Carlisle Middle School students participate in a variety of literature experiences including class discussions of books and stories, skills instruction, and independent reading. A booklist has been developed to assist parents and students in the selection of quality independent reading books that are interesting and appropriate. Hard copies of the list are available at the Carlisle Public School Library and the Gleason Public Library.
Parents of readers at any level are encouraged to read books along with their children and to have the children read aloud to them. Sharing insights, questions, and feelings about books is an excellent way to build a lifelong enthusiasm and appreciation of literature.
This book list represents a broad sampling of literature appropriate to a wide range of reading tastes and abilities. The list does not include “core literature” which is read as part of the regular classroom programs in the Carlisle Schools. It is arranged alphabetically by author, with entries attempting to classify books by categories and reading level.
CATEGORIES include: adventure, animal stories, multi-cultural, fantasy/science fiction, historical fiction, mystery/suspense, non-fiction (including biography), poetry, drama, and realistic novels.
Under the heading LEVEL, if a particular author is deemed to be more challenging, or a book deals with more mature subject matter, “ADV” will appear.
N.B.
* indicates an author who has written more than one book worthy of our recommendation. A representative title (not from CPS Core Literature List) is offered.
# signifies an author who is included in the Massachusetts Department of Education Language Arts Curriculum Framework List of Suggested Contemporary Literature. In most cases, more than one book is worthy of our recommendation.
There are many sources for book reviews and annotation available on the Internet. Examples:
Updated 6/4/ 2007