7th Grade - Franklin Board of Education

Fiction
Title Author Series (Y/N) Genre Level Summary
The Rock and the River Kekla Magoon N Historical Fiction In 1968 Chicago, it’s not easy for thirteen-year-old Sam to be the son of known civil rights
activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older brother, Stick, starts keeping to himself.
Then, one day, Sam finds something under Stick’s bed that changes everything: literature
about the Black Panthers. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore. And when Dr. King is
shot and killed, Sam’s father’s words are no longer enough to make him believe in
change….This moving, coming-of-age story gracefully encompasses the scope of the
struggle between the civil rights and black power movements through an intimate and
relatable lens.
Does My Head look Big Randa Abdelin
This?
Fattah
N Realistic Fiction Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and
everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she
stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little
different from everyone else.
Can she handle the taunts of "nappy head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract
the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel
will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.
Scat Carl Hiasan N Realistic Fiction Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a
school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.
But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a
"family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent,
Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.
And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine
Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to
reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas
oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really
begin to see the big picture.
That's life in the swamp, kids.
King of Mulberry Street Donna Jo
Napoli
N Historical Fiction W In 1892, nine-year-old Dom’s mother puts him on a ship leaving Italy, bound for America.
He is a stowaway, traveling alone and with nothing of value except for a new pair of shoes
from his mother. In the turbulent world of homeless children in Manhattan’s Five Points,
Dom learns street smarts, and not only survives, but thrives by starting his own business. A
vivid, fascinating story of an exceptional boy, based in part on the author’s grandfather.