Lesson 1

BUD, NOT BUDDY - It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but he's on a mission. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: posters of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression! Bud's got an idea that those posters will lead to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him. (U)

THE JANITOR'S BOY - When Jack Rankin learns that he is going to spend the fifth grade in the old high school- the building where his father works as janitor-he dreads the start of school.  Jack manages to get through the first month without the kids catching on.  Then comes the disastrous day when one of his classmates loses his lunch all over the floor.  John the janitor is called in to clean up, and he does the unthinkable - he turns to Jack with a big smile and says, “Hi son.”  Jack performs an act of revenge and gets himself into a sticky situation.  In this novel, a boy’s explorations lead to surprising new discoveries about himself and his father. (S)

THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC - Hannah is tired of hearing about the Nazis during the Holocaust, but when she opens the door for Elijah at the Passover Seder, she is transported in time to 1940s Poland, where she is captured and put in a death camp. A girl named Rivka befriends her, teaching her how to fight the dehumanization of the camp and hold onto her identity. (Y)

RULES - Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules in order to head off David’s embarrassing behaviors.  But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort of friend, and Kristi, the potential next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal? (R)

FREAK THE MIGHTY - A brilliant, emotionally charged novel about two boys. One is a slow learner, too large for his age, and the other is a tiny, disabled genius. The two pair up to create one formidable human force known as "Freak the Mighty". MAX. FREAK. BEST FRIENDS. FOREVER. I never had a brain until Freak came along. . .That's what Max thought. All his life he'd been called stupid. Dumb. Slow. It didn't help that his body seemed to be growing faster than his mind. It didn't help that people were afraid of him. So Max learned how to be alone. At least until Freak came along. Freak was weird, too. He had a little body, and a really big brain. Together Max and Freak were unstoppable. Together, they were Freak the Mighty. (W)

 DEAR MR. HENSHAW -  Beverly Cleary's Newbery Award-winning book explores the thoughts and emotions of sixth-grade boy, Leigh Botts, in letter form as he writes to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. After his parents separate, Leigh Botts moves to a new town with his mother. Struggling to make friends and deal with his anger toward his absent father, Leigh loses himself in a class assignment in which he must write to his favorite author. When Mr. Henshaw responds, the two form an unexpected friendship that will change Leigh's life forever. From the beloved author of the Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and Ralph S. Mouse series comes an epistolary novel about life's growing pains. (Q)

LOSER - Donald is tagged a "loser" after failing a Field Day challenge for his fourth grade class  due to his clumsiness, poor performance in school and athletics, and sometimes clueless enthusiasm, but his unique and inspiring view of life keeps his spirits afloat. (U)

THE WAR WITH GRANDPA  - Peter is thrilled that Grandpa is coming to live with his family.  That is, until Grandpa moves right into Peter’s room, forcing him upstairs.Peter loves Grandpa but wants his room back and has no choice except to declare war! Together with his friends, Peter devises outrageous plans to make Grandpa surrender his room.  Rather than give in, Grandpa tries to get even on his own.  They used to be such great pals.  Has their war gone too far? (S)

PICTURES OF HOLLIS WOODS - Hollis Woods was an infant when she was abandoned and for 12 years she has been transferred from one foster home to another. To the social agency, she is a "mountain of trouble" because she skips school and runs away, even from the Regans, a family willing to give her a real home. When she is placed with Josie, an elderly artist who is becoming very forgetful, Hollis begins to feel needed and doesn't ever want to leave this eccentric old woman who knows a lot about friendship and love. Fearful that the social agency will take her from Josie, Hollis plans a winter escape. This time she takes Josie with her and returns to Branches, the summer home that belongs to the Regans. All along, Hollis longs for her life with the Regans, and records every special moment with them in a gallery of pictures. (V)

CRASH - Crash is a novel about a 7th grade football player jock who bullies his dorky neighbor, Penn Webb.  Crash is his nickname, and his real name is John  Coogan.  He teams up with his best friend, Mike, to pick on Penn.  Nonetheless, Penn tries countless times to befriend Crash.  Will Crash ever change his ways and befriend his neighbor? (V)

THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - Enter the world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a visit to Grandma, Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons head South to Birmingham, Alabama... toward one of the darkest moments in America's history. A hilarious, touching, and tragic novel about civil rights and the impact of violence on one African American family. (U)

THE PINBALLS - “Take a good look at a pinball machine sometime.  You might learn something about life.”  The Pinballs tells the story of three foster children who find themselves sharing a home.  Carlie, an abuse survivor, Harvey, a cripple who was run over by his drunk-driving father, and Thomas J, who was abandoned as a baby. The three become friends and as they learn to depend on each other, they also start to realize that they don’t have to be like pinballs.  Together, they can stop bouncing around and take control of their own lives. (S)