6th Grade Book Clubs: Social Issues Miss Nandlal Mrs. Flahive

SOCIAL ISSUE: AUTISM Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"--in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the potential next-door friend shes always wished for; it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?

SOCIAL ISSUE: BULLYING Everyone knows Crash Coogan, seventh-grade football sensation. He's been mowing down everything in his path since the time he could walk— and Penn Webb, his dweeby, vegetable-eating neighbor, is his favorite target. After all, Webb's not just a nerd, he's a cheerleader too.  Crash and his best buddy, Mike, can't think of anything more hilarious than making Webb's life miserable. But Crash starts to realize that Webb has something he may never gain, no matter how many touchdowns he scores. And when Mike takes a prank too far; maybe even for Crash, the football star has to choose which side he's really on.

SOCIAL ISSUE: ASPERGER'S SYNDROME Rose Howard is obsessed with homonyms. She's thrilled that her own name is a homonym, and she purposely gave her dog, Rain, a name with two homonyms (reign, rein), which, according to Rose's rules of homonyms, is very special. Not everyone understands Rose's obsessions, her rules, or the other things that make her different—not her teachers, not the other kids, and not her single father. When a storm hits their rural town, rivers overflow, roads are flooded, and Rain goes missing. Rose's father shouldn't have let Rain out. Now, Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search.

SOCIAL ISSUE: TREACHER'S COLLIN SYNDROME August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial difference that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

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