Winn Dixie

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

India Opal just moved to a small town in Florida with her father who is a local preacher. Opal is a lonely girl whose mother left them when she was just three years old and a father more focused on charity work. When Opal finds Winn Dixie at the local market, her life begins to change. She slowly begins to make new friends and find a nice life in her new town.

I read this with my language arts students and I used the teachers guide as we went. The students really loved the book and we had a lot of really great discussions about the book. When we finished, we watched the movie version. The movie was great and very close to the book.

A fun YA

Peeled by Joan Bauer

Hildie Biddle lives in the heart of apple country in up-state New York with her mom, cousin Elizabeth and her uncle. All Hildie wants is to be a top notch journalist like her late-father and she takes her job at the school's paper, The Core, very seriously. Strange happenings in town at a local reportedly haunted house and it throws the small farming community into a ruckus. When the town paper, The Bee, starts cashing in on the action, Hildie, Elizabeth, and their friends know something is up. This is a fun Nancy Drew-esque romp.

Two Avi books I read with some struggling readers