NoveList Topical Book List
	NoveList/EBSCO Publishing ©2006
Read-Aloud Novels for Grades 6-8
Need a book to read aloud? The books on this list represent some of the best books to read aloud to your students, patrons or your own children. Adventure, survival and suspense, whether in a contemporary or historical setting, are winning stories for read alouds for middle school students. Add a few fabulous science fiction and fantasy titles and you have a selection of read alouds that are sure to capture the attention of middle schoolers.
	Avi True confessions of Charlotte Doyle, The, (1990) Lexile: 740 As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious. Includes ship illustrations in an appendix.
	Bruchac, Joseph Skeleton man, (2001) Lexile: 880 After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange "great-uncle," Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even for her life.
	Choldenko, Gennifer Al Capone does my shirts, (2004) Lexile: 600 A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
	Clements, Andrew Jacket, The, (2002) Lexile: 640 An incident at school forces sixth grader Phil Morelli, a white boy, to become aware of racial discrimination and segregation, and to seriously consider if he himself is prejudiced.
	Creech, Sharon Love that dog, (2001) Lexile: 1010 A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, and an appearance at his school by Walter Dean Myers, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.
	Curtis, Christopher Paul Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963, The, (1995) Lexile: 1000 The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
	Cushman, Karen Catherine, called Birdy, (1994) Lexile: 1170 The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.
	Dahl, Roald Boy, (1984) Lexile: 1090 Presents humorous anecdotes from the author's childhood which includes summer vacations in Norway and an English boarding school.
	Fleischman, Paul Seedfolks, (1997) Lexile: 710 One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed.
	Grimes, Nikki Bronx masquerade, (2002) Lexile: 670 While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.
	Haddix, Margaret Peterson Among the hidden, (1998) Lexile: 800 A government decree allows each family only two children. For Luke, a third child, this has meant a lifetime of hiding. But could a stray glimpse of a child hiding in the house across the way lead to freedom?
	Levine, Gail Carson Ella enchanted, (1997) Lexile: 670 In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
	Lyons, Mary E. Letters from a slave girl, (1992) Lexile: 880 A fictionalized version of the life of Harriet Jacobs, told in the form of letters that she might have written during her slavery in North Carolina and as she prepared for escape to the North in 1842.
	Paulsen, Gary Harris and me, (1993) Lexile: 1060 Sent to live with relatives on their farm because of his unhappy home life, an eleven-year-old city boy meets his distant cousin Harris and is given an introduction to a whole new world.
	Paulsen, Gary How Angel Peterson got his name, (2003) Lexile: 1180 Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.
	Spinelli, Jerry Crash, (1996) Lexile: 560 Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.
	Taylor, Mildred D. Friendship, The, (1987) Lexile: 750 Four children witness a confrontation between an elderly man and a white storekeeper in rural Mississippi in the 1930s.
	Taylor, Mildred D. Mississippi bridge, (1990) Lexile: 810 During a heavy rainstorm in 1930s rural Mississippi, a ten-year-old white boy sees a bus driver order all the black passengers off a crowded bus to make room for late-arriving white passengers and then set off across the raging Rosa Lee River.
	Testa, Maria Something about America, (2005) Level: Young Adult Lexile: Not available After ten years of living in America, a young girl is happy with the new world in which she lives and doesn't understand why her parents yearn to return to their war-torn land of Kosova, yet when a sudden damaging act reestablishes old fears of hate, theAmericanized student is forced to reexamine everything she thought she knew.
	Tillage, Leon Walter Leon's story, (1997) Lexile: 970 The son of a North Carolina sharecropper recalls the hard times faced by his family and other African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century and the changes that the civil rights movement helped bring about.
	Wolff, Virginia Euwer Make lemonade, (1993) Lexile: 890 In order to earn money for college, fourteen-year-old LaVaughn babysits for a teenage mother of two. Written in 66 chapters, with text lines that break at natural speaking phrases.
	Woodson, Jacqueline Miracle's boys, (2000) Lexile: 660 Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother.
	Wrede, Patricia C. Dealing with dragons, (1990) Lexile: 830 Bored with traditional palace life, a princess goes off to live with a group of dragons and soon becomes involved with fighting against some disreputable wizards who want to steal away the dragons' kingdom.
Submitted by Susie Wilde, a read-aloud advocate and children's book crusader for over twenty years, has reviewed for magazines and newspapers and shared her favorite titles with children, parents and teachers. April, 2006