DOCUMENT RESUME ED CS AUTHOR TITLE INSTITUTION

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1 DOCUMENT RESUME ED CS AUTHOR TITLE INSTITUTION Samuels, Barbara G., Ed.; Beers, G. Kylene, Ed. Your Reading: An Annotated Booklist for Middle School and Junior High, Edition. NCTE Bibliography Series. National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, REPORT NO ISBN ; ISSN PUB DATE 96 NOTE 386p.; For the previous edition, see ED Foreword by Joan Lowery Nixon. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL (Stock No ; $15.95 members, $21.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS MFOI/PC16 Plus Postage. *Adolescent Literature; Annotated Bibliographies; Childrens Literature; Elementary School Students; Intermediate Grades; Junior High Schools; Junior High School Students; Middle Schools; *Reading Material Selection; *Recreational Reading Aesthetic Reading; Middle School Students; *Trade Books ABSTRACT Designed for use by junior high and middle school students, this annotated bibliography of over 1,100 titles of fiction and nonfiction also serves as a resource for teachers, librarians, and parents in search of titles that might catch the attention of such students. The bibliography presents annotations of books published or reissued in 1993 and Each entry contains the author, title, name of publisher, publication date, length of book, ISBN number, 7-8-line synopsis of the book. Titles are grouped by subject matter under 7 sections: (1) Growing Up; (2) Imagined Lands; (3) Shudder and Shake!; (4) People, Problems, and Places: Yesterday and Today; (5) Science All around You; (6) Words To Remember; and (7) Facts, Figures, and Fun. In addition to a directory of publishers, and author, title, and subject indexes, the bibliography includes 2 appendixes--a 100-item list of the most notable books published between 1967 and 1992 of young adult literature; and a list of the books included in the annotated list which have won awards. (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***************************************************************i,aai.**i.a

2 Your Readin " I - : Barbara G. Samuels and G. Kykne.Beers, Editors, and th(? Cointilittee on the Mtddle School and Junior }Ugh Book lkt Foreword by Joan Lowery Nixon NCTE Bibliography Series

3 Your Reading 3

4 NCTE Editorial Board: Pat Cordeiro; Hazel Davis; Brenda Greene; Richard Luckert; Aileen Pace Nilsen; Karen Smith, Chair, ex officio, Dawn Boyer, NCTE Staff Liaison Committee on the Middle School and Junior High Book list Barbara G. Samuels, Chair G. KylEne Beers, Associate Chair Richard F. Abrahamson Steven D. Bauer Lois Buckman Betty Carter Claudia H. De Shay Margaret I-1. Hill Mary Beth Hines Marvin Hoffman Be Be Hood Rosemary Oliphant Ingham Lee Kobayashi Karen S. Kutiper Teri S. Lesesne Hollis Lowery-Moore Karen Ferris Morgan Steven J. Rakow Judith Romo Rosemary Smith Mary Snyder Marti Turner Eleanore S. Tyson Judy Mayne Wallis Maureen White Patricia Potter Wilson MMA Bibliography Series 4

5 Your Reading An Annotated Book list for Middle School and Junior High Edition Barbara G. Samuels and G. Kylene Beers, Editors, and the Committee on the Middle School and Junior High Book list of the National Council of Teachers of English With a Foreword by Joan Lowery Nixon National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL %

6 Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the quotation from Poem #1263 by Emily Dickinson on page 267: Reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of Amherst College from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Manuscript Editor: Anne McCrary Sullivan Production Editor: Rona S. Smith Interior Design: Doug Burnett Series Cover Design: R. Maul Cover Illustration: Victoria Martin Pohlmann NCTE Stock Number: by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. ISSN ISBN

