Maryland’s Black Eyed Susan Reading Program: Part I
Written by Grant Goodman, 11/16/2014
I’m lucky enough to work in a school where our reading programs are unbelievably successful. Our Media Center (the new term for libraries, for those who aren’t in the education world) participates in the state-wide Black Eyed Susan reading program.
Maryland has a committee of readers from around the state who spend time picking out 10 featured books for students to read. (There are 10 books for elementary school, 10 for middle, 10 for high school, and 10 graphic novels)
What I love is that there is a mix of genres every year, including supernatural, science-fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, and poetry as prose.
They are all entertaining reads (though I will admit that some do skew younger than others) and if you’re looking for new reads, you’re bound to find a new author or two who will really impress you.
This year’s middle school list is as follows:
After Iris by Natasha Farrant
On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming
The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
Eddie’s War by Carol Fisher Saller
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
The Girl from Felony Bay by J.E. Thompson
Four Secrets by Margaret Willey
Poison by Bridget Zinn