It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, a meme created by The Broke and Bookish.
This week’s topic? Top Ten Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught X 101
I chose Friendships in MG Literature and focused in particular on friendships between male and female characters. Friendship dynamics are frequently explored in middle grade novels. Pre-teen and teen readers are all about looking outward, beginning to rely heavily on their peers and attempting to navigate the complexities of friendship dynamics. It’s developmental. It’s difficult. Mistakes are often made. What better way to develop a deeper understanding of friendships than in the pages of a book? I think these titles in particular feature wonderful relationships based on respect, acceptance, support and kindness. The friendships are not always perfect but these novels are perfectly suited to learning all about what it is to be a good friend.
Friendships worth reading about:
Chirp and Joey in Nest by Esther Erlich
Ivy and Paul in The Great Good Summer by Liz Garton Scanlon
Albert and Ally in Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Felicity and Jonah in A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
Circa and Miles in Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner
Peter and Annie in Wish Girl written by Nikki Loftin
Apple and Evan in Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly
Will and Maren in The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel
Mo and Dale in The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage
Sophie and Matteo in Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
Can you think of another friendship pair that could be added to this list?
Well, I have done some more reading and I can!
Wren and Theo in Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder
Azalea and Billy in Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood
Cedar and Leo in Summerlost by Ally Condie
There's a Book for That 
Alistair and Kyle or Fiona in The Riverman (its a bit out there though)
Tamaya and Chad in Fuzzy Mud (unconventional again)
Auggie and Summer (?) in Wonder
Loved seeing The Boundless here. Excellent idea for a list!
I don’t think The Riverman is out there. I considered including this! Thanks.
Amazing list. Definitely going to look up some of these books. 🙂
Wonderful! Happy reading!
Great idea for a course!
Here’s mine!
Thanks for visiting!
For some reason, when I was looking at your list I thought of a book I’d read years ago, in which a boy and a girl avoid being evacuated from London during WW11, meet, and survive the Blitz together. It does develop into a romance though, so I guess it doesn’t count. Still, thanks for the jog to my memory! I even managed to dredge up the title–Fireweed.
I have not read ANY of these, or even heard of most of them. I need to beef up my MG knowledge. Many of my 7th and 8th graders need these as much as YA.
I think all of these titles are of definite interest for this age group. Glad it sparked a memory!
Mo and Dale . . . love those two. Don’t forget Frita and Gabe in one of my all time favorite books, The Liberation of Gabriel King!
I love books that highlight male/female friendships. Thanks for this list.
Me too! I am pleased you enjoyed this theme and thanks for the suggestion!
Great topic & subgenre for a course – I would have signed up for it in my elem ed days!! 🙂 My TTT
So pleased! Thanks Carrie
What a great topic! I love a good middle grade and while I haven’t read any of these Nest and A Snicker of Magic are already on my TBR. I’m adding The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing as well. Have you read The Book Scavenger? I read that earlier this summer and loved it!
I haven’t read this – thanks for the recommendation. I highly recommend all of these titles – happy reading!
I love your Top Ten list! Some of my absolute favorites are on them!
So pleased!
Oooh friendships, that’s such a good choice of topic! I have never heard of these picks, but I’ll certainly be looking into them.
Check out my Top Ten Tuesday list!
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Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination