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It is so much fun to watch the antics of this mouse.

10. Homemade Love by bell hooks. I finish my children's list with another poem. I love the spoken word and the illustrations are great in this book, it affirms that there is nothing as sweet as the love of parents to child.

There are more books than I have room to recommend for children, but a quick look through my living room library or through the cobwebs of my mind uncovered the following titles that I'd recommend for middle or high school. If it is heavy, I indicate an (H) for definitely the junior/senior in high school. These books include:

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (forgot the author). This is a great coming of age book for any girl. I read it in 6th grade.

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This should be and is required reading in many high schools. There is triumph in hardship and character always prevails.

3. The Diary of Anne Frank. I'd say middle schoolers can handle this young girl's rendering of her family's struggle to survive during the Holocaust. The middle school child will be sympathetic to her conditions.

4. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Need I say more?

5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Classic literature

6. Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain. Again, classic literature

The following books are important and parts of African-American History
4. Middle Passage by Charles Johnson.
5. A Lesson Before Dying (forgot the author)
6. A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines
7. Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody. Set in the Civil Rights Era.
8. Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown. A classic that my 13-year-old is currently reading.
9. Roots by Alex Haley. A real classic of a family from slavery to his generation. The book is always better than the television series but the series should be seen at least once in a lifetime and can be rented at any movie store.
10. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Dr. Maya Angelou

These are just some of my recommendations. I love the written word and the power of the pen. The children in 2007 are more prone to watch a movie or send a text message so any love of literature we can instill in them is a legacy with unmeasurable payoff.

Learn more about this author, Taye Foster Bradshaw.
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