English Language Arts 6-9 Bibliography

Titles and Descriptions - E

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things
An Earthly Knight. 1st ed.
East
Eight Science Fiction Plays
The Elders Are Watching. 5th ed.
Ellen Fremedon
Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World
The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant). 1st ed.
Escape From Memory. 1st ed.
Esther
Everest: Book One: The Contest
Everest: Book Two: The Climb
Everest: Book Three: The Summit
Explore the Unknown
Exploring and Teaching the English Language Arts. 4th ed.
Exploring Informational Texts: From Theory to Practice
Extraordinary Women Explorers
Eyewitness

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things (Print-Fiction). Mackler, Carolyn. Candlewick Press (CDS), 2003. 246 p. ISBN 0-7636-1958-2 ($22.99 hdc.).

Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves has an inferiority complex and feels like a stranger among her family. Virginia sees her older siblings as being slim and “perfect” until this image is shattered by the news of her brother’s participation in a date rape on campus. Virginia begins to realize that images are only that − images. Virginia’s mother, Doctor Shreves, is an adolescent psychologist who understands teenagers, but can not counsel her family. Virginia is encouraged by the advice from her family doctor that she should be happy with her own body image, not her mother’s image. In this humourous, well-written novel, readers vicariously experience numerous sensitive real-life issues.
Suggested Use: Grade 9; Personal and Philosophical Context
Other Use: Health Education: Grades 6 to 9

An Earthly Knight. 1st ed. (Print-Fiction). McNaughton, Janet. HarperCollins Canada Ltd. (HCP), 2003. 257 p. ISBN 0-00-639188-5 ($15.99 pbk.).

(CAN) An Earthly Knight is an old Scottish faerie tale, wherein Jenny and Tam Lin’s story is steeped in the world of the 12th century Scottish nobility. Women are treated as chattels and were routinely used by families to barter for power and money. The happy theme of true love runs throughout the book when Jenny and her sister, Isabel, find true love with quiet and considerate men, even though they reject money and power. This fantasy has the elements of a magical world that includes fairies and adventurous heroines.

This book was nominated by the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Willow Awards Committee for a Snow Willow Award in 2004.
Suggested Use: Grade 9; Imaginative and Literary Context
Initiative: Multicultural Content and Perspectives

East (Print-Fiction). Pattou, Edith. Harcourt, Inc. (RAI), 2003. 498 p. ISBN 0-15-204563-5 ($25.95 hdc.). ISBN 0-15-205221-6 ($10.95 pbk.).

A compelling novelization of the folktale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” this is a good resource to use in the study and discussion of superstition. Pattou’s writing places readers gracefully between myth and fantasy in this wonderful fairy tale that involves magic, superstition, and suspense. Many universal themes are dealt with in this story. Family dynamics and how they are influenced by individual and family values are most evident. Rose, a strong protagonist, is a female explorer, which makes this story very interesting because most explorers are male.

Even though it is a lengthy novel, reluctant readers should find this relatively easy to read because of the simplicity of language. This wholesome kind of literature allows students to “escape” and experience life and events at a different time.
Suggested Use: Grade 6; Imaginative and Literary Context
Initiative: Gender Equity

Eight Science Fiction Plays (Print-Anthology). (The Globe Reader's Collection Series). Globe Fearon Educational Publisher (PRN), 1996. 201 p. ISBN 0-8359-1361-9 ($17.90 pbk.).

The science fiction genre is explored in plays that range from " Jupiter Park," to "The Green Computer." An introduction gives background information about the elements of a play and tips for reading. Each short selection includes vocabulary, critical thinking questions, and activities. This would be a very good addition to a unit dealing with the unknown.
Suggested Use: Grade 9; Environmental and Technological Context; Imaginative and Literary Context; Plays

The Elders Are Watching. 5th ed. (Print-Non-Fiction). Bouchard, David and Vickers, Roy Henry, illus. Raincoast Books (RAI), 2003. 54 p. ISBN 1-55192-641-5 ($24.95 hdc.).

David Bouchard’s lyrical, thoughtful poetry and Roy Henry Vickers’ vivid and colourful art work combine in this story. The author and artist ask the reader to respect the natural treasures of the environment and bring a message of concern from First Nation leaders of the past. The text and paintings are a good complement to each other in this thought-provoking book.
Suggested Use: Grade 7; Environmental and Technological Context
Initiative: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Content and Perspectives

Ellen Fremedon (Print-Fiction). Givner, Joan. Groundwood Books (HCP), 2004. 219 p. ISBN 0-88899-640-3 ($8.95 pbk.).

(CAN) It is summertime and Ellen Fremedon decides that she is going to write a book. But Ellen’s plans get sidetracked when a developer announces plans to build a new subdivision over an aquifer that supplies the town’s water. Ellen’s Dad opposes the developer’s plan, and Ellen is on Dad’s side. The suspense grows when Ellen’s pesky siblings, the twins, disappear.

Other characters who round out the story include Ellen’s Mom who has multiple sclerosis, Ellen’s friend Jenny, Larry the helpful librarian, Ellen’s Gran, and Gran’s new boyfriend Mr. Barclay.

