I just volunteered this week for our library's book sale. It was hard to see the carts of books filled with Y and YA fiction. None of it was stuff I want my kids to read. So, what then? I'm working on a post with our reading lists for fifth through eight grades with free lit units that can be found online. But, in addition to that, I thought I'd list some reading lists with books that could also be used. My approach to literature is to use both a reader and whole books. Readers provide short passages and text specific questions. They expose students to a wide variety of writing. Whole books help students to see a story from beginning to end and see the big picture of how characters change and grow. What are the themes of the book? Author's purpose? Specific characteristics of the book that make it fit a specific genre? Summarize the book... So, here are some lists I found: 6th-8th: http://www.co...