APPROVED ENGLISH 70 BOOK LIST as of March 8, 2012 (Print Version)
The following is the list of approved books for English 70. We have tried to provide notes to aid in your
choice of book as well as your teaching of it. We have included what we are calling a “Readability Scale” so
that you can know the reading level of the different novels. The following are descriptions of each level:
High: This would be also called “Instructional Level” readings. These readings are challenging for the
students and require significant scaffolding and activities to help the students understand the text.
Medium: These are texts that are by and large easily understood but which also have some passages or
concepts that are difficult for the students and require in-class attention by the instructor.
Low: Also called “independent Reading” level, this would be a book that an English 70-level student could
pick up on his or her own and understand the basics such as plot, characters, etc. While there may be more
complex concepts and connections that could be developed by the instructor, the text writing level is simple
for the students.
English 070 Approved Novel List
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Sherman
Alexie
Cooked, Henderson, Jeff
Cut, McCormick, Patricia
Farewell to Manzanar, Houston, Jeanne
Fire and Fog, Day, Dianne
The Giver, Lowry, Lois
The God Box, Sanchez, Alex
Hunger Games, Collins, Suzanne
Maus I, Spiegelman
To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, Harper
Night , Wiesel, Elie
Parrot in the Oven, Martinez, Victor
Rubyfruit Jungle, Brown, Rita Mae
SeedFolks, Fleischman, Paul
Warriors Don’t Cry, Beals, Melba
A Wizard of Earthsea, Le Guin, Ursula
English 070 Approved Textbook List
An Easy Guide to Writing, Dykstra, Pamela
At a Glance: Essays, Lee, Brandon
Basic Grammar & Usage 8th ed, Choy & Clark
Connections: Writing, Reading, Critical Thinking, Montgomery, Tammy
English Simplified, Ellsworth & Higgins
Sentence Combining Workbook , Altman, Pam
Books
Teaching Notes
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Sherman Alexie
READABILITY: Medium
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books; Reprint ed (April 1, 2009)
ISBN-13: 9780316013697
I took a look at this novel after teaching The Lone
Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, also by
Sherman Alexie, with mixed results. Lone Ranger
is a collection of short stories and my students
had a lot of trouble with the shifting, though
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recognizable male narrator of each, though they
loved Alexie's humor and remarkable writing
about the contradictions of love, family and
tradition.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
has all the wonderfulness of Alexie with none of
the tricky fictional conceits of Lone Ranger. I
begin teaching this novel by showing my students
some YouTube videos of Alexie being his
hilarious, insightful, heart-breaking self. This
allows students to literally hear Alexie's voice
first, so they can then hear it as they read.
Students respond instantly, I find, to the humor
and the simultaneously heartbreaking and
inspiring story of a young man breaking away
from his culture and family while still loving and
honoring them, doing things differently and
achieving success when none of his friends or
family has ever been able to do so (a theme
almost every community college student, in my
experience, can identify with). The book is
peppered with the narrator's cartoons of his
family and friends, which I find helps a student
body more accustomed to visual narrative in the
form of movies, TV or video games, bridge the
gap between visual narrative and text.
Furthermore, beginning the semester with this
book allows us to establish early a language for
analyzing pictures as text, which will carry over to
Maus later in the semester, and which I find lays
the important groundwork of making students
more critical comsumers media (text and images
both). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time
Indian has everything, I think, we want in a 70
book: an engaging multicultural narrative, a
compelling coming of age/"American Dream
Achievement" story, a heart-breaking and warm
family story, an endearing, funny, relateable
narrator and meaty discussion themes that range
from dual cultural identity to escaping the cycle
of poverty to personal achievement/coming of
age, and the paradoxical nature of them all. I
highly recommend teaching this book! In three
years I have never had a 70 student who didn't
like it or didn't finish it (and many -- I'm talking
almost than half the class -- finishes it BEFORE
they have to. Really. The same is true of Maus.)
