Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge

Kevin Boland is a baseball player, well, make that former baseball player, at least for the better part of the season anyway. Kevin has mono and has taken up writing poetry. He's pretty good at it too! He writes sonnets, sestinas, pantoums, haikus, and elegies. Poetry helps him deal with his mother's death, his loss of identity as he sits out the baseball season, his frustration with friends, and his growing interest in a girl at school.

This entire book is written in blank verse poetry which makes this such a fantastic read as each poem can be read for individual meaning as well as for its advancement of the story.

Teens will enjoy this book for the artistic risks it takes and succeeds.

Genre: Poetry/Realistic Fiction

Koertge, R. (2003). Shakespeare bats cleanup. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley narrates/illustrates his middle grade school year month by month. His discusses his brothers, Rodrick (older) and Manny (younger) and his friend Rowley who seems to be even more unpopular than Greg is (at least in Greg's way of thinking). His numerous adventures include building a Haunted House with Rowley, his run in with high schoolers on Halloween, joining the safety patrol, wrestling, building muscle with his homemade gym, playing a tree in the school musical The Wizard of Oz, playing with the Big Wheel Rowley got him for Christmas, building the world's biggest snowman, writing comics for the school paper, fighting Rowley, and of course The Cheese.

Boys will love this book! Girls will also find it enjoyable as it shows a through development of character. Kids love these diary/journal/memoir books and this one is funny and really makes the reader think as it doesn't always protray Greg as the nicest guy.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid: Greg Heffley's journal. New York: Amulet Books.