6th Grade Booktalks
2020-2021
September 30, 2020: Choose Kindness
Posted by John David Anderson
- F AND. Realistic Fiction.
- When cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and his friends come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all over the school. It catches on, and soon the whole school is participating. Although for every kind note that is left, a cruel one is left as well.
- Then Rose arrives at school and begins sitting at Frost's lunch table. Rose is not like anyone else at the school, and Frost soon realizes that his circle of friends isn't going to welcome someone new. As the sticky note war begins to escalate and kids are expected to choose sides, Frost realizes things will never be the same again and how much power words actually have.
Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff
- F GRA. Realistic Fiction.
- It is the beginning of sixth grade, and Trent is anxious for a new start. Unfortunately, he is known in his town as "that kid," because a hockey puck he hit last year accidentally hit a boy in the chest, and then that boy died.
- Even though Trent knows he needs to start over, he can't quite figure out how. He feels guilty, and angry, and doesn't know how to move on.
- But then he meets Fallon, a girl who doesn't let other people influence her. Trent realizes he doesn't want Fallon to be afraid of him even though he's a little afraid of himself. Will Trent be able to do what it takes to let people into his life again?
Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly
- F KEL. Realistic Fiction.
- Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates because she and her mother moved to the United States from the Philippines when she was young. Her mother still cooks Filipino foods, struggles with her English, and doesn't want Apple to become "too American."
- Apple has always managed it before, but now that she's in middle school it is unbearable. The terrible boys have put her name on the "dog log," a list of the ugliest girls at school. Her friends have turned on her because of that, acting more interested in being popular and impressing the boys than being a friend with someone who is a little different than them.
- The only thing Apple knows to do, even though her mother doesn't support it, is turn to music. She's hoping that just like her musical hero, George Harrison of The Beatles, escaped to join his band, she also can escape her small town for better things.
- Along the way she becomes friends with Evan and Heleena, two other people who are different than the others. With their support, she might be able to make at least some of her dreams come true.
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
- F WOL. Historical Fiction.
- Annabelle lives in quiet Pennsylvania during WWII, and mostly her life is good. Until Betty Glengarry begins school, and it becomes obvious that Betty is a bully. At first Betty's cruelty is sort of random, but then she begins picking on Toby, a WWI veteran.
- Even though most people think Toby is sort of strange, Annabelle has only known him to be kind. She must decide how she is going to stand up to Betty and have the courage to fight (with words) for justice.