from Sand Creek

from Sand Creek is by Simon J. Ortiz. A masterful work of Native American poetry written as a tribute to the tragedy at Sand Creek where many Cheyennes and Arapahoes were massacred in 1864. Poignant and thought-provoking, this is a great introduction to Native American poetry.

Ratings: 8th grade - 9 out of 10.

Reading Changed My Life: Three True Stories

Reading Changed My Life: Three True Stories is by Beth Johnson. A very short book that can be read in one sitting. The true stories of three women: one black, one Hispanic, and one white, who tell the story of how reading changed their loves. The stories are short, yet poignant. They focus on the importance of reading and hard work in being able to find success in life. A great little book to read to a class, or an individual child, or an adult in need of inspiration.

Ratings: 8th grade - 9 out of 10.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively & Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively & Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines is by Thomas C. Foster. This is NOT a book for English teachers! This is a book for all readers. Every reader will benefit from Foster's expert, and humorous, take on how to get more out of your reading. You will want to keep this book and refer to it again and again as you read.

Ratings: 9th grade - 10 out of 10.

Brown Girl Dreaming

Brown Girl Dreaming is by Jacqueline Woodson. A Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read. This is a stunning memoir written as fiction in verse. It tells the story of Woodson's childhood growing up in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York. You walk with Woodson through the Civil Rights movement in the south and get a first hand look at what it was like to be African American during the 60's and 70's. The writing is beautiful and descriptive. This is a wonderful book for young readers - all readers really. Totally appropriate for readers below 7th grade, although they may need to be in 7th grade to understand the historical setting without help.

Ratings: 7th grade - 10 out of 10.

Upstream: Selected Essays

Upstream: Selected Essays is by Mary Oliver. A Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read. If you love Mary Oliver's poetry, and I do, you will love these essays. Oliver has a way of making you feel like you are with her observing nature even as she does. This is a marvelous collection of essays from a poet whose body is work is all worth reading.

Ratings: 9th grade - 10 out of 10.

Everything is Teeth

Everything is Teeth is by Evie Wyld. A wonderful little memoir done as a graphic novel. The illustrations are beautiful, especially the full color pictures of the sharks. The writing is well done and you get a good look at Wyld's fascination with sharks and her childhood with her family. Really enjoyable! Some of the drawings of shark attack wounds might not be okay for some young readers.

Ratings: 8th grade - 9 out of 10.

Cannery Row

Cannery Row is by John Steinbeck. A Reader's Corner Highly Recommended Read. First published in 1945, this book follows the lives of the various inhabitants of Cannery Row in Monterey, California. The story is alternately funny and heartbreaking, much like life itself. The reader follows the adventures of Doc, who runs a marine laboratory; Dora, the local madam, and the other residents of her house of ill repute; Mack and his friends, who manage to live relatively happily without consistent employment; and a host of other loveable characters. This book is a excellent introduction to Steinbeck, being shorter than Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden, and more cheerful than Of Mice and Men. Definitely on the list of books you must read before you die.

Ratings: 10th grade - 10 out of 10 - AC (some mature thematic content) - P (profanity).