[LIT] book ideas

[Bill IVEY]

"A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades."
<lit at literacyworkshop.org> on Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 9:56 PM -0500
wrote:
>Bill, a book along this theme that I've enjoyed and more than a few
>students have is __Heaven__ by Angela Johnson.  Very short but intense. 
>Marley, the protagonist, finds out that her parents, whom she loves
>deeply, are not her parents and her uncle, who is a very romantic
>vagabond, is her biological father.  A friend is a teen suffering mental
>illness.
>
>For some reason, Friends by Rosa Guy comes to mind, but the plot is a
>little fuzzy.  It might have little to do with the theme.
>
>Your girls are seventh grade? or eighth? or both?

Hi!

First, thanks for your ideas! I'll look into both books.

These are seventh graders - fairly young and sheltered in many ways, for
all the sophistication of their questions. We've read _Lily's Crossing_,
_A Mango-Shaped Space_ and _Chasing Vermeer_ for our first three class
novels, and I've read them _Anne Frank Remembered_ (extracts) and _Jacob
Have I Loved_ for morning reading.

Take care,
Bill