Original Message:
I used to supervise an elementary library but have been out of the
elementary library business for a few years now. The elementary school
has asked me to help them with material selection this spring, so I'm
working on a few recommendations for them. One area I've been out of
the loop on since I left are those great new fiction titles published in
recent years targeting grades 5-8. Please share recently (last 3 years
or so) published 5-8 grade faves and newer series that have really been
popular with this age level.
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Replies:
I work in a 6-8 middle school library and the students love:
Thoroughbred series (mostly girls)
Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale (both, but more boys than girls)
Zack Files series by Dan Greenburg (both because they're easy)
Daughters of the Moon and Sons of Darkness by Lynne Ewing (both, but
more girls than boys)
Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
P.S. - Another great series that's recently been completed is the Shadow
Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix:
Among the Hidden
Among the Impostors
Among the Betrayed
Among the Barons
Among the Brave
Among the Enemy
Among the Free
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Most of these are the ones the 7th and 8th graders read because the 5-6
were on AR and could only read AR books on their level. I've blocked all
that from my mind and remember what they enjoyed. Some of these might
seem too mature for the audience, but it was what my kids liked.
Evaluate for your own situation is my recommendation.
City of Ember
Scholastic has a fantasy type series that deals with dragons that the
boys just loved (I'm guilty of not remembering this due to a move to a
hs only this past summer)
Flipped
Monster by Walter Dean Myers (couldn't keep it on the shelves)
A Child Called It and the companions to it
Eragon & Eldest by Paolini
Princess Diaries
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I'm not sure when it was published, but it was fairly recent:
_The Schwa was Here_ by Shusterman
I think the entire fifth grade is reading that one!!!
_Hoot_ and _Flush_ by Haaisan are popular for fifth, as well as any
_Princess_ book by Meg Cabot.
I'm not sure what your selection policy states, but my students fight
over the book _Am I Blue? Coming Out of the Silence_ which has gay and
lesbian characters (our middle school had a week long unit on this
topic, so it fit naturally with that).
There's tons more, but those are the ones that pop into my head on an
early Saturday morning!
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Brian Jacques, Redwall series
Anthony Horowitz, Alex Rider series (starts with Stormbreaker) Gary
Paulsen is a perennial favorite, especially Hatchet and Brian's Winter.
The Young James Bond series
Spy High series
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter series
Tamora Pierce, Circle series, starts with Tris' Story; and her other
books Diana Wynne Jones, Chronicles of Chrestomanci series Diane Duane,
Wizards series Darren Shan, Cirque du Freak series Robin McKinley, The
Blue Sword Ann Rinaldi, any titles Erin Hunter, Warriors series Sharon
Draper, any titles Sharon Flake, The Skin I'm In Walter Dean Myers,
Scorpions Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events The Spiderwick
series Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising series Julius Lester, any titles
Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries series Girls of Many Lands series
Michelle Walker, Librarian/Technology Coordinator
Hamilton Union High School
P.O. Box 488 / Hwy 32 & Canal Street
Hamilton City, CA 95951
(530) 826-3261 ext 0 phone
(530) 826-0440 fax
mwalker@glenncoe.org
http://www.glenn-co.k12.ca.us/ham-hs/library.html
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