Book Description: The Watsons Go to Birmingham follows the Watson family as they travel from their home in Michigan to see their grandmother in Alabama. It follows the struggles of a young black boy growing up in the South, and handling racism and attacks while also going through the struggles of being a kid. 

Connection to genre: The Watsons Go to Birmingham is a historical fiction book. It is about a fictional family but incorporates some real events that happened in America during that time.

Classroom Use: This would be a great book to read as a class and discuss racism and everything going on around that time. I think sometimes kids don't really understand that it wasn't that long ago and that kids their age wen through some horrible things. I think it would be good for kids to see and read what it was like from a kid's perspective. It would make it easier to relate understand, and also empathize with the narrator. 

Book Description: Jonas lives in a utopian community, where there is no sadness, anger, or emotions. Everyone has a job they must follow, and in this community no one steps out of line.  When Jonas is assigned his job at the Ceremony of Tweleve, he starts to see that life isn't as perfect as it seems to be. He must take this new information, and decide what he must do with it. 

Connection to genre: The giver is a science fiction book. The Giver incorpates new technology and science that we do not currently have. 

Classroom Use: This would be a great book to talk about in my science class. We could discuss how they have set up their community and what new technology they may have created. There is a lot of science and technology used in this book to create this "perfect" society. It would be interesting to discuss and see how the kids feel about everything as we progress through the book. I would also have them create their own societies. 

  Book Description: The book follows four kids from different backgrounds who are all on the same track team. They have a lot to prove to themselves, and to their teammates. Ghost has been running away his whole life and has never faced his past. Ghost must figure out how to deal with his past while also focusing on his future. 

Connection to genre: Ghost is a realistic fiction book, which means that it could actually happen, but hasn't. Everything in this book could and might happen to someone. 

Classroom Use: A lot of kids may have had some trauma or problems in their lives growing up, and I think many kids might be able to connect to the book. I want all my students to be able to see themselves in books and use the books to possibly think more positively about themselves and their futures. I want them to see that other people may have the same struggles as them and that they can't get through it. 

Book Description: Malala Yousafzai was a young girl in Pakistan. When the Taliban took control of her home town, they denied girls the right to go to school. Malala spoke out and continued going to school, until one day she was shot in the head. This book follows her journey as she fights for girls' education all over the world. 

Connection to genre: This is a biography book because it is telling the life or story of a real individual. Malala is a person real and these things actually happened to her. 

Classroom Use: I think this is a really powerful book and can raise a lot of good questions and conversations. I think its also important for students to see the different struggles kids in other countries have to go through to be able to go to school. I think its also important for kids to know what is going on around the world and the different issues and injustices. 

Book Description: Wahoo Cray and his dad take care of wild animals from the Florida Everglades. They get hired to catch wild animals for a reality show. Wahoo becomes friends with a girl with an abusive father, and the story follows the two trying to save the host and themselves from the dangers that lie ahead. 

Connection to genre: Chomp is a mystery book as it has an event that needs to be solved throughout the book. The host of the reality show goes missing and they need to work to figure out what happened to him. 

Classroom Use: This book seems like a fun and interesting read, while also having some different characters that my students could possibly relate to. This would also be good for my science class as we could discuss different animals from the Everglades and the ecosystem.