By Borislava Panayotova
What is the point of reading all these rather boring middle school books? Well, they aren’t fully boring, just not most middle schoolers’ cup of tea. But these books, despite their old style and boring nature, are very important to development.
Thinking about them and writing about them teaches you how to form opinions and each year’s books have a special meaning related to writing. The sixth-grade books are supposed to be an introduction to sentence structure at the paragraph level. The seventh-grade books are supposed to give attention to the writing process, genre, style, audience, and standard written English. The eighth-grade books are supposed to continue the seventh-grade material, but put more emphasis on the five-paragraph essay. This all sounds wonderful, but what exactly are the books?
In sixth grade, students read The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, A Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare, and the Book of Shane, or just Shane, by Nick Eliopulos. The Book of Three is about a young boy who goes on a great adventure. A Comedy of Errors is about a series of extreme misunderstandings that confuse everyone. Shane is about a young boy who meets a cowboy that begins to work for his father.
A simple poll tells us that Shane is the most liked book of the three. One of the students polled said that they liked it “because of the western theme.” Another followed the sentiment with the words “I like cowboy books and movies.”
The Book of Three took second and Comedy of Errors came in last. However, we do have an honorable mention, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. This book is only an honorable mention because unfortunately, we do not read it anymore. I was there when we still did and even went to the movie with the rest of the sixth-grade class, because I was in sixth grade, but it was a wonderful book and an okay movie.
In seventh grade, students read The Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Call of the Wild by Jack London, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The Miracle Worker is the story of Helen Keller in play format. Romeo and Juliet is a classic that we all know so you do not really need a summary. Call of the Wild is about a man surviving the Alaskan wilderness. The Hobbit is a story about a hobbit that goes on an adventure to kill a dragon. Fahrenheit 451 is about a futuristic world where books are illegal and get burned.
Once again, students were polled to find out their favorites. The winner of this one is Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury “uses so much imagery and the story is fun to read and understand,” says one student. Another also praises the writing and many found it interesting because of the content, “it was basically the world of today.” In second place we have The Hobbit, then Romeo and Juliet. Call of the Wild and The Miracle Worker tie for fourth.
In eighth grade, students read The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Chosen by Chaim Potok, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The Lord of the Flies is about English schoolboys who get stuck on a deserted island. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about a series of misunderstandings between lovers. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the 1930s and is about the trial of a black man. The Chosen is about the life of Jewish boys. Frankenstein is the classic story of a monster that is brought to life.
Current eighth-graders have not really had the chance to read the last two books, but the overall favorite is To Kill a Mockingbird. A student says, “I learned a lot about our world and that it really isn’t perfect as it seems.” The book truly taught many of these students very important lessons.
The Lord of the Flies takes second place and A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes third. Again the other two have not been read but they have been some of the favorites for the high schoolers who read them when they were in eighth grade.
Overall, all these books are meant to teach valuable lessons and many have been enjoyed. Some of these books have changed but their importance remains the same.