Bibliography of Books for Teaching Science!
Books Included
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- Invisible Frontiers: The race to synthesize a human gene
- A Wrinkle In Time
- The Tales of A Shaman’s Apprentice
- Survival of the Sickest
- The Making of the Fittest
- Physics of the Impossible
- Dr. Franklins Island
- Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie
- Uglies
- Gathering Blue
- Ender’s Game
- Divergent
- Feed
- The House of The Scorpion
- Galapagos
- The Freedom Maze
- The City of Ember
- Eva
- The Hunger Games
Major Thematic Concepts
Fiction:
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Non Fiction
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Tales of Survival:
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Stories Related to Genetics
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Stories Related to Evolution
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Diverse Topics in Science
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Middle School
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H.S. Books
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Annotations
| 1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks |
| Background of Author: Rebecca Skloot is a narrative science writer native to the Chicago area. She also works as a correspondent for WNYC’s Radiolab and PBS’s Nova ScienceNOW. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was her debut book which took more than a decade to write. It was featured on the New York Times bestseller list for over three years. The story won numerous awards including The National Academies of Science Best Book of the Year.
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| Grade Level and Audience: This book is most suitable for upper level middle schools students and high school age students. The story will be of particular interest to African American students, especially women.
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| Description: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is the story of the woman who’s cells, named HeLa, were first able to be replicated in the lab setting making her responsible for some of the greatest medical advances of the 20th century. The story takes readers deep into the heart of her experience with an aggressive cancer, unknowingly giving her cells to science, and then losing her life in her battle with cancer and illness, in addition to the story of the later generations of her family. The narrative covers some of the great scientists who used her cells in the lab as well as the medical advances that we possible because of HeLa. It is also important to note that the author, Rebecca Skloot, writes herself into the book and the story of these cells. In her work uncovering the story of Lack’s family and HeLa, Skloot’s life was also changed.
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| Classroom Notes and Uses: This book is a great story for raising ethical discussions in science. Coupled with a unit on cells, it could be a powerful tool for making this abstract and sometimes tough concepts come to life in a meaningful way for students. It would be important for the instructor to note the vocabulary in the story as this might be a sticking point for younger students. The story also has the potential as a read aloud, either in sections or at the end of class time to engage students, as many sections offer great visuals and metaphors for cell growth and reproduction. |
| 2. Invisible Frontiers: The Race to Synthesize a Human Gene |
| Background of Author: Stephen S. Hall is a native of Cleveland Ohio with a background in English. He has written for Geo, Smithsonian, and served as an editor of The New York Times Magazine. Invisible Frontiers was his first book. His writing generally concerns the interesting intersection between science and society. He has earned the Science in Society Award. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This book is best suited for upper level science students interested in genetics, cellular or molecular biology, and chemical engineering. It would be a great book for students considering these careers but who may not have any context for what a job in this field would entail. The book details the exciting and competitive nature of the field of science. It might have particular relevance to students who have type 1 diabetes. It might be a good book to offer to young women to help garner their interest in science and STEM related careers. |
| Description: Invisible Frontiers is the story of the birth of the biotechnology industry through the synthesis of the first human gene and the subsequent production of human insulin or humulin. The story follows the work of major scientists throughout the country from Harvard and MIT to UCSF and Eli Lilly and their individual work, collaborative work, or thriving competition to synthesize a human gene. Stephen Hall does a fantastic job of creating images and metaphors which give the complex science he describes context and simplicity. The interviews featured in the story offer perspective of real scientists and give great insight into the nature of laboratory work most people would never be able to see. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This particular book would be too dry and long for reading as an entire science class. However, it would make for great case study pieces because sections offer very understandable images for complex biological processes. In addition there are some interesting sections which could be pulled out to discuss the intersection of science, society, and policy for ethical debates. It would be a fantastic independent read for advanced students curious about the nature of science and the process skills necessary to working competitively in the science field. Because the nature of the story, it would maintain these students interest through the narrative while piquing their interest in the fields of molecular biology, cellular biology, or chemical engineering. |
| 3. A Wrinkle In Time |
| Background of Author: Madeleine L’Engle a native of New York, wrote A Wrinkle In Time between 1959 and 1960. The book was a Newbery Medal winner and inspired a series. She is also a Margaet Edwards Award winner for her “significant and lasting contribution to adult literature.” Her stories feature her unit devotion to her faith as well as her believe in modern science. |
