Cradock MS Library Suggested Reading by The Admiral LIbrary

Suggested Titles for Pleasure Reading The Admiral Library at Cradock Middle Schoo8 Grades 7 & 8

Introduction Looking for great books to read in your free time? The librarians at Cradockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Admiral Library are here to help you with your decisions. Whether you are in search of your favorite author or youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re interested in trying something new, we can help you with whatever genre. This list features fiction and nonfiction titles, books in verse, sports fiction and series that were personally selected by the library staff as some of the titles that standout in our collection which would be of interest to you. The books are not listed in any specific order within each group. Look for the extra comments in quotation marks to see what Ms. Carnesi has added to the summary and subject

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Subject ----------------------------- Introduction ------------------------Table of Content -----------------------Nonfiction Titles ----------------------------Fiction Titles -------------------------------------Series -----------------------------Sports Titles -------------------------Books-in-Verse

Nonfiction Titles

323 PIN. Andrea Pinkney (author) and Stephen Alcorn (illustrator) Let it Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. 2009.107p. (7.2 Reading Level). Profiles of ten African-American women whose efforts on behalf of racial justice and freedom have influenced the course of history. Some of the women in this book are “Ms. Biddy Mason (whom the Los Angeles financial district gives homage too, because her daycare for working mothers in the 1800s was one of the earliest businesses in California. She was free because she demanded her freedom from Brigham Young (the head of the Mormans). When she came to California it was still part of Mexico and the last Mexican govenor was an Afro Mexican from Costa Chico, Mexico.” SC Bridget “Biddy” Mason B MAS

323.1196 MAY. Robert H. Mayer. When the Children Marched: The Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. 2008. 176p. (5.7 Reading Level). Chronicles the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama, the leaders of the movement, and how the children helped in the fight to end segregation in the South. “This was a strategy that filled the jails in Birmingham so full till there was no room to arrest anyone else.” SC

331.8 MCK. Patricia And Fredrick Mckissack. A Long Hard Journey : The Story of the Pullman Porter. 1989. 144p. (7.5 Reading Level). A chronicle of the first black-controlled union, made up of Pullman porters, who after years of unfair labor practices staged a battle against a corporate giant resulting in a "David and Goliath" ending. “This used to be the highest-paying and prestigious job a black man could get in the USA. This means it wasn’t easy to get these jobs. Families were considered wealthy with fathers who had these jobs. In the 1920s with tips, the salary average was around $80 per month.” SC

364.1 ARE. David Aretha. The Murder of Emmett Till. 2008. 160p. (8.2 Reading Level). The heinous murder of Emmett Till galvanized the civil rights movement and raised the nation's awareness of the extreme racism in the South. Described by his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, as "a little nobody who shook up the world," Till was 14 in 1955, when he was kidnapped and murdered (for flirting with a white woman in the small town of Money, Mississippi). “In 2005, Emmitt’s casket was dug up to re-examine his body. He was reburied in a new casket. The National Museum of African American History and Culture now has his original casket on display. Also, after 60 years, the lady that accused him of the crime of flirting has come out of hiding to admit she lied out of fear for her own life: https://www.usatoday.com/indepth/news/2018/08/25/emmett-till-death-findingtruth/1098386002/” SC\

379.2 FIT. Stephanie Fitzgerald. The Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration. 2007. 96p. (7.3 Reading Level). A profile of the Little Rock Nine, nine African-American students who, in accordance with the Supreme Court legislation that made segregation illegal, attempted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. “Ms. Carnesi grew up in Arkansas. Here’s a picture of what Central HS in Little Rock looks like today. The Magnolia gas station is on the corner of Daisy Bates Drive and Park Street in Little Rock. It was used by the news media as a staging spot for covering the protest. It was raining the day I took the picture, but I was standing at the site where the Little Rock 9 had to start their walk into the lower level entrance hall to the building. It’s a wonder nothing fatal happened to the children, given the vemom from the crowd.” SC

B OBA. David Colbert. Michell Obama. 2009. 151p. (5.8 Reading Level). A biography of Michelle Obama, covering her upbringing on Chicago's south side in a stable family environment and the historical context of her life that shaped her into an influential individual.

