Guests by Michael Dorris

Michael Dorris relates the story of Moss, a young Native American boy who is searching for his self identity while his family is struggling to forge a relationship with the Europeans who have recently come to their land. The language in this short chapter book is poetic and beautiful. While a third grader could read it, the subject matter would be a bit over his or her head - much more fitting for 4th-8th graders.
I've got sticky notes bulging from all over this book:

• Chapter 1 - Great for teaching questioning and predicting as Dorris slowly unfolds the details about Moss and his family.
• Many opportunities to read this book from a writer's perspective as Dorris uses language to describe feelings, situations, and relationships:
  • p. 25 "My thoughts seemed to bounce into each other, to play tag with me when I tried to grab them."
  • p. 38 "A thought arose from somewhere in the center of my body and spread like the circles that grown in water from the splash of a rock: this was not a game I could stop whenever I wanted to."
  • p. 60 "From somewhere deep inside me, a laugh got started and fought its way up through my nose."
• p. 77 - Second paragraph is a great example of sensory imaging, could also be a nice way to introduce a visualizing mini-lesson.

Scholastic has a nice Discussion Guide filled with questions of every type and level, as well as a Vocabulary Builder.