7 About the NOTE Bibliography Series The National Council of Teachers of English is proud to be part of a process that we feel is important. It begins when an educator who knows literature and its value to students and teachers is chosen by the NCTE Executive Committee to be a booklist editor. That editor then works with teachers and librarians who review, select, and annotate hundreds of new trade books sent to them by publishers. It's a complicated process, one that can last three or four years. But because of their dedication and strong belief in the need to let others know about the good literature that's available, these professionals volunteer their time in a way that serves as an inspiration to all of us. The members of the committee that compiled this volume are listed on one of the first pages, and we are grateful for their hard work. In our bibliography series are five different booklists, each focused on a particular audience, each updated regularly. These are Adventuring with Books (pre-k through grade 6), Kaleidoscope (multicultural literature, grades K through 8), Your Reading (middle school/junior high), Books for You (senior high), and High InterestEasy Reading (middle school, junior/senior high reluctant readers). Together, these volumes list thousands of the most recent children's and young adult trade books. Although the works included cover a wide range of topics, they all have one thing in common: they're good books that students and teachers alike enjoy. Of course, no single book is right for everyone or every purpose, so inclusion in this booklist is not necessarily an endorsement from NCTE. However, it does indicate that the professionals who make up the booklist committee feel that the work in question is worthy of teachers' and students' attention, whether for its informative or aesthetic qualities. On the other hand, exclusion from an NCTE booklist is not necessarily a judgment on the quality of a given book or publisher. Many factorsspace, time, availability of certain books, publisher participationmay influence the final shape of the list. We hope that you will find this hooklist a useful resource in discovering new titles and authors, and we hope that you will collect the other booklists in the NCTE series. Our mission is to help improve the

8 vi About the NCTE Bibliography Series teaching and learning of English and the language arts, and we feel the quality of our booklists contributes substantially toward that goal. We think you will agree. Dawn Boyer Director of Acquisitions and Development in Publications

9 vii Contents Acknowledgments Foreword: We Have the Power Introduction I. Growing Up ix xi xiii 1. Family and Home 3 2. Friendship and Romance Problems and Challenges Playing the Game: Stories about Sports 69 II. Imagined Lands 5. Myths, Legends, and Folklore The Fantastic World of Fantasy Science with a Twist: Science Fiction 103 III. Shudder and Shake! 8. Whodunnit? Mysteries Occult, Horror, Ghosts, and Unexplained Phenomena Staying Alive! Adventure and Survival 135 IV. People, Problems, and Places: Yesterday and Today 11. Looking Back: Historical Fiction Understanding the Past: History People to Know: Autobiography and Biography Customs, Cultures, and Lands Analyzing Issues of Today 215 9

10 viii Contents V. Science All arm, :1 You 16. Physical Science Nature, Ecology, and the Environment The Animal Kingdom Mental and Physical Health 257 VI. Words to Remember 20. Poetry 21. Short Stories VII. Facts, Figures, and Fun 22. The Arts! Music, Dance, Drama, Painting, and Crafts More about Sports How, Why, and What: Fun, Facts, and Trivia 306 Appendix A: 100 Books from 25 Years of "Thung Adult Literature ( ) 317 Appendix B: Award-Winning Books in Your Reading 321 Directory of Publishers 329 Author Index 335 Title Index 345 Subject Index 360 Editors 377 About the Committee 379

11 ix Acknowledgments This edition of Your Reading represents the hard work of a group of dedicat2d colleagues and professionals. Our committee responded enthusiastically to the challenge of reviewing hundreds of books and creating well-written annotations that will stimulate reading by junior high and middle school students. For two years, they received the boxes of books we sent them, searched for additional titles, and contributed their energy and expertise to the project. Each member of our committee took responsibility for a chapter of the book. They answered our cries for help and responded with extra annotations and advice whenever we called upon them. We cannot thank them enough! These teachers, librarians, and university professors are a unique and special group. In addition to the members of the committee, a few other people contributed their time and talent. Catherine Bush Partridge read many of the books in the sports chapters. Dawn Bradford and Cathy Moore also reviewed books and wrote annotations. Also, we must offer a special thanks to the publishers whose generosity provided the books that are the heart and lift- of this project. We appreciate their commitment to the promotion of a population of readers. Without their support, this booklist would not exist. The NCTE staff, while experiencing changes during our tenure as editors, supported us by answering our relentless questions about format, editing, and organization. Finally, we could not have done this project without the continuing support and encouragement from our husbands, Vic Samuels and Brad Beers. They lugged boxes of books, made trips to the post office, provided advice on wordprocessing problems, lived with piles of books and papers cluttering every room of our houses, prepared dinners, tended to children and other family obligations, and generally made it possible for us to complete the book. Barbara G. Samuels and G. Kvlene Beers

