[LM_NET] HIT: MID: Books with positive message

[Lisa Weinstein <lisa.t.weinstein@GMAIL.COM>]

Original Post:

A parent came in to the library during parent teacher conferences and
asked for books for her 6th and 8th grade girls that have positive
messages.  She believes (and I didn't dare argue with her) that
reading for entertainment is okay when you are younger, but now she
wants her girls to read books that will expand their mind.

She was looking for an annotated list of books with positive messages.
 Since I came up with nothing when searching online, I'm turning to
you.  What books, appropriate for 6-8th grade girls, have positive
messages?

HIT:

Books with a Positive Message
For 6th-8th grade girls

Abdel-Fattah, Randa.  Does My Head Look Big in This.
Abeel, Samantha.  My Thirteenth Winter.  (girl deals with dyscalculia)
Alcott, Louisa May.  Little Women.
Alexander, Alma.  Worldweavers.
Asugha, Ruby.  Little Sisters, Listen Up!: a messge of hope for girls
growing up in poverty, racism, and despair. (urban school setting)
Avi.  True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.
Barakat, Ibtisam.  Tasting the Sky:  A Palestinian Childhood.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell.  The Boy Who Dared.  (German teen who
stood up to the Nazis)
Bauer, Joan.  Hope Was Here.
Branda, Robin.  Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature.
Compestine, Ying Chang.  Revolution is Not a Dinner Party.  (Chinese
Cultural Revolution)
Connor, Leslie.  Waiting for Normal.
Cushman, Karen.  Loud Silence of Francine Green.   (1960s - girl
stands up for freedom of speech)
Dessen, Sarah.  That Summer.
Frederick, Heather Vogel.  The Mother-Daughter Book Club.
Giff, Patricia Reilly.  Lily's Crossing.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson.  Just Ella.
Hale, Shannon.  Princess Academy. (determination and using your brain
to help others)
---------.  The Goose Girl.
---------.  Enna Burning.
---------.  River Secrets.
Han, Jenny.  Shug.
Hannigan, Katharine. Ida B.
Hesse, Karen.  Letters from Rifka.
---------.  Out of the Dust.  (historical, maybe not an uplifting story)
Jaramillo, Ann.  La Linea.  (Brother and sister cross the border into the US)
Leavitt, Martine.  Keturah and Lord Death.
Lenhard, Elizabeth.  Chicks with Sticks:  It's a Purl Thing.
Levine, Gail Carson.  Fairest.
---------.  Ella Enchanted.
Lockhart, E. Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks.  (Sophomore
girl taking on the exclusive boys' club-- may be a bit mature)
Lowry, Lois.  Giver.
MacLachlan, Patricia.  Baby.
---------.  The Facts & Fictions of Minna Pratt.
---------.  Sarah Plain & Tall.
Mass, Wendy.  Mango-Shaped Space.  (girl with synesthesia)
McKay, Hilary.  Saffy's Angel series.
Montgomery, L.M.  Anne of Green Gables series.
Park, Linda Sue.  Project Mulberry .
---------.  Keeping Score.
Paratore, Colleen.  The Wedding Planner's Daughter series
Ryan, Pam Munoz.  Esperanza Rising.
Schmidt, Gary.  Wednesday Wars.  (Vietnam War era and Shakespeare)
Sones, Sonya.  What My Mother Doesn't Know.
Sonnenblick, Jordan.  Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.
Spinelli, Jerry.  Stargirl.
Tolan, Stephanie.  Surviving the Applewhites. (great character
development, an emphasis on education and the arts, a interesting
family dynamic, overcoming insecurities, living up to your potential,
etc)
Vail, Rachel.  Lucky.
Van Draanen, Wendelin.  Flipped.
---------.  Runaway.  (runaway teenage girl keeps journal)
Venkatraman, Padma.  Climbing the Stairs.  (Indian girl in 1940s
dealing with family and castes)
Weeks, Sarah.  So B. It.
Williams-Garcia, Rita.  No Laughter Here.  (female circumcision)
Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn.  Reaching for Sun.  (girl with cerebral palsy)

Biographies, because usually the parent can think of people they
approve of, which spares me from trying to determine what they think
is a "positive" message :)
Check award winning title lists for middle school age
-- 
Lisa Weinstein

"Books are like blankets, the mere sight of them around the house
provides warmth and comfort.  They are like mirrors, too, reflecting
places I've been, phases I've been through, people I've loved or
thought I did."  ~Mary Schmich, "Virtual or Not, Libraries are Sweet
Labor"

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