My name is Suzanne Peerenboom and I am the Library & Instructional Technology Teacher at Five Oaks Middle School in the Beaverton School District. I have a passion for Young Adult Literature and discovering books where students can see themselves in similar life situations and gain perspective on the lives of those who differ from them.

Five Oaks is a diverse population with 38 different languages spoken. Approximately 65% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Most of our students rely on the school library for reading materials. These materials should reflect our student population; where they come from, what language they speak, the communities they live in, and the experiences they have had. We encourage all students to read books of their choosing to help them develop a love of learning, increase vocabulary, experience new ideas and recognize others like them in literature. We are looking for ways to bring diverse books that reflect our population in our library.

We have joined the nationwide community, Project Lit, which promotes diversity in literature and authors. Students may find a character or situation they can relate to, find some understanding about an event in their own lives, or be able to develop new perspectives on the lives of others. This student community book club is exactly what we are looking for to allow middle schoolers access to books which mirror their own experiences and provide windows into a wide range of cultures and circumstances. Project Lit gives adult mentors opportunities to facilitate student discussions and dive deeper into what makes us all the same and what makes us all different.

The books purchased will be available for all 1,100 students attending Five Oaks and Rachel Carson Middle Schools. While the book club discussions will be held after school with late busses available for those who need it, the books can be checked out by any interested reader. We open our library during lunch and will encourage students to talk about the books during that time as well. 

Budget:

In order to make this book club successful, we need to purchase multiple copies of the Project Lit titles.

10 copies of each of 12 picks for this school year would be available for students who will participate in the book club as well as to students throughout the school.

The books will be purchased from Follett. They process the books to prepare them for immediate check out from the library. Follett also gives our library a discount on the purchase price which is included in the following quote. The quoted price to purchase 10 copies of each title is $1,479.00

The books we will focus on this year are:

Amal Unbout by Aisha Saeed

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C Perez

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

I am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina

Like Vanessa by Tami Charles

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

Sunny by Jason Reynolds

Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

The funding of this project is just for the purchasing of the books from our library book supplier. Project Lit is the community that organized the book lists and promotes diverse books for all students. There is no fee for participating in the community.

Find out more information about Project LIt at https://www.facebook.com/projectlitcommunity/