12 xi Foreword: We Have the Power Aladdin had a genie at his command. "Take me wherever I wish, Genie. Bring me whatever I want. Give me the world, the moon, the stars." Powerful stuff... for those days before books. Today we don't need to rub a lamp to get our wishes. All we have to do is open a book of our choice and travel wherever our mood takes us. That's real power. Want to have fun being scared? We can join Agatha Christie, pairing up with private eyes, or amateur detectives to cleverly solve crimes; or we can use our wits to escape from danger. Have a yen for fantasy? Search for unicorns, wizards, and magic stardust. Slip into the enchanted worlds created by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Looking for excitement? Turn a book cover and jump into adventure to rival anything an. enchanted genie could dream up. Walk on the moon with Neil Armstrong. Pilot a spacecraft and outwit evil forces from another planet. Save a civilization. Delve into history with the courageous Anne Frank and Rosa Parks. Leave our friends and family to join a wagon train heading for Oregon. Fight beside Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Search for a brother missing after the Battle of Gettysburg. Dream of love through the sonnets of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and William Shakespeare. Slip with the fog and Carl Sandburg into the rhythm of Chicago. Let our minds play with the magic of e. e. cummings and T. S. Eliot. Learn of the world around us. Learn of the worlds within us. Read to understand our love, our pain, and our eagerness to find ourselves so we can grow. Step into science. March into math. Explore. Invent. Create new diva ms. Books, books, books. Enjoy them to their fullest. Reading is as important to our quality of life as breathing, sleeping, and eating. Read the old hooks and read the new ones. Gulp them down like popcorn or savor them, tasting with tiny bites. Delight in familiar favor- 2

13 xii Foreword ites, but investigate different flavors. Gobble them down or spit them out and reach for another. Relish the freedom to explore and expand the world we live in. Read to run through the gamut of joy, laughter, excitement, indignation, anger, and even tears. Read about books in the pages that follow. Make choices, then find those books and enjoy! Read! We have the power. Joan Lowery Nixon Joan Lowery Nixon is the only four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Best Juvenile Mystery Award for The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore, The Seance, The Name of the Game Was Murder,'and The Other Side of Dark. In addition to her reputation as "the grande dame of mysteries for young readers," she is also known for her historical books, such as the Orphan Train and Ellis Island series. Het vooks, over a hundred titles, combine suspense, drama, and appealing characters.

14 Introduction My task which I am trwing to achieve is, by the rower of the written word to make you hear, to make you feelit is, before all, to make you see. Joseph Conrad Like Joseph Conrad, the NCTE Committee on the Middle School and Junior High Book list wants to help you feel, hear, and seethrough the power of books. Because we believe in the power of words, we, the writers of Your Reading, spent over two years reading, rereading, discussing, sharing, and writing about books we think you will enjoy and-find meaningful. The purpose of our book is to connect you with titles that will enhance your reading. Whether you are looking for a book because you need to complete an assignment or project, because you want to learn more about a topic that interests you, or because you are browsing to find something good to read, Your Reading can help you find the right book. Published by the National Council of Teachers of English, the various editions of Your Reading provide an ongoing annotated list for junior high and middle school students, teachers, librarians, and parents. What books are listed in this edition of Your Reading? Thousands of books are published every year. It's impossible to read all of them. To help you find the best books, a committee of teachers and librarians screened books that were published in 1993 and We also included reissues of older books, so a book that was originally published prior to 1993 but reissued during 1993 or 1994 may be annotated in this edition of Your Reading. Although we can't say we read everything published in those two years, we tried to identify as many books as possible that junior high and middle school students would find useful, interesting, and meaningful. How is the listing of books organized in Your Reading? As we read the books, we found that they seemed to group themselves in a variety of ways. A quick look at the Table of Contents will show you that Your Reading is organized into seven sections and twenty-four chapters. Within each chapter, the annotations are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. 14

