Notable Books for Middle Readers: 1997

Grade Levels

3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade

Course, Subject

English Language Arts

Related Academic Standards

CC.1.2.3.A CC.1.2.3.A

Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

CC.1.2.4.J CC.1.2.4.J

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being and that are basic to a particular topic.

CC.1.2.7.D CC.1.2.7.D

Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.

CC.1.3.3.A CC.1.3.3.A

Determine the central message, lesson, or moral in literary text; explain how it is conveyed in text.

CC.1.3.3.D CC.1.3.3.D

Explain the point of view of the author.

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Description

The American Library Association compiled the following annotated bibliography. Librarians throughout the U.S. helped select these titles from the several thousand children's books published during 1997. Included are books of especially commendable quality, books of particular creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry, and pictures- all of special interest and value to children through age 12. This suggested reading list is appropriate for middle readers.

Content Collections

ALA Website

Bibliography

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Growing Up in Coal Country. Houghton. (0-395-77847-6.)
Personal accounts and period photographs help depict the harshness of life for children living in Pennsylvania coal mining communities one hundred years ago.

Brewster, Hugh. Anastasia's Album. Hyperion/Madison Press. (0-786-80292-8.)
Intimate family photographs, keepsakes, and letters illuminate the life and death of Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar.

Bunting, Eve. Train to Somewhere. Illus. by Ronald Himler. Clarion. (0-395-71325-0.)
Traveling westward with thirteen other orphans, Marianne hopes to find a family to care for her. Soft watercolor paintings reflect her understandable anxiety.

Conrad, Pam. The Rooster's Gift. Illus. by Eric Beddows. HarperCollins/Laura Geringer. (0-060-23604-3.)
Playful text and folksy art team up to tell this humorous barnyard tale about a proud rooster who believes he has the gift of calling up the sun.

Cooney, Barbara. Eleanor. Illus. Viking. (0-670-86159-6.)
Eleanor Roosevelt's unhappy childhood is sympathetically chronicled in a biography completed by softly-hued paintings that evoke her solemn mood and unfolding promise.

DeFelice, Cynthia. The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker. Farrar. (0-374-34669-0)
A touching novel about a 12-year-old Connecticut farm boy who becomes a doctor's apprentice after his family dies of consumption in 1849.

Jackson, Donna M. The Bone Detectives: How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and Uncover Mysteries of the Dead. Photos by Charlie Fellenbaum. Little Brown. (0-316-82935-8.)
An intriguing look at how forensic anthropologists uncover clues to solve crimes and determine the identities of people whose only remains are bits of skeleton.

Kehret, Peg. Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio. Whitman. (0-807-57457-0.)
A heartening autobiography that chronicles the sudden illness and excruciating recovery of a young girl stricken with polio.

Krull, Kathleen. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman. Illus. by David Diaz. Harcourt. (0-152-01267-2.)
Strong, gritty illustrations support the inspirational story of a three-time Olympic gold medalist who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds.

Martin, Rafe. Mysterious Tales of Japan. Illus. by Tatsuro Kiuchi. Putnam. (0-399-22677-X.)
Buddhist and Shinto traditions permeate this elegantly haunting collection of ten traditional Japanese tales, each accompanied by a classic haiku and an eerie color painting.

Myers, Walter Dean. Toussaint L'Ouverture: The Fight for Haiti's Freedom. Illus. by Jacob Lawrence. Simon & Schuster. (0-689-80126-2.)
Forty-one grandly ominous paintings, first exhibited in 1940, give backbone to this gripping picture biography of the heroic Haitian freedom fighter who led his country to its independence in 1804.

Onyefulu, Ifeoma. Ogbo: Sharing Life in an African Village. Harcourt/Gulliver. (0-152-00498-X.)
A young Nigerian girl explains the responsibilities of village members generated by their ogbos (or age groups). Exceptionally clear photos and textile design motifs add an extra dimension.

Paterson, Katherine. JIP: His Story. Dutton/Lodestar. (0- 525-67543-4.)
Raised on a poor farm during the mid-1800s, a kind- hearted orphan cares for the local "lunatic" as he comes to terms with his own identity.

Perl, Lila, and Marion Blumenthal Lazen. Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story. Greenwillow. (0-688-14294-X.)
A poignant World War II memoir chronicles the Blumenthal family's courageous struggle to survive refugee, transit and prison camps in the face of Nazi persecution.

Pinkney, Andrea D. Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy. Illus. by Brian Pinkney. Harcourt/Gulliver. (0-152-00100-X.)
Robust scratchboard art sets the tone for this biography of a famed African-American cowboy.

Rael, Elsa. What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street. Illus. by Marjorie Priceman. Simon & Schuster. (0-689-80549-7.)
A seven-year-old girl attends her first "package party" and unexpectedly discovers the rewards of generosity. Vibrant gouache paintings show life in New York's Lower East Side in the Thirties.

Schroeder, Alan. Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Dial. (0-803-71889-6.)
An eight-year-old slave dreams of freedom in this fictionalized biography intensified by emotion-packed watercolor and pencil illustrations depicting plantation life in the 1820s.

Sis, Peter. Starry Messenger: A Book Depicting the Life of a Famous Scientist, Mathematician, Astronomer, Philosopher, Physicist, Galileo Galilei. Illus. Farrar/Frances Foster. (0-374-37191-1.)
The courage and honesty of a famous scientist is revealed through intricate ink drawings, maps, timelines and samples of Galileo's own writings in this inventive biography. A 1997 Caldecott Honor Book.

Stanley, Diane. Leonardo Da Vinci. Illus. Morrow. (0-688- 10437-1.)
A stately presentation of Leonardo's extraordinarily productive life featuring watercolor and pencil art done in Renaissance style.

Warren, Andrea. Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story. Houghton. (0-395-69822-7.)
The true story of Lee Nailling and the early work of the Children's Aid Society in relocating orphans is told in poignant alternating chapters.

Wisniewski, David. Golem. Illus. Clarion. (0-395-72618-2.)
Stunning cut paper illustrations set a dramatic stage for this disquieting traditional tale about a supernatural clay being created to protect the Jews in 16th century Prague. The 1997 Caldecott Medal Winner.

Yumoto, Kazumi. The Friends. Tr. by Cathy Hirano. Farrar. (0-374-32460-3.)
Curiosity about death leads three boys into a surprising friendship with an old man. The 1997 Batchelder Award Winner.

Notable Books for Middle Readers: 1997