VATE’S “GOOD READS”
“ Reading is fundamental.” However, in the day of advancing social media, many educators are concerned that our students are spending less time reading good literature and more time engaged in media networking. This phenomenon has sent educators on a constant quest for good, engaging literature. Often the best literature is recommended by another educator. Thus began the idea for this list.
We will provide suggested reading titles that others from across the state have read or maybe used in their classrooms. Some may be new, while others may be the old tried and true classics that we all love. We will provide the author, title, a brief overview, and if one is provided, the person who recommended the book.
If you have additional suggestions, please send them to Mary Davis.
| Author | Title | Year/Type | Overview | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alexander, Kwame |
Crush-Love Poems |
Poetry |
A great source of love poetry for students who are looking for poems to shae with loved ones or friends. |
|
Alvarez, Julia |
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents |
1991/ Fiction |
Interconnected stories of the assimilation of a Dominican doctor’s family intourban American culture. |
|
Beals, Melba Patillo |
Warriors Don’t Cry |
1994/Non-fiction |
Moving memoir of one of the students involved in the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School. |
Mary Davis |
Curtis, Christopher Paul |
The Watson Go to Birmingham-1963 |
Fiction |
The Watson family travels south in 1963 to visit a relative and encounters one of the most important events of the Civil Rights movement. |
|
Hesse, Karen |
Witness |
2001/Fiction |
Written in blank verse by younger characters, this is the story of a Vermont town in 1924 where the Ku Klux Klan tries to recruit members. |
|
Hosseini, Khaled |
The Kite Runner |
2003/Fiction |
A coming of age story for the privileged young narrator and his friend in Afghanistan just before the country’s revolution. |
|
Obrien, Tim |
The Things They Carried |
1990/Fiction |
A series of connected stories about the Vietnam War experience. |
|
Rinaldi, Ann |
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley |
1996/Historical Fiction |
Wheatley was the first American woman and the first African American woman to be published as a poet. |