Since my last blog post, my life has changed dramatically. I got a new job at a public school, and I'm also expecting my second baby in July. It has been an unforgettable school-year, and with just over six weeks to go, I think I should get back to blogging!
So let's talk today about reading in the middle grades. My current position is as a sixth grade English teacher. This seems to be one of the hardest grades to find books for. The problem is that the students are still interested in the books that were popular in elementary school, but they are actually ready for some more advanced reading material, if they would just take a risk. When we take trips to the library, my students often gravitate towards graphic novels and books in the Wimpy Kid or Dork Diaries Series. I encourage them to (or force them to) pick chapter books, and most of the time these end of being forgotten in the classroom. When the students aren't invested, they just don't seem to read the books. For all these reasons, and more, if you can find a GREAT book for students in the middle grades, you take note. I want to have a long list of recommendations that students can draw from so that when they pick up a "chapter book," they keep on reading it. With that being said, check out a book review for a middle grades book that I recently read.
I recently read The
Kingdom of Oceana by Mitchell Charles.
From the first pages it was clear that this book would be full of action
and adventure. There is a strong theme
of sibling rivalry which is evident through quests that the brothers take in
the historic Hawaiian setting. With such
a setting, it is no surprise that the reader is drawn into the story with magic,
spirit animals, and a mysterious (and cursed) tiki. For
lovers of Disney’s Moana, there are many similarities in Charles’s adventure
tale. Thankfully, his tale is more
developed, with a wider range of conflicts and characters than the Disney movie
that shares a similar setting. Charles also
has a writing style that I appreciate as an English teacher. It is fluid and descriptive and ultimately
enjoyable. However, I did feel that the
book was a bit of a slow read. The book
felt very authentic, which translated to a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary that
personally slowed me down. I think this would
also be true for a reader who is in the middle grades. Due to the wide range of
characters, you should also be wary about putting the book down for any
extended period of time. Even over a
week or two, you may easily forget significant people that will come back in
the end of the story. This is a plus for
the Kindle version, because you can easily search for a character’s name and
find out when and where you met that person.
I feel that this book is well suited to a school-age reader, but due to
the complexities that I mentioned above, they may find it a frustrating
read. If they stick with it, I think
your students will find that it is well worth the time and effort. It is an unforgettable story! And stay tuned because it appears that
Charles is also writing a sequel! Want
more information about The Kingdom of
Oceana? Check out Charles’s website-
http://kingdomofoceana.com/
*Disclaimer- I received a
complementary copy of the book for my honest review.
