I find teachers tend to fall into one of these two - and for my Team Deep Ocean folks, here is a list of books I think your upper elementary and middle school students will enjoy. If you're Team Outer Space, I'll have a list for you next week.
📗 The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
After her best friend drowns, 12-year-old Suzy becomes obsessed with jellyfish to explain the tragedy of Franny's death. Mixed in with some wisdom from Mrs. Turston, Suzy's 7th-grade science teacher, the novel is written in the form of a science experiment. Which I think is a really interesting way to write a novel! Part coming-of-age and part everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-jellyfish (in an interesting way), this is a good book to recommend to your students. I wrote a review of the book here.
👉 Check out the novel study guide I created for it.
📗 Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
12-year-old Crow washed ashore as a baby and was raised by Osh on a tiny island near Martha's Vineyard. I first read this because I loved Wolf Hollow, also by this author. It's a tender book about a young girl living by the sea who wants to find out who she belongs to and where she came from. With vivid imagery about island and sea life, this is another excellent book by the author. You can read my review of the book here.
👉 Check out the novel study guide here.
📗 Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
12-year-old Iris has trouble connecting with other kids at her school because she is deaf and they do not sign, even the ones who think they can. They assume she's not very smart, but she's actually kind of a tech genius. When she learns about a real whale that sings at a frequency no other whale can hear, and thus travels alone, she decides she needs to reach out to it. She understands what it means to be navigating life alone. You can read my review of the book here. There is a discussion guide available on Lynne Kelly's website.
📗 The Line Tender by Kate Allen
This is Allen's first novel and it's reviews are so strong that I'm planning to check it out of the library tomorrow. Lucy's marine biologist mother left behind unfinished shark research on Cape Cod, and when a great white returns, Lucy must finish the work. Rich with shark science, detailed illustrations, grief themes, and how friends and communities come together to heal. You can read more about Kate Allen here.
📗 Malamander by Thomas Taylor
"If the impossible is possible anywhere, it’ll be possible in Eerie-on-the-Sea." Equal parts fantasy and mystery, this is the first book in a series. Herbert Lemon is the Lost-and-Founder of the Great Nautilus Hotel, but he's not sure what to do when the lost item isn't an item at all, but a girl. I want to read this book that has an Eerie Book Dispensary where you don’t choose the books, they choose you with the help of the mechanical mermonkey. I mean, who wouldn't want to read about that?! Read about how Taylor came to write the book series here.
📗 Consider the Octopus by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin
Two seventh graders meet aboard a science research vessel for a “sea-mester” at sea and become unexpected friends (after a case of mistaken identity) when they bring media attention to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the damage it's doing to animals and the sea. Humorous and fast-paced, it is widely recommended for its nautical adventures and marine science crossover. Check out more on Baskin's webpage here.
📗 Northwind by Gary Paulsen
Paulsen's last book, published in 2022, is another one I haven't read, although, like you, I am familiar with many of his other books. This is the story of orphan Leif, who flees the plague in the small fishing camp where he lives, by paddling a cedar canoe along a fjord-riven coast, navigating survival and connecting to “the heartbeat of the ocean.” Paulsen's webpage was taken down when he passed away in 2021.
Are you Team Outer Space? Stay tuned for next week's blogpost where I talk about those books.
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