| Grade Level and Audience: A Wrinkle In Time is most suitable for a younger audience of late elementary-middle school students, but could be used as late as high school age students because of its bildungsroman form which appeals to most audiences. This story is particularly relevant for young girls because of the female central character which is unusual for science-fiction literature. |
| Description: A Wrinkle In Time is told from the perspective of central character Meg Murry, a troubled student and oldest of four children. Her father, a scientist, has mysteriously disappeared leaving the family in a difficult position. As the story continues, Meg, her youngest brother, and a friend from school, are whisked away on a wild interspace adventure with their three new neighbors Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. The story centers on the idea of tesseracts which are theoretical wrinkles in the fabric of the space-time continuum. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which turn out to be supernatural beings who transport the three children using this phenomenon. The story also incorporates great lessons on good and evil and the difficult choices we all have to make when growing up. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This book has unique potential to be used in a unit plan, read in sections, or read aloud to a class. Because the story features real theories of quantum physics, it is a unique discussion starter as students are challenged to consider that this story predates any human space travel. It also incorporates the creative nature of science as the questions posed to the characters in the book are never as straightforward as they seem, and often require creative solutions. |
| 4. Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice |
| Background of Author: Mark J. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist who has spent much of his life in the rainforest of South and Central America studying the native tribes and the shamans whose knowledge of plants can hold insights into some of todays diseases. He works currently with the botany department in the Smithsonian Institute. He has won prestigious awards for his work including the San Diego Zoo Gold Medal for Conservation Biology and has been featured on PBS’s Nova and played a leading role in the 1997 IMAX film Amazon. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This book is highly readable and would be a comfortable read for a middle school to high school audience because of its narrative. The story line is easy to follow and the only challenges are the length of some chapters as well as specific content related vocabulary. It would be particularly relevant for topics such as biology and the cultural traditions of indigenous groups. |
| Description: Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice takes readers deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle on an adventure to understand the medicinal uses of plants. Plotkin’s vivid descriptions provide readers with detailed images of the people he met and the diverse plants he worked with. The story includes the challenges indigenous people faced with the settlement of eastern European groups, making it a good choice for challenging readers understanding of modern culture and what it means to be modern. Because of it’s anthropological perspective, readers are continually examining their own culture and definitions of scientific advances compared to groups they may have never appreciated before. Readers gain not only a knowledge of plants and biology through this story, but an appreciation of cultural diversity and the importance of learning from others. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This book is an excellent choice for reading aloud, independent reading, or whole group instruction. A unit using this book could incorporate plant growth, diversity, and even evolution. In addition, the nature of the story helps students to understand the importance of different cultures. It would be an interesting book to use to spark discussions on cultural clashes, what it means to be modern, medical advances, traditional medicine, the nature of science, and rights to land and property. |
| 5. Survival of the Sickest |
| Background of Author: Dr. Sharon Moalem has his doctorate in human physiology as well as neurogenetics and evolutionary medicine. He currently researches Alzheimers disease. Moalem was born in Israel but he grew up in Canada and studied in Toronto. He has worked all over the world studying and helping people with infectious diseases and is a good example of a humanitarian in the field of science and medicine. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This book would be most suitable for high school audiences studying or interested in anatomy, physiology, and medicine. It is a good choice for students interested in health and fits best with a unit on health or evolution because of the evolutionary descriptions included in the book. |
| Description: Survival of the Sickest describes the human relationship to health and disease from an evolutionary perspective. Moalem challenges readers to consider the way they think of illness and our bodies. He describes that the conditions we have today are things which might have given our ancestors a leg up on the competition against fighting disease. With many small asides, the book can be read in independent chapters making it ideal for case study reading or reinforcing learning about any topic. The book also offers readers the chance to understand the diversity of culture and background and how this knowledge is a powerful tool for disease prevention. Readers have the opportunity through this book to learn about challenges facing particular demographics of people, the historical relevance of diseases, and the evolutionary relatedness of conditions we have today and the diseases we may develop in the future. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: Survival of the Sickest would make a great pair with a unit on health or evolution (or both). The book has many asides which could also be used for closer readings to understand particular topics including aging, malaria, cholesterol, methylation in genes, favism, and death. However, the story would not be suitable for a true unit plan because students would quickly lose attention because of the lack of narrative in the story. It would be ideal for using to introduce larger topics or concluding units because it has a great way of tying everything together for readers so they have a chance to come to a deeper and complete understanding of a topic. In truth, the book could be used in place of a textbook to teach science concepts or the nature of science to diverse learners. |