English 070
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Cooked, Henderson, Jeff
Readability: Low
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (February 26, 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-0061153907
Cut, McCormick, Patricia
Readability: Low
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Push; Reprint edition (May 1, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-0545290791
4-5 weeks for students to read
Farewell to Manzanar, Houston, Jeanne
Readability: Medium
Paperback: 146 pages
Publisher: Bantam Books (March 1, 1983)
ISBN-13: 978-0553272581
It takes about 4 weeks to read the entire book if you assign
6-7 chapters/week. Could be taught more slowly
depending on activities assigned related to text.)
Fire and Fog, Day, Dianne
READABILITY: Low
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Crimeline (March 3, 1997)
ISBN 13: 9780553569223
English 070
Chronicles the life of a “gangsta” crack dealer,
who gets busted and spends time in federal
prison. It is here, in prison, that he begins to
critically examine his life and to make more
conscious decisions, ultimately allowing him to
follow his dream of becoming a world renowned
chef. Redemption, inner-strength and tenacity
are core themes.
The novel “Cut “by Patricia McCormick is partly a
psychological mystery story and partly adolescent
drama. The main character Callie cuts herself
never too deep but enough to feel pain, enough
to feel scream inside. She is placed into the
residential treatment facility filled with girls
struggling with problems of their own. At first
Callie doesn’t want to have anything to do with
them. She won’t even speak. But her silence lasts
only for a certain time. The events in the book
make her finally speak. The students easily relate
to the story because the main character is a
teenager. Some of the students learn about selfinjuries for the first time, some of them come up
with interesting situations from real life. Most of
the students agree that the book is easy to read
and follow. At the same time it catches students’
attention immediately and makes them want to
read the book to the end.
A memoir by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston in which
she recounts her experiences being interned
during WWII with other Japanese-Americans.
The reading level is not difficult, but can be
paired with other readings on civil rights,
prejudice, or institutional racism. Themes around
civil rights, oppression and its effect on the family
and/or masculinity, propaganda, racial profiling.
See Katalina Wethington for more details.
Fremont Jones is “the epitome of the strongminded,
independent,
ahead-of-her-time
woman.” She becomes an amateur sleuth in this
mystery, which begins (literally) with the 1906
earthquake in San Francisco. The mystery
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involves Fremont and other interesting
characters as they navigate the aftermath of the
earthquake and devastating fire. The vocabulary
can be challenging for some students, but overall
the plot is easy to follow and the characters are
engaging. This book can easily connect to SF
history, (earthquake and fire), SF culture
(Chinatown), and women’s suffrage.
The Giver, Lowry, Lois
Readability: Low
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; New ed (Jul 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-0440237686
(It takes about four weeks to read if you assign six
chapters/week.)
The God Box, Sanchez, Alex
Readability: Low
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 5, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-1416908999
The God Box cont…
Three weeks is plenty of time to get through this quick and
easy read aimed at teen/young adult readers.
English 070
This is a novel about a dystopia, akin to
Fahrenheit 451. A young boy, Jonas, is given a
special assignment in his community: to “receive”
the memories of the entire history of his
community so that no one else has to be
burdened by them. As he learns more about the
choices his community lacks, he makes the choice
to leave his community, effectively destroying the
existing social structure. The reading itself is not
difficult, but the way that details are revealed
requires students to put the pieces together. A
great novel for teaching inference and
questioning as well as making text-to-world
connections.
Themes around individualism,
governmental control and choice vs. order. See
Katalina Wethington for more details.
High school senior Paul has dated Angie since
middle school, and they're good together. They
have a lot of the same interests, like singing in
their church choir and being active in Bible club.
Living in such a small town and going to a small
school, everyone knows the new kids. This year's
new kid, Manuel, is weird. Everyone talks about
him, especially when he joins Paul and his friends
at their lunch table. Manuel proceeds to tell them
that he is both gay and Christian, two things that
don't mix well. The girls love Manuel, but the
boys want to stay far away from him – except for
Paul. Manuel is trying to be Paul's friend and all
the guys start talking about the both of them. As
Paul and Manuel hang out, a friendship is formed
and Paul challenges Manuel about God, the Bible,
and being gay. Every answer Manuel gives makes
Paul think differently about his religion and what
it says. Is being gay okay, and can you still go to
Heaven? While examining his feelings, Paul
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wonders about his own sexuality and if his
friendship for Manuel is just that – a friendship.
