Middle School Book Life
Welcome to the Middle School Book Life newsletter, a weekly newsletter for middle school teachers who want to figure out the best books for to teach their students. Join us as we chat about Book Clubs, whole class novels, classroom libraries, and independent reading.
Featuring: "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Read and teach inclusive books. A weekly recommendation to level up your book matchmaking. Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler Genre: Historical Fiction Age Range: 11 - 14 Summary: This story is told through two alternating narrators: modern-day, 12-year-old Liv and her grandma (Bubbe) in Holland in 1942. Assigned a research project for History class, Liv is surprised to find an old box filled with newspaper articles and photos in Bubbe's attic. The photo shows a young Bubbe with a sister —...
Featuring: "Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation" by Sylvia Liu
Read and teach inclusive books. A weekly recommendation to level up your book matchmaking. 👀 Want free teaching materials? I am developing new resources for teaching theme and I would love for you to try them out and provide feedback. If you're interested, hit reply and let me know! Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu Genre: Dystopian, Sci-Fi Age Range: 9-13 Summary: In a world run by corporations, Hana can't wait to begin Start-Up, a highly selective program for 12-year-olds...
Featuring: "Before the Ever After" by Jacqueline Woodson
Read and teach inclusive books. A weekly recommendation to level up your book matchmaking. Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson Genre: Realistic Fiction Age Range: 11-15 Summary: 12-year-old ZJ is a musician and best friend to Ollie, Darry, and Daniel. He's also the son of NFL superstar "Zachariah 44" Johnson. His dad loves everything about football and has excelled as a pro athlete, a husband, and a father. But he has also suffered numerous concussions. Soon, his headaches become...
Featuring: "Pride and Premeditation" by Tirzah Price
Read and teach inclusive books. A weekly recommendation to level up your book matchmaking. Pride and Premeditation: A Jane Austen Murder Mystery by Tirzah Price Genre: Mystery Age Range: 12-17 Summary: Lizzie Bennet wants more than her lot in life. Right now, that means she wants to do real work at her father's law firm but she can't get people to take her seriously. When a member of society is murdered, Lizzie sees an opportunity to enact justice by investigating the case. Only, this brings...
Featuring: "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
Read and teach inclusive books. A weekly recommendation to level up your book matchmaking. A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga Genre: Science Fiction Age Range: 8-12 Summary: Resilience ("Res") is built to navigate and study the rocks, dust storms, and mountains of Mars. Res wants to be an excellent rover, a courageous robot who not only initiates scientific breakthroughs but who also makes his scientists, Xander and Rania, proud. In the laboratory, Res must patiently wait as his parts are...
Featuring: "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Read and teach inclusive books. Dear Reader, I think I can almost always tell when a middle grade or young adult book is written by a teacher. Their audience is not tweens and teens — it's their students. They don't want to just give their students a fun, meaningful story. They want the plot, characters, and setting to be infused with the academic concepts their students are learning. On the surface, Glitch is a time-travel adventure novel. That makes for an enticing hook for students. But as...
Featuring: "Cleo Porter and the Body Electric" by Jake Burt
Read and teach inclusive books. Dear Reader, During the school year, teachers produce an enormous amount of output. Lesson plans, assessments, family communication, bulletin board designs: it's relentless. There's not always much time for deep thinking. During breaks, I advocate for teachers to focus on input. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Try new foods. See new sites. Take in information and ideas without the pressure of doing anything with them. Let them percolate during your morning run,...
Featuring: "The Town With No Mirrors" by Christina Collins
Read and teach inclusive books. Dear Reader, Welcome! I took a hiatus this spring from writing this newsletter as I have been teaching and coaching my ELA grad students. It's a position I love, but that plus parenting our two little boys has meant less time for gushing about books with you. Nevertheless, it's a joy to be back here. Whether you have been around for awhile or have recently joined the fun, I'm glad to return to our book chats. I'll be in your inbox just about every Tuesday to...
Featuring: "Chaos Theory" by Nic Stone
Read and teach inclusive books. Dear Reader, Welcome! It's another beautiful day here in Seattle and I am delighted to jump into your inbox and swoon over one of my favorite, newish young adult books: Chaos Theory written by the incredible Nic Stone. Read on to learn how to teach with it (and a reminder about today's TPT sale!). Today's Book Recommendation It's Mental Health Awareness Month, making this the perfect time to add Chaos Theory to your high school classroom library. Title: Chaos...
Featuring: "Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston" by Esme Symes-Smith
Read and teach inclusive books. Dear Reader, I love writing these newsletters to you. There's such a plethora of fabulous middle grade and young adult books out there and it's just not possible for one teacher to read them all. To help you out, I read as many as I can and then tell you about my favorites right here, every Tuesday. If you want more than this, check out the literacy learning materials in my TPT store. Give me a follow and you might win a $10 gift card to TPT. Here's how to...
Welcome to the Middle School Book Life newsletter, a weekly newsletter for middle school teachers who want to figure out the best books for to teach their students. Join us as we chat about Book Clubs, whole class novels, classroom libraries, and independent reading.