| 6. The Making of the Fittest |
| Background of Author: Sean Carroll is a professor of molecular biology, genetics, and medical genetics at University of Wisconsin. He is at the forefront of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). He writes monthly for The New York Times. He was named vice-president for science education by the Howard Hughes Medical institute and he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in life sciences from the Franklin Institute. |
| Grade Level and Audience: The Making of the Fittest is most ideal for upper middle school to high school level students who are beginning to learn about evolution. The book offers irrefutable evidence through compelling asides and vignettes about the capacity of DNA to provide us with our complete evolutionary history. It would be best paired with units on genetics and evolution. |
| Description: Sean B. Carroll offers excellently readable scientific research and stories to help readers understand the science of evolution and humans. Through ten chapters, this work features different topics ranging from the mystery of the bloodless fish of Bouvet Island to the estimated number of genetic mutations per individual which are the number one cause of evolutionary changes in populations (175 new mutations per the 7 billion DNA letters per person) in compelling and readable storytelling. Carroll does an excellent job of pulling the reader in and keeping them interested without the use of a central narrative (other than that of evolution). |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This is another book in which it would be easy to pull out sections to add on to a unit or to be used to guide a unit. It is a nonfiction work without a central narrative so it would be difficult to base a unit plan off of the story. But, like Survival of the Sickest, the story has many sub-stories on various topics all related to evolution, Darwin and DNA. In it’s most basic essence, the story is reflective of The Modern Synthesis and makes a useful tool when teaching this concept to students. Again, like Survival of the Sickest, it would be another choice which could be used instead of a textbook to help diverse learners learn science through storytelling. |
| 7. Physics of the Impossible |
| Background of Author: Michio Kaku is a native of New York City, is a theoretical physicist and he is the cofounder of the string field theory. He popularizes science and has written many other books in addition to Physics of the Impossible. He has appeared numerous times on TV and on the radio explaining his theories as well as the nature of science in an accessible way. As a scientist, he offers readers insight into the career of a physicist. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This book is appropriate for high school age students curious about physics. It would be a good independent read or used in parts as an introduction to units. In addition, it could be used to engage students who would not normally be interested in a subject like physics because they perceive it as too hard to too boring. This book, and the topics covered in it, prove otherwise! |
| Description: Physics of the Impossible addresses the actual science around ideas such as teleportation, time machines, force fields, and interstellar space ships in fun small stories. Readers have a chance to understand the realistic chance that these phenomenon do or do not exist and the science behind their possibility. The book touches on unique crossover of science and science fiction and how many of the unique devices we have today were at one time, stuff of science fiction. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: Physics of the Impossible would be an excellent choice to introduce different topics to engage students with interesting physics before learning a unit. Also, it might make a good piece for using as a thought provoker or reaction piece with students. It would be possible to use the topics in Physics of the Impossible for free-write activities or journaling in scientific notebooks. |
| 8. Dr. Franklin’s Island |
| Background of Author: Ann Halam is the pseudonym of Gwyneth Jones. Jones published Dr. Franklin’s Island in 2002. A science fiction author, she is native to England. She has published over twenty novels under the pseudonym, and won numerous awards including two World Fantasy Awards, a BSFA short story award, and the Children of the Night award from the Dracula Society. |
| Grade Level and Audience: Dr. Franklin’s Island is best suited for middle school to high school age students. It is loosely based on H.G. Wells The Island of Dr. Moreau. It would entice students who enjoy books like Frankenstein, and topics such as genetics. Because of the engaging narrative and the three main characters, it is easily identifiable for diverse readers. |
| Description: An airplane crashes in the jungle of Ecuador and the only survivors are three children, Semi the narrator of the story, Miranda, and a boy Arnie. The children are taken hostage by Dr. Franklin and his assistant Dr. Skinner. The doctors perform transgenetic experiments on the children turning them into either a bird or a manta ray or a snake. The story has many twists and turns and is a larger metaphor for learning trust, pain, moral responsibility, and human identity. It challenges readers understanding of our interference and interaction with nature and natural relationships. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This book would be an excellent choice for units on genetics, ethics, and the nature of science. It is appealing to all students through it’s first person voice and central narrative and would work to spark many classroom discussion about the central themes of the novel (see description). The novel ends with more questions for the main characters than answers which is integral to the nature of science as scientists are often left with more topics to investigate. |
