Moving new realistic fiction
Sometimes people seem to be surprised at the weighty topics covered in middle grade fiction. It turns out the kids are interested in how people solve problems that are similar or really different from their own. My third graders are reading books with the theme of social issues this week and are really loving some of the titles like "Pink and Say" by Patricia Polacco (dealing with war) or "Gleam and Glow" by Eve Bunting (also dealing with war) or "Out of my mind" by Sharon Draper (dealing with a disability). The two books I read this week could easily slide into this unit! The first one is called "Running on the Roof of the World" by Jess Butterworth. It's about a girl named Tashi who lives with her parents in a small rural community in Tibet. Tibet is occupied by Chinese soldiers and life is difficult for Tibetan citizens. Tashi's dad is often mysterious about some of the things he's doing-he's a writer for the local news...