15 xiv Introduction The first section, Growing Up, has four chapters about teens maturing into adulthood. Novels in the chapter called "Family and Home" are focused on family issues such as sibling rivalries, divorce, relationships with parents and stepparents, or coping with aging grandparents. The other chapters in this section involve friends, romance, school, sports, or tough life situations. Perhaps vou prefer to let your imagination wander in the Imagined Lands section. "Myths, Legends, and Folklore" includes versions of stories ha -I -I L-I own,o us through the generations. Many wonderful new editions of familiar stories are listed in this chapter, as cyell as tales from cultures around the world. Books '.)f fantasy and science fiction to stimulate your creative thinking are Aso a part of this section. Do You like books with suspense, adventure, or unexplained phenomena? Shudder and Shake is the section for you. Mysteries and survival stories, ghosts and horror stories \ill stir your blood and keep You reading to the last page. The hooks annotated in People, Problems, and Places: Yesterday and Today can help you with your social studies projects. The books are grouped together in five chapters: "Looking Back: Historical Fiction," "Understanding the Past: History," "People to Know: Autobiography and Biography," "Customs, Cultures, and Lands," and "Analyzing Issues of Today." In these books, you can get to know fascinating people, places, and events that have shaped history, as \ Yell as issues, people, and problems that are creating history today. I low do You feel about science? Whether you want to know more about the environment and how to save our planet, wonder about the way things work, enjoy studying the stars and planets, find fascinating the habits of animals, or want to know more about your own body, the section titled Science All around You offers many choices. (It might also provide ideas for a science-fair project.) Obviously, some categories overlap. In the section Words to Remember we grouped all the short stories in one chapter and the poems in another. Short stories include some ghost stories that could also be listed in Chapter 9, "Occult, Horror, Ghosts, and Unexplained Phenomena," and other stories about families or growing up. But we chose to list them by genre. One wav you can find books about a subject that might be listed in another category is to look up the topic in the subject index. If you look under "ghosts" in the subject index, for example, you will find a listing of all the books about ghosts, not just those in Chapter 9. We ended this volume of )i)ur Read* with Facts, Figures, and Fun. Ehis i the section where you'll find books about how to build or make 15

16 Introduction XV things, books about your favorite sports or entertainment, books of jokes, and trivia. Browse through this section. Something is sure to catch your attention. How can I use the different indexes at the end of the book? At the end of Your Reading, you will find three different indexes. Each index directs you to a chapter and annotation number (i.e., 2.22 directs you to Chapter 2, the twenty-second annotation). One index lists the authors of the books alphabetically. Another index lists the titles. The index you may use the most often is the subject index. If you are looking for a book on a particular topic, check here. For example, suppose you want to learn more about Native Americans. If you look under Native Americans in the subject index, you will be directed to Fly Like an Eagle, a novel in Chapter 1, The Choctaw Code, historical fiction in Chapter 11, and Wounded Knee, a history book in Chapter 12. Though each of these books is annotated in a different chapter, the index will lead you directly to them. Can Your Reading help me with a school assignment? Absolutely! We hope you will use Your Reading regularly to help you find books about the topics you are studying in school. Suppose your class is about to begin a thematic unit on the environment. An entire chapter of Your Reading is devoted to books that focus on saving the planet. Browsing through that chapter should lead you to several helpful books. In addition, the subject index might lead you to fictional works about teens who worked on environmental issues. Perhaps your assignment is to write a paper about some aspect of World War II. The subject index will point you to specific novels in the "Looking Back: Historical Fiction" chapter; to biographies and autobiographies in "People to Know"; and to historical accounts in "Understanding the Past: History." The slbject index wili save you the trouble of reading every annotation in those three chapters to find the specific books that will help you collect information for your paper. Does Your Reading include series books? Of course. Many of the books published today are organized into series by the book publishers. We annotated at least one book in any series we selected, and we included the titles or subjects of other books in the series that were published during 1993 and To help answer your questions and guide your research, the subject index will lead you to some of

