Walk a Mile In The Middle (Grades)
I teach middle school. People tell me it takes a special person to spend the day wrangling eighty plus 7th and 8th graders. I say it takes someone who clearly remembers his or her own childhood...with a bit of perspective.
There is a reason the Newbery Award most often goes to coming-of-age novels. The years stuck in transition between ten and fourteen are difficult ones. Children move from concrete thinking to being capable of abstract thought. They begin to understand that fact versus opinion does not always (or even often) equal right versus wrong. They experience emotions that stretch the boundaries of their experience and have to adapt with new coping mechanisms for all of the changes they encounter.
Books centered on middle grades characters who struggle through their own coming-of-age experiences help young readers grow. There is a multitude of resources and guides dedicated to specific book lists for targeted bibliotherapy for children dealing with trauma. But a specific traumatic event does not need to be present in a child's life for books to help.
Research studies indicate that engrossing fiction like the kind kids encounter in middle grades books builds empathy and the ability to empathize is important for social cognition and executive functioning. Getting inside a character's head is one way to practice perspective taking, a cathartic way to "walk a mile" in a someone else's shoes so to speak.
There are a number of engrossing middle grades books that avoid patronizing and didactic overtones while helping kids see the world through another set of eyes. I've included a list below of my top ten "go to" books for students who might need to get lost in another character for a while to know they are not alone in their own world. I recommend these books for "big kids" who are in middle school or who left middle school long ago. These ten middle-grade novels will give all readers a different perspective on becoming a more empathetic person.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
As Delphine, a spunky and responsible eleven-year-old girl, soon learns, spending the summer with her two sisters while visiting the mother who abandoned them years ago makes for a crazy time in California. Delphine, along with Vonetta and Fern, is sent to a day camp run by the Black Panthers where they learn a great deal about their country, their family, and themselves.
The Giver by Lois Lowery
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in an idyllic society where everyone is equal and suffering has been abolished. But when Jonas is assigned the role of Receiver of Memory, he begins to understand the limitations, and hidden sorrows, of his world. Jonas learns from his mentor, the Giver, about another time when the world was different. As Jonas begins his training, he is forced to question everything he has ever known.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
When Esperanza's lavish lifestyle as the daughter of a rich Mexican rancher is disrupted by a tragedy, she is forced to flee to California with her mother. In the middle of the Great Depression, the two find work in a Mexican farm labor camp, but Esperanza is not prepared for the daily struggles for food, money, and acceptance. But when their new lifestyles face new threats, Esperanza must find the stamina, and the hope, to rise above.
Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth
Jarrett's used to sharing his apartment, and his mom, with foster babies who need help, but when his mom next baby comes with an older brother, Jarrett isn't happy. Kevon is surly and sneaky and totally messes up Jarrett's lifie, and his room. But when Jarrett finds out Kevon is hiding a big secret, will Jarrett make the right choice?
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
During the Great Depression, being a ten-year-old boy on his own is anything but easy. But Bud is resourceful and determined to find the father his mother never told him about. Following a few clues carried in a suitcase left by his mother, Bud hits to road braving hunger and uncertainty to find Herman E. Calloway's famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
India Opal Buloni goes to the store for tomatoes, rice, and a few other things. Instead of groceries, she comes home with a stinky dog. After convincing her father Winn-Dixie is anything but ordinary, Opal and her new friend spend the summer discovering people and places and secrets Opal never knew about or understood before Winn-Dixie came along.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
When thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson's small, two-seater plane crashes into a lake in the Canadian wilderness, he has to try to survive with only the clothes he was wearing and a hatchet on his belt. With no hope of rescue on the way, Brian must decide, will he give up or will he try to survive? His life depends solely on his intelligence, tenacity, and a single hatchet.
Bearstone by Will Hobbs
Cloyd Atcitty ran away from a group home for Native American boys. Now, he's being sent to live and work with an old rancher, Walter Landis, on a farm in Colorado that's too far away from anything to run away again. But fourteen-year-old Cloyd does run...and finds a cave in the mountains above the ranch. Inside, Cloyd discovers an ancient turquoise carving of a grizzly bear. Cloyd's tribe, the Utes, understood the bear and the bear understood the People. Cloyd's discovery of the carving leads to more discoveries, including a new patience, tolerance, and understanding of himself, Walter, and the father who abandoned Cloyd when he was young.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
When the Germans invade during World War II, Phillip escapes the island of Curacao on a freighter with his mother. But a German U-boat sinks the ship as it travels toward safety. Phillip is struck on the head and falls in the Carribean Sea. When he wakes up, he is stuck on a tiny raft, adrift, with a cat and an old West Indian man named Timothy. Though he was raised to be prejudice against black people, Phillip realizes his life depends on Timothy when the raft crashes into a small island and the strike on his head leaves Phillip blind.
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlin's Asperger's diagnosis separates the world into two parts, black and white. Everything in the middle is confusing. Caitlin relied on her older brother Devon to help her understand confusing things, but Devon is dead after a school shooting and Caitlin is lost in a world of gray. Told in Caitlin's unique, insightful voice throughout the novel, Caitlin must learn how to help her father, her community, and herself heal from a terrible tragedy.
