High Interest--Easy Reading: a Booklist for Junior and Senior High School Students
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 323 517 CS 010 230 AUTHOR McBride, William G., Ed. TITLE High Interest--Easy Reading: A Booklist for Junior and Senior High School Students. Sixth Edition. NCTE Bibliography Series. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-2097-0 PUB DATE 90 NOTE 144p.; Prepared by the Committee to Revise "High Interest--Easy Reading" of the National Council of Teachers of English. AVAILABLE FROvNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 20970-3020; $5.95 members, $7.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Reference Materials - Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adolescent Literature; *Adolescents; Annotated Bibliographies; *High Interest Low Vocabulary Books; Learning Motivation; *Reading Attitudes; Readins Habits; Reading Interests; Reading Materials; Recreational Reading; Secondary Education; Student Motivation IDENTIFIERS Reading Motivation ABSTRACT Designed to encourage students in grades 7-12 to make reading a habit, this annotated booklist contains over 400 titles of fiction and nonfiction books published between 1987 and 1989. It is intended for students who are able to read but lack the motivation to do so because they have not encountered books that speak to their interests and concerns. The titles represent a variety of books of high quality, some series literature, and some "fast-read" books that deal with topics of interest to the average adolescent. Titles and annotations are arranged under the following categories: (1) adventure; (2) animals; (3) biography; (4) death;(5) ethnic; (6) family life; (7) fantasy; (8) folklore and legends; (9) friendship; (10) growing up; (11) health; (12) historical fiction; (13) history; (14) how-to; (15) humor; (16) love and romance; (17) mystery; (18) poetry; (19) science; (20) science fiction; (21) social problems; (22) sports; (23) supernatural; and (24) travel. A directory of publishers is included, as well as author, titic, and subject indexes. (SR) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are ie best that can be made from the original document. ****************************************x******x***********u*********** High Interest Easy Reading 3 NCTE ConlInttE ul P.,-...vi5.e High InterestEasyReading William G. McBride, totorittl,o7,t 0,, University. Chair Lois Bay, Adams City High School, CrTh.reitzrce City,Colorado Paul Be Ilin, Weld County School District 4 fir._ t,I_ Colorado Reid Cameron, Poudre HighSchool, Fort Collor., r_otorgdo Ron Elms, Longmont HighSchool, Longmont, Colorado Gilbert Findlay, ColoradoState University Glenn Gray, Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins,Colorado Marjie Lane, Adams City High School, Commerce City,Coiorado Jon Leydens, Fort Collins,Colorado Jack Martin, Colorado StateUniversity Vivian McBride, Poudre HighSchool, Fort Collins, Colorado Jane Noll, Cache La Poudre Junior High School, La Porte,Colorado Katherine S. Wood, Merritt Hutton Junior High School,Thornton, Colorado Michael Spooner, National Council of Teachers of Engiish,ex officio YMEBibliography Series 4 High Interest Easy Reading A Book list for Junior and Senior High School Students Sixth Edition William G. McBride, Editor, and the Committee to Revise High InterestEasy Reading of the National Council of Teachers of English National Council of Teachers of English 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 5 NCTE Editorial Board: Richard F. Abrahamson, Celia Genishi, RichardLloyd- Jones; Raymond J. Rodrigues, Brooke Workman, Charles Suhor, Chair,ex offi- cio;Michael Spooner,ex officio Staff Edito.7: Rona S. Smith Cover Design: R. Maul Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design NCTE Stock Number 20970-3020 1990 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rightsreserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publicationsto provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching ofEnglish and the language arts. Publichy accorded toany particular point of view does not imrly endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board ofDirectors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, wheresuch endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Data National Council of Teachers of English. Committeeto Revise High Interest Easy Reading. High interesteasy reading. for junior and senior high school students/ William G. McBride, editor, and the Committee to Revise HighInterest Easy Reading of the National Council of Teachers of English. 6thed. p.cm. (NCTE bibliography series, ISSN 1051-4740) Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: Presents an annotated bibliography of books for reluctant readers in junior high and high school, arranged in categories, andindexed by author, title, and subject. ISBN 0-8141-2097-0 I. High interest low vocabulary books -Bibliogranhy. 2, Junior high school librariesBook lists. 3. High scnool librariesBook lists. 4. Young adult literatureBibliography. 