17 xvi Introduction these other series books. We could not include the names of all the books in some of the series because new books continue to be published. For nonfiction series, our subject indey at the end of the book includes information about other titles in the series. For example, an ecology series that has separate books on endangered animals would be listed in the subject index under each of the endangered animals included. How can we find out about titles published before 1993? To find annotations of books published prior to 1993, we recommend that you look in previous editions of Your Reading. The National Council of Teachers of English has published nine prior editions, and one of them may help you find the book you want. To help you identify some outstanding titles published prior to 1993, we have included an appendix titled "100 Books from 25 Years of Young Adult Literature." This is a list of one hundred of the best books published during the past twenty-five years. Obviously, our list does not have every important book published since 1967, but we have tried to include the best-known, touchstone books for junior high and middle school students. If you haven't read many of these, you might want to try a few. How can we identify books that have won awards or other recognition in 1993 and 1994? Some journals, groups of teachers and librarians, and even young people themselves publish lists of what they consider the best books for each year. To help you identify those titles which others have recognized, we have included a list of noted books in the appendix "Award-Winning Books in Your Reading." Because we didn't want to limit your reading to only those books which had been recognized as "best" by others, we have placed this information at the end of the book rather than within the chapters. That way, you can select the books that meet your own particular needs, not necessarily those that others have chosen for you. The quotation from Joseph Conrad at the beginning of this introduction refers to his goal as a writer, using the power of words to make you see. All the authors in this book have used words in powerful ways. As you wind your way through Your Reading, we hope you'll enjoy reading their words. We did! Reading helps us see ourselves and the world around us in new ways. Enjoy! 17

18 I Growing Up He was always reading. At his meals an open book lay by his side on the table. His mutton and potatoes might grow cold, hut his interest in a work never cooled. He invariably sallied forth, book in hand, reading to himself if alone, or aloud if he had a companion. He took a volume to bed with him and read as long as his candle lasted; then he sleptimpatiently, no doubtuntil it was light, and he recommenced reading at the early dawn. Thomas Jefferson Hogg, English biographer, describing Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet 18

19 3 1 Family and Home 1.1 Ackerman, Karen. The Leaves in October. Dell/Yearling, pp. ISBN Livvy and her brother Younger live in a homeless shelter while their father searches for a job. Livvy counts the days until they will leave. To earn money, she makes and sells tissue-paper carnations. After earning $200, she believes they will be able to join their father. But he has gotten a job in road construction and believes it best for the children to live in a foster home for a while. Livvy is hurt and angry over broken promises. 1.2 Adler, C. S. Daddy's Climbing Trees. Clarion Books, pp. ISBN Although her father never returns with that ice cream cone he just had to have, Jessica convinces herself that he isn't really the victim of a hit-and-run accident. She believes that he is alive and well at their former house in Oldminesville. So she and her brother Tycho sneak out, trekking across the state park, determined to find him. The adventure offers more challenges than anticipated, leading Jessica to learn some important lessons about life and love. 1.3 Angell, Judie. Yours Truly. Orchard Books, pp. ISBN Nicki Stine is thirteen years old and growing up in a hurry. She, her mother, and her younger brother have moved to escape her father's ruinous drug habit. Resentful of the new man in her mother's life, Nicki drinks, takes drugs, and joyrides with older friends; she is always on the edge of serious trouble. When her unsteady father reappears, she is forced to make some important decisions about her future. 1.4 Avi. Blue Heron. Avon/Camelot, pp. ISBN Maggie Lavcheck believes in magic. When Maggie's father leaves her and her mother, he promises that he will magically solve all of Maggie's problems. Six years later, Maggie's father becomes her problem during her visit with him and his new family at a lakeside cottage. Maggie questions her father's erratic behavior and wonders how she can help him and his family. She looks to a mysterious bird for the answers her father can no longer provide. la

