Thanks to all who submitted titles of fiction addressing constitutional =
issues for middle school and high school ages. "Nothing But the Truth" by =
Avi was the most suggested title. Here's the list in case you are =
interested:
Nothing But the Truth (Avi)
Deals with first amendment rights (freedom of speech); a good read. =
Students, teachers, parents, and the national media become involved when =
ninth-grader Philip Malloy is suspended from school for singing "The Star =
Spangled Banner."=20
Oklahoma Young Sequoyah Award (a student's choice award), Horn Book Award =
Honor Book, ABC Choices.
=20
The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (Nat Hentoff)
Who would have believed that The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn could cause =
the worst crisis in the history of George Mason High School? Certainly not =
Barney Roth, editor of the school paper. But when a small but vocal group =
of students and parents decide that the book is racist, sexist, and =
immoral--and should be removed from reading lists and the school library--B=
arney takes matters into his own hands. When the Huck Finn issue comes up =
for a hearing, Barney decides to print his story about previous censorship =
efforts at school. He's sure that investigative reporting and publicity =
can help the cause. But is he too late to turn the tide of censorship?=20
Wrestling with Honor (David Klass)
The teen involved in this book is a student of history and government and =
refuses a drug test on these grounds.
Freedom to Dream (Cynthia Blair) Ballantine Books, c1987.
When fifteen-year-old Katy is in an accident, she wakes to find that =
instead of it being 1987, it is 1787, and she is about to help the =
Constitution of the United States be formed.
A Gathering of Days (Blos)
Maniac Magee (Jerry Spinelli)
Gr 6-10-- A mythical story about racism. It should not be read as reality. =
Legend springs up about Jeffrey ``Maniac'' Magee, a white boy who runs =
faster and hits balls farther than anyone, who lives on his own with =
amazing grace, and is innocent as to racial affairs. After running away =
from a loveless home, he encounters several families, in and around Two =
Mills, a town sharply divided into the black East End and the white West =
End. Black, feisty Amanda Beale and her family lovingly open their home to =
Maniac, and tough, smart-talking ``Mars Bar'' Thompson and other characters=
are all, to varying degrees, full of prejudices and unaware of their own =
racism. Racial epithets are sprinkled throughoutt the book; Mars Bar calls =
Maniac ``fishbelly,'' and blacks are described by a white character as =
being ``today's Indians.'' In the final, disjointed section of the book, =
Maniac confronts the hatred that perpetuates ignorance by bringing Mars =
Bar to meet the Pickwells--``the best the West End had to offer.'' In the =
feel-good ending, Mars and Maniac resolve their differences; Maniac gets a =
home and there is hope for at least improved racial relations. Unreal? =
Yes. It's a cop-out for Spinelli to have framed this story as a legend--it =
frees him from having to make it real, or even possible. Nevertheless, the =
book will stimulate thinking about racism, and it might help educate those =
readers who, like so many students, have no first-hand knowledge of people =
of other races. Pathos and compassion inform a short, relatively easy-to-re=
ad story with broad appeal, which suggests that to solve problems of =
racism, people must first know each other as individuals. --Joel Shoemaker,=
Tilford Middle School, Vinton, IA=20
Frindle (Andrew Clements)
When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary =
around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of =
events that quickly moves beyond his control.=20
To Be a Slave (Julius Lester) 973.0496L
A compilation, selected from various sources and arranged chronologically, =
of the reminiscences of slaves and ex-slaves about their experiences from =
the leaving of Africa through the Civil War and into the early twentieth =
century.
=20
Patricia McKissack has written a lot of biographies of famous African =
Americans in history. Many of these deal with discussions of constitutiona=
l issues.
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (Paula Danziger)
A middle school teacher gets suspended for refusing to recite the Pledge =
of Allegiance. Other issues are the way she dresses and her non-traditiona=
l methods of teaching.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood)
Go online to Bens Guide. It will tell you everything you need to know =
concerning the Government for every age group, in understandable language =
for your child.
Books by Jean Fritz
The play 1776
Burning Up (Caroline Cooney)
Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right=20
Relentlessly Censor Each Other by Nat Hentoff
Forged By Fire by Sharon Draper=20
Living the Bill of Rights: How to Be an Authentic American by Nat =
Hentoff=20
The Last Safe Place on Earth by Richard Peck=20
I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant=20
Cindy Rider
Vigo Co. Public Library
crider@vigo.lib.in.us
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