My name is Suzanne Peerenboom and I am the Library & Instructional Technology Teacher at Mountain View Middle School in the Beaverton School District. I have a passion for Young Adult Literature and especially sharing books where students can see themselves in similar life situations and gain perspective on the lives of those who differ from them.  We look 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-centered 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 900 students attending Mountain View Middle School. While the book club discussions will be held during lunches, the books can be checked out by any interested reader.

Budget:

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

We plan to purchase 1 copy each of the current 2019-2020 Project Lit titles, as well as multiple copies of several titles to be available for book clubs.

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 these titles is $1,300.77

The books we will focus on this year are:

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden                                                The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander                                                                      The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez

For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington                                                Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes                                                                     Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers by Trevor Noah)

Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake                         The Last Last-Day-Of-Summer by Lamar Giles

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds                                                                       Lu by Jason Reynolds

Merci Suarez Changes Gear by Meg Medina                                                          New Kid by Jerry Craft

Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga                                                            Patina by Jason Reynolds

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo                                                                           The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Rebound by Kwame Alexander                                                      They Call Me Guero: A Border Kids Poems by David Bowles

Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau                                                                          Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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/