Disclaimer: I'm a 5th grade teacher in south central Texas, what works for my kids may not work for your kids, and what does work it may work the same or in different ways.
Here are more of my favorites from this past summer!
#BulletBookReviews
#MGLit
The Night Diary
By: Veera Hiranandani
Release Date: 3/6/18For fans of: The War the Saved my Life by Kelly Brubaker Bradley, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
First Line: His jaw was the first thing to move, back and forth like a seesaw.
The book:
My review: Beautiful. Necessary. Eye opening.
“Doesn’t freedom mean you can choose where you want to be? ... My childhood would always have a line drawn through it, the before and the after. ... Is it the brain that makes people love and hate? Or is it the heart? ... You can’t split us. You can’t split love.” Absolutely beautiful! I read and listened to this book in one day and loved every minute. The writing, the story, the brave characters, all were exceptional! (Thanks to my friend Emily Montjoy for this amazing review!)
“Everything is different now, even though it’s exactly the same. I can see it all around us, but I don’t know what to call it. It’s like a new sound I can hear in the air.”
A moving journey written in diary entries about when India gained independence from British rule and was split in two. (Thanks to my friend Sandy OBrien for this amazing review!)
The author: THE NIGHT DIARY was inspired by some of her father's experiences during the Partition of India in 1947. https://www.veerahiranandani.com/
Read it for + Teaching Points:
Bravery. Courage. History. Understanding. Empathy.
For writing in the classroom: teaching journal entries and the importance of documenting life if you are feeling any deep emotions.
The history is important. Understanding life outside of America and the struggles that others go through.
The Prophet Calls
Release Date: 11/6/18
For fans of: My Life with the Liars by Caela Carter, Mockingbird by Kathryne Erskine, Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
First Line: "Let's play apocalypse!" my cousin yells.
The book:
| I have never read anything like The Prophet Calls, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy the story. Think student level Handmaid's Tale. I found myself feeling completely emotional in wanting to help children in circumstances such as Gentry's that are beyond their control. I felt disgusted reading, but I couldn't stop. Everything Melanie wrote is accurate on so many levels, but also written in a way that students will be able to comprehend, question, and then inquire about. Yes, they live in a polygamous community, yes their mother is the third wife to their father, yes they have 21 siblings and are told how to live by a Prophet in prison - but, this has happened, is happening, still today. The story was crafted beautifully and full of power. Your readers will be rooting for Gentry 100% |
The author: Melanie KNOWS.HER.STUFF. If you want to do an author study on someone, seriously, do Melanie. I even googled her after I read because I had to know how she seemed so knowledgable on this topic, and all her studies were just this - Religious Studies. Check out more here: http://www.melaniesumrow.com/
Read it for +Teaching Points:
Determination. Bravery. Standing up for what you believe in.
A door into someone else's life. A life that children MAY not ever understand, or would have never been exposed to had Melanie not written this story.
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