

Inspired by the author’s own experiences camping as a Boy Scout on the site of Hawaiian earthquake/tsunami, this book is sure to entice readers, as it reads a lot like a campfire story that keeps building and building.

I think what I like most about Hahn’s sequel to Unenchanted is her ability to tell a compelling story with an interesting love triangle for teenage girls that does not focus on death and dreariness.

Think Blair Witch Project for teens, as six teenagers stay the night at a mental institution set for demolition. A great mystery that will keep teenagers on the edges of their seats.

I am a huge fan of Sir Ken Robinson’s creativity revolution, and I have absorbed a number of wonderfully creative efforts like Scalin’s challenge to pick a theme and create daily projects around that theme for a year. Every teacher and parent should grab a copy.

Students will love this, and wise teachers will read it themselves, as this awesome book is FILLED with great transition activities that are sure to keep students awake in between test drivel.

I found this book at the checkout stand at Kinko’s. Can you believe it? It was filled with large print, fun fonts and lots of doodles, so I had to buy it. It will take you an hour to read and months to implement. Another great way to encourage creativity.

Lots of stuff going on in this book. Great for the “middle child” in any family. Reminded me of the Outlander books my wife has me reading, as it deals with a young girl’s time travel adventures. Sure to be popular with upper elementary and middle school girls.

Based largely on the research of scientist James Lovelock, this book is sure to spark interesting classroom discussions about global warming. Great way to teach students how to be respectful of one another’s divergent views.

One of the best ways I know to entice reluctant boy readers to read is to offer them plenty of comics. Better yet – find one related to a recent hit movie. Get multiple copies of this paperback, as it will fly off the shelves.

I am not a Yankees fan at all, but even I will be bummed to see Derek Jeter leave. A class act baseball player for 20 years, I am thrilled to see him writing books geared toward upper elementary and middle school boys. They’ll devour this book.

I read a lot of books and often fail to mention some of today’s best authors because I enjoy everything they write. Gary Soto is one of today’s best young adult authors, and every parent needs to be aware that his books are extremely popular with reluctant boy readers. Take your pick of Soto’s work. I enjoy this tale of two Mexican-American boys who struggle to earn enough money to replace a gangster’s disc player that they broke. This is actually a sequel to The Pool Party, and I like both books because of Soto’s sense of humor and mastery of young adult dialogue sprinkled with Spanglish.

I teach a lot of African-American teenage girls who complain that there are not a lot of good things out there to read, so they challenged me to read a lot more African-American literature. I guess the great thing about discussing books is that I stumble upon sweet pieces I probably would have never discovered on my own. This wonderful second novel by Whittenberg is a very quick read that reminds me of an African-American version of Dead Poet’s Society (but I enjoy this book a lot more than I enjoyed that movie, and you can email me if you want to know why I am not a fan of that flick).

My kids adore Miyazaki’s movies, and I think this book should be in every classroom library to encourage kids to try their hands at illustrating in an education system that has become test-crazy.