Description: Melody is not your typical eleven-year-old girl; she can not walk, talk, or write. When Melody was a baby her brain did not fully develop the way it should have and as a result she has cerebral palsy. But what many don’t know is that Melody has a photographic memory and has the ability to remember every single detail that has ever happened during her life. Most people when they see Melody dismiss her due to her disability and inability to function like others. However, what most don’t realize is that she is smart; the smartest kid in her whole school! Melody is determined to let those around her know she is smart and can do things like everyone else just in a different way…no matter what!

Connection to Genre: Out of My Mind is a realistic fiction novel that depicts the life story of Melody, a tween girl who has a lifelong diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Melody’s story is based on a Southwest Ohio town in current-day society (21st century). Out of My Mind is unique in the way of the story being told from Melody’s perspective and having the opportunity to get inside of Melody’s head and know what she is feeling/thinking/experiencing. The book is a great way for students to put themselves in Melody’s shoes and learn what it is like to live a life without being able to verbally communicate with others or care for oneself. 

Use in the Classroom: Out of My Mind can be used in the classroom in multiple different ways. Teachers can choose to use the book as a way to promote awareness, inclusivity, and empathy among students. The book can also be used specifically for language arts class exposing students to figurative language, word relationships, themes, and so much more. 

Description: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden are the four dedicated female mathematicians who helped launch rockets and astronauts into space. The four women worked for NASA during the Civil Rights era to calculate the numbers needed to send things up into space. This book brings to life the four women's stories of what it was like to work for NASA during the 1960s as a woman, a woman of color, and in a field mainly dominated by male counterparts. 

Connection to Genre: Hidden Figures, is a biographical book that follows the stories of four African-American women who worked for NASA and were referred to as the “human computers”. The book brings to life what Dorothy, Mary, Katherine, and Christine faced working for NASA during the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equity. These women’s stories will not be forgotten because of the amount of historical impact they made for women all over and for changing the world of air and space travel. 

Use in the Classroom: Hidden Figures can be used in english language arts and social studies classrooms. The biography book allows students to learn about the historical context of what it was like to live in the United States as a woman of color during the 1960’s. Students can also read this book to not only learn about US history but also as a way to learn how to write biographies about others using research collected and pulled together.  

Description: Mori and her friends live a “normal” life on Firefly Lane in their utopian community, Old Harmonie. In a world full of safety and perfection, Mori and her friends never had to question anything. Until a new girl named Ilana moves in; she's so perfect that Mori and her friends are curious…Where exactly did Ilana come from, and why does she act so strange sometimes? When Ilana's secret is revealed, the kids on Firefly Lane must decide if it is finally time to start questioning the only world they've ever known. 

Connection to Genre: The Firefly Code, is a science fiction novel based in Kritopia a utopian society sponsored by Krita Corp (one of many around the world). All of the children in Kritopia wear non-removable “watchu” which tells time but also watches its wearer. When it is a child’s thirteenth birthday they will announce their “latency” an inner skill that will be surgically released and they also find out if they are “natural” (made from their parents’ DNA) or “designed” (made from cloned or modified DNA). So as you can tell The Firefly Code is a made-up society where parents have the ability to design their children and can request for their children to be altered as they are growing until their thirteenth birthday when their latency is revealed.  

Use in the Classroom: The Firefly Code can be a great addition to the classroom. Students could use the book in their social studies class a few different ways. They could compare and contrast the utopian society portrayed in the book and the society they live in. Students can also learn about cultural representation from the book and how it is similar to other cultures around the world. As for english language arts class, students can work on creating/writing their own utopian society.