| 9. Obsessive Genius, The Inner World of Marie Curie |
| Background of Author: Barbara Goldsmith is an American author native to New York City. She had won many awards for her writing and has been awarded four honoris causa doctorates. She has been elected to the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, two presidential commissions, and the New York State Council on the Arts. In 2009 she received the Knights Cross of the Order of Merit from the Republic of Poland. Obsessive Genius has been translated into 21 languages and won best book of 2006 from the American Institute of Physics. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This choice is suitable for high school age students especially young women interested in science. It is a fascinating story of a brilliant woman who was hampered by the pressures of society to conform but desperately wanted to contribute to science. While young men will not inherently find the main character identifiable, the story is a worthwhile read for the history, science, and poignant story of a woman committed to her work and her country. |
| Description: Obsessive Genius is the fascinating biography of Marie Curie from original research–the diary entries, and letters which have been locked away for over 60 years due to radiation contamination. The book details the harrowing tale of Marie Curie from an impoverished childhood in an intelligent family, her education as one of the first women in a science program in a university, her severe depression and maniacal work ethic, her discovery of radium and polonium (so named for her beloved country), and finally to her painful death from radiation poisoning. She was the first women to win a Noble Prize and her daughter the second. The story of Marie Curie’s life is one which exemplifies the triumph over adversity and the dedication to challenging the status quo. This particular version of her story by Barbara Goldsmith is told without feminist tilt and with a sympathetic objectivity for the heroine’s journey. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This biography would be a useful piece for working through as a class. It would be optimal for generating discussion on women in science, personal struggle and overcoming adversity. The story would also make a unique opportunity to team teach with other subject areas because the book incorporates so many historical events and life truths for students to consider. It is interesting enough to keep a young audience engaged, but it may need to be tailored to a group of higher ability students, general science students might find this too dry or boring because it is biography and not a novel. |
| 10. Uglies |
| Background of Author: Scott Westerfeld is a popular writer of adult and young adult novels. He has ghost written several novels. He is most famous for his series The Uglies and the Leviathan trilogy. Westerfeld is native to New York City but was born in Texas. He has won awards for best young adult literature and Uglies was named Best Book for Young Adults in 2006. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This book is for all young adult audiences and is a highly engaging novel. It is easily relatable to science through it’s themes of beauty and the use of technology and science to promote the will of the controlling group. It is a bildungsroman which appeals to many young people and part of a series which will encourage continued student reading. |
| Description: Uglies is the story of a young girl, Tally Youngblood on the eve of her 16th birthday. It takes place in a futuristic dystopian society where humanity has been devastated by a disastrous oil-bug. Society is characterized by social age groups including the littles, the uglies, new pretties, middle pretties, and late pretties. At the age of 16 all people undergo extensive cosmetic surgery called The Surge to make them beautiful. The Surge promotes peace in the society through the implant of brain lesions which impede certain characteristics which could damage society. The Surge fulfills the goals of the main tenants of society which are sustainability, peace and equality. Tally rebels against this society’s ideals of conformity after her friends at a runaway camp called Smoke show her the downside of being a Pretty. Tally ends up betraying her friends at Smoke on accident but then escapes to find them again. The novel ends with her returning to Pretty Town and announcing that she is ready to be pretty although she has a cure from Maddy. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This novel is a useful book for unit planning, or as a read aloud for a few minutes each class to generate discussion. The novel and series has many central themes including, trust, beauty, technology, genetics, identity, friendships, and humanity. Ultimately, it is Tally’s intelligence which saves her as she learns personal freedoms and free will are more important. This theme is highly relatable to science which promotes critical thinking, independent thinking, and problem solving skills. |
| 11. Gathering Blue |
| Background of Author: Lowis Lowery is an American writer with over thirty children’s books. She has won two Newbery Medals, and has been nominated for the Hans Christian Anderson Award, one of the highest recognitions given to creators of children’s book. Her work often deals with difficult topics exposing racism, terminal illness, and murder, challenging authority. This has in some cases having her books banned from classroom study. |
| Grade Level and Audience: This is typically a children’s book which would be suitable for younger middle school audiences. It would make a good pairing with units on botany and natural sciences, and outdoor study. Because it is the second book in a series it would be a good choice if students had already read The Giver in another class. |
