372: Studies in Contemporary Literature for Youth

Reading Lists for Fall 2007

These lists are tentative and will likely change, but they should give you some idea of the range of topics and books that we will be discussing. Each book (or set of books, note the ands) will be assigned to 4-5 students, who will read and discuss the book as a group, and then report to the larger group the trends in ideology, values, etc. that they have located through their discussion.

Young People at War:

Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith

Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes

My Brother Sam is Dead, by James and Christopher Collier

Under the Sun, by Arthur Dorros

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi

Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers

Families:

Saffy’s Angel and Indigo’s Star, by Hilary McKay

Tangerine, by Edward Bloor

Scorpions, by Walter Dean Myers

Bend it Like Beckham (DVD)

Nobody’s Family is Going to Change, by Louise Fitzhugh

School:

Slot Machine and Extreme Elvin, by Chris Lynch

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie, by David Lubar and How to Get Suspended and Influence People, by Adam Selzer

Catch, by Will Leitch

Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta

The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier

Shattering Glass, by Gail Giles

Preadolescent Girls and Boys:

Harriet the Spy, by Lois Fitzhugh

Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963: A Novel, by Christopher Paul Curtis

Olivia Kidney, by Ellen Potter

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

Markus and Diana, by Klaus Hagerup

Older Girls:

The Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr

The Geography of Girlhood, by Kirsten Smith

Crusader, by Edward Bloor

Who am I Without Him?, by Sharon Flake

Born Confused, by Tanuja Desai Hidier

Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison

Older Boys:

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher

Out of Order, by A. M. Jenkins

Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch

Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan

Miracle’s Boys, by Jacqueline Woodson

The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton

Vampires:

Thirsty, by M. T. Anderson

Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld

Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season one (DVD)

The Silver Kiss, by Annette Curtis Klause

Fantasy:

The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter—whichever, by J.K. Rowling

Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money and Mr. Chickee’s Messy Mission, by Christopher Paul Curtis

47, by Walter Moseley

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis

Holocaust:

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry and The Devil’s Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen

Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hilter’s Shadow, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli

The Complete Maus, by Art Spiegelman

Brave New Worlds:

Feed, by M. T. Anderson

Rash, by Pete Hautman

Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

So Yesterday, by Scott Westerfeld

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, by Nancy Farmer

The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer