Young Adult

Tired of life being so serious?  Why not read about the boy who never grew up?  There is an innocent optimism captured in this book that should bring a smile to anyone's face.

So what if this book doesn't make you laugh?  It's a good book that you can read while you wait in lines.  Some books are just worth reading because they touch your heart.  This is one of those

books.

Don't worry - I've seen editions of this book range from 175 - 275 pages.  It is worth the read, especially if you enjoy reading about the value of friendship.

I remember debating if this book was a real diary or not when I was a teenager.  Regardless, I’d say this is about as good of a book to discourage teenage drug use as any.  It certainly freaked me out, and it has had the same effect on most of the middle schoolers who have endured me reading it aloud.

Even if this book, filled with fun photographs and simple messages, only takes 20 minutes to read, it is one of the best pick-me-up books I’ve seen.  I have my old roommate Adam LeVrier to blame for that, as he kept a copy on our coffee table for years.

The recent passing of the great actor Paul Winfield, who received an Academy Award nomination for his work in the film, made me think of this moving story about a sharecropper family’s resilience through all sorts of tragedy.

A lot of people say this book is about clashes between traditional Chinese culture fitting into America, but I prefer to look at it as the story of a teenager and her Chinese grandmother getting to know and appreciate one another.  This story transcends cultures.

This is a book that any child with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or parent of an ADD child would appreciate.

It is about time I recommended a book by Will Hobbs, who just happened to be my seventh-grade reading teacher.  He is one of the bestselling young adult authors in America, and I’d recommend any of his books (although this is one of the shortest).  This book chronicles 16-year-old Jason Hawthorn’s great race across Alaska.  Thank you, Mr. Hobbs, for being one of the first teachers to interest me in reading!

Perhaps the theme of this month’s list should be “The Longest Titles Ever Used in Literature.”  This book is almost shorter than the title, but I enjoyed it because:  (a) it is the shortest thing the great Shogun scribe ever wrote; and (b) it confronts children and adults with not-so-easily answered questions taken from our daily routines.

It is about time I added this to our list, as this is a book that all teachers should have in their classroom libraries.  Opal, our young protagonist, reminds me so much of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.  There is not a doubt in my mind that this book about a little girl and the abandoned dog she befriends will become a classic.

When a fifth grader creates his own word to defy his teacher, he has no idea that the word will catch-on across America.  A funny book that I used to use with my English language-learning students.

This book always makes me cringe…happily.  Required reading for all fifth graders and adults.

I read this book to a middle school class, and they loved it.  A runaway lives off the land in this fun book.  A good read for those who are suffering a midlife crisis, as well.

Someone recently pointed out that I had not yet included a Beverly Cleary book.  I am sorry for the omission, as she is one of the most important children’s authors of the 20^th century.  Each year, Ralph the Mouse intrigues scores of children to dive into chapter books.