Middle grade stories you need to hear

One of the great things about modern middle grade literature is its unflinching look at some of the social issues kids deal with on a daily basis.  As an adult, I often think I'd like to shield my students from some of the harsher realities, but what if this IS their reality?  What if they are waiting to tell someone a terrible secret?  Stories like these might make it easier for kids to talk about some of the things that they are going through.

The first one is called "Fighting Words" by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  I'm a big fan of her writing.  I adored "The War that Saved My Life" and the sequel "The War I Finally Won".  Her latest book is just as good, maybe better.  "Fighting words" is about Della, who is 10 and has been living with her big sister, Suki, who has been taking care of her.  They have been living with Clifton, a truck driver, who was their mother's boyfriend, until their mother was arrested.  They've ended up in foster care because of an unnamed incident that got Clifton arrested and ended with the burning of all their things and a video tape that will be evidence at Clifton's trial.  One of the things that's terrific about this story is the way it unfolds, like a flower blooming, a little at a time you figure out what really happened.  Another thing that's terrific is Della's voice, I could perfectly hear her voice in my ear throughout the story and she is SUCH a great storyteller.  One more thing that was awesome was the adults in the story.  I often complain about the adults in middle grade literature because they're so villainous or incompetent.  This story certainly had both of those kinds of adults, but it also had adults that were caring and listened carefully.  There were adults that were tired and made assumptions too, but the caring adults saved the day.  When I finished (weeping), I was left hoping that I could be one of the caring adults and not one of the ones who were making assumptions about kids that I didn't know anything about.  This is a wonderful story.  Della is an amazing character and so is her sister Suki and their foster mom, Francine.  I can't wait to start recommending this one to kids to read, because according Brubaker's author's notes, 25% of girls need to hear this kind of a story.  

The second one is not a sequel per se, but Kelly Baptist wrote a short story about the main character of this book, which is called "Isaiah Dunn is my Hero".  It's about 10 year old Isaiah, his mom and his four year old sister, Charlie.  They are currently living in a motel because they couldn't live in their apartment anymore.  After Isaiah's dad died a few months ago, his mother started drinking and lost her job.  He measures out his days by how she's doing and it's HARD.  Isaiah is hanging on to words tightly-his dad kept a notebook of stories called "The Bean and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn" which is about a 10 year old super hero who gets his energy from bowls of rice and beans.  Isaiah is also an author, he writes poetry, although he's been struggling to try to write since his dad died.  The story revolves around Isaiah and how he's trying to make things better for his family.  He tries earning money in a variety of ways, some of which are scary.  His best friend Sneaky tries to help out too.   Isaiah learns that sometimes words can be hurtful and tries to do better.  However, it turns out that Isaiah's problem solving strategy isn't enough and adults need to intervene.  This is a wonderful story about family and community and friendship and perseverance and poetry.  The adults in this one are mostly wonderful and supportive.   Isaiah's voice rings loud and clear and his poetry is simply but powerful.  I loved this book and I can't wait to give it to my students.