“You HAVE to Read This!”

As one of the final activities on our final day of school, I had my students fill out “Recommend a Book” postcards for next year’s 6th graders.  I reminded them that on the first day of school they thought I was out of mind when I said they would read between 20-40 books over the course of the year and that they would enjoy it.  We talked about how they discovered the joys of reading books they liked, recommending books to each other, and learning about new books from their classmates.  

Each student chose one book that they feel all 6th graders must read.  Next year, I will make a bulletin board out of the postcards and share these recommendations with my new classes.  Sometimes, they don’t want to listen to me but will gladly hear recommendations from each other. 🙂

The books my students recommended:

• Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan because it is one of the best series ever. This book has spine-crunching twists and turns, a touch of action, and thrills.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins because it is action-packed and keeps you at the edge of your seat.
• Fire Within by Chris D’lacey because it has action, adventure, mystery, and fantasy.
• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan because this books is really cool. It is interesting and makes you love mythology!
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer because it was the first book I read this year and after I read it I couldn’t stop reading!
• Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher because it’s a really funny book and you can relate to it.
• A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass because it has such a great story and will change the way you look at the world.
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt because it’s a good book. If you love mysteries you should read this!
• Evermore (The Immortals) by Alyson Noel because it is an awesome romance. I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
• Windcatcher by Avi because it is a great book. It has hidden treasure and a mystery.
• The Diamonds by Ted Michael because it is a great book for all girls! It is a page-turner and full of gossip! An amazing book!
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney because it is really funny and makes me and other kids laugh out loud.
• Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs. If you like Greek mythology, you’ll love this book! It has romance, comedy, and mythology. It’s a keeper!
• Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman. If you like creepy, this is beyond creepy. It is suspenseful and there are videos in-between. You watch the videos after reading a few pages.
• Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita because this series tells you what it’s like to be a part of Hollywood. The books make you feel like you are in it!
• Gone by Michael Grant. It’s a good cliffhanger book. If you like the dystopian genre it’s really good. The atmosphere makes you feel like you are right there in the book.
• The Clique by Lisi Harrison because it is full of drama!
• Flush by Carl Hiaasen because it is a great book and very interesting.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling. You should read this books because it’s action-packed and a great read!
• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I think you should read this books because you feel like you’re there and it is very suspenseful I like books like that. I hope you do, too.
• In the Serpent’s Coils (Hallowmere) by Tiffany Trent. It’s scary and it’s unexpected at times. It always makes you want to read more.
• Found (The Missing, Book 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix because it is suspenseful and ends on a great cliffhanger.
• The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1) by James Patterson. It was my favorite book this year and the entire series is great!
• Akiko on the Planet Smoo by Mark Crilly because it is a very funny book!
• The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O’Roark Dowell. This book is good. There is a lot of drama and it is about two best friends going through hard times in middle school.
• I,Q by Roland Smith. It’s full of action and adventure.
• Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This book was a really good Holocaust book. It is about a boy who was a Nazi then he betrayed the Nazis and ends up in jail.
• Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell. It was so funny! It is realistic and easy to relate to. It’s one of the best books I ever read!

There were a few repeats, which I left out.  But that’s quite a variety!