4. Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon (Recommended grade level: 9-10)
Summary:
Maxie is a 15-year-old black girl from Chicago who is a
young helper of the Black Panthers. She wants to be a full member and contribute to the cause; however, most comment that
she is too young. Her home life is a mess--in the projects with a mother who is as un-steady as they come. Her brother and boyfriend are aloof Panthers. When there is word of a traitor amongst them, Maxie quickly finds her brother in cahoots with the "pigs." She reports his actions to the Panthers and loses her brother because of it. In the end, Maxie is given full Panther training, and she is validated and on the way to something meaningful.
Meeting the CCSS:
While the text complexity is not at the 9th or 10th grade level, the content of the text is not appropriate for younger readers due to multiple sexual situations and the cultural/political context of the story. However, because of the content of the book, it can be used to help students idenify the central idea of the text (RL.9-10.2). In addition, students can analyze primary source material (RL.9-10.9) by reading and analyzing the "I Have a Dream" speech, which is referenced in the text. Further, this text can be used to address the writing standards by asking students to respond in writing to the complex topics presented in the text (W.9-10.2).
5. A Leaf Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas (Recommended grade level: K-1)
Summary:
This is a beautifully illustrated book that poeti-
cally tells of the
many transfor-
mations of a leaf.
It starts out by de-
scribing all the things a leaf can be in the spring and then flows into what role the leaf takes on when the days get cooler. The rhyming makes the leaf come alive.
Meeting the CCSS:
Teachers can use this text with younger students to introduce or review the concept of rhyming (RF.K.2a). In addition, because of its relationship to the seasons, teachers can use this to help students make connections between words in the text and their feelings and thoughts on the seasons (RL.1.4). Further, this text can be paired with a nonfiction text related to plants and seasons, and students can be asked to identify key details in the text (RI.K.1).
Wonder
by R. J. Palacio
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
Creepy Carrots
by Aaron Reynolds
Fire in the Streets
by Kekla Magoon
A Leaf Can Be....
by Laura Purdie Salas
2013 Teachers' Choices Books
"....use this text to review the concept of rhyming, ...make connections, and ....identify key details...."
22