Young Adult

A great coming-of-age story set in the 1950s of an 11-year-old determined to be Jacqueline Kennedy’s personal fashion designer. It is such a pleasure to read a story with an optimistic and kind female protagonist as opposed to the typical narcissistic, suicidal ones that dominate teenage literature. Axelrod is a hoot, and this story also has a lot of heart.

In this impressive anthology of ten short stories about American Indians (I’ve always used the term “Native Americans,” but the book prefers “American Indians”), amazing authors like Sherman Alexie and Cynthia Leitich Smith share stories of triumph and tribulation that make great book discussions for middle school classrooms.

While the book was written for teenage girls – please don’t laugh – I think I may have to integrate Holcombe’s advice into my own weight struggles. A cheerleader for healthy living and a warrior against teenage obesity, Holcombe discusses her own trials as a teenager dropping 100 pounds in one year in a healthy way. I found the book highly inspiring and informative, and I don’t care if people laugh at me for adopting a teenage girl’s diet!

The delightful tale that inspired the movie "Willy Wonka," this is a favorite of all ages. Appropriate reading while you gorge yourself over the Thanksgiving holiday. I also like to point out to students that Charlie wins the chocolate because the other four kids are brats. Moral: nice guys don’t always finish last.

A few lazyreaders.com subscribers have asked me why I rarely include horror titles, and the simple reason is that I don’t like scary books. They give me nightmares. But, I am here to serve, and if you want a suspenseful, hide-under-your-sheets bedtime story, this book is a good place to start.

Great parable that reveals ten secrets to approaching work and life in a highly readable and enjoyable story about one man’s inspirational bus ride of a lifetime.

Since I am sending you this month’s list a little early, you might be able to read this just in time for Halloween. Ichabod Crane is such a poor, innocent fellow. I thought of this book because Ichabod’s love interest, Katrina Van Tassel, reminded me to add my friend Kathy Van Tassell to our reading list.

There are not enough practical guides for teens on how to solve problems common to them. This book is filled with excellent tips and exercises, and the authors keep the writing positive rather than preachy. Any parent of a teenage girl should invest in this book to encourage open dialogue.

Davis is always funny, and the reason I include this book recommendation is to bring more attention to his website, www.professorgarfield.org. This is one of my favorite websites to teach students how to write, as its free comic strip creator is a terrific way to allow students to create their own Garfield comic strips to teach sequence of events, review concepts learned each day, etc. Any K-8 teacher needs to check out this site.