Saddleback Educational Publishing 9781616512798 Line Up
Finding the right book for struggling readers is essential to build both confidence and proficiency. Reading supports must be seamless so that struggling readers are not stigmatized. The District 13 series does just that-written using carefully chosen vocabulary and simple sentences the novels offer compelling teen stories about characters that interest young adult readers. Using sports as a backdrop these edgy and mature titles confront issues that are of great importance to urban teens especially teenage boys: Coming of age dating fitting in friendships drugs self-esteem and school. Straightforward plots move readers through the 48 pages of text quickly and efficiently with satisfying resolutions. Daniel tries to balance earning a spot on the track team with a budding romance and a bullys demand for his grandfathers gun. Using basic vocabulary and short sentences with an emphasis on dialogue the series is squarely aimed at struggling readers. The text is large and the novels short. This brevity greatly hurts the novels however as there is little room for character development or detailed scenes on the sports field. This makes the novels rather didactic and the sports action perfunctory. The series would work in a remedial reading class but some material may give teachers pause. There is no language worse than scattered damn and hell but the scenes with smoking and underage drinking (though organic to the story) may cause objection. Author: Alex Kuskowski. Publishing Date: Dec 2010. Series: District 13. Binding: Paperback. Age Range: General/Trade. Reading Level: 1.0 - 2.0. Interest Level: YA. Number of page: 48 Pages. Language: English. Width: 124mm. Height: 190mm. Spine: 8mm.