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HI All: My original query: > I am an LMS in a middle school in Florida. We are > trying to challenge our more advanced readers, > (those who are reading at least one or two grade levels > above their actual grade level) > and I came up with the idea of establishing a book shelf > just for them. I need ideas for titles. I have thought > of adult historical fiction (Michener, Clavell, etc.) > and some of the classics in their unabridged form. > > Anyone have any other ideas? Advanced Reader Suggestions (from lm_net, yalsa, and middleschoollit listservs): I asked about this a few months ago when I was trying to compile a list of contemporary fiction at an 8th or 9th grade reading level for a librarian in a middle school (I'm a library consultant). It turned out to be much harder than I thought. I did find a really great article in Book Links (I love Book Links) about choosing books for gifted readers that might help you. I got some great suggestions from that article (I think it was from 2003), and I came up with this list: Across the Lines/Reeder, Carolyn Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/Twain, Mark Animal Farm/Orwell, George Ashes of Roses/Auch, Mary Battle Dress/Efaw, Amy Ben and Me/Lawson, Robert Body of Christopher Creed/Plum-Ucci, Carol Bone From A Dry Sea/Dickinson, Peter Book of Fred/Bardi, Abby Book Thief/Zusak, Markus Briar Rose/Yolen, Jane Canterbury Tales/Chaucer, Geoffrey Chocolate War/Cormier, Robert Christmas Carol/Dickens, Charles Cold Sassy Tree/Burns, Olive Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court/Twain, Mark Contact/Sagan, Carl Dicey's Song/Voigt, Cynthia Ender's Game/Card, Orson Scott Fahrenheit 451/Bradbury, Ray Feed/Anderson, M. T. Fever 1793/Anderson, Laurie Halse Frankenstein/Shelley, Mary Girl with a Pearl Earring/Chevalier, Tracy Golden Compass/Pullman, Philip Great and Terrible Beauty/Bray, Libba Great Expectations/Dickens, Charles Gulliver's Travels/Swift, Jonathan House on Mango Street/Cisneros, Sandra Hush/Woodson, Jacqueline I Am the Cheese/Cormier, Robert I, Robot/Asimov, Isaac In the Time of the Butterflies/Alvarez, Julia Indio/Garland, Sherry Inside Out/Trueman, Terry Jane Eyre/Bronte, Charlotte Jazmin's Notebook/Grimes, Nikki Jurassic Park/Crichton, Michael Kim/Kipling, Rudyard Kite Rider/McCaughrean, Geraldine Life of Pi/Martel, Yann My Brother, My Sister, And I/Watkins, Yoko Neverending Story/Ende, Michael Northern Light/Donnelly, Jennifer Odyssey/Homer Ophelia/Klein, Lisa Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You/Jansen, Hanna Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida/Martinez, Victor Peace Like a River/Enger, Leif Phantom of the Opera/Leroux, Gaston Phantom Tollbooth/Juster, Norton Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano/Engle, Margarita Pride and Prejudice/Austen, Jane Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War/Crane, Stephen Say Goodnight, Gracie/Deaver, Julie Reece Scarlet Pimpernel/Orczy, Baroness Sea Wolf/London, Jack Secret Life of Bees/Kidd, Sue Shizuko's Daughter/Mori, Kyoko Stardust/Gaiman, Neil Sweet Friday Island /Taylor, Theodore Tales of Mystery and Terror/Poe, Edgar Allan Three Musketeers/Dumas, Alexander To Kill a Mockingbird/Lee, Harper Under the Royal Palms: A Childhood in Cuba/Ada, Alma Flor Walking Up a Rainbow/Taylor, Theodore Whale Talk/Crutcher, Chris What Happened to Lani Garver/Plum-Ucci, Carol Whirligig/Fleischman, Paul Woman Hollering Creek And Other Stories/Cisneros, Sandra Wuthering Heights /Bronte, Emily Z For Zachariah/O'Brien, Robert *************************** I highly recommend Daphne Du Maurier for this age group. Also, Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy is written at a high level, I believe, as is Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. *************************** You may be better off with authors such a Laurence Yep, Lloyd Alexander, and Philip Pullman. Most adult authors write at a 5th/6th grade level. Lloyd Alexander's books are generally at a 8th grade reading level. *************************** I'd recommend House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. If you have an advanced seventh or eighth grader who is bi-lingual, esp. a boy, this title is intriguing and quite an accomplishment for such a teen. *************************** I have a few titles that you may like. Our better readers tend to like science fiction and especially fantasy. Here are a few of our favs: The Golden Compass series by Philip Pulman, anything by Tamara Pierce and Jane Yolen, John Grisham novels, some of the Stephen King books (we have “Eyes of the Dragon”, “Pet Sematary”, “The Talisman”, “The Running Man” and “The Winter Hare”). My new favorite author is Scott Westerfeld who wrote “The Uglies”, “The Pretties” and “Specials”. ************************** Some of my best 8th grade readers are really into some of these more mature titles and series: Jonathan Stroud's, Ptolemy's Gate, Golem's Eye and Amulet of Samarkind. Piers Anthony's, Dragons on a Pedestal, Ogre Ogre, etc. (series) Stephen Ambrose's, Band of Brothers. Jeffery