This historical drama film is based on the 1982 novel by Thomas Keneally and based on true events. It tells the story of businessman Oskar Schindler, who worked to save more than a thousand Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. This film is suited for interdisciplinary teaching […]
In this verse novel about homelessness, friendship and the willingness to help, 16-year-old Billy runs away from his abusive father – he much rather lives in an old railroad carriage than at what used to be ‘home’. There he meets a man called Old Bill, an alcoholic, and Caitlin, a rich but deeply dissatisfied girl. […]
This movie drama (based on the novel Q and A) revolves around family, friendship and fate: Jamal grows up as a poor beggar in India but when he is 18 years old he finds himself as contestant in ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ nonetheless. Neither the show’s host nor the viewers can easily believe […]
This movie drama tackles prejudice and violence in the modern day USA: Protagonist Walt is an old man, a veteran of the US-Korean War, recently widowed. One day Thao, a young Hmong American, is pressured into stealing Walt’s car but when the attempt fails, the grumpy old man and the boy cannot help but grow […]
A verse novel about the search for one’s own story, this one introduces the reader to 12-year-old Kasienka. Looking for her father, she and her mother migrated from Poland to England. Life, however, poses many challenges for Kasienka: bullying in school, living in a run down flat and having to share a bed with her […]
In this novel about family relations, loss and growing up written entirely in verse, 12-year-old Josh and his twin brother Jordan ‘JB’ live for basketball. That is why they are the star players of their school’s team, the Wildcats. Still, there is a hardship on and off the court for Josh to overcome: being trained […]
A young readers’ novel about family, friendship and gender roles. When Matthew’s cousin Sam comes over from the USA, he is not a likeable character: impolite, smelly and with long hair. So in order to join the local school boys’ gang, he has to accept and complete the challenge they set for him – come […]
A young readers’ novel about bullying, peer pressure, acceptance, diversity and friendship: Muncle Trogg is a giant, albeit a tiny one. In fact, he is so small that all the other giants make fun of him. So Muncle Trogg sneaks away to study the creatures which look most like him: humans, aka Smallings. One particular […]
The first part of the trilogy tells the story of ‘A’ and his peculiar challenge: Every day he wakes up to discover that he is another person, yet again. In the meantime, A managed to get accustomed to that. But when he one day wakes up being somebody named Justin, he meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon, […]
In this realist novel about poverty, exploitation, human trafficking and ‘modern’ slavery, 13-year-old Lakshmi lives a poor but happy life with her family in rural Nepal. When a monsoon washes away her family’s remaining crops, she is forced to take on a job. When she is tricked into moving to the city, instead of prosperity […]
In this epistolary novel about family, migration and loss, a 12-year-old Jewish girl named Rifka documents her family’s escape from Russia in 1919 and their journey to the USA: how Rifka distracted guards by telling them stories, how she fell sick and needed to be treated in Belgium before they could go on and how […]
A young adult novel about losing self-control, self-and body image, depression and the presence of winter. This is the story of two best friends Lia and Cassie, albeit with a sad twist: When one develops bulimia, the other one develops anorexia and thus they start a contest, trying to find out which of the two […]
In this comedy thriller, 12-year-old Joe fears his grandma: She is both physically repulsive and horribly mean, and Joe is afraid she has terrible plans in mind for him. When one day his parents are away and she takes him to a get-together of many other mean grannies, he rightfully fears for his life – […]
A young adult novel about desires, fears and the struggle to keep up. 16-year-old Tessa is fatally ill with leukemia, so she comes up with a bucket list of things to do before she dies, e.g. commiting crimes, having sex and doing drugs. While her family is trying to cope in different ways, Tessa happens […]
An easy read navigating the diffuculties of migration and growing up trapped between two cultures. Manjit is a teenage boy living in Leicester (England), brought up by strict Punbjabi parents. Dissappointed by Manny’s grades and behavior, his parents arrange for him to be married in India: They take him there and then return to England […]
The comedic autobiography describes Trevor Noah’s childhood as a mixed-race child in South Africa during the apartheid era. Suited for interdisciplinary teaching, it can be used in connection to History class while discussing South African history. A possible introduction to the book could be to watch clips of Trevor Noah hosting the The Daily Show.
A novel about the ups and downs of school, puberty and everything in between. This illustrated children’s novel tells the story of a boy named Greg Heffley and his attempts at becoming the ‘popular kid’ in middle school. From failed Geography tests to his best friend getting more attention from girls than him, there are […]
A gripping dystopian story about security, freedom, and the willingness to buy one with the other. Marcus is a 17-year-old tech-savvy student in San Francisco. When he is not breaking his school’s security measures, he spends his free time playing augmented reality games with his friends. It is not his fault that the police find […]