Summary

In the 2021-2022 school year parents became aware of some concerning content in the literature our students were reading.  Two Edmond moms met with the secondary ELA director of EPS to learn the process books are taken through to be chosen for the curriculum.  We learned that at that time there was no rubric to judge the worthiness of a piece of literature.  We also learned that the director and many English teachers in the district had not read several of the books our students were expected to read.   

These two moms asked to be on the teacher/parent/student book review board that met in the summer of 2022 and were granted the 10th grade books to review.  We appreciated the opportunity to share parental concerns and found the teachers and students thoughtful in their assessments of the material.  However, many of the most offensive books remain for the 2022-2023 school year.  

The director of secondary ELA has created a new document that shares the reasons for requiring our students to read the assigned books.  We have also written our own assessments of each book to let the parents know exactly what is in them and allow the parents to make an informed decision as to what their children can read.  Our goal is never to ban books, but merely to share the content of what the district believes is the best books for our students.  Then, each parent can make their own informed decision. 

Students have to enroll for the next school year in February. This ensures the counselors have time to find the best fit for each student's schedule and meet their requirement needs. 

When we reached out at the time of enrollment to Jackie Rasnic for the list of books to be used this next school year 2023-24, she was unable to give us the list as it hasn’t been decided upon. Students and parents signed up for English classes (remember there is a sophomore alternate class parents can choose based on the reading material for the mainstream class) without knowing what they were really signing up for. 

We were told the list would be final in July, a month before school starts. So, we will work quickly to get the new books read and out to you as quickly as possible when they are public. 

Book Summaries by grade level for the 2022-2023 school year:

**2023-24 Book List Not Public as of latest updates

6th Grade

• Flipped - Read Summary 

• Freak the Mighty - Read Summary 

• Running Dream - Read Summary 

• Refugee - Read Summary 

• Hatchet - Read Summary 

• Lemons - Read Summary 

• The War that Saved My Life - Read Summary 

• City of Ember - Read Summary 

• Out of My Mind - Read Summary (NEW) 

7th Grade

• Full Tilt - Read Summary 

• The Giver - Read Summary 

• A Long Walk to Water - Read Summary

• Hero - Read Summary  

• Wild Bird - Read Summary 

• Harbor Me - Read Summary   

• The Shadow Club - Read Summary (NEW)

Science Curriculum 

• Radium Girls - Read Summary 

8th Grade

Whole Grade Level Books

• The Outsiders - Read Summary 

Literature Circle Book Options (Student Chooses One) 

• Alone - Read Summary

• The Crossover - Read Summary 

• Long Way Down - Read Summary  

• Fahrenheit 451 - Read Summary  (Only offered in Intro to Advanced) 

• All the Broken Pieces - Read Summary  

• Other Words for Home - Read Summary 

• Piecing Me Together - Read Summary

• Chasing Lincoln’s Killer - Read Summary (Only offered in Intro to Advanced) (NEW) 

• Full Cicada Moon - Read Summary (NEW) 

• Under the Mesquite - Read Summary (NEW)  

9th Grade

Whole Grade Level Books

• Night - Read Summary 

Literature Circle Book Options (Student Chooses One) 

• All American Boys - Read Summary

• Dreamland Burning - Read Summary

• Farewell to Manzanar - Read Summary

• Punching the Air - Read Summary

• The House on Mango Street - Read Summary

• Of Mice and Men - Read Summary 

• To Kill A Mockingbird - Read Summary (Only offered in Intro to Advanced) 

• Salt to the Sea - Read Summary (NEW)

10th Grade

Whole Grade Level Books

Regular English II

• The Glass Castle - Read Summary

• The Kite Runner - Read Summary

• Animal Farm - Read Summary

Alternative English ll Class

• Everything Sad is Untrue - Read Summary 

• I am Malala - Read Summary  

• Animal Farm - Read Summary 

Literature Circle (Student Chooses One)

• 57 Bus - Read Summary

• A Very Large Expanse of the Sea - Read Summary

• Dear Martin - Read Summary

• The Book Thief - Read Summary

• Hearts Unbroken - Read Summary 

• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - Read Summary

• Patron Saints of Nothing - Read Summary  

• The Astonishing Color of After - Read Summary

• The Sun is Also a Star - Read Summary   

11th Grade

Whole Grade Level Books

• The Great Gatsby - Read Summary

• The Crucible - Read Summary (NEW) 

Literature Circle (Student Chooses One)

• Born A Crime - Read Summary 

• Brain on Fire - Read Summary 

• The Nazi Hunters - Read Summary 

• Into The Wild - Read Summary

• A Long Way Gone - Read Summary