Realistic and Contemporary Fiction

Oh boy! Realistic and Contemporary Fiction books. Some of the most fun and sad books to read. I want to say that these are my favorite books to read, but if you read my previous blogs, then you will call me a liar since I say that about all the genres I write about.
For these two in particular, realistic and contemporary fiction, I enjoy as read alouds in my classroom. I try to chose books that my kids can relate so that way our discussions are more meaningful. For this blog I chose two books that I enjoyed very much for two very different reasons. The first one is a very popular book that has received much attention recently, Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The second book, I saw it in our school's library and the title caught my attention immediately! I have not read this book to my class, but I feel that they will love it very much. It is not as popular as Wonder, but I have a feeling in my class it will be. The second book I chose for this blog is I Hate English by Ellen Levine.

Wonder

by RJ Palacio 

Chapter Contemporary Fiction

I am sure you have seen the infamous cover and heard about the movie that this book inspired. I first heard of Wonder last year from my fourth grade students. It was nonstop comments like "I can't believe you have never read it!" or the constant "You have to read Ms.Perez." Until I finally did, this year with my new fourth grade class. This book is a  bit higher than my student's reading level so I decided to read it as a read aloud. This was the first time reading the book so I was just as shocked as the kids and we cried together. If you haven't read it or seen the movie (which you shouldn't do anyway if you haven't read the book yet) don't worry, I will not give it away. 

As you may already know this book is about a fifth grade boy who is starting school for the first time, after being home schooled. The problem is that he is not only starting school for the first time, but he also has a facial deformity. He is a bright and funny boy who has to constantly hide himself from others. Auggie, the main character, experiences acceptance, rejection, bullying, respect, hurt, friendship, betrayal, and pride. Such a roller coaster of feelings!  The wonderful thing about this book, is that the feelings represented in the book is the same roller coaster we all get on; life. No, we are not all deformed, but in one way or another we hide ourselves. 

Two reason I decided to read this book: one, the voice of my last year students was stuck in my head; second, I have a wonder of my own in my class this year. We were having some problems with some kids bullying him and that's when I remembered Wonder. After we finished the book, my students' actions changed towards our Auggie. Everyone wants to help him and now even protect him from others. I never told them that our friend was like Auggie, they made that connection on their own.

The reactions of both of my classes 

when I told them this we were about to read the last chapter.

I Hate English! 

by Ellen Levine

illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

Realistic Fiction Picture Book

As a bilingual student myself at some point and now as a bilingual teacher, I was naturally drawn to this book as soon as I saw it in the Library. The title brought back memories of my early years learning English and immediately wondered if this book was about someone learning English. The cover illustration confirmed some of my initial inferences. I saw a class with many kids raising their hand and one student that looks different form the others not raising her hand and looking nervous. That image itself was very powerful with me. At that moment, I decided to check it out. 

The story is as I suspected, an immigrant student, Mei Mei,  living in New York's China Town. She loves it here, it's so much like home, but that wonderful loving feeling disappears when she gets to school. At school everybody speaks English and she must learn the new, lonely language. (Lonely because each letter has a name, each individual letter has it's own sound, etc) With the help of her teacher Mei Mei learns that English is not so bad, and that now she is a part of two worlds. 

This book was too close to home with me, and I can't wait to share it with my kids. I know they will love it as much as I did. English is hard but as I tell my kids, being bilingual is our superpower! Exactly what Mei Mei had to learn in the book I hate English!