398.2 HAM. Virginia Hamilton (author). Leo and Diane Dillan (illustrators). The People Could Fly. 178p. (4.3 Reading Level). 1985. Retold Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are historical folktales. Author Jason Reynolds is working on mystical realism story that features the present day ancestors of the people who flew away. Today they are living in city project housing and all the men are in some degree of invisibility as a result of their position in family and society. The book is not published, yet.â&#x20AC;? SC Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is magical realism where the magical perspective is so subtle, you overlook it as real. SC

978 STO. TaRessa Stovall. The Buffalo Soldiers. 104. (8.7 Reading Level). 1997. An account of the achievements of the African-American Army regiments that distinguished themselves during numerous campaigns and played a vital role in the settlement of the American West. “One of the reasons the black regiments were named ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ is because their hair was fuzzy like the buffalo AND they stood with dignity in the face of death, like the buffalo.” SC

B SAN Greg Neri. YUMMY: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. 2010. 94p. 3.4 .(Reading Level). A graphic novel based on the true story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year old African American gang member from Chicago who shot a young girl and was then shot by his own gang members.

“When this story happened, it made the cover of the TIMES magazine. Yummy was killed by two biological brothers who were 13 and 14 years old.” SC

B COL. Phillip Hoose. Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. 2009. 133p. (7.0 Reading Level). Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Montgomery, Alabama, high-school student, was arrested and jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. At the center of the headline-grabbing turmoil is teenager Colvin, who became pregnant during the boycott; and her frank, candid words about both her personal and political experiences will galvanize young readers. “It was said that Ms. Claudette had anger management issues and was not the image the Civil Rights leaders wanted for their protest when they first tried to use her as a poster child. She was in the headlines before Ms. Rosa Parks famous arrest and later moved to Parkchester in the Bronx. When Ms. Rosa came to visit her and invite her to a city-wide media covered meeting in Manhattan, Ms. Claudette was still mad and refused Ms. Rosa’s request. She later said she was sorry she didn’t go, because Ms. Rosa died soon after. Here’s a 2013 interview with Ms. Claudette: https://www.democracynow.org/2013/3/29/the_other_rosa_parks_now_73” SC

B HUR. Katie Marsico. Zora Neale Hurston: Harlem Renaissance Writer. 2008. 112p. (8.2 Reading Level). Explores the life and achievements of Zora Neale Hurston, discussing her childhood, education, family, role in the Harlem Renaissance and literary works. Ms. Zora was not popular with the male authors of her time because she wrote about romance. “She died a pauper with an unmarked grave until the author of The Color Purple (Alice Walker) paid for her headstone. She grew up and was married in Fort Pierce, Florida. She spent her summers in Eatonville, Florida (6 miles outside of Orlando and Disneyworld). Eatonville is the oldest chartered historical black town that is still functioning in the USA” SC

B TRU. Peter Krass. Sojourner Truth: Antislavery Activist. 2005. 96p. (7.2 Reading Level). Examines the life and achievements of onetime slave, abolitionist, and women's rights activist, Sojourner Truth discussing her childhood as a slave in New York, her work during the Civil War, her speeches, and her efforts to ensure equality for all people. “Sojourner Truth was a historical black feminist. Her actions are so great that the activist in Belfast, Ireland have her on their hero walls for the deeds she accomplished. In Belfast you see more of Sojourneer Truth than you do in the US.” SC

“Marian Anderson was an opera singer. You might think she’s boring, but she had nerves of steel. The Daughters of the Confederacy, an elite society of women whose male ancestry were confederate soldiers, would not let her sing in Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. So, she sung on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which is one of the reasons while Dr. King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in the same spot” SC B AND. James Meadow. Marian Anderson. 2010. 32p. (Reading Level not listed). A biography of African-American concert singer Marian Anderson, discussing her happy childhood in Philadelphia, her early involvement with music, her attempts to perfect her art, her European success, the discrimination she encountered in the U.S., and the impact of her fame on racism.

