Today’s guest, middle school teacher Susan Taylor, has repeatedly gone the extra mile to build a reading program that makes an impact. Not only does she guide her students towards the best books available, she guides her teaching network the same way, through her podcast, Wonder World Book Cafe.
Today, we’re going to go rapid fire through her favorites to recommend to students, and why she likes them so much.
You’ll walk away with fantastic recommendations for novels-in-verse, graphic novels, historical fiction, and much more. You’ll discover Susan’s top pick for First Chapter Friday, the one book she thinks every classroom library should have, and the superb (easy-to-copy) way she helps students recommend books to each other all year long as part of their regular reading routine.
Today’s show notes are written by Susan with just a few little additions and graphics from me! Thank you, Susan!
Meet Susan, 8th Grade Teacher
I teach 8th grade in California’s Central Valley. (We often say we’re 2 hours from everything cool – the beach and the mountains.)
Fortunately for me, I get to teach my two favorite subjects: English and history. The best combo, right?! I’m in good company when I say I am a strong supporter of daily choice, independent reading and continue to be inspired by the work my other of my “internet friends” who feel the same way, Betsy, you’re one!
I also host a podcast (Wonder World Book Cafe) where I feature middle grade and young adult books.
Junior high students sometimes get caught in the middle – between middle grade and young adult. Too young or topics that are too mature for my readers.
I’m always on the lookout upper middle grade stories.
Middle School Book Recommendations: Novels-in-Verse
Students are asking more and more for shorter books. Novels in verse are a perfect fit for this request.
Runner up: And Then Boom– by Lisa Fipps (also the author of Starfish)
Quick Teaser: Joe is a 6th grader living in poverty with his grandmum, his mom is who knows where. Joe and his grandmum live in her car then an old trailer until the unthinkable happens, then Joe is alone and hungry, all the time.
I started this year with a class read of And Then Boom by Lisa Fipps, beautifully written in verse. I was surprised that some students hadn’t read a book in verse before.
After that, some readers started requesting books written in verse and equally as important, they were able to tell me they didn’t want a book in verse format.
Top Pick: Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi.
Quick Teaser: In this story, 7th grader Kareem is Syrian American and desperate to make the football team. He doesn’t… then gets caught between his faith, culture, and his integrity. Plus, his mom goes to Syria to bring her aging father back, and gets stranded there due to an executive order.
I don’t “gender-ize” books–all genders can read all books. This is ONE that male students push on each other to read and finish.
Upon finishing a book, I invite my students to rate the book in the back, and this one continues to receive many stars! By the way, this concept has made a difference in helping readers choose a book. They are influenced (as many of us are) by ratings from current and former students (sometimes siblings even!). This is a simple, effective tip and helps build a community of readers.
Middle School Book Recommendations: Graphic Novels
This is another booming category and readers request this format, often!
Runner up: Mexikid, a graphic memoir by Pedro Martin.
Quick Teaser: It’s hilarious and extra special on audio. Readers will love Pedro whose family of 11 is traveling from their California home to Jaliso, Mexico in an old Winnebago. There are plenty of mishaps along their 2,000 mile journey!
Runner Up: Huda F Are You by Huda Fahmy. Of course, the title alone draws many readers right in.These graphic novels are inspired by the author’s life growing up as Muslim American in Michigan. In this graphic memoir, Huda has four sisters and a dad who pressures them to be successful while their mom just really wants her five daughters to bond. It’s heartfelt, serious, and laugh out loud funny! It’s a bonus that I get the follow up quickly in readers hands, Huda F. Cares? And, the latest is almost out and terrific, too: Huda F. Wants to Know?
Top recommendation (at least for now): A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
Quick Plot Teaser: It’s 1989 and 13 year-old Dan hasn’t been too far from his Southern CA home ever but his parents want him to get out and see the world. They send him on a school trip to Europe where he visits several countries, has some hilarious mishaps, and meets his first girlfriend. I’ve not had one student “quit” this book. (I do encourage quitting books and for some, this is the first time they’ve been “given permission” to put down an unfinished book.)
One Author People are Missing Out On
Rex Ogle!
Rarely does a reader “quit” a book by this author. This has been a favorite for at least four years.
Let’s talk about his first book, actually his memoir, Free Lunch. It’s also a shorter book, just under 200 pages. Rex Ogle writes about his middle school years, growing up in poverty, with his mom and her abusive boyfriend. School is a refuge and a curse–it gets him out of the house, and he’s bright, but it’s obvious to peers and teachers that he’s poor and with this comes a whole host of issues.
