Back to School

My blog may shift gears a bit here because I've just accepted a job teaching 7th through 12th grade English for the 2009/2010 school year. Really it's not a huge leap--I've wanted to do this since my senior year of college. I can't wait to begin teaching writing, grammar and literature! There's a lot to do in the meantime, though, such as jumping through a few hoops to get my high school certification (bring it on!), recommending curriculum, and generally preparing to teach my subject.

I'm reading a lot of juvenile novels and classic literature as part of my preparation. I've always loved reading both. I was that geeky homeschooled kid who read Shakespeare and Dickens for fun. Now it's clear just how many important works I haven't read! Here are some of my latest reads:

• A Place Called Ugly, by Avi (I wasn't satisfied with the parents' lack of reaction at the end of the book)
  
• Dogsong, by Gary Paulson (very good)
  
• "The Minister's Black Veil," by Nathaniel Hawthorne (about time I read it. . .)
  
• A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Peck (read it in college but loved it again the second time)
  
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (still reading it--excellent discussions on improving one's own writing)
  
• Mind's Eye, by Paul Fleischman (really interesting--a good example of form suiting function)
  

I love The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi (6th-8th grade), Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, and The Scarlet Letter. I think it's really important not to overload kids' brains with "heavy" classics, but to expose them to high-quality modern literature written for their age group. Teens like to read about teens who face problems similar to their own.

What are your favorite books for the jr. high/high school set?