The Turn Around Books

 “I don’t think there is one turn-around book. That reduces a love to reading to a silver bullet—or in this case a magic book. Reluctant readers come to reading reluctantly. For a while they’ll be book-at-a time readers---readers who will read the book we put into their hand but they won’t seek out the next good book on their own. Gradually, with support and encouragement, they’ll move toward a stance that says, “This reading thing is good—good enough that I’ll seek a book out on my own.” Maybe that’s the turn-around-book—the book that the kid on his own finds that he enjoys” - Dr. K. Beers (via email)

Turnaround titles

    Anderson, Laurie Halse.

Speak

Ashanti.

Foolish/Unfoolish

Banks, Russell. Rule of

the Bone (M)

Brunvand, Jan Harold.

Big Book of Urban Legends

Turnaround titles

    Burgess, Melvin. Doing It

(M)

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s

Game

Chbosky, Stephen. Perks

Of Being A Wallflower (M)

Cisneros, Sandra. House On

Mango Street

Turnaround titles

    Curtis, Christopher Paul.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963

Drooker, Eric. Blood

Song

Flake, Sharon. Skin

I’m In

Flake, Sharon. Who

Am I Without Him

Turnaround titles

    Flinn, Alex. Breathing

Underwater

Foley, Mick. Have A

Nice Day (M)

Gantos, Jack. Hole In

My Life

Giles, Gail. Playing in

Traffic

Turnaround titles

    Giles, Gail.

Shattering Glass

Glenn, Mel. Class

Dismissed

Going, K. L. Fat Kid

Rules The World

Korman, Gordon. Son

Of The Mob

Turnaround titles

    Groening, Matt.

Simpsons Comics

(any) Hinton, S.E. Outsiders Holmes, Shannon. B-

More Careful (M)

Johnson, Angela. First

Part Last

Turnaround titles

    Keys, Alice. Tears For

Water

Lubar, David. Hidden

Talents

McCall, Nathan. Makes

Me Wanna Holler

McDonald, Janet.

Spellbound

Turnaround titles

    Mowry, Jess. Way Past Cool Myers , Walter Dean.

Monster

Nixon, Joan Lowry. Whispers

From The Dead

Paolini, Christopher. Eragon

Turnaround titles

    Paulsen, Gary. Harris

and Me

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet Pelzer, David. Child

Called It

Porter, Connie Rose.

Imani All Mine

Turnaround titles

    Rodriquez, Louis. Always

Running (M)

Rowling, J.K. Harry

Potter (any)

Sachar, Louis. Holes Shakur, Sanyika.

Monster: The Autobiography of an

L.A. Gang Member ( M)

Turnaround titles

    Shakur, Tupac.

Rose That Grew from Concrete

Shan, Darren.

Cirque Du Freak series

Sleator, William.

Interstellar Pig

Smith, Jeff. Bone

Turnaround titles

    Souljah, Sister. Coldest

Winter Ever (M)

Sparks, Beatrice. Go Ask

Alice

Stine, R.L. Dangerous

Girls

Strasser, Todd. Give A

Boy A Gun

Turnaround titles

    Tillage, Leon Walter.

Leon’s Story

Trueman, Terry. Stuck

In Neutral

Tyree, Omar. Flyy Girl

(M)

Vibe magazine staff.

Tupac.

Turnaround titles

    Werlin, Nancy. Killer’s

Cousin

Williams, Stanley “Tookie”. Life In Prison Woodson, Jacqueline.

Miracles Boys

Woods, Teri. Dutch (M)

13 things to stop doing tomorrow

1.

“Audio books are great, except when we force older kids to use print text WITH audio books is clunky and discouraging.