B MAR. Chris Crowe. Up Close: Thurgood Marshall: A 20thCentury Life. 248p. 2008. (Reading Level not listed). Marshall served 24 years as the first African American judge on the U.S. Supreme Court, but this biography in the Up Close series focuses on his pioneer work as a lawyer and civil rights activist and on the landmark cases in which he fought segregation in public education and elsewhere. “He was a constitutional lawyer who fought Brown vs. the Board of Topeka, Kansas which ended segreation in public schools” SC At the Bicentennial of the Constitution (1987) the Honorable Thurgood Marshall made a controversial statement which stated the mistakes that were made in the US Constitution: “The government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war, and major social transformations to attain the system of constitutional government and its respect for the freedoms and individual rights, we hold as fundamental today. Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document and observe the anniversary with hopes not realized and promises not fulfilled. I plan to celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution as a living document (a document that changes and grows as the American society grows and changes. This is her speech: http://thurgoodmarshall.com/the-bicentennialspeech/.” 510.92 SHE. Margot Lee Shetterly. Hidden Figures. 2017. 281p. (8.2 Reading Level). Before John Glenn orbited Earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as 'human computers' used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. “Mrs. Johnson lives in the senior living facility in my neighborhood and Margot Lee Shetterly visited my knitting circle when I was at another school library to show us how to up-source our knitting supplies” Here’s a picture of Mrs. Shetterly with my knitting circle.”

B BAS. Javaka Steptoe. Radient Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. 2016. (unpaged). (9.4 Reading Level). Beautifully evoking his subject's exuberant, colorful, and playful art style in jostling paintings on scraps of found wood, Steptoe introduces young readers to Basquiat's childhood and early career. Born in Brooklyn, Basquiat loved art early, and with the encouragement of his similarly artistic mother, he actively pursued his dream of being a famous artist, finding creative inspiration not only at museums but also in the color and rhythm of the city around him. Basquiat's signature style-"sloppy, ugly, and sometimes weird, but somehow still beautiful"should appeal in particular to kids who find joy in free-form scribbles, and that same spirit animates Steptoe's collage illustrations. Thickly laid paints and exploded perspectives in bright hues depict scenes from Basquiat's life and highlight some of his iconic imagery, like golden cartoon crowns, eyeballs, and vehicles scattered everywhere. There's no mention of his problems with addiction or untimely death; rather, the book closes with him achieving his dream, crown overhead and surrounded by clipped headlines about his work. A lively, engaging introduction to a one-of-a-kind artist perfect for art-loving kids. Copyright 2016 Booklist Reviews. “Javaka is the son of the famous illustrator John Steptoe who died too early in life. The street the family lives on in Brooklyn is named after John. When Javaka accepted the Coretta Scott King award for this book in 2017, he broke down in tears because the award he received was named after his dad.” SC B WOO. Jacqueline Woodson. Brown Girl Dreaming. 2014. 396p. (5.3 Reading Level). The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe's Stevie and Langston Hughes' poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that "[W]ords are my brilliance." Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share “When this award, after reading 5 American awards, didn’t receive the Newbery, Jackie said she had to take a break from children titles. I just got ticked off!”

Fiction Titles

F TAY. Mildred D. Taylor. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. 1976. 276p. (5.7 Reading Level). An African-American family living in the South during the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination which its children do not understand. “I know I’ve read this story 14 times, always. This is a new cover.” SC

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis.

When his parents decide it is time to visit Grandma, ten-year-old Kenny and his siblings, including the "juvenile delinquent" Byron, journey to Alabama during a dark period in American history. “This story covers the bombing of the Birmingham church which killed 3 black girls while they were attending Sunday School.” SC “The Watsons are from Flint, Michigan. Look at what is going on in current Flint and tell me why you think a family named Watson would choose to go to Birmingham today.” SC

Twist & Turns by Janet McDonald. Raucous and

tender, harsh and hopeful, McDonald's latest fast-talking story about teen project girls in Brooklyn Heights focuses on the sisters, Keeba and Teesha. They have both finished high school, and avoided the traps of pregnancy, drugs, gangs, and crime. With the support of friends and the community, they start a small neighborhood hair salon. But business is slow, very slow; and, worse, there's a movement afoot to privatize the housing projects and move out the poor residents. “Everything that Janet McDonald does is fantastic1”

