Avi, Best Shorts
“The Caller”–spooky story about a cellphone call that would be great for Halloween.
“Scout’s Honor”–very funny. semi-autobiographical. what’s bravery/foolhardy.
“Dog of Pompeii”–loyalty, devotion, self-sacrifice. interesting historical account of the volcano that destroyed Pompeii. would be good to read when Ancient Rome is studied in Global.
“LAEFFF”–time travel. can you change the future? what is cheating, what is fair? good discussion starter.
“Rip Van Winkle”–Washington Irving’s original 1819 story. A little long and difficult, but a great story. should read before sharing with a class.
“Nuts”–very brief story about outwitting the devil and greed.
“Ho-ichi the Earless”–ghost story of Medieval Japan. would be great to read when Samurai are studied in Global.
“Zlateh the Goat”–very nice Hanukkah/winter story. how a goat saved a boy during a blizzard.
“The Librarian and the Robbers”–amusing story of how the town librarian persuaded a band of robbers to give up their wicked ways.
“Woman in the Snow”–ghost story about the segregated South. Would be great to read during Black History Month.
“The Binnacle Boy”–rather creepy story about obsessive love. read first.
“The Baby in the Night Deposit Box”–amusing story about a baby deposited in a bank’s night deposit box.
“Circuit”–sad story about migrant workers. includes Spanish words.
“Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons”–funny ghost story. cooperation/helping each other one of the themes.
Don Gallo, No Easy Answers: Short Stories About Teenagers Making Tough Choices—these stories would be good discussion starters.
“Bliss at the Burger Bar”—a young woman managing a hamburger restaurant.
“Moon Over Missouri–four high school friends create a wonderful computer game, but then something goes very wrong. read first.
“I’ve Got Gloria”—a 9th grader plays a trick on a teacher with unexpected results.
“Confession”—four friends decide to fight back against the gangs in their neighborhood, but things don’t go the way they planned. read first.
“Simon Says”—Martha starts a protest against animal testing after Simon, the new kid in school, tells her about the conditions in the new lab.
“The Un-numbing of Cory Willhouse’’—can you ever make up for past mistakes?
Eva and the Mayor”—what do you do when a friend takes advantage of you. great discussion starter.
“Little Li and the Soldier”—story about killing and revenge set in ancient China. Good discussion starter. Would be great to read when the terracotta army is covered in Global.
“X-15s”—a boy tries to decide if he should join a gang. Good discussion starter. Read first.
“Cradle Hold”—a difficult father-son relationship. Read first.
“Trashback”—the tables get turned on the class clown. Good discussion starter.
Donald Gallo, Time Capsule: Short Stories About Teenagers Throughout the Twentieth Century
“The Electric Summer: 1900-1909″–a farm girl’s eye-opening trip to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Besides the historical details of farm life of 100 years ago, the story includes the theme of a teenager seeing new possibilities in life.
“Moving On: 1910-1919″–life in a segregated Southern town at the end of World War One. examines the themes of honesty and taking responsibility for one’s actions. could be a good discussion starter. might also be good to read during Black History Month.
“Brother Can You Spare a Dream: 1930-1939″–Hard times during the Great Depression and the difference between need and want. would be a good discussion starter.
“Waiting For the War: 1940-1949″–Hawaii during World War II and the real meaning of war.
“We Loved Lucy: 1950-1959″–a girl coping with fear of a nuclear attack and a difficult father. The I Love Lucy show plays an essential role in the story.
“Fourth and Too Long: 1960-1969″–good story about the fight over long hair. could be a good discussion starter. read first.
“Do You Know Where Your Parents Are: 1970-1979″–a high school student copes with hippy parents. very funny. read first.
“Y2K.CHATRM43:1990-1999″–nice story about a teenagers organizing a chat for kids to try to solve some of the world’s problems. positive view of the Internet.
Kimberly Willis Holt, Part of Me: Stories of a Louisiana Family–Stories of four generations of a Louisiana family. Books play an essential role in each family member’s life. Composed of short chapters that could easily stand alone.
Anthony Horowitz, Horowitz Horror: Stories You’ll Wish You’d Never Read–Nine horror stories focusing on everyday items with sinister qualities. all set in England. creepy. would be good for Halloween. read first.
“Bath Night”–coping with a haunted bathtub.
“Killer Camera”–a camera with extraordinary powers.
“Light Moves”–a seemingly possessed computer.
“The Night Bus”—Nick and Jeremy catch an unusual bus with “different” passengers Halloween night.
“Harriet’s Horrible Dream”– a cannibalistic chef looking for new ingredients.
“Scared”–city-boy bully Gary finds out everything is different in the country.
“A Career in Computer Games”—a boy finds himself trapped in a computer game.
“The Man with the Yellow Face”—a memorable train trip from York to London.
“The Monkey’s Ear”– monkey’s ear that grants dangerous wishes.
Anthony Horowitz, More Horowitz Horror: More Stories You’ll Wish You’d Never Read–More horror stories focusing on everyday items with sinister qualities. all set in England. creepy. would be good for Halloween. read first.
