Mrs. BolesI loved this series as it focused on my favorite animals, cats! Following the main character through becoming a young wild cat was super fun to read, and even inspired my own cat's name. Follow the cat's journey as they work together and sometimes against other cat tribes to keep a peaceful order in the forest. An easy to follow read for any animal lover!
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Nurse KassieThe Giver was my favorite because I love the idea of a Utopia, but I also liked reading how the boy was figuring out the truth about said utopia. There was enough suspense to keep me invested.
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Mr. BaillyI love the adventurous nature of the book. I love the relationship between the main character, Old Dan, and Little Ann. I also appreciate the story line even with its sadness.
It kept me hooked! |
Ms. McFarlandCrash and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli were my favorite books to read as a middle schooler and to teach when I was teaching middle school.
They are realistic fiction books that have relatable characters and exciting plots to follow! |
Ms. Tristan |
Ms. ClarkThis was such an amazing reading experience. It was a story about grief after the main character's uncle passed away. I expected the book to be creepy but it wasn't. It is also fantastically combined with the main character working out he's transgender - both storylines are woven together perfectly.
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Mrs. MeganSadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes was the first book that made me cry in school as we read it. It taught me about a new place, and more than that, it taught me about consequences of war and empathy and ignited a love of origami and history in the process.
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Ms. HenleyAnything by Scott O'Dell. These were my faves:
Black Star, Bright Dawn Black Pearl Sing Down the Moon Island of the Blue Dolphins |
Mrs. FarnsworthMy grandmother grew up in France and was forced to live with Nazi soldiers in her house during World War II. I grew up listening to stories about her struggle for survival, hiding food from the Nazis in her home, and her father having a forbidden radio that he used in the middle of the night to help the French Resistance. As a result, I have always been drawn to books about World War II. Some of my favorites include: The War That Saved My Life, The War I Finally Won, Somewhere There Is Still a Sun, and Number the Stars.
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Mrs. JWhen I was in middle school I was knee deep into horror novels. Looking back they were not scary but I loved anything by R.L. Stine with his Fear Street series. These are not the Goosebump books.
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Ms. MaryThe Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (Taran Wanderer is the best of them, but they're all great). It's a high fantasy series about Taran, an orphan and an Assistant Pig-Keeper, leaving his day-to-day life behind and going on an epic series of adventures, and a quest to figure out who he is, both as an orphan who doesn't know his family's history or origins, and as a person just trying to find a purpose and direction for himself outside of being an Assistant Pig-Keeper.
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Mr. DayOne that always stands out is Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde by Michael A. Stackpole. It is set in the World of Warcraft video game universe, and follows Vol'jin, a Darkspear troll who is almost killed in a botched assassination attempt by his leader for questioning his morals, and has to relearn his skills and his spot in the world and even his own moral compass. He also has to grapple with does he join us with his ancient people who have reemerged into the world, or does he return to the group he helped found even if it means his life is at risk. Even though it is fantasy, it still hits a ton of big world points.
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Mrs. ReddingMia Tang has a lot of secrets.
Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. Number 3: She wants to be a writer. |
Ms. IllingworthI’m not usually into dystopian science fiction, but this had me hooked. Parents can have children, between the ages of 13 and 18, “unwound” (organs transplanted into someone else). This book, from a series, is about 3 teens who try to escape this fate.
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Mrs. Sierra |
Mr. JLyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steall—including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world. Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want.
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