F FLA. Sharon G. Flake. The Skin I’m In. 1998. 171p. (6.0 RL). Thirteen-year-old Maleeka Madison, insecure about her very dark skin, rejects the support of a new teacher, Miss Saunders, whose skin looks blotched because of a rare medical condition--but soon Maleeka begins to see that Miss Saunders could be a role model, and that she must learn to love herself and accept love from others. “This is a title that uplifts what is beautiful in black skin through the lived world of a protagonist who thinks she’s ugly because she’s dark complexion and gets teased about it from her peers who don’t understand the beauty of blackness.” SC

Day of Tears by Julius Lester. Presents an historical fiction written in first-person format that follows Emma, the slave of Pierce Butler, through a series of events in her life as her master hosts the largest slave auction in American history in Savannah, Georgia in 1859 in order to pay off his mounting gambling debts.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The historical event is that the slaveowner sold his entire population of slaves to pay off a gambling debt.â&#x20AC;? SC

JUMPED by Rita Williams-Garcia. 3 different points-ofview with Leticia, Dominique, and Trina who don’t know each other but become irrevocably intwined in one day’s time over he said she said gossip. “This book shows just how sensely some fights are.” SC

The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon. In 1968 Chicago, fourteen-year-old Sam Childs is caught in a conflict between his father's nonviolent approach to seeking civil rights for African-Americans and his older brother, who has joined the Black Panther Party.

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. 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.

The Contender by Robert Lipsyte. A Harlem high school drop-out escapes from a gang of punks into a boxing gym. He learns being a contender is hard and often discouraging work and that you don't know anything until you try.

As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds. Two brothers prove how brave they are when they spend the summer with their blind grandfather in rural Virginia.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson. Teen Fatherhood.

Series Titles

21 â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this series, Gregor lives in Harlem and follows his sister down the filter shoot for dryers when he brought the toddler to the basement to wash the family clothing. He kept falling and falling until he reached the Underworld where bugs ruled and rodents talked in math riddles.â&#x20AC;? SC 1. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. NEEDS TO BE ADDED TO THE COLLECTION.

2. Gregor and the Prophecy of the Bane

3. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins. BE ADDED TO THE COLLECTION.

4. Gregor and the Marks of Secret

5. Gregor and the Code of Claw

Darkness Before Dawn by Sharon Draper. Recovering from the recent suicide of her exboyfriend, senior class president Keisha Montgomery finds herself attracted to a dangerous, older man.

Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper.

Teenage Gerald, who has spent years protecting his fragile half-sister from their abusive father, faces the prospect of one final confrontation before the problem can be solved

23 November Blue by Sharon Draper. A

teenaged boy's death in a hazing accident has lasting effects on his pregnant girlfriend and his guiltridden cousin, who gives up a promising music career to play football during his senior year in high school.

Sports Titles

The Bigtime: A Football Genius Novel by Tim Green. Agents and lawyers come knocking after Troy leads his football team, the Atlanta Falcons, to the Georgia State Championship, but his life gets complicated when one of the lawyers turns out to be the father he never knew.

Football Genius by Time Green. Troy, a sixthgrader with an unusual gift for predicting football plays before they occur, attempts to use his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he must first prove himself to the coach and players.

Payback Time by Carl Deuker. Overweight, somewhat timid Mitch reluctantly agrees to be the sports reporter for the Lincoln High newspaper because he is determined to be a writer, but he senses a real story in Angel, a talented football player who refuses to stand out on the field--or to discuss his past. Quarterback Season by Fred Bowen. As a school assignment, eighth-grader Matt Monroe keeps a journal about his team's football season.

26 How Angel Peterson got his name : and other outrageous tales about extreme sports by Gary Paulsen

SLAM by Walter Dean Myers. Despite his

talents on the basketball court, sixteenyear-old Greg "Slam" Harris performs poorly in the classroom, and when his teachers confront him, an explosively angry Slam fears for his future for the first time.

Booked by Kwame Alexander. Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.

