Sometimes I think I like reading about books as much as I like reading books. Here are some of my favorite
sources. I've include lists for adults and children in addition to those specifically for adolescents since there
are many books not published for young adults that they enjoy reading. Many students outgrow the young adult genre
by high school; I think they are the biggest challenge.
Clicking on the titles of the books below will take you to their descriptions further down on this page.
Clicking on the titles of books in the descriptions will take you to Amazon.
Primarily for teachers, each chapter of this book focuses on one theme with an essay on one book and a list
of related books that are good for high school kids. This book is a great resource for finding a range of supplemental
texts for a book they are studying in class. There are enough choices for no more than two students in the class to
read the same book. The second half of the book has an annotated bibliography of all of the books listed. Best
of all, the book is priced for individual ownership.
The contents for this book are available on Amazon.
I've had a copy of this book for my own reading for some time. The great thing about it is that there
are all kinds of books by women, and I especially enjoy the nonfiction titles. I think a lot of kids will, too.
The contents of this book are available on Amazon.
You will want this one on your coffee table. It's a big, thick book with a lot of illustrations and
heavy paper. There are all kinds of books that will surprise you for both their presence and their exclusion.
Unlike many books of this type, there are a lot of contemporary choices, which makes it a good source for books for high schoolers.
It's also recently published so you can have a lot of fun reading others lists online.
These books provide an annotated bibliography of all kinds of books for each of the three groups with a minimum
of overlap. The books are grouped by type (historical fiction, nature and science, etc.) and by age group. Unless
you are looking for supplemental reading that high schoolers can whiz through, these books are best for middle schoolers
because the recommendations are for ages 2-14.
Make sure you get a copy of the revised edition of Great Books for Girls. I own the first edition,
which I have had for some time, and it is getting a bit outdated.
I would recommend having a few copies of this book around the classroom as I think it will appeal to high
school kids, especially if you pair it with some of the other Rough Guides to Pop Culture. This book is small enough to fit in a backpack pocket or purse, and there are all kinds of interesting and weird books,
plus graphic novels, that are bound to appeal to older teens.
Email me with your comments, suggestions, and experiences.
At this time, I am not posting any materials that I have not personally reviewed, but I can always use more ideas for
my notebook.
