ANDERSON SCHOOL DISTRICT FIVE
GRADE 6 NOVELS FOR UNIT:
 My Daniel by Pam Conrad
 The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
 A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
GRADE 7 NOVELS FOR UNIT:
 Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
 Maus II by Art Spiegelman
 The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
 Hiroshima by John Hersey
 The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (may be used as supplemental materials for
this unit).
 So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins (may be used as
supplemental materials for this unit).
Page 1 of 4
GRADE 6 GT READING NOVELS WITH OVERVIEW
MY DANIEL BY PAM CONRAD
"All I want to find is one dinosaur," Daniel was saying. "And I'll find it right here. Like
I do all my fossils." Wandering through the Natural History Museum with her
grandchildren, Julia Creath feels the presence of her dead brother, Daniel, she
remembers a time when fossil fever hit everyone, old and young -- a time when
people would kill for those old bones under the ground. Julia becomes the Nebraska
farm girl she once was, as she weaves together the story of the great dinosaur rush - an adventurous tale of love and treachery, but most of all the story of her own
childhood, and of the older brother she loved more than anything. Daniel had a dream that Julia
shared -- and she alone would see come true.
THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM BY CHRISTOPHER PAUL CURTIS
Enter the hilarious world of 10-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of
Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, Kenny, and Byron, who's 13
and an official "juvenile delinquent.” When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a
visit to Grandma, Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra Glide, and the Watsons
set out on a trip like no other. They're heading south. They're going to Birmingham,
Alabama, toward one of the darkest moments in American history.
A WRINKLE IN TIME BY MADELEINE L’ENGLE
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and
her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were
upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. "Wild nights are my glory," the
unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off
course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways,
by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract." A tesseract (in case the reader
doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the
enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. "A Wrinkle in Time," winner of the Newbery Medal in
1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe
(athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's
father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the
tesseract problem.
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA BY KATHERINE PATTERSON
A secret world of their own, Jess Aaron's greatest ambition is to be the fastest
runner in the fifth grade. He's been practicing all summer and can't wait to see his
classmates' faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new kid, a
new "girl,” boldly crosses over to the boy's side of the playground and outruns
everyone. That's not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie
Burke become inseparable. It doesn't matter to Jess that Leslie dresses funny, or
that her family has a lot of money -- but no TV. Leslie has imagination. Together, she
and Jess create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and
queen, and their imaginations set the only limits. Then one morning a terrible tragedy occurs. Only
when Jess is able to come to grips with this tragedy does he finally understand the strength and
courage Leslie has given him.
Page 2 of 4
A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO BY RICHARD PECK
Each summer over the nine years of the Depression, Joey and his sister Mary Alice-two city slickers from Chicago--make their annual summer visit to Grandma
Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find it's far from sleepy
and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother.
MANIAC MAGEE BY JERRY SPINELLI
Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a trolley accident
hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and
uncle for eight years, he decides to run-and not just run away, but run. And this is
where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided
small town with his amazing and legendary feats.
GRADE 7 GT READING NOVELS WITH OVERVIEW
ANNE FRANK: DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL BY ANNE FRANK
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's
remarkable diary has since become a world classic -- a powerful reminder of the
horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis
occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in
Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts
were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the
"Secret Annex" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced
hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of
discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during
this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary
on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman
whose promise was tragically cut short.
MAUS II BY ART SPIEGELMAN
MAUS was the first half of the tale of survival of the author's parents, charting their
desperate progress from prewar Poland Auschwitz. Here is the continuation, in
which the father survives the camp and is at last reunited with his wife.
Page 3 of 4
THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING BY CARSON MCCULLERS
Here is the story of the inimitable twelve-year-old Frankie, who is utterly, hopelessly
bored with life until she hears about her older brother's wedding. Bolstered by lively
conversations with her house servant, Berenice, and her six-year-old male cousin -not to mention her own unbridled imagination -- Frankie takes on an overly active
role in the wedding, hoping even to go, uninvited, on the honeymoon, so deep is her
desire to be the member of something larger, more accepting than herself. "
HIROSHIMA BY JOHN HERSEY
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped
on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on
that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and
compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of
humanity" (The New York Times). Almost four decades after the original
publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search
of the people whose stories he had told. His account of what he discovered about
them is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.
THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC BY JANE YOLEN
Hannah thinks tonight’s Passover Seder will be the same as always. Little does she
know that this year she will be mysteriously transported into the past where only
she knows the horrors that await.
SO FAR FROM THE BAMBOO GROVE BY YOKO KAWASHIMA WATKINS
In the final days of World War II, Koreans were determined to take back control of
their country from the Japanese and end the suffering caused by the Japanese
occupation. As an eleven-year-old girl living with her Japanese family in northern
Korea, Yoko is suddenly fleeing for her life with her mother and older sister, Ko,
trying to escape to Japan, a country Yoko hardly knows. Their journey is terrifying—
and remarkable. It's a true story of courage and survival that highlights the plight of
individual people in wartime. In the midst of suffering, acts of kindness, as
exemplified by a family of Koreans who risk their own lives to help Yoko's brother, are inspiring
reminders of the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Page 4 of 4