The Giver

The Giver

By Lois Lowry
Science Fiction

Jonas, a twelve year old boy, lives in a utopia where everyone has a place in the world by which talents and interests. Any "flawed" people who are in this society are exiled. Jonas's job is the Receiver of Memory. He gets all the memories of the community, past and present, good or bad, which makes him realize how boring and bland his community really is so he decides he wants to change her. The Giver and Jonas plan for Jonas to escape enter Elsewhere. Once he escapes, his larger supply of memories will disperse, and the Giver will help the community accept the new feelings and thoughts, changing their society forever.

This book can be used to talk about diversity and how boring the world would be if everyone was the same. It will help the students to embrace and celebrate diversity instead of frown upon it. I can also use it to discuss mood. Each memory provokes a different mood and being able to determine what type of mood it is is required for the EOGs.

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Dear Mr. Henshaw

By: Beverly Cleary
Realistic Fiction

This book is about a little boy who is struggling with his life at home and at school. His teacher requires each student to write to their favorite author and Leigh Botts writes to Mr. Henshaw but then becomes pen pals with him. It comforts Leigh to have someone to talk to and vent.

I used technology to record a book talk with a few students who really enjoyed this book.

Beegu

Beegu
By: Alexis Deacon
Free choice

Beegu is from another planet but her spaceship crashes on Earth. The lost alien starts to look for some friends but all the adults turn her away. Then she finds a park and starts to play with the little children who become her friends. Her parents finally arrive to rescue her and she tells them all about the small creatures who were friendly and full of hope.

This would be a good book to talk about friendship and acceptance. It is also another good book to use with creative writing. The students could write about what they think they would experience if they landed on a foreign planet and how the other creatures on that planet would treat them.