Family Book Club - Community Connections: Middle School

Communities can help you feel safe and secure…

A community is a strong group of individuals that have similar attitudes, interests, and/or goals. At times, communities may weaken and turn on each other.

Whether it be your family, friends, or your team, you always have people who share your passions and will be there for you.

Below you’ll find books and activities that are appropriate for 6th, 7th and 8th Graders around the concept of “Community Connections.”

GREAT BOOKS & CONVOS

Ghost Boys

By Jewell Parker Rhodes

Why We LOVE This Book

Ghost Boys is a poignant story about a young black boy killed by a white police officer. This heart wrenching tale is an all too familiar narrative of a life lost too soon. Jerome, Emmett, and the other ghost boys find themselves belonging to a community they never wished to be a part of, yet they inspire readers to help make things right. “Can’t undo wrong. Can only do our best to make things right.”

Conversation Launchers

Jerome was a fictitious 12-year old killed in 2018. Emmett Till was a 14-year old killed in 1955.

Why do you think the author included Emmett’s story in this modern day tale?
What parallels can you draw between Jerome and Emmett?

After Jerome, Emmett, and hundreds of other ghost boys die, they form their own community.

Why do the ghost boys persist?
What is their role in life after death?

After he dies, Jerome can’t be seen by or speak to his own family. The only living person who can see him is Sarah, the daughter of the officer who shot him. After spending time with Jerome and Emmett, Sarah decides to make a website titled “End Racism, Injustice”.

Why does Sarah create this website and what is her goal for her community?

After he dies, Jerome explores Chicago and learns of the world that exists beyond his neighborhood.

In what ways can you tell systemic racism is weaved into this novel?
How could Jerome’s life have been different if he lived in a different neighborhood or went to a different school?

Grandma asks Jerome, and later Carlos, to tell her three good things.

What do you think are three good things Jerome would say at the end of this novel and why?

CLICK TO TRY THIS BOOK

Zenobia July

By Lisa Bunker

Why We LOVE This Book

While most middle schoolers are trying to discover who they are, Zenobia July knows exactly who she is already. With the help of her aunts and friends, Zenobia is able to embrace a life she knows she was meant to live with a fierce conviction. With an inner circle as great as Zenobia’s, she is bound to flourish in her new life.“She is alive, and trying as hard as she can with all her considerable strength to make sense of her life and be who she is.”

Conversation Launchers

On her first day at a new school, Zenobia meets Arli who invites her to join him at lunch. Upon meeting Arli’s group of orphan misfits, Clem announces, “Now you’re one of us,” (page 9). Without hesitation or trepidation, Zenobia is automatically accepted into an inner circle.

Think about a time that you have been the “new” person and how you were treated or how you may have treated someone new at school. What can you learn from Zen’s experience of being readily accepted by her new friends?

When a hacker defaces the school website, Zen gets to work using her tech skills to identify the culprit. The hacker first posted hateful memes about Muslims and later struck again with anti-transgender propaganda. Unfortunately, attacks on minority communities happen all too often and those responsible aren’t always identified.

Why does Zen make it a mission to discover the hacker’s identity?

Zen characterized Elijah as a “shy boy” and invited him to join their group at lunch. The following week, news spread that Elijah was actually transgender.

Why do you think that Zen never confides in Elijah about her own identity?
What would you have done if you were Zen?

Zen decides not to invite Melissa to the Halloween party because, according to her, “…some divides just couldn’t be bridged,” (page 303).

Do you think Zen is right to believe that Melissa’s beliefs about Elijah being transgender could not be changed?
What would you have done if you were Zen?

At the end of the novel, Zen “…stepped back out among the people she loved, to be with them and one of them, into the warmth and music and joy of what was starting to feel very much like a family,” (page 313).

Think about those who you have shared values, interests, or goals with. What communities do you belong to and what brings you together?

