Middle school classroom bookshelves

[Jaynjey1]

I teach in middle school and I'm always looking for new books to add to my bookshelf. My school is a Christian school. As such, I shouldn't include books with any inappropriate language. I' don't believe they'd like me including witches, vampires, zombies, etc... either. That being said, I'd love to hear your ideas for books I should consider adding that would interest this grade level.

[Shelly2915]

Interesting topic you have here. I don't know if they would be appropriate for your school, but my 11 year old daughter is currently reading Sweet Valley Friends, as well as The Babysitters Club, and my 10 year old son is reading The Hardy Boys. Your students may be a little ahead from those reading levels though. We homeschool, so their grade levels would be 5th and 4th respectively. However, I did search the Internet for your inquiry, because I really was interested, and found some ideas that way. The first one I found has grade lists that are separated into level lists, I hope that makes sense. And I hope this helps, I don't know the rule about sharing links or I would share it here for you.
But, some of the books on his list are:
6h grade level 1
The Martian Chronicles -Ray Bradbury
The Bronze Bow- Elizabeth Speare
level 2
A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
White Fang- Jack London

[rkrobart]

My daughter attends a Christian school where I also taught before becoming a parent. Each summer, I make her complete our local library's reading program, even though she reads many hours a day without the extra motivation. This year, she earned three free books, one of which was part of the "I survived" series by Laura Tarshis. She and I have both now read six of the series, which we have found both at our local library and through the Overdrive app. I highly recommend this series to middle school readers! Tarshis covers such varied historical events as 9/11, Titanic, Pompeii, and many others. While the characters may say "What the heck was he thinking?" I have not seen any more significant language than this. I have found that 1) the accuracy and compassion with which she treats the tragedy far outweigh the challenge of the language, and 2) our middle-schoolers, unfortunately, are exposed to much more than this, even in our Christian school settings. Happy teaching!

[rkrobart]

My daughter attends a Christian school where I also taught before becoming a parent. Each summer, I make her complete our local library's reading program, even though she reads many hours a day without the extra motivation. This year, she earned three free books, one of which was part of the "I survived" series by Laura Tarshis. She and I have both now read six of the series, which we have found both at our local library and through the Overdrive app. I highly recommend this series to middle school readers! Tarshis covers such varied historical events as 9/11, Titanic, Pompeii, and many others. While the characters may say "What the heck was he thinking?" I have not seen any more significant language than this. I have found that 1) the accuracy and compassion with which she treats the tragedy far outweigh the challenge of the language, and 2) our middle-schoolers, unfortunately, are exposed to much more than this, even in our Christian school settings. Happy teaching!

[rkrobart]

My daughter attends a Christian school where I also taught before becoming a parent. Each summer, I make her complete our local library's reading program, even though she reads many hours a day without the extra motivation. This year, she earned three free books, one of which was part of the "I survived" series by Laura Tarshis. She and I have both now read six of the series, which we have found both at our local library and through the Overdrive app. I highly recommend this series to middle school readers! Tarshis covers such varied historical events as 9/11, Titanic, Pompeii, and many others. While the characters may say "What the heck was he thinking?" I have not seen any more significant language than this. I have found that 1) the accuracy and compassion with which she treats the tragedy far outweigh the challenge of the language, and 2) our middle-schoolers, unfortunately, are exposed to much more than this, even in our Christian school settings. Happy teaching!

[Jaynjey1]

Thanks for the great recommendations!

[rkrobart]

I have one other suggestion: I had forgotten about the "Lily Lapp" series. It is a series of books designed for readers aged 8-12, typically female readers. My girls and I have enjoyed three of the four books from our local library. They are written by Mary Ann Kinsinger, and portray the life of an Amish girl as she faces the challenges of moving to a new Amish community, getting a new sibling, and dealing with bullies in her school. In each case, her parents are portrayed as wise counselors, and she responds respectfully before reaching the "happy ending" at the conclusion of the story. Your kids might enjoy them, and they'd be appropriate for slower readers, as well.

[peprica21]

Hello! Here are a couple suggestions for your middle school readers:
"Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
"Rain Reign" by Ann M Martin

I am not sure if graphic novels are appropriate but two I have read and thought were great for middle school are "Lowriders in Space" by Cathy Camper and "Escape from the Lizzard: Nnewts Book 1" by Doug TenNapel.

Finally, the sports novels "The Keeper" by Tim Howard and "Mo'ne Davis: Remember my name" by Mo'ne Davis are good ones for children who don't find reading all the exciting but do love sports.

[Sav Sparkman]

These are great suggestions! It can be so hard to find engaging material for the middle school level. I’ve heard of the I Survived series, but haven’t read it yet. Based on the recommendation here, I’ll have to check them out.