Category: Text Format

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2000-2009 All CEFR B2 eBook High school (grades 9+) Medium Length (up to 8 hrs) Novel Print

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Christopher John Francis Boone is 15 years old and lives with his dad. He has Asperger’s syndrome, which makes life special for him. One day, the neighbor’s dog is killed in Christopher’s yard and the boy starts to investigate the case. Investigating the case makes him face his mother’s decision and his parents’ complex relationship.

Year of Release: 2003

Author(s): Mark Haddon

Preview:

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1618.The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night_Time?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=d0PsoDVSig&rank=1

ISBN: 9783060311170

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Categories
2000-2009 2010-2019 All CEFR B2 eBook High school (grades 9+) Medium Length (up to 8 hrs) Novel Print

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

The protagonist, Virginia Shreves, lives in a perfect family in New York, but feels a total outcast. Her parents and her siblings are slim and sporty, while Virginia suffers from low self-esteem due to her obesity. Her parents are devastated by her brother’s date-rape case, and they go into complete denial. Virginia takes her life into her own hands, joins a kickbox class to lose weight and makes new friends.

Year of Release: 2003, 2018

Author(s): Carolyn Mackler

Preview: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/earth-my-butt-and-other-big-round-things-9781681198002/

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/253106

ISBN: 9781681197982

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Extract and usage suggestions for teaching:

Very useful for moderate teenage slang.



Further comments for teachers:

The 2003 edition is different from the new edition published in 2018.

Categories
2000-2009 All CEFR B2 eBook Extensive Length (more than 8 hrs) High school (grades 9+) Novel Print

Black Swan Green

Black Swan Green is David Mitchell’s semi-autobiographical novel about coming to grips with his stammering. The protagonist is 13-year-old Jason Taylor who lives in Black Swan Green. He witnesses his parents’ failing marriage and his father’s affair.

Year of Release: 2006

Author(s): David Mitchell

Preview:

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11806799-black-swan-green

ISBN: 9780340839263

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Further comments for teachers:

Teachers’ guide is available: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/115429/black-swan-green-by-david-mitchell/9780812974010/teachers-guide/

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Categories
2000-2009 All Audiobook Available For Free (Open Access) CEFR B2 eBook Extensive Length (more than 8 hrs) Extracts - Well Suited for Teaching With Extracts High school (grades 9+) Novel Online Print

The Secret Life of Bees

Lily Owens lives with her abusive father and has trouble remembering what happened to her mother. When she finds the mysterious Black Mary picture, she feels she needs to investigate her past to come to terms with her unrecognized trauma. She and their maid, Rosaleen, leave her father and try to find a new place to live. They meet the Boatwright sisters who invite Lily and Rosaleen to stay.

Year of Release: 2002

Author(s): Sue Monk Kidd

Preview: https://suemonkkidd.com/books/the-secret-life-of-bees/

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37435.The_Secret_Life_of_Bees?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=pV4wphzdD0&rank=1

ISBN: 13: 978-0142001745

ebook URL:

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Online text: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2941508W/The_secret_life_of_bees?edition=ia%3Asecretlifeofbees00kidd_0

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The film adaptation of the novel came out in 2008.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY9RvcbzTCw
IMDB site: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416212/

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2020-today All CEFR B2 eBook Extensive Length (more than 8 hrs) Extracts - Well Suited for Teaching With Extracts High school (grades 9+) Novel Print

West with Giraffes

Woodrow Wilson Nickel is 105 years old and feels his life is ebbing away at an assisted living residence. He tells the most memorable story of his youth when he helped to get two giraffes to Southern California and met the love of his life. Woodrow grew up in the Texas Panhandle where he lost his parents and sister during the Great Depression. The year is 1938. Penniless due to the lingering depression, rowdy Woodrow arrives in New York after the hurricane devastated the coast. He ends up driving a truck on a twelve-day road trip to Southern California taking the two giraffes to the San Diego Zoo.

