Category: mglit

When I was teaching 8^th grade ELA I was aghast at how few students read for fun and how much work their context clues needed. Out of the approximately 108 students that I taught for a couple of months, there was one of them that read for fun. That student’s grades reflected that fact and they constantly got strong A’s on their assignments, while paying minimal attention in class. I mention this, albeit in kind of a rant, that there are an almost limitless number of books that will be great for middle school readers.

The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls is a book that will certainly be attractive to upper elementary through middle school audiences. It’s a curiously long title that will intrigue those readers who stand a chance at reading the book. The reason I phrase it like that is that getting middle school students to read, much less read realistic fiction is a seriously challenging task.

Left of center realistic fiction for tweens and teens

The Vanquishers has a great title. Its name alludes to a once great team of vampire slayers who were so successful that their prey is now extinct. However, much like Doc Brown in the very last minute of Back to the Future, “It’s your kids Marty”. Now it’s a couple of decades later, the vampire hunters are older, and have families and grandchildren of their own. It’s the families of the original Vanquishers that still keep an eye on the rearview mirror. It’s a book with more heart than vampire horror but will deliver for those mglit audiences that want more silly, than scary.

Mglit friendship, with a small side of vampires

We love to watch The Muppets because the movies and the old television show has something that works on a level that parents, as well as, children, could enjoy at the same time. Reading, especially non-fiction reading is a different animal altogether. The reading interests of elementary school students are, for the most a common one with some touch points that boys and girls both hit upon. When boys get into fifth grade they crave all things Bigfoot, Sasquatch, UFO, Bermuda Triangle or alien porthole. All of these things combine in the Venn Diagram of The Search for Sasquatch, a non-fiction book by Laura Krantz that at first glance might not seem like it’s on par for upper elementary school students.

A Bigfoot book that balances story, Stem and kids want to read it?