When a series of events happens, Paul finds his
true feelings, his true identity, and, most
importantly, true love. This novel explores the
terrain of teenage sexuality in a way that is
honest, convincing and deeply respectful of
religious beliefs, without delving into the
steamier details that are so often central in tales
of coming into one's sexuality. In the end, it
leaves students with the feeling that religion can
be a source of liberation rather than an
oppressive force.
Hunger Games, Collins, Suzanne
Readability: Medium
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press; Reprint (July 3, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0439023481
Maus I, Spiegelman
English 070
Hunger Games is a dystopian story, the first in a
trilogy. The protagonist is a young, 16 year-old
girl, loyal to family and friends, whose ability to
hunt and feed her family equips her to fight in
the Hunger Games. The games, held yearly in the
Capitol, require that contestants fight to death,
the prize being a year of food for the home
district and life-long riches for the winner .We
teach the novel over a three-week period at the
beginning of the semester as it’s an easy read
with the purpose of creating good-will by
providing such a great read in an English class.
We then focus on the hero’s journey as a
framework for discussion, using literature circles,
and writing an essay. The second essay of the
course, it introduces students to simple synthesis
whereby they must integrate ideas from an
article about the hero’s journey with the plot of
the story. The format of the essay also provides
opportunities for students to write clear
introductions, thesis statements, topic sentences,
summaries,
and
quotations.
The students love the book as we often hear
comments such as. This is the first book I’ve ever
read, or I was so surprised that an English teacher
would assign such a good book! ~JoAnn Hobbs
and Karen Nakaji
This is a well structured account of a holocaust
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READABILITY: Medium
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Pantheon; 1st edition (August 12, 1986)
ISBN-13: 978-0394747231
survivor’s experience during the war as he retells
his story to his son. It easily blends several
storylines connected by common themes and
relationships. It’s useful in teaching figurative
language, imagery, summary and thematic
analysis. I found it helpful to pair reading this
type of novel with other short stories/articles
that are also related by themes of oppression,
survival, otherness, family conflict and love. The
graphic aspect makes teaching imagery a lot
easier because the development of the story
relies on the images presented. Some
assignments that go along with this are: summary
paragraphs, compare/contrast essay (examining
Maus and other readings) and image analysis
paragraphs. You can get more sophisticated in
how you use graphic novels depending on your
comfort level. I like to use it as a tool for
comparison and to scaffold critical thinking since
it breaks down a complex story by presenting
both words and images to tell it. See Ana
Gutierrez or Cora Stryker for more details.
This is a gripping and horrifying account of Elie
Wiesel’s experience in Nazi concentration camps.
I have not taught it in class, but students have
chosen it for independent reading in English 70,
so I read it. I think it would be a good choice to
teach in English 70. Might be interesting to pair
Night , Wiesel, Elie
with The Boy in Striped Pajamas. See Nancy
READABILITY: High ( Pilot book –FA11)
Ybarra for more details. This true account of life
Paperback: 120 pages
and survival in Auschvitz concentration camp is
Publisher: Hill and Wang; Revised edition (January 16, 2006)
the seminal book of Holocaust studies. Written in
ISBN-13: 978-0374500016
straightforward, nonemotional language, its
understatement creates its intense impact.
Reading this book, teaching this book, has
changed lives, as many of my students have told
me.Laura Bernell (Laura thinks this book may be a
bit advanced for English 70.)
Parrot in the Oven, Martinez, Victor
English 070
Parrot in the Oven, by Victor Martinez, a
Mexican-American and California author, is set in
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Readability: Low
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Rayo (December 28, 2004)
ISBN-13: 978-0064471862
Rubyfruit Jungle, Brown, Rita Mae
READABILITY: Medium
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Bantam (April 1, 1983)
ISBN-13: 978-0553278866
I spent four weeks (at a leisurely pace) working with this
novel, which included one week for the first drafting of the
essay.
