Four Essential Novels for Students

While the last thing a kid wants is advice from their parents, try suggesting one of these powerful books or leaving it on their bed. You just may be rewarded with a hug!

Clean Getaway

by Nic Stone

In Clean Getaway, an-11-year-old boy named Scoob goes on a road trip with his mom. As they make their way across the American South, Scoob faces upsetting information about the area’s history and his family’s heritage.

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit

by Paula Danziger

The story of Marcy, a middle school student whose parents don’t understand her, but whose favorite teacher, Ms Finney, does, will resonate(产生共鸣)with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. When Ms Finney got fired, Marcy found the strength she didn’t know she had to fight the decision.

Strange Birds

by Celia C. Perez

Over a sleepy summer in a sleepier Florida town, an unlikely friendship forms between four very different girls as they team up to protest an outdated and environmentally-unfriendly tradition carried out by the Floras, the local Scout group. At turns moving and funny Strange Birds mixes themes of friendship and small, everyday rebellions(反叛)that make a huge difference.

Girl Stuff

by Lisi Harrison

Middle grade readers will fall in love with Fonda, Drew, and Ruthie — three best friends who find life in seventh grade a lot harder than they thought it would be. As each girl deals with issues around friendship and new experiences, they’ll learn that there is nothing as special as the support of friends!

A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children’s books to five different libraries in the county was released from prison after a book publisher agreed to post his bond (保释金) of $1,000. The publisher said, “There’s a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can’t let go of them. He hasn’t stolen a single book. So what’s the crime? We think that Mr Barush has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story.”

When asked why he didn’t return the books, Mr Barush said, “Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them around, tear the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet.”

He continued, “Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich you with wisdom, humor and love. A book is a guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air.”

“Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they’re all back in the library, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me! I need to rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now.”

If you’re a book lover，you have a pile of books on your bedside，or a bookshelf in your library with a“to read”sign on it．Yet you can’t stop yourself from adding to the pile．This can lead to feelings of guilt over your new purchases．But I’m here to tell you to stop worrying．

What you have is an antilibrary，and it’s a very good thing．The term comes from writer Umberto Eco．He is the owner of a large personal library．He separates visitors into two groups：those who react with“Wow! What a library you have! How many of these books have you read?”and the others who get the point that a private library is not something to show off but a research too1．Read books are far less valuable than unread ones．Indeed，the more you know，the larger the rows of unread books．Let us call this collection an antilibrary．

If you think you already know everything about a subject，you’re cutting yourself off from a stream of information at an artificial point．So a growing library of books you haven’t read means you’re consistently curious about the unknown．And that attitude is a great foundation for a lifelong love of 1earning．

So don’t feel guilt over your unread books．Those books will be there for you when you do want them，and as you build your library of read and unread books，you can start using it as you would use a bigger library．Certain books may become references more than read-throughs．Or you may find that a book you bought five years ago has special relevance today．Letting the role of books evolve in your life is a healthy sign of curiosity．That’s good for you and good for the world around you．