There is a reason the Newbery Award most often goes to coming-of-age novels. The years stuck in transition between ten and fourteen are difficult ones. Children move from concrete thinking to being capable of abstract thought. They begin to understand that fact versus opinion does not always (or even often) equal right versus wrong. They experience emotions that stretch the boundaries of their experience and have to adapt with new coping mechanisms for all of the changes they encounter.
Books centered on middle grades characters who struggle through their own coming-of-age experiences help young readers grow. There is a multitude of resources and guides dedicated to specific book lists for targeted bibliotherapy for children dealing with trauma. But a specific traumatic event does not need to be present in a child's life for books to help.
Research studies indicate that engrossing fiction like the kind kids encounter in middle grades books builds empathy and the ability to empathize is important for social cognition and executive functioning. Getting inside a character's head is one way to practice perspective taking, a cathartic way to "walk a mile" in a someone else's shoes so to speak.
There are a number of engrossing middle grades books that avoid patronizing and didactic overtones while helping kids see the world through another set of eyes. I've included a list below of my top ten "go to" books for students who might need to get lost in another character for a while to know they are not alone in their own world. I recommend these books for "big kids" who are in middle school or who left middle school long ago. These ten middle-grade novels will give all readers a different perspective on becoming a more empathetic person.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
As Delphine, a spunky and responsible eleven-year-old girl, soon learns, spending the summer with her two sisters while visiting the mother who abandoned them years ago makes for a crazy time in California. Delphine, along with Vonetta and Fern, is sent to a day camp run by the Black Panthers where they learn a great deal about their country, their family, and themselves.
The Giver by Lois Lowery
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in an idyllic society where everyone is equal and suffering has been abolished. But when Jonas is assigned the role of Receiver of Memory, he begins to understand the limitations, and hidden sorrows, of his world. Jonas learns from his mentor, the Giver, about another time when the world was different. As Jonas begins his training, he is forced to question everything he has ever known.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
When Esperanza's lavish lifestyle as the daughter of a rich Mexican rancher is disrupted by a tragedy, she is forced to flee to California with her mother. In the middle of the Great Depression, the two find work in a Mexican farm labor camp, but Esperanza is not prepared for the daily struggles for food, money, and acceptance. But when their new lifestyles face new threats, Esperanza must find the stamina, and the hope, to rise above.
Kinda Like Brothers by Coe Booth
Jarrett's used to sharing his apartment, and his mom, with foster babies who need help, but when his mom next baby comes with an older brother, Jarrett isn't happy. Kevon is surly and sneaky and totally messes up Jarrett's lifie, and his room. But when Jarrett finds out Kevon is hiding a big secret, will Jarrett make the right choice?
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
During the Great Depression, being a ten-year-old boy on his own is anything but easy. But Bud is resourceful and determined to find the father his mother never told him about. Following a few clues carried in a suitcase left by his mother, Bud hits to road braving hunger and uncertainty to find Herman E. Calloway's famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
India Opal Buloni goes to the store for tomatoes, rice, and a few other things. Instead of groceries, she comes home with a stinky dog. After convincing her father Winn-Dixie is anything but ordinary, Opal and her new friend spend the summer discovering people and places and secrets Opal never knew about or understood before Winn-Dixie came along.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
When thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson's small, two-seater plane crashes into a lake in the Canadian wilderness, he has to try to survive with only the clothes he was wearing and a hatchet on his belt. With no hope of rescue on the way, Brian must decide, will he give up or will he try to survive? His life depends solely on his intelligence, tenacity, and a single hatchet.
Bearstone by Will Hobbs
Cloyd Atcitty ran away from a group home for Native American boys. Now, he's being sent to live and work with an old rancher, Walter Landis, on a farm in Colorado that's too far away from anything to run away again. But fourteen-year-old Cloyd does run...and finds a cave in the mountains above the ranch. Inside, Cloyd discovers an ancient turquoise carving of a grizzly bear. Cloyd's tribe, the Utes, understood the bear and the bear understood the People. Cloyd's discovery of the carving leads to more discoveries, including a new patience, tolerance, and understanding of himself, Walter, and the father who abandoned Cloyd when he was young.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
When the Germans invade during World War II, Phillip escapes the island of Curacao on a freighter with his mother. But a German U-boat sinks the ship as it travels toward safety. Phillip is struck on the head and falls in the Carribean Sea. When he wakes up, he is stuck on a tiny raft, adrift, with a cat and an old West Indian man named Timothy. Though he was raised to be prejudice against black people, Phillip realizes his life depends on Timothy when the raft crashes into a small island and the strike on his head leaves Phillip blind.
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Caitlin's Asperger's diagnosis separates the world into two parts, black and white. Everything in the middle is confusing. Caitlin relied on her older brother Devon to help her understand confusing things, but Devon is dead after a school shooting and Caitlin is lost in a world of gray. Told in Caitlin's unique, insightful voice throughout the novel, Caitlin must learn how to help her father, her community, and herself heal from a terrible tragedy.
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