| Description: The story of of a young girl Kira who is born with a disability making her leg crippled. In order for society not to abandon her, she must show them that she is invaluable or she will be taken to the fields and killed by the beasts. So she shows the Council of Edifice that she is an excellent embroider. Kira is tasked with re-embroidering the beautiful robe of which tells the history of society and dyeing the thread she needs to make the robe. While fixing the robe, she learns the history of her community and that she is a prisoner for her gifts. She befriends two others who are like her, Thomas a carver, and Jo who replace the singer. Kira’s other friend Matt tells her of a village which had the color blue that she will need for the robe. Matt brings her the man who makes blue and he turns out to be her father. When she is asked to go the new village with Matt and her father, she chooses to remain behind but the story ends with her going to find them leading into the next novel The Messenger. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: Gathering Blue would make a suitable choice as a read aloud or as a book to guide a unit. It uncovers difficult issues in society and is relevant to science because of the use of natural sciences in the society in the novel. It would be a good discussion starter and case study as it challenges students to consider how some groups withhold information, technology, and the knowledge of science to maintain control. |
| 12. Ender’s Game |
| Background of Author: Orson Scott Card is an American science fiction writer. Her is native to North Carolina. Ender’s game has won numerous awards including the Hugo Award, and the Nebula Award. He is the only author to win both science fictions top U.S. Prizes in consecutive years. |
| Grade Level and Audience: Ender’s Game is most suitable for a young audience because of the central character, Ender. It appeals to both young men and women because of the relationship Ender has with other characters, his sister, and the great compassion he has. The story appeals especially to young men interested in the games and comics series extensions of the book. |
| Description: The science fiction tale of a young boy living in a future time where Earth is in conflict with an insectoid alien species called the Formics. Children, like Ender, are trained at a young age through tactical games to join the military and defend the Earth. Through these games Ender’s tactical strengths and intelligence are revealed and he quickly ascends the through the ranks, but not without conflict of his own, and an internal conflict because of his great capacity for compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Meanwhile Peter and Valentine, Ender’s siblings been to write political articles on the information network about world events to manipulate people. Ender is then promoted to the IF because he continues to win his challenges even when advantages are given to the enemy. However, unknowingly to Ender, all of his battles have been real and his greatest win, against the buggers, which he thought was a dream, ended up being a manipulation. In the end of the story, Valentine and Ender escape the Earth on a colonizing mission to inhabit the other plants the buggers left behind, as Peter has taken over the Earth. Ender learns that he had killed fellow students in military training, and is distressed by this. Ender then finishes the story finding a new place for the buggers to live as he sees into the mind of a queen pupa that they had not wanted to fight the humans and that they had seen into his mind that he would beat them. Ender makes it his mission to find the buggers a place to live. The story has central themes of the power of manipulation, games, the conflict between adults and children, compassion, and ruthlessness. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: Ender’s Game is a useful novel for classroom discussions on earth and space science. It is a thought provoking piece for students and could be used in pieces because of it’s many adaptions into comics or games. The central themes of the novel are highly applicable to young people which make the story both relatable and interesting. It would also be an interesting lead into conversations on sustainability. |
| 13. Divergent |
| Background of Author: Divergent is the debut novel of American writer Veronica Roth. A graduate of Northwestern University, she wrote the book over the winter break of her senior year. She is the recipient of the Goodreads Choice Awards and the Goodreads Best of 2012 in the category of young adult fantasy and science fiction. |
| Grade Level and Audience: Divergent is set in a dystopian version of Chicago. With it’s central character it easily appeals to young women, but the storyline makes it universal to everyone. |
| Description: Beatrice Prior, the main character lives in a futuristic society divided into five virtues of humanity, selflessness, peaceful, honest, brave, and intelligent. When citizens turn 16 they take an aptitude test to determine for which faction they are best suited. When they receive the results, they decide to remain with their family or transfer to a new faction. Beatrice passes her exams with an aptitude in three areas making her a divergent, and an exceptional divergent at that. She tries to keep this a secret about herself and ends up joining the Dauntless faction on Choosing day. She is initiated into Dauntless and assumes the new name, Tris, during initiation. Tris undergoes many tests in the stages of initiation. Meanwhile there is trouble between Erudite (intelligence) and Abnegation (selflessness) and rumors Erudite will use Dauntless to attack Abnegation. In her final test, Tris is faced with seven fears but she passes and is injected with a serum. However she learns that the serum will be how Erudite carries out the attacks. The serum does not work on her giving away that she is a divergent. Tris is taken into custody but tries to escape with the help of her mother. Escaping together, her mother is killed along with her father as they attempt to get to Dauntless and end the simulation. The story ends in a cliff hanger for the next novel in the series as Tris stops Tobias, ending the simulation, and they board a train with her brother to Amity (peace) to find the rest of the Abnegation survivors. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: Divergent would be a challenging choice for a unit plan (perhaps genetics). It explores the common theme of adolescent anxiety which makes it a readable, interesting, and universally appealing story. It’s themes of learning and understanding your identity also help in this regard. Other themes include class and society, family, friendship, power, competition, choices, and secrets. It would be a good choice for a read aloud at the end of classes to spark meaningful discussion, it could also be useful in student centered learning as some students might be able to draw scientific themes from the book therefore reaffirming their own learning. The book does relate to science through the process skills of problem solving, and considering our reality and good be used in that regard. |