CLICK TO TRY THIS BOOK

Mañanaland

By Pam Muñoz Ryan

Why We LOVE This Book

If you could hold tomorrow in your hand, would it change how you live today? Despite his father’s instructions to “stand firmly in the reality of today or life will only disappoint you tomorrow,” Maximiliano Feliciciano Esteban Córdoba cannot help but search for the answers tomorrow holds. His longing to find out if he will make the village fútbol team and know what happened to his mother sends him on a journey that he thought only existed in his Buelo’s stories.

Conversation Launchers

Max desperately wants to make the village fútbol team but Papá will not allow him to attend the clinic in Santa Inés with his friends. After training begins, Ortiz, Chey, and Gui begin spending more time together without him citing their coach’s instructions that, “…the more time we spend together on and off the field, the better we’ll play as a team,” (page 86).

Think about a time that you have felt left out by your friends. What did you do in that situation and how did you cope with your feelings?

While working as his father’s apprentice, Max learns that his family members were Guardians of the Hidden Ones. Max believes that his family members are heroes, but Papá makes it clear that he may never talk to anyone else about his family’s role in the underground network.

The Harboring Law made it illegal for those fleeing Abismo to stay in Santa Maria or for anyone to help or hide them. Was it right for Max’s family members to act as guardians even though it was against the law?
Have you ever done something you weren’t supposed to, knowing that it was the right thing to do?

In Papá and Buelo’s absence, Max volunteers to help transport the hidden one that Father Romero brings to his home. After looking at Papá’s map and seeing The Bridge of a Thousand Mallards, Max realizes that the legend Buelo has been telling him his whole life was actually a true story to prepare him to one day be a guardian himself.

What is a story that you can remember being told to you from a very young age?
What stories have been passed down from generation to generation in your family?

When Max finally holds tomorrow in his hands, Yadra tells him, “Your father’s and grandfather’s love is woven tightly around you and will not unravel easily. Lean on their love. Remember you don’t have to struggle alone. There will always be someone who sees you and lifts you from darkness,” (page 221).

Who are the people in your life, your community, who are there for you and that you can rely on to lift you from the darkness when you are struggling?

In the last game of the season, Max scored the final goal and they won the championship game. Even though Max struggled to fit in with Chuy, Gui, and Ortiz while they were in the summer clinic, they all ended up together in the end.

What is the best part of working as part of a team? Why is that the best part?

CLICK TO TRY THIS BOOK

Keep the Conversation Going!

Research – Despite his cousin’s warnings about how to act while in Mississippi, Emmett relied on his experiences in his home community, Chicago. This decision, which ultimately cost him his life, was only 65 years ago (1955). Emmett Till’s death was an early impetus to the civil rights movement. Learn more about the civil rights movement and discuss the ways a community can come together to help or hurt a cause.
Volunteer – Jerome says, “Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.” Together with your family, identify ways that you can make your community better. Commit to volunteering, donating, raising awareness, or some other act to help make the world better.
Write A Letter – Aunt Lucy, Aunt Phil, and Uncle Sprinkle play instrumental roles in helping Zenobia embrace her new identity. Think of people who have supported you in your life and reach out to them. Write a letter, call, or visit them and thank them for what they have done for you.
Art – Hidden in the metal box in Papá’s closet is a stone rubbing of the word Mañanaland. Create a rubbing by laying a piece of paper on a textured item and rub the paper with the flat side of a crayon.
Random Act of Kindness – When discussing being a Guardian of the Hidden Ones, Buelo tells Max, “…it was worth finding the courage…to give people hope. To show them that the world is not all ugliness, but holds beauty and goodness…It’s about people helping people,” (page 96). Visit www.randomactsofkindness.org for ideas on how you can show the goodness in the world by committing Random Act of Kindness in your community.

Resources for OTHER AGE GROUPS

SEARCH BY GRADE LEVEL…

Family Book Club – Community Connections: Pre-K & Kindergarten

Family Book Club – Community Connections: First & Second Grade

Family Book Club – Community Connections: Third, Fourth & Fifth Grade