Communication Arts I & Honors - Freshmen
Click a book title to read a parent-written review of the book with regard to profanity, sex, violence and/or other adult content. Click a column heading to sort the list. All of the books on this list have been used by Blue Valley Communication Arts (English) teachers.
Each teacher typically chooses around 6 novels to teach in any given year which are supposed to pass through a textbook selection policy filter BEFORE they are assigned as compulsory reading. But many teachers assign "pet" novels that have NOT been properly filtered, or which were retroactively added to the "approved" list in June of 2004 or August of 2005.
The district's "approved booklist" was updated in August 2005. Although a book may appear on this official "approved" list, it may NOT be age appropriate and may contain graphic content. For example, please click below on our review for Bless Me Ultima.
Time-tested and world-renowned classics NOT used in the Blue Valley curriculum.
Click a book title link to read a parent-written review. Click a column heading to sort the list.
| P | S | O | None | A few times | Several times | Many times or explicit | NYR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profanity (f-word, other obscenities) | Sexually explicit material | Other Adult content (drugs, occult, suicide, extreme violence, or other adult issues that parents should know about before their children are immersed in them. |  |
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 | Not Yet Rated |
| Title | Author | Date "approved" by district | Class | P | S | O | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventures of Ulysses | Evslin, Bernard | 9/2000 | 9 | NYR | |||
| Anthem | Rand, Ayn | 9/2000 | 9, 9H | |
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| Bless Me Ultima | Anaya, RudolfoCHALLENGED BOOK | Retroactively approved 6/2004 | 9H | |
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| Chosen | Potok, Chaim | 9/2000 | 9H | |
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| Dandelion Wine | Bradbury, Ray | NOT Approved | 9 | |
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| Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | Zindel, Paul | NOT Approved | 9 | NYR | |||
| Great Expectations | Dickens, Charles | Retroactively approved 6/2004 | 9H | NYR | |||
| House on Mango Street | Cisneros, Sandra | Retroactively approved 6/2004 | 9H | |
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| Lord of the Flies | Golding, William | 9/2000 | 9, 9H | |
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| Night | Wiesel, Elie | 9/2000 | 9, 9H | |
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| Odyssey | Homer | 9/2000 | 9H | NYR | |||
| Of Mice and Men | Steinbeck, John | 9/2000 | 9, 9H | |
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| Romeo and Juliet | Shakespeare | 9/2000 | 9, 9H | Note | |||
| Secret Diary of Adrian Mole | Townsend, Sue | NOT Approved | 9 | |
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| Separate Peace | Knowles, John | Retroactively approved 6/2004 | 9, 9H | |
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| Stotan | Crutcher, ChrisPETITION BOOK | 9/2000 | 9 | |
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| Twelve Angry Men | Rose, Reginald | 9/2000 | 9, 9H | |
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