Shaara's, Gods and Generals. Michael Chabon's, Summerland and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Crichton's, Prey, Congo, Andromeda Strain, etc. Louis Meyer's, Curse of the Blue Tattoo, In the Belly of the Bloodhound (pirate series) Philip Pullman's Dark trilogy Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler....any titles. ******************** Find some of the lists for College bound; pick through them for titles that would be fun and interesting for your students. Reward them with fun things that keep inspiring them to read, not heavy huge things that make them feel penalized for being a good reader. Create a list for them, introduce them to the books and then have discussions with them. Tell them they are the guinea pigs for the list, they are going to help you find things to put on or take off the list. Two readers to put something on the list, two readers to take it off. Can't just be their best friend, needs to be somebody with a very different taste in reading to get different views. *************************** My 9th grade teachers don't let our readers use the Steinbeck books, they are too short. Give them some of the Newbery or other award books that are for advanced readers. View from Saturday is a great book, won awards and just sits on the shelf, it wasn't for the target audience of the Newbery. What about "The Island" and "The Monument" by Paulsen. "Kit's Wilderness" by Almond, "Catalyst" and "Speak" by Anderson; they are for more advanced readers. *************************** Classics and historical fiction: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Great Expectations by Charles Dickens The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by MarkTwain The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 1984 by George Orwell Animal Farm by George Orwell The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Fantasy: His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray Rebel Angels by Libba Bray Young Wizards series by Diane Duane Poison by Chris Wooding Stardust by Neil Gaiman The Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld The Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld The Fallen quartet by Thomas E. Sniegoski Prowlers quarter by Christopher Golden Drama: The Tillerman Cycle by Cynthia Voigt Staying Fat for Sarah Byrns by Chris Crutcher The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta The Alison Rules by Catherine Clark Cheating Lessons by Nan Willard Cappo Say Goodnight, Gracie by Julie Reece Deaver Body of Evidence series by Christopher Golden Force Majeure by Christopher Golden and Thomas E.Sniegoski Plays and poetry: The Crucible by Arthur Miller A collection of Emily Dickinson poems The works of Sophocles The works of William Shakespeare *************************** When I was in middle school and reading above grade level my mom and teachers began pushing the classics. Some of the books I enjoyed the most: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte all books by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) all books by LM Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables) all books by Dumas (especially The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo) The Human Comedy by William Saroyen mysteries by Agatha Christie Other authors that were not my favorites but that I suggest to kids with different taste than my own: Tolkein Robert Louis Stevenson Dickens Mary Shelley JD Salinger George Orwell It's hard to recommend adult fiction/mysteries in a school because of sex scenes. One adult mystery series that I recently read that wasn't explicit were the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson. These are set in turn of the 20th century New York City... a midwife and police detective investigate murders in various New York neighborhoods. ******************************* You might want to try the Abe Lincoln award titles; this is an IL-based high school book award. The web site for this year and past year's lists is http://www.islma.org/lincoln.htm . Of course, some titles are still HS content, but others would be challenging reads (some are adult titles) while still being junior-high appropriate. ******************************* If you'll pardon my biased opinion, my work sounds ideal for your advanced readers shelf. I'm writing an edgy fiction series for mature young adult readers. Here are the books: Alex and The Enderson Brothers: Book One - ISBN 0595400876 Invisible Shadow: Book Two - ISBN 9781587367762 Here's a professional book review, so you don't have to take my word for it (scroll down to the YA section): http://www.bookreviewers.org/reviews.htm Book two was just released and I'm still in the process of getting reviews. I'm happy to hear any feedback from your students regarding my work. Hope that helps! Roz Monette http://www.rozmonette.com ~a~ Anne Berkey, LMS, NBCT Gamble Rogers Middle School St. Augustine, Florida ~a~ "If I can't be a good example then I'll just have to be a horrible warning." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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