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Blog: Shanahan on Literacy

Cool New Study on Text Difficulty and Adolescent Literacy

A new study indicates that it is not beneficial for most students (English learners are one exception), to shift to easier texts to facilitate their reading — as long as you are ready to provide instructional support.

Coraline
Neil Gaiman

Coraline

Genre:
Fantasy, Fiction
Age Level:
Middle Grade

When Coraline and her family move into a new house, she finds a mysterious otherworld on the other side of one of the house’s many doors. Narnia, however, this is not. The creepy characters of this other dark world lead Coraline on a number of spine-tingling adventures, but readers will be enchanted by Coraline’s courage and resourcefulness.

Corby Flood
Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell

Corby Flood

Genre:
Fiction, Mystery / Crime
Age Level:
Middle Grade

The second magical, funny, and fabulously illustrated story in the Far Flung Adventures from the authors of Fergus Crane and the Edge Chronicles.


Corby Flood and her family are about to set sail on the rather ramshackle cruise ship, the S.S. Euphonia. Her boisterous brothers might not have noticed that anything is wrong, but Corby is highly observant and has a lot of time for note-taking and eavesdropping. Onboard, among the odd passengers and eccentric crew, there is a strange group of men in bowler-hats who call themselves The Brotherhood of Clowns. There’s also a melancholy wailing sound coming from the hold. It’s strictly out of bounds but Corby can’t help investigating. What could be inside the crate she discovers down in the hold? As the ship arrives at its destination, Corby must enlist the help of some very well mustachioed locals to uncover the contents of the crate and the dark secrets of the menacing Clowns…

A Corner of the Universe
Ann M. Martin

A Corner of the Universe

Genre:
Fiction
Age Level:
Middle Grade

Hattie enjoys her family and the boarders in her parents’ rooming house. Her wealthy grandmother is tough sometimes, but Hattie doesn’t get discouraged. When her mentally challenged Uncle Adam comes to live with them, Hattie must determine who in her family is most important.