The Tangerine Tree by Regina Hanson

Title: The Tangerine Tree

Author: Regina Hanson

Publisher: Clarion Books

Release date: September 1995 

Page: 31

ISBN-13: 978-0395689639

Summary:

Amazon:

"As her father packs, preparing to leave Jamaica for a job in New York, Ida is distraught. "He never comin' back!" she wails, despite her parents' assurances. Refusing to say good-bye, Ida hides in a tangerine tree. Papa tracks her down, gives her a copy of Stories of the Ancient Greeks and makes her a promise: "Dis is our secret: by de time you are big enough to read it by yourself, I will be home." In an affecting scene, Papa takes leave of his family and Ida gives him a gift-juice she has poured in a bottle: "I squeeze out sun from de tangerines into it. If New York is cold and snowy when you get dere, dis bottle will warm you up." Debut author Hanson, who was born and raised in Jamaica, conveys this gentle, rhythmic tale with a tone that is at once sad and hopeful. In his richly textured acrylic paintings, Stevenson's deft, impressionistic use of color and light recreates the ambience of the island, capturing as well the deep love connecting the members of this family."

http://www.amazon.com/Tangerine-Tree-Regina-Hanson/dp/0395689635/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288638630&sr=1-1

In the classroom:

This book deals with a very current issue that many families may be going through right now, unemployment.  It shows the broader definition of multiculturalism and how important support is during tough times.  It shows the importance of family and family values.  The importance of loved ones and family is something that students can relate and hopefully connect with during their reading.  

Holes by Louis Sachar

Title: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition

Release date: September 2008

Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 978-0374332662

Summary:

Amazon:

"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with theLord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.

It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere"


http://www.amazon.com/Holes-Louis-Sachar/dp/0374332665/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288631658&sr=1-1


In the classroom:
I chose Holes because it deals with a troubled boy who acts out.  This could be a very common scenerio amongst students around this age and those kids can sometimes be socially exiled and made fun of.  It's another book that students can relate to and maybe channel their frustrations into.  

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Author: Scott O'Dell

Publisher: Sandpiper; Anv edition

Release date: February 2010

Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 978-0547328614

Summary:

Amazon:

"The Newberry Medal-winning story of a 12-year old girl who lives alone on a Pacific island after she leaps from a rescue ship. Isolated on the island for eighteen years, Karana forages for food, builds weapons to fight predators, clothes herself in a cormorant feathered skirt, and finds strength and peace in her seclusion. A classic tale of discovery and solitude returns to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for its 50th anniversary, with a new introduction by Lois Lowry."

http://www.amazon.com/Island-Blue-Dolphins-Scott-ODell/dp/0547328613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288562288&sr=8-1

In the classroom:

Kids in middle school are going through their own troubles with self discovery.  This book tells the story of another discovery and survival allowing kids who are going through their own forms of these things to go along for the ride.