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Recommended Reading for Students
Books to follow up F.A.S.T. Reading Series
Elementary Level
Once students finish the Tales of Youth and Tales of Adventure, they should be able to approach books between the second to fourth grade levels. Some possibilities are listed below.
And I Can Read Books : Level three should be appropriate for students.
Eyewitness Readers : Students should be able to read level three material. These are factual stories addressing grades 2-4.
Puffin Easy-To-Read : Students should be able to approach level three materials.
The Zack Files has various reading levels between second and fourth. The stories seem to be a child’s take of the X-Files.
A Dell Young Yearling : These are grade books and students should be challenged to keep raising grade levels.
Step into Reading : These are excellent books with beautiful illustrations. Students should be able to read the Step four books.
Hello Reader : Students should be able to begin at level three.
All Aboard Reading : These books are written at a higher level; the student will probably need to start at level two.
Middle School
Buy a copy of Nancie Atwell’s In the Middle . In the Appendix she lists the favorite books of her eighth graders. Most of the books are of high quality and would be appropriate for all ages.
Jurassic Park is also an excellent follow-up.
World of Adventure by Gary Paulsen. These books are a perfect follow- up to Moonlight Tales. They are short adventure tales and are between fourth to sixth grade reading levels
Paulsen’s Young Reader Books: These are longer books and deal with more serious issues. Books include Hatchet, The River, Harris and Me, The Haymeadow, The Winter Room and others. These are all written about mid-fifth grade level.
The River
There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar. This was written at about the fifth grade reading level. The title was the favorite book of junior high students at a school at St. Thomas Island. All the kids loved it. (Knoff Paperback) He has many other titles dealing with school issues, such as Six Grade Secrets.
Loch, Raptor, and The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel are scary follow-ups to Moonlight Tales. They are written at fifth and sixth grade levels. Teachers need to review books to see if appropriate, especially The Doom Stone. Different companies offer these. Zindel also has more serious books like The Pigman which are excellent.
What do Fish Have To Do With Anything by Avi is an excellent book for middle school students dealing with real issues. Avi has several books that will appeal to boys and girls alike. Some others include Windcatcher, Blue Heron, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Tom, Babette, and Simon.
Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements is advertised as the favorite of children of 13 states and has won numerous awards. This book may have strong interest for girls. DeClements has other titles that address a similar genre.
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. This is one of many books written by Hinton with high interest but lower reading level. These books include Tex, That Was Then, Then is Now and Rumble Fish; they appeal to the more street–wise student and need to be reviewed because they are meant for the older student.
Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff by Dean Myers. This is a book that would interest a multicultural audience and was on the ALA Notable Book List. Myers also has written Me, Mop, and the Moondance Kid, which was also an ALA notable book.
Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs is recommended by several booksellers and book reviews for its excitement. It appears to be written at about the sixth grade level. Other Hobbs books are Beardance and Bearsong.
Pirate’s Promise by Clyde Robert Bulla;
Bullseye Step Into Classics are various adapted classics including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty, Don Quixote, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kidnapped, King Kong, Knights of the Round Table, Les Miserables, A Little Princess, Little Women, The Odyssey, Peter Pan, The Phantom of the Opera, Poe’s Tales of Terror, Robin Hood, Romeo and Juliet, The Secret Garden, The Time Machine, Treasure Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. RL varies between 2.0-4.5
Read It to Believe It and Once Upon America: these historical fiction books provide interesting looks at various periods in time, including the gold rush and the New York World Trade Center bombing in 1993. RL approximately 2.8
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip, retracing her mother’s route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend, Phoebe. Beneath Phoebe’s Story is Sal’s own story and that of her mother who left one morning and has not returned. RL 5.5
Pretty Shield by Frank B. Linderman -
This book was perhaps the first record of the women’s side of Native American life and has become a classic work in its field. Pretty-shield relates what Native American life was like both before and after the white man came. RL 4.5
Freedom Songs by Yvette Moore -
In 1963, fourteen-year-old Sheryl travels down south to see her mother’s family and sees special “Black Only” water fountains, buses, etc. When her Uncle Pete begins protesting about the treatment of African Americans and almost loses his life, Sheryl wonders if she’ll ever see him again. RL 5.5
Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen -
Sarny, a female slave on the Waller plantation, first sees Nightjohn when he is brought there with a rope around his neck, his body covered in scars. He had escaped to freedom, but he came back… to teach reading. RL 4.6
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