Right after Free Lunch, I recommend Punching Bag. Here Rex Ogle continues his story now that he’s in high school. Following Punching Bag, Rex Ogle brought us a novel in verse, Abuela Don’t Forget Me.
A Book Every Middle School Teacher should have in their Library
Especially in junior high, a book every teacher needs is the newly released When we Flew Away a novel of Anne Frank, Before the Attic.
This one is written by Alice Hoffman who typically writes for adults. I recommend this as a must-have because junior high is often the time students start to learn more about Anne Frank; it’s part of many schools’ curriculum.
Through a fictional account and highly researched one, When We Flew Away, shows the progression of anti-semitism–and how it led to Jewish people being taken to concentration camps and/or going into hiding as in the Frank’s case. We just finished as a whole class read, and it has answered so many questions for 8th graders. We are just going into reading the play of The Diary of Anne Frank, and there has been quite a lot of enthusiasm for it which I attribute to reading When We Flew Away first.
Best First Chapter Friday for Middle School
As I’ve said several times, readers want shorter books.
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt is not only short, under 200 pages, but wow, it’s powerful!
You can use chapter 1 as a read aloud and hook readers right in where by page 3, they’ll learn about Joseph, a 14 year old foster kid who was incarcerated because he tried to kill a teacher and has an infant daughter that he’s never seen.
That’s a lot, though rest assured, it’s still upper middle grade!
It has a shocking ending which readers are not prepared for AND the sequel was released last year, Rising Jupiter, also excellent.
Free Lunch also makes for a great First Chapter Friday book.
Middle School Book Recommendations: Sports Books
It’s always fun to get readers hooked on Jason Reynold’s series beginning with Ghost. These stories contain quite a diverse set of characters all on an elite track team.
My next recommendation is one that I’ve not seen get much attention. It’s Hazard by Frances O’Roarke Dowell. It’s not directly about sports but interests readers because in it, an 8th grader named Haz is kicked off the football team for being overly aggressive on the field. On top of that, his dad is deployed in Afghanistan with the U.S Army. The story unfolds in a unique format–through text messages, emails, interviews, and reports to his dreaded counselor! Most readers have loved this one.
Action-Packed Books for Middle Schoolers
One of my personal favorite genres is historical fiction, so this is my favorite genre to recommend. This genre is often filled with plenty of action. Many students LOVE Alan Gratz, and so do I.
Though my all-time favorite author for historical fiction is Ruta Sepetys, and many readers don’t know her work.
Her books fit into the “upper middle grade” and young adult categories. My students LOVE Between Shades of Gray which is on Netflix with the name Ashes in the Snow and Salt to the Sea, both set during WWII. They are absolutely heartbreaking with plenty of action and Sepetys’ signature for telling stories about little known historical events.
How Susan Finds Time to Read
How do I find time to do all the reading I do? Platforms.
I LOVE books, actual hold in my lap books, AND when that’s not possible, then audiobooks. I think I learned about Libro FM’s Advanced Listener Copy program from you, so that’s one place educators can start for free audio books.
Click here to sign up for Libro FM’s special free program for classroom teachers and librarians.
Audio books are the “gift of time.” Time to read during my commute to school and audio books sure do “dress up” mundane tasks like folding clothes and unloading the dishwasher. Between books and audio books, I’m able to read more and feel satisfied that I’m using my time well. Also it allows me to read books just for me (which is one of my goals for the year).
Get more Middle School Book Recommendations on Susan’s Podcast, Wonder World Book Cafe
Many of the books I mentioned today are featured on my podcast, Wonder World Book Cafe.
I LOVE talking about all things books and stories with my students, and then decided to broaden book talkin’ with a podcast. I just recorded my 100th episode! Each episode is fun-sized at right around ten minutes. In that short period of time, I give you enough information to decide if a book is right for the readers you serve, but I won’t give too much away as I always hope adults want to read the stories, too.
Images from the @wonderworldbookcafe Instagram feed
Find me on Apple, Spotify, and many others and follow me on Instagram also at Wonder World Book Cafe. I’d LOVE to hear from your listeners, Betsy…their favorite and must haves in an ever-changing world!
I’d also like to share that we call our classroom Wonder World Cafe! During our daily 30 highly guarded independent choice reading time, I serve tea (in real tea cups with saucers) and my students are welcome to enjoy reading on one of our little couches. Making this an important and cozy part of our day.
I’m a specialist for California Global Education Project. CGEP’s goal is to prepare our youth to be globally competent, engaged members of our interconnected and changing world. My role with CGEP is to provide pathways for discussions about global competence through literature.
All of these roles allow me to do what I LOVE –read a wide variety of books and genres.