This book was nominated by the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Willow Awards Committee for a Diamond Willow Award in 2006.
Suggested Use: Grade 7; Communicative Context; Environmental and Technological Context

Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World (Print-Non-Fiction). Bogart, Jo Ellen and Newhouse, Maxwell, illus. Tundra Books Inc. (ULS), 2003. 40 p. ISBN 0-88776-640-4 ($24.99 hdc.).

(CAN) This biography chronicles the life of Emily Carr, one of Canada’s most important visual artists. Carr was born in 1871 and spent most of her life in or near Victoria, B.C. From an early age she loved to draw and paint, and as an adult struggled in a society that did not value creativity and ambition in women. Despite some setbacks, Carr developed a strong distinctive artistic style and painted the land around her and the First Nations peoples of coastal B.C. with power and authority.

A highlight of this book is the beautiful full-colour reproductions of Carr’s work that appear on most odd numbered pages. Small black-and-white sketches illustrating key events from Carr’s life appear on even numbered pages.
Suggested Use: Grade 8; Environmental and Technological Context
Other Use: Arts Education: Grades 6 to 9; Arts Education: Grades 10 to 12
Initiatives: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Content and Perspectives; Gender Equity

The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant). 1st ed. (Print-Fiction). Avi and Tusa, Tricia, illus. Harcourt, Inc. (RAI), 2004. 143 p. ISBN 0-15-204968-1 ($20.95 hdc.).

Although Avi has written a modern fable for our times, elements from classic fairy tales are prevalent. The Snail is a reader, so he knows that everyone leaves on a journey to find adventure. Some insightful things about life in general unfold: “here” and “there” are not much different; while getting lost is easy, it is finding oneself that is hard; whether rushing or going slowly, one still arrives; it is more important to look at the world with one’s heart than just with one’s eyes. The book plays on the words beginning and end. Illustrated by the word play is the paradox that one has to leave home to find home.
Suggested Use: Grade 6; Imaginative and Literary Context

Escape From Memory. 1st ed. (Print-Fiction). Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Simon & Schuster, Inc. (SHU), 2003. 220 p. ISBN 0-689-85421-8 ($26.50 hdc.). ISBN 1-4169-0338-0 ($8.50 pbk.).

In this plot-driven narrative, Kira allows herself to be hypnotized by her friends at a sleepover. While under hypnosis, Kira reveals her memory of fleeing danger from a country where people speak a different language. Kira’s eccentric mother will not talk about their past and suddenly disappears. A woman shows up claiming to be Kira’s Aunt Memory from a community called Crythe in Eastern Europe where memories are valued above all else. Kira learns from her aunt that her mother is being held hostage, and she is the only person who can save her. Kira and her friend, Lynne, travel across the continent and are involved in plots of political intrigue, deception, kidnapping, and blackmail.
Suggested Use: Grade 8; Environmental and Technological Context

Esther (Print-Fiction). McKay, Sharon E. Penguin Books Canada Limited (CDS), 2004. 320 p. ISBN 0-14-331204-9 ($12.99 pbk.).

McKay has fictionalized the life of the first known Jew in New France. Esther Brandeau masquerades as a boy and holds many different jobs from footman to ship’s cook as she moves around the country. In 1738, she arrived in New France as Jacques La Fargue, and her true identity was revealed. When Esther would not convert to Catholicism, she was sent back to France. The novel provides valuable information about life in 18th century Europe and especially about the lives of Jews and women. The detail of Esther’s struggles to survive creates compelling reading. Because Esther’s adventures often get her into trouble, reading through the novel to see if Esther will survive another desperate situation becomes suspenseful.

Students may relate Esther’s plight with the treatment of young girls and women in Afghanistan and other Muslim fundamentalist countries. In these countries, young girls have been forced to pretend they were boys to support themselves and their families. Many of the challenges Esther endured can be paralleled with the circumstances faced by some young women today.
Suggested Use: Grade 8; Social, Cultural, and Historical Context
Initiatives: Gender Equity; Multicultural Content and Perspectives

Everest: Book One: The Contest (Print-Fiction). Korman, Gordon. Scholastic Inc. (SCH), 2002. 138 p. ISBN 0-439-40139-9 ($6.99 pbk.).

An advertising company is sponsoring a climb up Mount Everest in order to set a record for the youngest person to ever reach the top. Twenty teenagers arrive at a boot camp to compete for four spots on the climbing team. This first volume of the Everest trilogy tells the story of that boot camp and of how would-be climbers are gradually eliminated until just four are left: Dominic Alexis, who is 13 and very small; Sammi Moon, who is the only girl; Perry Noonan, who really does not want to be on the climb; and Tilt Crowley, who has a huge chip on his shoulder.

In this novel and the two that follow it, readers learn about the politics and power of the advertising industry, about high altitude mountain climbing, and about the lure of Mount Everest. This series may provide accessible text for readers needing support.

This novel begins with a prologue that hooks the reader immediately. The prologue describes, without mentioning any names, a funeral for one of the climbers who dies on Everest. Readers have to read the whole series to find out which climber does not make it back.

