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: "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...
Featuring: "Children of Ragnarok" by Cinda Williams Chima
Read and teach inclusive books. Today's Book Recommendation Title: Children of Ragnarok Author: Cinda Williams Chima Genre: Fantasy, Mythology Age Range: 12+ Summary: Set in the Midlands after Ragnarok, siblings Eiric and Liv set sail away from their murderous step-father’s family and towards New Jotunheim, the refuge of magical wyrdspinners. At the same time, Reginn escapes her slaver master in order to accept an invitation to learn from the wyrdspinners in New Jotunheim. Once all three...
Featuring: "Imogen, Obviously" by Becky Albertalli
Read and teach inclusive books. Today's Book Recommendation Title: Imogen, Obviously Author: Becky Albertalli Genre: Realistic Fiction Age Range: 13+ Summary: Imogen may be straight, but she is committed to being the ever-learning ally that her queer friends and little sister need. When she visits her best friend Lili—newly out but thriving with a squad of LGBTQ+ friends—for a weekend at college, Imogen gets pulled into Lili’s white lie that they used to date. Suddenly seen as bi and feeling...
Featuring: "Twenty-Four Seconds From Now" by Jason Reynolds
Read and teach inclusive books. Today's Book Recommendation Title: Twenty-Four Seconds From Now Author: Jason Reynolds Genre: Realistic Fiction Age Range: 14+ Summary:17-year-old Neon met Aria 24 months ago when her dog ran through the middle of his grandpa's funeral. Since then, through the yearbook committee, gifts of chicken tenders, and easy on-going chats, they have realized they are...ready. Through flashbacks in increments of 24 (24 months, 24 days, etc.), Neon and Aria's love story...
Featuring: "Freewater" by Amina Luqman-Dawson
Read and teach inclusive books. Today's Book Recommendation Title: Freewater Author: Amina Luqman-Dawson Genre: Historical Fiction Age Range: 10+ Summary: 12-year-old Homer and his sister Ada have been held in slavery their whole lives. They flee when an opening for escape comes, but it means leaving their mother behind on the plantation. Deep in the swamp they discover Freewater, a secret and welcoming community of formerly enslaved people. Yet the violence of slavery persists just on the...
Featuring: "Aniana Del Mar Jumps In" by Jasminne Mendez
Read and teach inclusive books. Today's Book Recommendation Title: Aniana Del Mar Jumps In Author: Jasminne Mendez Genre: Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Age Range: 9+ Summary: Ani loves to swim. When in the water — whether the ocean around her home of Galveston, TX or in the pool for a swim meet — Ani is free and able to fly. But her Mami, plagued by traumatic hurricanes of her youth, fears the water and forbids Ani from swimming. And Ani’s own body aches and swells from an autoimmune...
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.