Strengthening Your Core...

Can you tell I have recently been to a yoga class from the title of this entry? It is very difficult to empty my mind, so I usually am thinking about school things during my yoga practice. Plus every time the instructor mentions "strengthening your core" I am automatically drawn to College and Career Ready Standards (as they are referred to in Alabama).

Here are some awesome books I just learned about at ALA in Seattle recently and wanted to share them. They could serve as "conversation starters" for books to accompany Common Core Curriculum.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

This novel is set in New Orleans and centers around a young girl who finds refuge in a bookstore when her mother clearly does not want her around. It is a story of survival, crime, and ends in a love story.

The novel could easily be used to discuss to poverty, ways to get into college, the difference between right and wrong and various ethics. It could also be used to discuss mental health issues and insurance issues. It fits in with high school curricula.

Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan

One of the best books ever about human rights author Tara Sullivan tells the tale of an albino boy who is "hunted" for his skin and other "parts". I don't want to spoil it for you, but it is less gruesome than it sounds. The novel focuses on the superstitions of some Tanzanians and money-hungry criminals.

This novel would be a good one to discuss human rights, kindness, and well, genetics. In addition, illegal wildlife trade could be discussed and the economic ramifications. The English classroom could read it while the science classroom discusses genes and DNA (okay, there are probably a lot of other scientific subjects that would fit here as well!).

Be on the lookout for it in June 2013!