To Be Somebody

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• Up Close and Personal - Autobiography/Biography - Students will read a biography or autobiography of their own choice and share it with their classmates through a wall poster and an oral presentation. An optional transactional writing assignment is also included.

Related Novel Sets Available from the Curriculum Materials Centre

• Holes by Louis Sacher - As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.
• Song of the Gargoyle by Zilpha Keatley Snyder - Tymmon is ashamed of his father, who has given up his noble position to become a court jester. When his father is kidnapped, Tymmon is aided by a gargoyle, disguised as a dog. With the help of the gargoyle, Tymmon rescues his father, and in so doing, learns what characteristics are important in people. This medieval fantasy is a quest story in which the hero finds what constitutes true courage and integrity.
• Journey of the Sparrows by Fran Leeper Buss - Fourteen-year-old Maria, her frail younger brother, and her pregnant older sister escape from terrorism, rape, and starvation in El Salvador. Nailed into a crate in the back of a truck, the illegal aliens make the long journey north and settle in a crowded apartment in Chicago. There the family find that, in order to remain in America, they are at the mercy of unscrupulous employers. Maria, who has accepted responsibility for the safety of her family, returns to Mexico to reunite her baby sister with the family. This is a story of loss as well as a tale of hope for a better future. It demonstrates the sacrifices experienced by young illegal aliens and the importance of family to refugees.
• Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me by Julie Johnston - Sara, a teenaged girl records her feelings in a computer journal. A hardened foster child, she comes to live with a new family who gradually draw her into their circle of friendship and love. Note: Coarse language is used occasionally. This book is a winner of the Governor-General’s Literary Award and the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award.

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