Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again (2011)

by Thanhha Lai

ISBN: 978-0-06-196278-3

Interest Level by Scholastic: Gr.3-5   Reading Level by Scholastic Gr.5.0

IL by AR: Middle Grade     RL by AR: Gr.4.8

IL by Follett: Gr.3-6    RL by Follett: Gr.4.9

Lexile: 800L     DRA: 60     Guided Reading(Fountas & Pinnell)W

  Age: 9+     UK Equivalent: Upper KS2 

Type: Chapter Book, US Book     Genre: Historical Fiction, Autobiography

Synopsis:Winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. 2012 Newbery Honor Book

Based on the author's own childhood and written in free-verse poems, this unforgettable story captures a fierce girl's struggles to find her place in her family, in her new home, and in the world.  (Credits to Scholastic)

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Going Solo

Going Solo

by Roald Dahl

ISBN 9780141311425

Interest Level by Scholastic: Middle Grade +  Reading Level by Scholastic: Gr7.9

IL by AR: Middle Grade     RL by AR: Gr.6.1

Lexile: 1080L     DRA: 50     Guided Reading (Fountas & Pinnell): T

Type: UK Book     Genre: Autobiography, History

Synopsis: The fascinating story of Roald Dahl's life continues in Going Solo, a marvelous evocation of the author's wartime exploits. As a pilot in World War II, Roald Dahl had some wonderfully exciting -- and frighteningly near-death -- experiences including encounters with the enemy, battles with deadly snakes, and incredible dogfights. Told with the same irresistible appeal that has made Dahl one of the world's best-loved writers, Going Solo brings you directly into the action and into the mind of this brilliant man. (Credits to Scholastic)

A Child Called "It"

A Child Called "It"

by Dave Pelzer

ISBN: 9780752837505

Interest Level by Scholastic: High School     Reading Level by Scholastic: Gr5.9

IL by AR: Upper Grade     RL by AR: Gr.5.8

Type: Novels, US Books     Genre: Autobiography

Synopsis:Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games - games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. She no longer considered Dave a son, but a slave; no longer a boy, but an 'it'.  His bed was an old army cot in the basement, his clothes were torn and smelly, and when he was allowed the luxury of food it was scraps from the dog's bowl. The outside world knew nothing of the nightmare played out behind closed doors. But throughout Dave kept alive dreams of finding a family to love him. This book covers the early years of his life and is an affecting and inspirational book of the horrors of child abuse and the steadfast determination of one child to survive. (Credits to Amazon UK)