| 14. Feed |
| Background of Author: M.T. Anderson is an American writer. He has won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, as well as the Michael L. Printz Award for literary excellence in young adult literature. He is known for challenging his readers to examine the world in new ways. His common literary techniques include sarcasm and wit in his stories to appeal to his young reading audience. |
| Grade Level and Audience: Feed is most suitable for young adults. It is an appealing book because of the accessibility of the main characters (although they are sometimes unlikable) as well as the engaging storyline. It would be useful in a science class for challenging the way we engage with technology and how we use it to simplify our lives as well as how technology contributes (or does not contribute) to sustainable practices. |
| Description: Feed is based on a futuristic dystopian society where the people have exhausted many of Earth’s natural resources. The people in the story are linked to the feednet, an enormous computer network advanced from the internet, by a physical implant in their brains. The central characters, Titus and Violet, have their feeds interrupted for repair because they were hacked by an anti-feed organizer. Violet reveals her idea of resisting the feed to Titus as they begin a romantic relationship. She plans to show interest in a wide variety of randomly assorted products so the feed corporations cannot generate a consumer profile on her. But Violet, as well as many other people, have malfunctioning feeds. As her feed begins to shutdown, so do parts of her body and she develops lesions. Many other people also have lesions and it soon becomes a fashion trend to show them off. Violet soon begins losing her memories so she uploads them and shares them to Titus for safekeeping but not knowing how to handle the emotions, Titus deletes them. As more environmental disaster affect the planet, the US enters a war with Mexico and Violet’s life system begins to crash. FeedTech refuses to help Violet because of her unreliable customer profile and she officially begins to die. Titus, not knowing how to handle her impending death and his blame, has a breakdown from grief. The story ends with Violet dying and Titus sharing memories with her through is feed. The book ends with Violet’s life system growing weaker and the feed repeating the phrase “Everything Must Go.” |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This particular story is highly relevant to teenagers as it challenges them to consider consumerism and technology usage in society. This is useful in the study of science as one of the most important characteristics of science is fostering critical thinking skills in young people. It would make a useful read aloud piece for starting discussion, in addition to a loose unit plan on sustainability. It would be possible to connect sustainable practice with the reading of this novel as the destruction of the Earth and the increasing apathy of young people is a central theme of the novel. |
| 15. The House of the Scorpion |
| Background of Author: Nancy Farmer is an American writer native to Phoenix Arizona. She has written three Newbery Honor books and she won the U.S. National Book Award for young peoples literature. She frequently writes about science and was a chemistry major in college. She worked in the Peace Corp for a time where she worked in Zimbabwe as well as Mozambique. |
| Grade Level and Audience: The House of the Scorpion King is a science fiction novel which challenges readers concept of ethical science practice. It is most suitable for a high school level science class and would make an excellent pairing with a genetics or cell unit. |
| Description: The story is set in the future in the country of Opium controlled by drug lord Matteo Alacran or El Patron who is 148 years old. El Patron’s workforce consists of illegal immigrants who the Farm Patrol enslave when they attempt to cross the border of Opium which is situated between Mexico and the U.S. The main character Matt is a clone of El Patron who the drug lord plans to use for his organs when his own begin to fail. Matt was grown from a set of cells taken from El Patron long ago and were implanted in a surrogate. Matt is discovered by two children who observe him for a while before he smashes through the glass separating them. The children, Emilia, Steven, and Maria, take him to the Big House for treatment where he is immediately recognized as a clone. Matt is treated like a contaminated animal and abused until El Patron learns of his condition. El Patron formally accepts him and he lives in the Big House for a number of years falling in love with Maria. Matt does not know about his true identity and purpose until it is revealed to him in a cruel joke. Finally El Patron has a heart attack and it becomes apparent that Matt will have to provide him with a new heart so he and Maria attempt to flee, but he is caught and brought back to the house to be prepped to give El Patron a new heart. However, Celia has been slowly poisoning him with arsenic so when his organs are implanted they will kill El Patron. From here, Matt flees to Aztlan where he meets a colony of orphans called lost boys kept impoverished by Keepers. Matt leads the boys in a rebellion and then attempts to find Maria and her mother in a convent. The story ends with El Patron and his workers dying, Matt dismantling El Patrons regime. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: The House of the Scorpion has many themes which make it a relevant choice for a unit on cells or genetics in a science class. It is a thought provoking book for students which would challenge them to consider identity, cloning, power, compassion and forgiveness, lies and deceit, slavery, and even death. This book is a challenge to the ethic of science: what science is okay to do, and what is appropriate to do just because you can. This book would be an excellent choice for challenging students to develop morals and moral character. |