English 070
California and and provides a portrait of the
Hernandez family. The book is just over 200
pages long and made up of 11 chapters, and can
easily be read in 5-7 weeks, at the pace of two
chapters a week. The novel is narrated by 14year-old Manuel (Manny) Hernandez. Manny
struggles to cope with an unemployed, alcoholic
father, his older sister's miscarriage, bullies and
gangs, shyness around girls, and his own desire to
be accepted and fit in. The novel lacks the clear
throughline of, say, Warriors Don't Cry, with
crystal clear obstacles and objectives. Rather, the
throughline of this somewhat episodic tale is
more subtle, dealing with Manny's desire to
achieve a sense of home and harmony. That
sense of peace, along with clear signs of how
Manny has grown and changed, and what he has
learned, emerges clearly in the novel's final two
pages. Relevant themes include race relations,
discrimination and stereotyping, self-acceptance
and acceptance by others, personal growth and
lessons learned. This is my first semester using
this book, but my sense is that students are
enjoying it and finding the material easy to relate
to.
Rubyfruit Jungle is about growing up a lesbian in
America – and living happily ever after. Born a
bastard, Molly Bolt is adopted by a dirt-poor
southern couple who want something better for
their daughter. Molly plays doctor with the boys,
beats up Leroy and loses her virginity to her
girlfriend in the 6th grade. Molly decides not to
apologize for that, but the world is not so
tolerant. Booted out of college for moral
turpitude, an unrepentant, penniless Molly takes
New York by storm, sending not a few female
hearts aflutter with her startling beauty, crackling
wit and fierce determination to persue her
filmmaking dreams.
Students enthusiastically respond to this novel's
feisty and inspiring heroine. As funny as the novel
is, it also has some relevant insights on a number
of issues: mother-daughter relationships, anti-gay
prejudice,
sexism
in
academia,
and
socioeconomic barriers. Yet the book is written
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in a simple style, which makes the novel very
accessable to students; in fact, that simplicity is
the essence of the book; more complicated
wording would not embody the character of
Molly nearly as well. Molly, who is sassy and a
shamelessly cut-and-dry lesbian, does not think
that things should be overanalyzed and obsessed
over. She sees everything as obvious and blatant.
Hence the simple language.
SeedFolks, Fleischman, Paul
READABILITY: Low
Paperback: 70 pages
Publisher: HarperTrophy (December 14, 2004)
ISBN-13: 978-0590511902
To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, Harper
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (March 5,
2002)
ISBN-10: 0060935464
Warriors Don’t Cry, Beals, Melba
READABILITY: Medium
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse (July 24, 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-0671866396
226 pages; 18 Chapters + a brief Prologue and Epilogue
(Depending on your strategy for use, 1-2 chapters per class
meeting is reasonable. This can be done at a brisk 4 weeks
or a more leisurely 6+ weeks. The nature of the material
lends itself easily to supplementation.)
English 070
In Seedfolks, author, Paul Fleischman creates an
urban garden that brings a new sense of hope
and community to a bleak Cleveland
neighborhood. Seedfolks consists of a series of
first-person vignettes, each told by a different
character. Although the characters in Seedfolks
all live in the same neighborhood, most of them
never bothered to introduce themselves to each
other until they started seeing each other at the
garden. Working together to overcome racial and
cultural barriers are major themes within the
text.
There are appropriate themes addressing racial
and moral issues in this venerable classic. It can
be a bit of a challenge for some 70 students, and
is often used as an independent book choice. If
you decide to use it as one of the required
readings, you may need to move slowly and
monitor reading closely. Most students enjoy the
adventure and develop a great respect for Atticus
Finch. There are many instructors who have used
this choice, so there is a ton of material out there
to augment or support your own ideas.
This memoir focuses primarily on the 1957
integration of Little Rock’s Central High School in
the wake of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of
Education Supreme Court Decision. Partially
constructed from her diaries of the time, as well
as contemporary newspaper clippings, this book
captures both the passion Beals had to be an
agent of change (even at so young an age) and
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also deals honestly with the racism (frequently
violent) she faced at each step of the way.
