WHEN KIDS WON’T READ:
BOOKS THAT ENGAGE EVEN THE MOST RELUCTANT READER
19 MINUTES by Jodi Picoult. School shooting and its aftermath. (HS)
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Yang. 2007 Printz award. GN. (MS)
ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan. Textless GN. (ALL)
BETWIXT by Tara Smith. Teens with special powers. (HS)
BLUE LIPSTICK by Charles Grandits. Concrete poems for girls. (MS/HS)
BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak. Printz honor book. Holocaust setting. (MS/HS)
BREAKING UP by Aimee Friedman. High school girls and angst. (HS)
DEADLINE by Chris Crutcher. What is truth? (HS)
EGGS by Jerry Spinelli. Family and friends. (INT)
ELIJAH OF BUXTON by Christopher Paul Curtis. Underground railroad in
ENTER THREE WITCHES by Caroline Cooney. MacBeth. (MS/HS)
FIELD GUIDE TO HIGH SCHOOL by Marissa Walsh. How to survive 9th grade. (MS)
GRIEF GIRL by Erin Vincent. Nonfiction. (MS)
HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY by Susan Patron. Newbery winner. (INT/MS)
HOW TO GET SUSPENDED AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Adam Selzer. GT kids. (HS)
HOW TO STEAL A DOG by Barbara O’Connor. Homeless kids. (INT/MS)
INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick. B&W novel about automatons and space travel. (INT/MS)
LAWN BOY by Gary Paulsen. Summer employment hijinks. (MS)
LIFE AS WE KNEW IT by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Post apocalyptic diary. (MS/HS)
LOVE, STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli. Sequel. (HS)
THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET by Pseudonymous Bosch. Mystery. (INT)
THE NEW POLICEMAN by Kate Banks. Irish folk, real and imagined. (MS/HS)
OPHELIA by Lisa Klein. Hamlet. (HS)
QUAD by C. G. Watson. School shooting. (HS)
RIGHT BEHIND YOU by Gail Giles. Identity. (HS)
SCHOOLED by Gordon Korman. Outcasts and misfits. (INT/MS)
SEVEN DAYS AT THE HOT CORNER by Terry Trueman. AIDS. (HS)
SHARK GIRL by Kelly Bingham. Girl loses arm. (HS)
SWORDBIRD by Nancy Yi Fan. 11 yo author. (INT/MS)
TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitich-Smith. Vampires. (HS)
THIS IS WHAT I DID by Ann Dee Ellis. Friendship. (MS)
TO DANCE by
TWISTED by Laurie Halse Anderson. Bullies and pressure. (HS)
WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary Schmidt. Fitting in. (INT/MS)
WHOLE SKY FULL OF STARS by Rene Saldana. Boxing and friendship. (HS)
Plus some terrific resources for more books:
QUICK PICKS FOR RELUCTANT READERS (1996-2007)
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/quickpicks/quickpicksreluctant.htm
Teri’s website
Teri’s blog
www.professornana.livejournal.com
Professional Book Resources
When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers. Heinemann.
Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice edited by Beers, Probst, Rief. Heinemann.
NAKED
MAKING THE MATCH: THE RIGHT BOOK FOR THE RIGHT READER AT THE RIGHT TIME by Teri S. Lesesne, Stenhouse.