Year of Release: 2021

Author(s): Lynda Rutledge

Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGMuq8uPLko

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56449476-west-with-giraffes?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Q0r0lvK7EB&rank=1

ISBN: 9781542023344

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Extract and usage suggestions for teaching:

Ch. 1 deals with the consequences of the Great Depression



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Categories
1946-1999 All CEFR B1 High school (grades 9+) Medium Length (up to 8 hrs) Novel Print

Howl’s Moving Castle

After unwittingly incurring the wrath of the Witch of the Waste, 18-year-old Sophie is cursed to live the rest of her life as an old woman. She sets off in search of heartless Howl, a wizard who presides in his ever-moving castle in the hills. Her journey to breaking the spell is also one of self-discovery. Sophie becomes more and more entangled with Howl, bargains with a fire demon and finally goes head to head with the Witch of the Waste.

Year of Release: 1986

Author(s): Diana Wynne Jones

Preview: https://preview.aer.io/Howls_Moving_Castle-ODU0MTY=?social=0&retail=0&emailcap=0

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6294.Howl_s_Moving_Castle

ISBN: 9780061478789 (2007 edition)

ebook URL: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/howls-moving-castle-diana-wynne-jones

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Further comments for teachers:

The book was made into a film in 2004 by Studio Ghibli: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl%27s_Moving_Castle_(film) – Students could compare the book with the film.

This book is part of the World of Howl series, which may interest students who want to find out more about Howl.

Categories
2000-2009 All CEFR B1 Extracts - Well Suited for Teaching With Extracts High school (grades 9+) Medium Length (up to 8 hrs) Novel Print

Just a Little Run Around the World: 5 Years, 3 Packs of Wolves and 53 Pairs of Shoes

After her partner dies of cancer, Rosie, heartbroken, sets off from Wales to run around the world. In what would become a five-year adventure, she faces harsh climates, packs of wolves, serious illnesses and faces many other challenges. This extraordinary journey helps her overcome her grief and find new joy in life.

Year of Release:

Author(s): Rosie Swale Pope

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Further information (link): https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780007306206/just-a-little-run-around-the-world/

ISBN: 978-0-007306206

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Extract and usage suggestions for teaching:

Instead of reading the whole book, chapters could be grouped by region (e.g. pages 121-172 for Russia, pages 173-235 for Alaska, pages 236-276 for Canada and USA). Different students read different groups of chapters and then process this in some way (e.g. presenting to the others verbally or via a digital story).



Further comments for teachers:

While reading the book from beginning to end, students can try to record and reconstruct an approximate timeline and locations and plot them on a world map. It will not always be possible to pin down exact places, but students can try to approximate locations as best as possible.

Categories
2010-2019 All Audiobook CEFR B1 eBook Extracts - Well Suited for Teaching With Extracts High school (grades 9+) Medium Length (up to 8 hrs) Novel Print

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom

Yeonmi Park tells her story of living as a young girl in North Korea and how she eventually managed to flee. The book gives insights into North Korean life, her escape from there and the ordeals and pains Park had to endure “in order to live”.

Year of Release:

Author(s): Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers

Preview: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318940/in-order-to-live-by-yeonmi-park-with-maryanne-vollers/

Further information (link): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611623-in-order-to-live

ISBN: 978-0-241-97303-5

ebook URL: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318940/in-order-to-live-by-yeonmi-park-with-maryanne-vollers/

Audiobook URL: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318940/in-order-to-live-by-yeonmi-park-with-maryanne-vollers/

Online text:

Extract and usage suggestions for teaching:

Pages 1-6: Prologue

Pages 9-121: Part One takes take place in North Korea.

Pages 125-198: Part Two focuses on the journey through China

Pages 201-267: Part Three covers life in South Korea



Further comments for teachers:

While reading the book from beginning to end, students can try to record and reconstruct an approximate timeline and locations and plot them on a map (such as the one in the book). It will not always be possible to pin down exact places, which is a fact which can also be used for discussions.

Large digital version for the map in the book: http://ebookassets.penguinrandomhouse.com/ebookassets/features/inordertolive/IOTL_Map.pdf