Smile

 

Telgemeier, Raina, and Stephanie Yue. Smile. Graphix, 2010.

Genre: Autobiography 

Lexile: GN410L

More info: https://www.amazon.com/Smile-Raina-Telgemeier/dp/0545132061

Summary: This autobiography chapter book follows the life of Raina is trying to fit in. One night she has a horrible fall and injures her two front teeth. After this accident she wears braces, retainers, headgear and she has to undergo multiple surgeries. Follow Raina's journey as she discovers what it means to be yourself, stand up to bully's and not listen to what other's say about you.

Target Audience: Middle school, 6th-8th grade.

Evaluation: I think this would be a great book for middle schoolers to read. It has a great, relatable and captivating story line. It is a wonderful coming of age story for middle school level readers. It also teaches many valuable lessons in between it's funny and dramatic chapters. The theme is about acceptance and finding yourself, even if others are judging you or bullying you. I think this would be an awesome book for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to read and discuss in the class.

Reader response activity: If I had a middle school class reading this I would ask them to write a paper after they had read it. I would ask them to write about a time they had to accept who they were and not listen to others. Was this hard for them? Why or why not? What did they learn from it? Can they relate to the main character in this story?