“The Hitchhiker”—picking up a hitchhiker with unexpected results.
“The Sound of Murder”–a girl’s unusual hearing aid. long.
“Burned”—a trip to Barbados and a sunburn.
“Flight 715”—a dream about a plane crash.
“Howard’s End”—Howard dies and goes to heaven, or so he thinks.
“The Elevator”—a boy goes into an elevator and never comes out.
“The Phone Goes Dead”—a special kind of cellphone.
“Twist Cottage”—is it haunted?
Neil Gaiman, M Is For Magic
“The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds”—Hardboiled detective story about nursery rhyme characters.
“Troll Bridge”—Story of the bargain a boy makes with a troll. Good for Halloween. Read first.
“Don’t Ask Jack”—A scary jack-in-the-box. Good for Halloween. Read first.
“How to Sell the Ponte Bridge”—A rogue describes the perfect scam.
“October in the Chair”–The 12 months of the year sit around in a circle, telling each other stories about the things they’ve seen.
“Chivalry”—Sir Galahad of King Arthur’s court attempts to get the Holy Grail from an elderly widow who bought it at a thrift shop.
“The Price”—A stray cat fights a nightly battle to protect his adopted family from a terrible evil.
“How to Talk to Girls at Parties”–A teenage boy who has trouble talking to girls finds himself at a very unusual party.
Gary Paulsen, Shelf Life: Stories by the Book—stories about books. all good discussion starters.
“In Your Hat”—the class clown gets the smart (and pretty) girl to help him write a book report with unexpected consequences.
“Follow the Water”—coping with the problems of living on Mars.
“What’s a Fellow to Do?”—a young pickpocket finds an abandoned baby and his life changes.
“Wet Hens”—two best friends have a big fight.
“The Good Deed”—a girl goes tries to help a blind woman and ends up being helped herself.
“Clean Sweep”—a special attic cleaning.
Richard Peck, A Long Way From Chicago—the uproariously funny account of Joey and his sister Mary Alice’s annual visit to Grandma Dowdel’s sleepy Illinois town during the Depression. Composed of seven chapters that could easily stand alone.
Richard Peck, On the Wings of Heroes—a boy’s life in the homefront during World War II. often extremely funny. composed of short chapters that could easily stand alone.
Richard Peck, Past Perfect, Present Tense
“Priscilla and the Wimps”—the school bully gets his. Good discussion starter.
“The Electric Summer”– a farm girl’s eye-opening trip to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Besides the historical details of farm life of 100 years ago, the story includes the theme of a teenager seeing new possibilities in life.
“Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night Above Ground.” –tall tales and dead bodies in rural Illinois. Good discussion starter.
“By Far the Worst Pupil at Long Point School.” Coping with the worst-behaved student in school. Very funny.
“Girl at the Window”—a girl keeps trying to come in the attic window. Is she real? Good for Halloween.
“The Most Important Night of Melanie’s Life”—Melanie’s brothers have an unusual babysitter. spooky. would be great for Halloween.
“Fluffy the Gangbuster”—Fluffy the cat outwits the school bully.
“I Go Along”—a high school class trip to a poetry reading.
“The Three-Century Woman”—A television interview with Megan’s great grandmother.
Hazel Rochman and Darlene Z. McCampbell, Leaving Home: 15 Distinguished Authors Explore Personal Journeys—multicultural, some stories are fairly sophisticated.
“Saturday at the Canal”—poem about teenagers wanting to leave home and go somewhere exciting.
“The First Day”—a little girl’s first day of school.
“Dancer”–a foster child falls in love with traditional Native American dancing.
From “A Gift of Laughter”—a father remembers what it was like to be a little boy.
“Circuit”– sad story about migrant workers. includes Spanish words.
“Bad Influence”—Rita is sent to her grandparents in Puerto Rico to separate her from a boy and is surprised by what she finds. includes Spanish words.
“Dawn”—A Christmas when everything changed.
“Zelah: A Tale From Long Ago”—A young Jewish woman immigrates from Poland to the United States. Read first.
Vivian Vende Velde, All Hallow’s Eve–13 scary stories all set on Halloween. would be great for Halloween read-aloud. all stories should be read first.
“MARIAN”–a teen driver finds himself at the mercy of his car.
“Morgan Rochmar’s Boys”–a dead serial killer strikes again.
“Only on All Hallow’s Eve”–a boy pretends to be a dead man with unfortunate results.
“Cemetery Field Trip”–a girl gets trapped in a mausoleum during a class trip to a cemetery.
“Best Friends”–two girls describe their friendship in alternating pages and present it very differently. might be fun as readers’ theater.
“Pretending”–a first date goes horribly wrong.
“I Want To Thank You”–a good Samaritan who isn’t. short.
“When and How”–five friends consult a psychic, but they may not like what the future holds.
“When My Parents Come to Visit”–an unusual visit from Matt’s parents.
“Edward, Lost and Far From Home”–a boys learns the dire consequences of angering a witch.
Posted by joanneshawhan 
Books To Read 