Books

10+ Epic Books and More for Your Classroom Reading List

I never had required reading assignments growing up in India. Sure, I read a lot, and there were books included in our syllabus, but it wasn’t like the reading assignments my kids get here in the U.S. With the theme of ‘Books I Was Assigned to Read in School‘ for this week’s top ten, I’d have to pick my favorite reads from the books on their school reading lists.

So first up is a list of books that I read over the recent years and I think would make great additions to classroom reading lists, and next is my list of top 10 favorites from my kids’ reading assignments over the years.

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10+ Epic Books for Your Classroom Reading List

A little bit of reality, some retellings, some fantasy, and then some make this list of books that I think will make great additions to the reading assignments list for high schoolers (and in some case middle-school too). I have read most of them, and the few I haven’t, I started on them and know they are brilliant!

  1. The Cat I Never Named by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura Sullivan (Nonfiction/Biography | (13 – 17 years, and up). A book that had a major impact.
  2. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adiyemi (YA Fantasy | 15 years and up). One of my current reads, and I am glad I am finally reading this one.
  3. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (Teen and YA fantasy). A book that stunned me with its beauty and storytelling.
  4. Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson (Teen and YA Biography/Social Justice). A must-read and a must-watch.
  5. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (Teen and YA Dystopian). Oh my.. another current read and so very brilliant!
  6. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Teen and YA Novels in Verse). I am guessing this is already in reading lists but if not, it should be. Like I mentioned in my review, this book slams its way into us!
  7. Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park (Multicultural Historical fiction | 10 years and up). I loved this one, and loved the protagonist!
  8. Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshni Chokshi (Children’s Myths/Fantasy | 9 – 12 years, and up). I have read Chokshi’s story in an anthology and I have been meaning to read the Pandava series. So this is another of my current reads!
  9. Unsettled by Reem Faruqi (Novels in Verse | 8 – 12 years, and up). One of my favorite reads of 2022
  10. When Stars are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson (Graphic Biographies | 9 – 12 years, and up). A stunning read that is sure to get young readers hooked onto reading.
  11. A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontorvat (Children’s Fantasy | 8 – 12 years, and up). I fell in love with Soontorvat’s writing with this book, and added her to my must-always-read author instantly!

Top 10 Books from My Kids’ Reading Lists

I read a couple of these before (like Tess and The Scarlet Letter) while the rest I read when my kids were assigned the same.

  1. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (Children’s Fiction | 7 – 10 years). I read this with my son when he was in elementary school, and loved it.
  2. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden (Author) & Garth Williams (Illustrator). Another on my son’s elementary school reading list.
  3. The Giver (a middle school read for both my kids)
  4. The Grapes of Wrath (a high school read for both my kids, and I recall watching Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl with my son when he had to read it. The book and the series are both musts.
  5. Handmaid’s Tale. I am yet to read this one fully but I started it along with daughter when her teacher assigned this in her senior year of high school (actually earlier this year). I recall that this assignment caused a few parents to raise concerns but the students ended up reading it.
  6. Lord of the Flies.
  7. The Scarlet Letter (a high school read for both my kids, and I read parts of it with both of them to quiz them, but read it myself ages ago. Each read gave me a different perspective into the book).
  8. Tess of the D Urbervilles (I read this when I was in a Thomas Hardy phase during my high school years, along with The Mayor of Casterbridge and others)
  9. Witch of Blackbird Pond. Loved this read though cannot recall if it was an elementary or middle school assignment for my son.
  10. Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas (this one was the required reading for a class I took at a local community college!) 

And Now, the End of this Post

Dear reader, which books do you recall the most fondly (or not) from your school reading assignments? Do share your memories. And which ones here have you read or think should be part of a classroom reading list? What would you recommend?

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