Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Grimes, N. (2006). The Road to Paris. New York: Puffin Books.

The Road to Paris is a wonderful story of family and the meaning of home. It is a Coretta Scott King Honor book and also a Booklist editor's choice. It is a story about Paris, a young girl and her experiences in the foster care system. This is an outstanding book for a middle school classroom to learn about current issues in our society like foster care and biracial students. It would also be great for an older elementary student. It would apply to either boy or girl readers.

Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Dear Mr. Henshaw is one of my favorite books and a timeless story. It was the winner of the Newbery Medal and was illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. This book is about a student and his effort to get to know his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw. Leigh finally gets an answer from Mr. Henshaw and is really surprised. This book is for the elementary grades and is wonderful to teach students to write letters to authors and other famous people. This would be outstanding to use in an elementary or middle-school unit on letter writing.

Cooney, C.B. (1990). The Face on the Milk Carton. New York: Delacourte Press.

Caroline Cooney is a very well-known young adult author. She has written some of my favorite books such as Whatever Happened to Janie? and The Voice on the Radio. The Face on the Milk Carton is a timely story because we all hear about children disappearing and getting kidnapped and it intrigues us. This story tells about how Janie discovers she was kidnapped and how it effects her two "families". This book is great for middle school students and is also available in an audio book format.