| 16. Galapagos |
| Background of Author: Kurt Vonnegut is an American writer native to Indianapolis. His books blend satire, gallows humor, and science fiction for works which challenge norms and examine what we know to be true about the world and humanity. Vonnegut was known for his humanist beliefs. He was awarded a purple heart for his service in the military during WWII. An asteroid is named after Vonnegut. He is perhaps most well known for Slaughterhouse Five. Many of the characters in his work he named after his early philosophical influences. |
| Grade Level and Audience: Galapagos is a suitable novel for high school age students studying biology. The structure of the novel would make it challenging to middle school age students, however, it could be broken into parts and used for supplemental reads in the classroom to reinforce learning. It could also be read aloud to this age group and used as a discussion prompt. |
| Description: Galapagos questions the merit of the human brain from an evolutionary perspective paying tribute to Charles Darwin. It is the story of a small group of mismatched humans shipwrecked on the fictional island of Santa Rosalia in the archipelago of the Galapagos. Shortly thereafter a disease renders all humans on Earth infertile except for this group who are so far away from the mainland that they are no affected by the disease. They then repopulate the Earth evolving into a furry species resembling seals. The narrator in the story is a spirit who has been watching humans for the last million years. The spirit, the immortal spirit of Leon Trotsky Trout, the son of reoccurring character Kilgore Trout, appears in the stroy line of novel four times in addition to being the narrator. He remains on Earth because he did not pass through the blue tunnel to the afterlife. He is left for 1 million years and observes the evolution of man during this time. Trout decides it is because of the true villain of the story: the oversized human brain, which evolution ends up conquering in the new stage of human development. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This story is an interesting read and discussion starter for students studying Darwin and his theories on evolution by natural selection. It would be a controversial book to teach because of its take on evolution and the next stage of human development, however, this make it all the more relevant for students who need to understand this theory in science. It also provides a unique opportunity to talk about the role of time in science and our understanding of time relative to the process of evolution. This book would be suitable as both a unit guide and a book to read aloud to students. |
| 17. The Freedom Maze |
| Background of Author: Delia Sherman is an American writer born in Tokyo, Japan. She is a fantasy and speculative fiction writer. She has won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. She has written six books and edited two. The Freedom Maze has won the Prometheus Award and the Andre Norton Award. |
| Grade Level and Audience: The Freedom Maze was written for the audience of young adults, but is a very accessible novel because of the central character Sophie’s family struggle with the divorce of her parents, as well as the historical research into U.S. History. It is a fantasy novel that uses the device of time travel to explore the central themes of the book (see below). |
| Description: In The Freedom Maze thirteen year old Sophie is sent to spend the summer with her grandmother in Louisiana. The story is set against the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s and then just before the outbreak of the civil war. Sophie explores a maze at her grandmother house and finds it has a secret and playful inhabitant spirit. She makes a reckless wish to the spirit and he sends 100 years into the past into 1860, and she finds herself stumbling out of the maze and into the enslaving arms of her ancestors because she her skin color is so dark from tanning in the summers sun. Her journey quickly turns from adventurous to serious as she is tasked with learning about relationships and where she and her family come from before returning to the 1960’s. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This story would be a difficult pair for a unit plan, however, it might be a good supplemental piece for discussions on the nature of science and how we investigate the world. The major themes of the novel include time travel, womanhood, slavery, courage and family ties. The Freedom Maze could also be incorporated into a cross-content-area study with both history and English because students could investigate the “scientific” facts that were falsified to perpetuate racism in the southern states and other areas. |
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18. The City of Ember |
| Background of Author: Jeanne DuPrau is an American writer born in San Francisco. She completed the Ember series and has also written other novels and a few nonfiction pieces.She has recieved readers choice awards from eleven states as well as the American Library Association’s Notable Book Award. |
| Grade Level and Audience: The City of Ember is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. It is suitable for middle school age students but could be extended to high school age students as a quick read. It is highly appealing to both young men and women because of the two central characters Lina and Doon. |
