Mr. McManus's favorites
I loved reading these books for the first time and I've gotten so much joy sharing them with my students as read alouds and book recommendations.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
The novel follows eleven-year-old Calpurnia Tate, or Callie as she prefers to be called, as she begins to explore her interests, desires, and fascination with the natural world under the thumb of her at first intimidating, but ultimately supportive and intelligent grandfather.
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
Where the Red Fern Grows is the remarkable tale of a 10 year old boy named Billy Coleman who lives in the Ozark mountains with his family. Billy's dream is to purchase a redbone coonhound dog, and that's his ultimate goal. His family isn't wealthy so he has to save up the money himself.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
By Avi
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle tells the story of a teenage girl who travels from England to America aboard a sailing ship filled with intrigue, mutiny, and murder; she learns to be a sailor, withstands a hurricane, and thwarts the captain’s attempts to kill her.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O'Brien
The novel centers around a colony of escaped lab rats–the rats of NIMH–who live in a technologically sophisticated and literate society mimicking that of humans. They come to the aid of Mrs. Frisby, a widowed field mouse who seeks to protect her children and home from destruction by a farmer's plow.
The Egypt Game
By Zilpha Keatley Snyder
April Hall has just moved in with her grandmother, and she's a little harsh at first because she is hurt by her mother's sending her away. But Melanie is so friendly that April soon feels comfortable, and the two become close friends. Both of them love to read and they decide to research about ancient Egypt together. Together they develop a creative role-playing game set in ancient Egypt. By the end of their adventures, April finds that this new neighborhood has become home to her.
The Night Gardener
by Jonathan Auxier
The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
By Christopher Paul CURTIS
The novel follows the family in their daily lives in Flint and on their journey to see their grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama. Upon their arrival in Birmingham, they are confronted with the reality of the Civil Rights Movement in the South in 1963.
Kira-Kira
Kira-Kira is a story about a poor Japanese American family living in the South during the 1950s. Katie's sister becomes deathly ill with lymphoma, and it tears the family apart. The family encounters racism, although narrator Katie is matter-of-fact about it and only gradually realizes the limitations she'll face because of it.