Next semester at TCNJ (my final semester at TCNJ! YIKES!) I will be taking LIT 310. Translation: Lit for Young Readers with Dr. Meixer. Student teaching in a middle school this semester made me realize that I need to quickly expand my arsenal of Young Adult authors and novels so that I can provide reading recommendations to my students. This past semester, the students were the ones recommending most of the books to me! Oh the irony!
Courtesy of my students I have now grown to love Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games trilogy. I even made my very own book trailer for the first novel, The Hunger Games, which I shared with my students. (You can view my book trailer at the following link: Ms. C's Hunger Games Book Trailer.)
Anyway, the 16 books that I will be reading with Dr. Meixner for LIT 310 are (in no particular order):
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
- The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block
- Pedro and Me by Winick (a graphic novel)
- Poetry Speaks Who I Am by Paschen (poetry anthology)
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- Thirteen by Howe (short story collection)
- Getting Away with Murder by Crowe
- The Misfits by James Howe
- The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
- Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
I've already read a bunch of these novels, but I'm looking forward to reading them from a new perspective: that of a future English teacher. I particularly like how the novels span from elementary level texts to high school level texts.
I'm especially excited to read Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. My former seventh and eighth grade students will be reading that novel in the spring.
It's safe to say I will definitely add to my YA Lit arsenal after taking this class.