Because of Melba’s age in the book, students
tend to identify with her. She has normal young
person dreams, just as they do or did. They also
tend to admire Melba as being someone who
overcame large obstacles (in nearly every case,
larger than those of the students reading the
book) to gain an education. Works for themes
involving racism, social justice, self-reliance, loss
of innocence, & role models. See Richard
Cartwright for more details.
We Beat The Street, Davis, Sampson
Readability: Low
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: Puffin (April 20, 2006)
ISBN-13: 978-0142406274
A Wizard of Earthsea, Le Guin, Ursula
READABILITY: Medium
Paperback: 198 pages
Publisher: Spectra (September 28, 2004
ISBN-13: 978-0553383041
198 pages; 10 Chapters (at a chapter per meeting, this can
be done in as little as 3+ weeks.)
Textbooks
An Easy Guide to Writing, Dykstra, Pamela
Paperback: 320 pages
English 070
is the abridged version of The Pact, and the story
follows three black males from grade school to
high school through medical school. The three
meet in high school and after hearing a
presentation at the library about college, they
decide to apply to Seton Hall University. The
three young make a pact to stick together
through college and graduate school to support
and encourage one another. The book chronicles
their struggles and obstacles through the “hood”
and then to the university. Resilience, positive
peer pressure, and societal expectations are
major themes
In some ways, this can be considered a precursor
to the Harry Potter phenomenon. It is about a
young wizard from humble origins coming of age
(but aren’t they all?). Students can often identify
with the character who is different or excluded
by others. And the payoff is that, per the
formula, Ged matures from poor village boy into
the greatest wizard Earthsea has ever seen. But
the main theme of this movie is that of facing
one’s own demons. Being set in a high fantasy
setting, Le Guin is able to bring this metaphor
into clear horrific reality. Works for themes
involving racism/classism, the power of names,
role-models, accepting help from others, and
power & responsibility. Richard Cartwright
Teaching Notes
This is a fairly straightforward basic skills
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Publisher: Prentice Hall (May 20, 2005)
ISBN-13: 978-0131849549
handbook. It is clear, concise, and contains
practice exercises. The book uses the analogy of a
bicycle to explain sentence structure with one
wheel referring to the subject and one to the
predicate. Students seem to like this visual
analogy.
Part I: Sentence Essentials
Part2: Word Choice
Part 3: Fine-Tuning Sentences
Part 4: Punctuation and Mechanics
Part 5: Writing Paragraphs and Essays
Part 6: Basics for Non Native Speakers
See Nancy Ybarra for more details.
At a Glance: Essays, Lee, Brandon
Paperback: 282 pages
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 5 ed (January 1, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978- 0618957637
Basic Grammar & Usage 8th ed, Choy & Clark
Paperback: 338 pages
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 8 ed (January 4, 2010)
ISBN-13: 9781428211551
For more information, see Paulette Lagana.
This is a very good grammar book for English 70.
It covers grammar topics in a logical way. The
chapter exercises are excellent, and the teacher’s
manual has pre- and post-test pages as well as
diagnostic tests and unit reviews.
Unit 1: Subject/Verb
Unit 2: Subject/Verb Agreement
Unit 3: Identifying & Punctuating sentences [run-on,
compound, complex, fragments, comma splices]
Unit 4: Punctuation that “sets off” or separates
[parenthetical, appositives, restrictive/non-restrictive
clauses]
Unit 5: Pronoun Usage
Unit 6: Capitalization, modifiers, parallel structure,
irregular verbs
Unit 7: Paragraphs [writing effective paragraphs]
Connections: Writing, Reading, Critical Thinking, Montgomery,
Tammy
Can be combined with MyWriting, MyReading, MySkills
English 070
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Labs (May have different ISBN #)
Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Longman; 3 edition (July 13, 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-0-673-98239-1
English Simplified, Ellsworth & Higgins
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Longman: (February 4, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0205633296
This is a brief, handbook; the least expensive
published by Pearson, which will also give
students complete access to My Skills Lab or My
Writing Lab, an excellent site of exercises
covering grammar, essay, and study skills. The
total cost to students via the bookstore is
between $25 - $30.
Sentence Combining Workbook , Altman, Pam
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 3 edition (January 1,
2010)
ISBN-13: 978- 1428263802
English 070
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