20 4 Growing Up 1.5 Banks, Jacqueline Turner. The New One. Houghton Mifflin, pp. ISBN Judge, his twin brother Jury, and their friends try to make the new African American student feel a part of their group from the first day. But Ayreai doesn't seem to appreciate the offer of friendship. Judge and Jury have some other worries, however. Their mom's new boyfriend Frank may soon become their new father. They have to convince their mom that Frank is not Mr. Right. Surprisingly, Ayreal may be the one who can help. 1.6 Banks, Lynne Reid. One More River. Avon/Camelot, pp. ISBN Lesley Shelby is a fourteen-year-old Canadian Jewish girl whose store-owner father decides to emigrate to Israel following his son's conversion to Catholicism. A resistant Lesley suffers through adjustment to kibbutz life, as do her parents, now workers in the dairy barn ar -I the laundry. Life becomes more complicated as Lesley enters a long-distance relationship with an Arab boy. The family lives through the exhilaration and the losses the entire country experiences during the 1967 war. 1.7 Barrett, Elizabeth. Free Fall. HarperCollins, pp. ISBN Ginnie Ryan spends her seventeenth summer sorting out both anger and confusion. Ginnie's anger comes from learning that her parents sent her to stay with her grandmother because they were considering divorce while she was gone. Her confusion comes from her involvement with new friends and a new romance that seems out of hand. All in all, Ginnie feels as if her whole life is hurtling out of control, and she is not sure what to do about it. 1.8 Bauer, Marion Dane. A Question of Trust. Scholastic, pp. ISBN Brad and his younger brother Charlie are so angry and hurt by their mother's decision to leave and live on her own that they refuse to even return her phone calls. To console themselves, they secretly take in a pregnant cat, against lheir father's prohibitions. They mistakenly assume that the mother has killed one of her kittens and desperately try to protect the survivor. 1.9 Bawden, Nina. The Real Plato Jones. Clarion Books, pp. ISBN

21 Family and Home 5 Plato's half-greek and half-welsh ancestry makes him uncomfortable. He wants to be one whole, himself. When Plato's Greek grandfather dies, he flies to Greece to confront the mystery of his grandfather's life. Searching for answers about his grandfather adds to Plato's self-doubt and confusion. Finally, however, a village tragedy helps Plato find himself Blacker, Terence. Homebird. Bradbury Press, pp. ISBN Life has been pretty normal until now for thirteen-year-old Nick), Morrison, but things are changing quickly. His parents' marriage is in trouble, and he has run away from his new boarding school. Nicky tries to buy some time to sort things out and ends up living in an abandoned building known as St. Mark's Road Squat. When his housemates recruit him for criminal capers, Nicky discovers how tough life can be on the streets of London Blume, Judy. Here's to You, Rachel Robinson. Orchard Books, pp. ISBN In this sequel to Just as Long as We're Together, Rachel faces upheaval in her life when her brother Charles returns home after being expelled from boarding school. Charles knows just how to needle her, teasing her about her status as a "gifted" intellect. Her friends like him and can't understand why she is upset. As Rachel struggles to live with Charles, she learns more about her own identity and becomes closer to others, particularly some very handsome members of the opposite sex Bond, Nancy. Truth to Tell. Macmillan, pp. ISBN Leaving Cambridge, England, and her stepfather makes no sense to fourteen-year-old Alice, but her mother is determined to take an opportunity to assist Miss Fairchild in writing the history of her estate, Florestan, in New Zealand. When Alice and her mother arrive at Florestan, however, they find themselves tending to the elderly Miss Fairchild and her enormous, neglected house instead of writing the book Boyd, Candy Dawson. Chevrolet Saturdays. Macmillan, pp. ISBN The divorce of Joey's parents, and his mother's subsequent remarriage to a man he can only bring himself to call Mr. Johnson, have