There was a topic here a while ago about good books for middle schoolers. Here are a couple more that came to mind:
Little By Little; author Jean Little
autobiography of a severely visually handicapped girl who became a university student (and once played on the basketball team) and then a writer. Good, non-sentimental approach to living with a disability. Reading level fairly easy middle school.
Owls in the Family: author Farley Mowat
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be: author Farley Mowat
autobiographical stories from the youth of a naturalist/author. Hilarious stories, a dog who climbed fences, the day father dyed the dog blue, etc. Reading level middle school.
My Family and Other Animals: author Gerald Durrell
autobiographical stories from the youth of a naturalist/author/conservationist. Funny animal stories and even funnier family stories. Reading level much higher than others here, probably high school (he likes adjectives) but the motivation of the story will help keep the student working at it; a good way to ease the middle-schooler over the transition to a more literary style.
I am an eighth grade reading teacher and am constantly on the hunt for high-interest, lower ability tradebooks for students, especially boys. If anyone has recommendations or websites that will actually list the titles of books along with synopses, that would be AWESOME!!!
Thanks!