Forever in the Middle: The Quest for Literature

Wiltsey Middle School functions off a PLC model and, given our IB status and expectations, curriculum choices are made by these teams. We work so hard in preparing units and planning for lessons that will meet all requirements by the state and the IB organization. Because of this, it is difficult to consider changes to established units that we have worked for years to create and perfect. However, sometimes change is necessary.

For the past few years, we have used a narrative unit based around the book The Phantom Tollbooth. The book  is a great piece of literature, rich in meaning and depth. However, it is a difficult text and a challenge to use with all learners. I know: All students can be successful with reading difficult literature. I completely understand that and I am not thinking pessimistically, but this book is written at a 1000 lexile, where many of our students are reading below 700. With my Honors group of students, this book is perfect and we thoroughly enjoy it every year. I can push them to explore the metaphors for life throughout the novel and they enjoy that. The mainstream students, however, feel overwhelmed and frustrated with a text like this that is so difficult.

With this in mind, we have been on a quest for new literature to replace this novel in our mainstream classes. This is what we are looking for in a new piece of literature:

1. Fantasy genre but not dystopian (we use The Giver in February)
2. Rich in narrative techniques (the students will be studying these techniques and their effects on the readers then emulating them in their own writing)
3. Depth of meaning with layers to explore (what's a book without great discussion?)
4. Appealing to many types of students, especially middle school age appropriate
5. Short enough to read during class time within a 6-8 week time period (the students would not be taking the books home)

In the beginning I thought, "There are so many books to choose from. This will be easy!" How wrong I was! Here are some of the books I've explored and what I found.

A Monster Calls

I had heard this book's title multiple times so I took a look. I read through it and it met many of the criteria. It was of the fantasy genre (a talking yew tree monster), was rich in narrative techniques, had depth of meaning, was appealing to many students (a dark mood that would grab my boys' attention especially), and was short enough to read within the time period. I thought I had a winner, but it was so incredibly sad and heavy that I bawled my eyes out in the last chapter, even though I had known what was to come. My five year old daughter was very worried for my well-being as I was reading it. The book weighed so heavily on my heart that I can't ask all my students to process that. Some of these kids aren't prepared for something that heavy, so onto my next choice it was!

Inkheart

I downloaded a sample of this from Kindle and immediately it met criteria 1-4. It was AMAZING! The sample was so long though that I thought I had accidentally purchased the book. I did not. The book is 560 pages long. That is way too long to read during class time. It broke my heart that this one wouldn't work. It was a story that literally brought stories to life and showed main characters who loved books. It will now be a part of my class library and will be one I always recommended anyone who wants a book suggestion because this book touched my heart. It had action, adventure, mystery....and BOOKS!! What more could I ask for? It wouldn't work for what I needed though, so onto more options.

The Wild Robot

This was another one I kept hearing about and yes, it did meet all the criterion BUT it wouldn't hold the interest of all my middle school students. Unfortunately for me, it is more suited towards upper elementary students. It will be a recommendation for some of my students who ask for books because it was a good book with great lessons, but it wasn't THE book.

Now I was feeling overwhelmed and like I was running out of options then I went on a date with my husband to the bookstore (the best place for a date) and found...

Ink

Isn't this the most beautiful book you've ever seen? Your life's choices are made permanent on your skin as a way of freeing your soul. Intriguing, right? I eagerly started reading it and it would definitely hold the interest of my middle schoolers, it was rich in meaning, narrative techniques were present, and the length was perfect. Number one is where it failed though: it is a dystopian piece and we wanted to stay away from that to leave it for The Giver. Since The Giver is my favorite book of all time to teach and Ink was good, but not The-Giver-level-good, I need to find more options.


The quest now continues. I have received recommendations from friends and have The Book of the King, The Secret Zoo, and Circus Mirandus up next to preview. Though frustrating because it has taken much longer than I anticipated, it has been a fun experience and I have read pieces of literature I probably wouldn't have ever tried since fantasy isn't really my "thing."

Stay tuned for part 2, where I will reveal the winning book and please leave any recommendations below that I can add to my list to consider!

Keep the magic alive,

Kandyce Valverde