Wright, Cora M. More hot links: linking literature with the middle school curriculum

Kliatt, May, 2003 by Paula Rohrlick

Libraries Unltd. 212p. bibliogs. index. c2002.1-56308-942-4. $32.00.

A companion to the author's Hot Links, this offers annotated lists by subject of over 300 fiction and nonfiction titles that support the middle school curriculum, grades 5-9. Wright is a middle school librarian and an instructor for children's literature at California State Univ., Haywood, CA, and she has carefully assembled here a handy resource for librarians and teachers alike. Subject areas include biographies; fine arts; multicultural; poetry; series; sports and games; English--classics; humor; myths, folktales, and legends; read alouds; social studies--cultures; English--use of language; mathematics; picture books; science; and social studies--U.S, history, with sections on "Greatest of the Latest," highlighting newer titles, and "Unique Presentations," with titles like Myers' Monster, written in screenplay form, or Hesse's Witness, written in free verse. A "Literature Links" chart at the end shows the curricular areas in which each title falls; many can be used in various ways.

The annotations describe the books succinctly in a paragraph each and helpfully include price, date, and ISBN. The emphasis is on relatively new titles, roughly 1998-2001; so, for example, Mildred Taylor's recent The Land is listed, rather than her older title in the series, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The section on English classics includes a brief selection of old favorites like White Fang, This well-organized listing will be useful in middle school libraries and classrooms, too. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT