One of the best parts about reading is that you can do it almost anywhere. While this summer looked much different than what I had originally anticipated with travel plans on hold, I was able to still go to my favorite reading spot (on our pontoon boat) soak up the sun and read. With so many events going on in our world recently this summer I tried to expand my typical go-to genres of books. Anyone who knows me, knows I love history and I think people today can learn a lot about the mistakes and lessons from the past, but I also tried to push myself to read more stories that I think our students will be able to relate to. I am incredibly fortunate to be a member of the #BookPosse a group of teachers and librarians from around the country who receive ARC’s (advanced reading copies) of a variety of children literature. This summer I was able to read over 30 books that I look forward to adding to my classroom library.

 

Students always ask which are my favorites – again this is completely based on my personal connection to the book, but here are my TOP 5 – man was this hard!

Dress Coded By: Carrie Firestone – There are so many former students who I want to recommend this book to and I wish it was around when I was in middle school. Molly Frost is done allowing girls to be pushed around at her school due to dress code violations. It seems that every person (except her) has been yelled at, pulled over by the principal or quizzed on their apparel. Molly decides to take action and start a podcast to help give the girls at her school a voice and before she knows it she may have started a school revolt!

Any Day With You By: Mae Respico – Kaia is ready for the summer of her lifetime. She lives in California and her friends are a part of a creative arts camp where they get to work on a short video project. Suddenly, what Kaia thinks will be the best summer ever, completely turns upside down. Her sister is out of the country on a school trip and rarely has time to talk and worst yet, her great grandfather, who she is extremely close to announces that he is moving back to the Philippines. Can Kaia convince him that she needs him to stay in the United States with her family?

The Sixties Trilogy (Countdown, Revolution & Anthem) By: Deborah Wiles – Okay, I might be cheating on this one by include all 3 books in the series, but I found that once I finished one book I had to pick up the next. While this series focuses on the 1960’s many of the topics discussed in the books, especially Revolution & Anthem, are relevant to our society today, such as racism, equal rights and standing up for what you believe in. This series is a mash between fiction and non-fiction and the audio books are also fantastic.

The Wild Path By: Sarah R. Baughman – Claire Barton feels like her family is broken. Her brother has been sent to rehab for his prescription drug addition he acquired after hurting his back snowmobiling. Claire’s family have announced they must sell their two horses before winter to help cover family expenses and Claire is devastated. Suddenly, she discovers mysterious wild horses in the woods behind her family’s home and wonders if theses horses hold the secrets to bringing her family back together and solving all of their problems.

War Stories By: Gordon Korman  – Trevor loves playing war video games and is obsessed with his great-grandpa, Jacob a WWII veteran, who he believes is a true war hero. His grandfather helped to liberate a small town in France after surviving D-Day. When his grandfather gets the opportunity to go back to France to be recognized for his actions, Trevor jumps at the chance to go with him. On their journey, Trevor uncovers some uncomfortable secrets of his grandfather’s past and learns that war is not just what is shown in video games.

 

I hope this sparked some reading interest – happy reading!