5. Children's literatureBibliography. [I. High inte re. t low vocabulary books --Bibliography. 2. Bibliography Best books.] I. McBride, William G. 11. Title. Ill. Series. Z1039.S5N41990 028.5'35d c20 90-6657 CIP .6 AC Contents Foreword vii Note to the Reader ix I. Adventure 1 2. Animals 6 3. Biography 10 4. Death 19 5. Ethnic 21 6. Family Life 25 7. Fantasy 35 8. Folklore and Legends 41 9. Friendship 42 10. Growing Up 46 1 1. Health 12. Historical Fiction 61 13. History 63 14. How-to 67 15. Humor 69 16. Love and Romance 72 17. Mystery 76 18. Poetry 86 19. Science 88 20. Science Fiction 94 21. Social Problems 98 v - vi High InterestEasy Reading 22. Sports 104 23. Supernatural 108 24. Travel 113 Directory of Publishers 117 Author Index 121 Title Index 125 Subject Index 130 Editor 133 a Foreword The National Council of Teachers of English is proud to publish four different booklists, renewed on a regular rotation, in its bibliography se- ries. The four are Adventuring with Books (pre-K through grade 6), Your Reading (middle schooljunior high), Books for You (senior high), and High haerestEas) Reading (junior, senior high reluctant readers). Con- ceivc.d as resources for teachers and students alike, these N olumes reference thousands of the most recent children's and young adults' trade books. The wui ks listed cover a wide range of topics, from preschoolABC books to science fiction n ON els for high school seniors, from wordless picture books to nonfiction works on family stresses, computers, mad mass media. Each edition of an NCTE booklist is compiled by a group of teachers and librarians, under leadership appointed by the NCTE Executive Com- mittee. Working for most of three or four years with new books submitted regularly by publishers, the committee members reNiew, select, and anno- tate the hundreds of w orks to be listed in their new edition. The members of the committee that compiled this N. olume are listed on one of the first pages. Of course, no single book is right for eNeryone or every purpose, so inclusion of a work in this booklist is not necessarily an endorsement from NCTE. HoweNer, it is an indication that, in the view of the professionals w ho make up the booklist committee, the workin question is worthy of teachers and students' attention, perhaps for its informatiNe, perhaps its aesthetic qualities. On the other hand, exclusion from an NCTE booklist is not necessarily a judgement on the quality of a giNen book orpublisher. Many factorsspace, time, mailability of certain books, publisher partic- ipationmay influence the final shape of the list. We hope that you will find this booklist useful and that you will collect the other booklists in the NCTE series. We feel that these N olumes contrib- ute substantially to our mission of helping to improwinstruction in En glish and the language arts. We think you will agree. Michael Spooner NCTE Senior Editor for Publications vii Note to the Reader The committee has intended this book for students, although it may also be of use to teachers and media specialists, librarians. The students for whom the book may be useful are generally in grades 7-12 and generally nonreaders, although that is an indication of inclination, not ability. We betieve that the primary audience for this edition, as in previous editions, is the student who can readbut often does not. Entries are, therefore, written for students. We have not indicated a grade level or a sophistication level as a general rule, however, we have, in some instances, noted that a given book may contain mature subject mat- ter. Nor have we suggested a reading level. We believe that reading levels are occasionally misleading and that interest will be the most significant fact or. We have looked for books that hold high interest for people in this age group and have been guided, to some degree, by accessibility. We have avoided books w hose format suggests an elementary level, we have also avoided books whose content is too complex. While we have always looked for high-quality books, we have operated on the premise that the person si,ho reads can always be helped in the search for better literature, the nonreader cannot. Thus, we have included some series literature and some "fast-read" books that will be of interest to less sophisticated readers. Bookhsts generally provide information about what's available rather than what must be read. This list is no different. We believe, however, that these books are worth the time and effort to read, students v,ho hav e tested them agree. The final test lies with the individual reader. ix 10 1 Adventure 1.1 Alexander, Lloyd. The Drackenberg Adventure. E. P. Dutton, 1988. ISBN 0-525-44389-4. It is 1873, and seventeen-year-old Vesper Holly accepts an invita- tion to attend the diamond jubilee in the grand duchy of Drack- enberg for her guardians, Brinnie and Mary. In Drackenberg, they meet Helvitius, an old enemy. By teaming up with the local gypsies, Holly fights Helvitius's plot to take the fortunes of Drackenberg as his own.