Lord of the Flies

The book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a startling piece of realistic fiction. However, especially in today's elements in school I think it would be a great teachable moment for the students. the book is about a group of students who become the only inhabitants of a island during a war. The boys quickly try and form a leadership but like all governments face issues. These issues eventually boil over into bigger issues and the government splits. The tribes use tactics to lure other tribesman away and create a power struggle. Thus the once one unit now has a war within itself. The students could use the book to describe how the boys are like a country and how the country has changed and turned into a totally different entity from when it started. They could use our own government as a basis.


Golding, W. (2014). Lord of the flies. NY, NY: Spark Publishing.

The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars by, John Green is a young adult realistic fiction. The book tells the love story of Hazel and Augustus (Gus) two young lovers with a terrible thing in common, they have both had or have cancer. In the book they meet at a meeting for teens with cancer and begin to hang out more and more. Sprinkle some other kids here and there, but the story is pretty much about their budding love. Gus arranges for Hazel to meet her favorite author, who lets them down. After that the story takes a turn for the worst and things go down hill. For the young readers a activity they could do is to write a reaction piece to the meeting with the author. this could be on the basis of it they would want to meet a person they admire, with the chance of being let down.


Green, J. (2015). The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton.

Where's Spot?

Continuing with the younger children's theme, as I have a 5 month old I chose Where's Spot by Eric Hill. This is a realistic fiction book that well, asks the question where is spot. The reader needs to help Spot's mother Sally find him throughout the book. This great for a young reader as they must find spot. The children as a activity could make a collage of all the of all the places Sally looked for spot.


Hill, Eric. Where's Spot?. 1st ed. Puffin Books, 2010. Print.

Where the Red Fern Grows

The next book for my blog is "Where The Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls. This is a historical fiction genre and centers Billy Coleman and his dogs Old Dan and Little Ann. Billy and his pups become great hunters and fearless in the raccoon hunting world. They win bets and competitions and even win enough money to move out of the country and into the city. Tragedy strikes however and we learn to deal with loss. With the loss we can use Where The Red Fern Grows to teach grief and mourning, and the circle of life. This is a great book and it brought back memories of reading it when I was young. The other lesson is to work hard for something that you want. It took Billy two years to save up for his dogs and he worked hard and saved.


Rawls, W. (2016). Where the red fern grows. New York: Delacorte Press.

The Champ: The Story of Muhammad Ali

This book in my collection is The Champ: The Story of Muhammad Ali. This is from the nonfiction genre and is a biography. The story is about the boxing life of Ali and how a young kid from the south rose to be a Olympian and Heavyweight champion of the world. The story delves briefly in issues like racism, the Vietnam War, and religious beliefs, but only to mention how Ali thought about these things and his conversion to Islam. In the classroom the story can be used for rising above things like racism and peoples opinions, if you work hard dreams can come true.


Bolden, T., & Christie, R. G. (2007). The champ: the story of Muhammad Ali. New York: Dragonfly   Books.

The Diary of a Young Girl

This book, The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank is a book from the biography genre. This book is also a coming of age story that deal's with real issues. Anne Frank was a Jewish girl in the Holocaust who hides with her family and another in a attic above a store, hoping to not get caught by the Nazi's. Frank keeps a diary of her time in the attic and chronicles the world around her. Sadly Anne did not survive the war, but her story lives on and gives hope to people facing obstacles in life.

Wood's Runner

This week's blog is going to start with the Wood's Runner by Gary Paulsen. This coming of age book is from the historical fiction genre. The lead Samuel must overcome extreme odds to reunite his family and help a girl he befriends named Annie. Samuel goes from being a boy to man in the course of the book. The book tackles real issues that stemmed from the Revolutionary War. This is a great read for young people to show that the issues they face today are pare in comparison to what people have felt throughout time and in other nations.