| Description: In The City of Ember, two characters Linna and Doon live in an underground city where people have survived for 200 years. The city was well suppled because during that time life on Earth was impossible (alluded to nuclear radiation from warfare). A group called The Builders were the original architects for the city of Ember which runs entirely on very important lights. The builders left the Mayor of the city with a box instructing them on how to get back to the surface when the Earth was again safe for inhabitation (after the 200 years). However, the box was lost as one mayor tries to break it open hoping it contains a cure to a deadly cough infecting the citizens of Ember. It remains lost for many years and the story moves to 241 years where supplies are running out in the city and the power is on it’s last leg. Linna and Doon find the note left by the builders in the box which Linna’s Grandmother had. They reconstruct the note and find the builders instructions on how to escape. They follow the instructions and find rafts for the river journey taking them halfway out of the city. They also find a book explaining the history of the city originally made of 100 adults and 100 children to ensure that the human race would survive. Linna and Doon have to climb a steep incline and they reach an overlook where they see the city far below them. Neither of them knew they were living underground the entire time. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This book is an excellent choice to plan a unit around energy, and sustainable practice for middle school students. Major themes of the novel include dreams, hopes and plans which are important to address to students in this age group. The City of Ember would make an excellent discussion piece for these students who are challenged to consider if our current energy practices are sustainable, and how we could address the elimination of natural resources. |
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19. Eva |
| Background of Author: Peter Dickinson is a writer born in Zambia but now living in the UK. He has also written many poems. He has won two Carnegie Wards. He was a finalist to the Hans Christian Anderson Medal. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. |
| Grade Level and Audience: Eva is a young adult novel suitable for middle school and high school age students. It challenges students understanding of identity and is a commentary on ethical science. |
| Description: Eva wakes up from an accident to find she is paralyzed. Her family assures her she will be fine. She soon learns that she is actually a chimpanzee, and that in the accident her body was so badly damaged that her consciousness was transferred to a chimpanzee using an experimental procedure. Eva learns to adapt to her new body, but she has strange dreams of places she has never seen before, and that Kelly, the chimp she was transplanted to, has never seen either. Eva learns she must accept the chimp parts of herself. She attends school and spends time adjusting to chimp life in the Reserve. She meets another chimp there called Sniff who is intelligent and intrigued by her. Then, she meets Grog Kennedy an animal rights activist who prompts her that the chimps should return to the wild because human populations are in decline and will not take care of the captive animals for much longer. They devise and escape plan and Eva escapes with the other chimps to an island near Madagascar. Eva cuts herself off from other humans to save the chimpanzee population and the tale ends with her forty-one years later imagining a future where her band of chimpanzees becomes the new dominant race. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: Eva is an intriguing tale of ethics in science. It would make a great discussion starter for young and old students. It could be used for a unit on natural interactions, human treatment of nature and animals, the ethics of science, and sustainability. Major themes of the novel include identity which could lead to some interesting discussions on identity development (nature versus nurture), and how animals are different from humans. |
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20. The Hunger Games |
| Background of Author: Suzanne Collins is an American writer born in Hartford, Connecticut. She is best known as the author of the New York Times best selling series The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games. She has been awarded an American Library Association’s Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults award, and a California Young Readers medal among many others. |
| Grade Level and Audience: The Hunger Games is a suitable novel for young adults ranging from high school to middle school. The central character Katniss is very relatable and the creative storyline is engaging. |
| Description: Katniss lives in District Twelve, one of thirteen districts controlled by The Capitol in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic society. Every year the districts are forced to participate in the Hunger Games to pay tribute to the generosity of the Capitol and remember that the Capitol is superior to them. Two children are chosen from each district, a boy and a girl, to represent them in an arena where they fight to the death against the tributes from the other districts. The winner is showered with gifts and the Capitol looks favorably on the winners district for the rest of the year. Katniss volunteers when her sisters name is called in the annual Reaping. She enters the Hunger Games and uses her skills with a bow and arrow to overcome the other tributes, most who befall death without her actually killing them. She develops a relationship with the other tribute from District Twelve, Peeta, and he reveals early in the story that he is in love with Katniss and has been since he was very young. They two escape the Hunger Games together by threatening suicide if they cannot live without each other. The story ends in a cliff hanger with the two of them escaping the games as winners but exposing the weakness of the Capitol. |
| Classroom Notes and Uses: This book would make a good choice for a unit plan on the nature of science, the importance of scientific knowledge to the advancement of society, and how information is used to maintain control over groups of people. Student can learn from this book that scientific ways of thinking, being a problem solver and analyzing the world around you, are possible even though you may not consider yourself a scientist in a laboratory sense. The story also presents the idea of genetics as particular point of engagement because of the muttations used by the Capitol. |
Range of Reading (11-12), Range of Reading (6-8), Range of Reading (9-10), Resources, Standard #2: Learning Differences., Standard #5: Innovative Applications of Content., Standard #7: Planning for Instruction., Standard #8: Instructional Strategies.
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