In addition to this fiction trilogy, see The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest, Into Thin Air, and Touching My Father’s Soul (all of which are annotated in this bibliography).
Suggested Use: Grade 9; Environmental and Technological Context; Personal and Philosophical Context

Everest: Book Two: The Climb (Print-Fiction). Korman, Gordon. Scholastic Canada Ltd. (SCH), 2002. 151 p. ISBN 0-439-40506-8 ($6.99 pbk.).

In The Climb, the second volume of the Everest trilogy, the four young climbers Dominic, Sammi, Perry and Tilt, along with team leader Cap Cicero and videographer Sneezy Tkakzuk, begin their ascent of Mount Everest. They make it to the Spur, a huge outcropping of decaying black rock, when a daring high-altitude rescue ends their climb, and they end up back at Base Camp. Throughout their adventures, someone is sending information to a tabloid newspaper – information that focuses on personal foibles, rather than on the climb, and makes all the climbers look superficial or silly.

Everest: Book Three: The Summit (Print-Fiction). Korman, Gordon. Scholastic Inc. (SCH), 2002. 154 p. ISBN 0-439-41137-8 ($6.99 pbk.).

In this third volume of the Everest trilogy, some of the climbers reach the summit of Mount Everest, but not without many heart-stopping experiences. There is mystery too. The leaks to a tabloid newspaper continue, and vandalism occurs at Base Camp. Before the climbers’ adventure concludes, one of their group dies, and readers learn that someone they thought was a villain also had a heroic side.

Explore the Unknown (Print-Anthology). Barry, James and Siamon, Sharon, eds. (Nelson Mini-Anthologies Series). Thomson Nelson (NEL), 1994. 96 p. ISBN 0-17-604366-7 ($9.45 pbk.).

(CAN) This is a collection of stories and articles about secrets of the ancient world, and mysteries surrounding monsters, space travel, and hoaxes. Included are a table of contents and an eight-page photographic insert.
Suggested Use: Grade 7; Imaginative and Literary Context; Multigenre

Exploring and Teaching the English Language Arts. 4th ed. (Print-Non-Fiction). Tchudi, Stephen and Mitchell, Diana. Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. (PRN), 1999. 402 p. ISBN 0-321-00215-6 ($94.36 pbk.).

Formerly entitled Explorations in the Teaching of English, this new edition is a clear, easy-to-read resource for English language arts teachers who are generalists. It contains many practical ideas for teaching and assessment of reading, writing, listening, speaking, mass media, and classroom drama. This edition provides added information about creating classroom community, curriculum integration, speaking, listening, strategies for assessment and evaluation, the role of national standards, and updated resource lists. Included are a detailed table of contents, a glossary, and a bibliography.
Suggested Use: Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Grade 9; Teacher Reference
Other Use: English Language Arts 10; English Language Arts 20; English Language Arts 30

Exploring Informational Texts: From Theory to Practice (Print-Non-Fiction). Hoyt, Linda, Mooney, Margaret and Parkes, Brenda, eds. Heinemann Educational Books (PRN), 2003. 187 p. ISBN 0-325-00472-2 ($28.52 pbk.).

Presenting material from diverse voices and places, the authors outline methods for improving information literacy. Using a guided reading and writing approach, teaching suggestions for the following are included:

analyzing informational text structures and features
facilitating a writing session with informational texts
comprehending read material
incorporating oral reading.

Classroom vignettes and student samples further enrich this resource. Reinforcing the critical need to present students with a wide variety of texts, this learning resource highlights numerous suggestions for navigating informational texts.
Suggested Use: Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Teacher Reference
Other Use: English Language Arts: Grades K to 5

Extraordinary Women Explorers (Print-Non-Fiction). Rooney, Frances. (The Women's Hall of Fame Series). Second Story Press (UTP), 2005. 118 p. ISBN 1-896764-98-3 ($10.95 pbk.).

(CAN) Exploration and adventure, though often considered a domain for men, is also attractive to women. The women in this book, several of whom are Canadian, followed their dreams of exploring the unknown. These short biographical selections provide background information as well as a summary of their adventure and contributions. These selections are interesting and inspiring. Photos and quotes by the explorers are included.
Suggested Use: Grade 8; Personal and Philosophical Context; Social, Cultural, and Historical Context; Short Stories
Initiative: Gender Equity

Eyewitness (Print-Fiction). Thompson, Margaret. Ronsdale Press (LPGD), 2000. 187 p. ISBN 0-921870-74-4 ($8.95 pbk.).

(CAN) This novel is a moving and historically accurate account of life during the 1820s in Fort St. James, British Columbia. Peter MacKenzie is orphaned at age six, and he becomes a ward of his father’s employer, the Hudson’s Bay Company. Lonely and unsure of himself, Peter finds himself an “eyewitness” to a murder that threatens to destroy the good relations between the Company and the Carrier Nation. A vivid picture of the difficult life of both the fur traders and the First Nations People in what was then called the “ Siberia” of the fur trade emerges.

The book will promote discussion about tolerance, compromise, acceptance, and about the difficulties that divided loyalty can bring.
Suggested Use: Grade 7; Environmental and Technological Context; Social, Cultural, and Historical Context
Initiative: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Content and Perspectives