741.5 JOH. Beastly Basketball (graphic novel) by Lauren Johnson. Joe joins his school's basketball team , but finds that the players are disorganized and lacking in discipline--so he sets out to use the skills he has learned in kung fu to bring the other players together as a functioning team.

27 615. SPR Steroids and Your Muscles: The Incredibly Disgusting Story by Albert Springer. Explains the negative effects steroid use has on muscles, describes the drug's other side effects, and discusses alternatives and what to do about a steroid problem. Also includes a glossary and list of further resources. Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs. Fourteenyear-old Brady and his cousin Quinn love extreme sports, but nothing could prepare them for the aftermath of Brady's close encounter with a meteorite after it crashes into his Black Hills, South Dakota,

Sidelined by Trevor Kew. Vicky is excited about her select soccer team's chance to compete in a tournament in England, but a rivalry between teammates and competition over a guy leads Vicky to injure her ankle.

Just Run by Deb Loughead. Daisy Howson must set aside her controlling nature to improve the level of trust among her teammates so they can win the relay race in the upcoming track meet.

Free Throw by Jake Maddox. Since Derek is now the tallest player on his basketball team, the coach decides to have him play center but Jason, the former center, has little confidence in Derek and will not pass him the ball.

28 Game by Walter Dean Myers. Drew Lawson, counting on basketball to get him into college and out of Harlem, struggles to keep his cool when the coach brings in two white players and puts them in positions that clearly threaten Drew's game.

Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Charles R. Smith. Rapinspired verse and illustrations describe the life of Muhammed Ali, discussing his bouts, struggles with societal prejudice, Islamic faith, Olympic glory, and more.

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg. Two years after being airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind and, now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to confront his past.

Books-in-Verse

Titles

Uh Huh: Tbe Story of Ray Charles vy John Duggleby. Presents an illustrated biography of the pianist and rhythm and blues singer whose recordings left a large impact on contemporary music, including information on his childhood, family life, blindness, and music career

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. "The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South"--Provided by publisher.

31 Trash by Sharon Darrow. Graffiti artists Sissy Lexie and younger brother Boy try to maintain a sense of family while living in a series of foster homes and staying with their older sister, until a tragic accident forces Sissy to make decisions about her future.

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost. Four young people in two families tell of their experience during World War I when the boys enlist and are sent to fight, Emma finishes school, and Muriel joins the suffrage movement.

Hidden by Helen Frost. Years after Darra Monson's father stole a minivan with Wren Abbott hiding in the back, the girls come face to face at summer camp and together they try to work through what happened to them and the impact it had on their lives.

Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Verse by Stephanie Hemphill. After a lifetime of conforming to the image of what her parents and high school friends want her to be, Sarah must come to terms with her own identity when her destructive best friend tries to commit suicide. Told in the form of free-verse poems.

32 Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass. After an accident in gym class puts sixteenyear-old Tessa into a coma, she re-evaluates her life by visiting the mall stores where significant events in her life took place.

Amiri & Odette by Walter Dean Myers. The story in which brave Amiri falls in love with beautiful Odette and fights evil Big Red for her on the streets of the Swan Lake Projects.

Street Love by Walter Dean Myers. A story in free verse in which Damien, a seventeen-year-old from Harlem, takes a bold step to ensure that he and his new love, Junice, will not be separated.

33 Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford (author) Floyd Cooper (illustrator). Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday looks back on her early years in this fictional memoir written in verse.

42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn (author) and Elaine Clayton (illustrator). Linked free-verse poems and illustrations depict the challenges a young girl faces as she grows up and tries to determine who she really wants to be and how she can remain true to herself.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Fourteenyear-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.

Peace, Locamotive by Jacqueline Woods.

Through letters to his little sister, who is living in a different foster home, sixthgrader Lonnie, also known as "Locomotion," keeps a record of their lives while they are apart, describing his own foster family, including his foster brother who returns home after losing a leg in the Iraq Wa

Superheroes

Star Wars

Max Axom

Super Human

Captain Unde rpants

Individual Titles

See you this year at the Library!

And donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to Read! Read! Read!