My Favourite Books for the Junior Grades

I am what one would call an avid reader. My “To Read” pile never really seems to get any shorter; in fact, I think I add books to it faster than I read them. One of my great joys as a teacher is sharing my love of reading with my students. This is admittedly somewhat difficult in my current assignment (teaching first-year French Immersion to Grade 4 students) but I still keep a list of my favourite novels just on the off chance that I ever teach English again. If all else fails, I look forward to introducing my daughter to these books!

If you’re looking for a novel to read with your junior class, consider these titles. You know your students, and not all classes would be able to handle the subjects dealt with in these books – but I’ve taught several classes which were more than capable of reading these and giving them the thought they deserve.

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Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

It’s likely not news to anyone that dystopian fiction is very in right now. Before the Hunger Games or Divergent series hit the shelves, though, Lois Lowry was writing a series of equally powerful and moving novels. Many teachers are familiar with The Giver, which was recently turned into a movie, but fewer are familiar with Gathering Blue. It tells the story of Kira, a girl born into a town where the weak or disabled are left to die and only the strong are allowed to fully integrate into society. When her mother dies, she is put through a trial to determine whether she has any worth to society, and her talent with embroidery saves her life. Rather than being left out in the field to die, she is given the task of maintaining the embroidered robe which tells the “story of man” and is used by those in power to help keep this society in line.

It’s a dark story in many ways, but it’s accessible to and written for teens and older children. It isn’t violent the way Hunger Games or Divergent are, and is similar in tone to The Giver, which is set in the same world (but not the same society and the books can be read as stand-alones). It addresses difficult topics like euthanasia, disability, parent loss, and corruption – challenging, to be sure, but important. It ends on an uplifting note suggesting change is on the horizon.

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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

This one is likely already on many teachers’ lists. It tells the story of Brian, a young boy who is struggling with the divorce of his parents. On his way to visit his father, his small plane crashes, leaving him stranded in the wilderness. The book is about his survival: how he finds food and shelter, how he copes with his memories of home and family, and how he is eventually rescued. It’s an excellent story about survival against the odds. It addresses divorce through the eyes of a child, which would likely speak to those students who have gone through similar experiences with their own families. It could easily tie into Social Studies during or after reading. In short, it’s well worth the time to read it with your class and offers up many opportunities for rich discussion.

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Wonder by R.J. Palacio

If you haven’t heard about this book yet, you should really look into it. It has been making its way into classrooms for the last four years, celebrated for sparking discussion on empathy and compassion. The book tells the story of Auggie, a young boy with Treacher-Collins Syndrome and a cleft palate, whose parents decide to enroll him in private school after homeschooling him for the first eleven years of his life. One of the most interesting things about the book is how it’s told: we hear the story from multiple points of view, not just from Auggie. Experiencing the story this way makes it more accessible to the reader, as we watch characters struggle with their feelings as they get to know Auggie. It’s an honest narrative about acceptance and empathy, one that many students would be able to relate to, and has worked wonders in classrooms across the continent in reducing bullying.

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There are so many worthwhile books out there for students at this age, and while it can seem a little scary sometimes to imagine discussing some of these topics at the junior grades, I assure you that it’s possible (and great) to do. There are challenging topics in all of these books, so you’ll want to read them yourselves and make a decision for your class using your professional judgement. Here are a few more recommendations, without going into detail about them, which you should check out if you’re looking for more:

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell

Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George

Watership Down, Richard Adams*

The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman*

*These last two suggestions are longer and more difficult reads than the other books in this post. They are excellent works of fiction, but would need the right class and some help from the teacher in understanding some of the writing.

I’m always on the lookout for new books to recommend to my students or add to my classroom library (which I maintain in English and French), so if you have any favourites not mentioned here, let me know!