The question was posed on one of my writer list servs: what children’s/YA novel would you teach? These were my answers:

Middle Grade Novels would include: Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach (Henry Holt, 2005); The Storyteller’s Beads by Jane Kurtz (Harcourt, 1998); The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick (Simon & Schuster, 2002).

YA Novels: Armageddon Summer by Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville (Harcourt, 1998); Sammy & Juliana In Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz (Cinco Puntos Press, 2004); When Kambia Elaine Flew Down From Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams (Simon & Schuster, 2000).

In case it helps any teachers out there, Dr. Waller Hastings at Northern State U in South Dakota teaches my ‘tweener novel, Rain Is Not My Indian Name (Harper, 2001), and author/librarian Toni Buzzeo prepared an incredible standards-based curriculum for my husband’s novel, Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo by Greg Leitich Smith (Little Brown, 2003).

Cynsational News and Links

Writer Debbi Michiko Florence offers a “Buzz Review” of Over and Over You by Amy McAuley (Roaring Brook, 2005).

Writing.com: an online community for writers of all ages, interests and skill levels. Anyone may create a free portfolio and exchange feedback with other writers. Named one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 “Best Websites For Writers, 2005.”

Author Interview with Alex Flinn on Fade To Black (HarperCollins, 2005) from Teenreads.com.