The July, 2014 issue edited by Christopher T Garry features 124 pages of never before seen stories from eight new authors, creating narratives that are variously dark, cynical, inspiring, violent and longing. Black Denim Lit is a monthly journal of fiction available on the web and eReaders. "'Til Death Do Us Party" by Kelly Schrock (Cinder is suspended on the far side of death); "Call for Help" by Zack Miller (Jenny considers her place at the center of suicide support); "Unfinished Things" by Ethan Fast (A thing lurks in the dark speaking low and reasonable); "What Pavel Found" by Geoffrey W. Cole (Pavel visits a future that has a past requiring more than a lifetime to understand); "The Girl in the Glass Case" by Matthew Di Paoli (Fred struggles with tenuous socialization and stark sexuality in an increasingly internalized technological world); PLUS "Uncanny Valley" by M.T. O’Byrne; "The Teacher's Connection" by T.D. Edge; "Local News" by Benjamin Schachtman What are you looking for outside yourself? What gives you forward motion in a brutal life? How will artificially intelligent androids feel living at the edge of what scientists today call the Uncanny Valley?

The August, 2014 issue edited by Christopher T Garry features 140 pages of never before seen stories from eight new authors, creating narratives that are variously dark, cynical, inspiring, violent and longing. Black Denim Lit is a monthly journal of fiction available on the web and eReaders. "Armed" by Robert Stiles (Sal Noman recieves an arm in the mail.); "Blood Melody" by Tiffany Michelle Brown (Layla is slowly starving in the ocean); "Fluttering in the Remains" by Rhoads Brazos (Manny and his son Theo take over a junkyard and find it inhabited); "The Imperfect Patsy" by John Dromey (Lewis Poindexter finds his work shifting from detecting to killing); "The Quickening" by Kate Morrow (Four friends are bloodbound in dystopia); "The Job" by Scott Blankenship (An assassin makes a change in his routine); "The Helmet" by Sean Monaghan (Salvage experts have a go outrunning ... the government?); "A Suitable Poison" by Linda Boroff (Berta sets off the culture of a magazine publishing firm with its grueling schedule and office politics with wry regard for youth, relationships and power.) The work draws from fantasy, crime, science fiction and drama. Such genre variety is brought together under the common thread of rich characterization. In all the stories this month, these are human beings at odds. Whether they face a gun, a monster, a co-worker or the vastness of space, each of these players respond from a very deep place of truth. And regardless of which genre can be applied, the authors have surprises in store.

Experience the hardships of being the new kid and how to persevere in a discriminatory climate. The activities in this resource allow educators to customize their unit for individual student needs. Predict what will be revealed about the character Andy based on first impressions. Compare the different results from Jordan’s meeting with Maury and then with Drew. Recall events from the Secret Santa game in Jordan’s homeroom. Put events that take place during the holiday break in the correct order. Reflect on how you perceive others and how they perceive you. Play a game of “this or that” by comparing two different things and deciding which is better. Relate the plot or themes of chapter titles with their real-world counterparts. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: New Kid follows seventh grader Jordan Banks as he embarks on his first day at a prestigious private school. His mother’s attempts to prepare him for the real world has hindered his dreams of attending an art school. At Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan is just one of a few other students who look like him. His initial experience is wrought with challenges from fitting in to facing racism. Throughout these many struggles, Jordan manages to make a few new friends, but still struggles to fit in with his old ones. Trapped between two worlds, Jordan is faced with the realization that some people are blind to the discrimination around them. When Jordan finally has enough and sticks up for a friend, he sees some change for the better in the school environment. New Kid is a graphic novel that shows the struggle of one character’s experience being the new kid at school, and how he perseveres to grow into a new kid in life.

Reconnect with lost loved ones and discover the strength hidden within. This resource is engaging and fun for the students, leading to better comprehension of the novel. Put yourself in the Gaither sister’s shoes and imagine how you would react when facing your long-lost mother. Make inferences based on what is described in the text. Explore the importance of names and why people may change them. Designate statements about the summer camp as true or false. Find the word that does not belong in a series and explain why it does not fit. Plan a meal to serve to your family that is both delicious and nutritious. Track instances of flashbacks and foreshadowing used throughout the novel. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: One Crazy Summer follows the adventures of the Gaither sisters as they travel to Oakland, California in the summer of 1968. Hoping to reconnect with the mother who abandoned them, Delphine, Vonetta and Fern fly to a strange new town on the other side of the country from where they call home. Scared and alone, the sisters meet a reluctant and secretive woman they refer to as Cecile. While the two youngest try their hardest to win Cecile’s affection, Delphine falls into her role as de facto mother in order to take care of her sisters. In doing so, she is able to slowly chip away at Cecile’s hard exterior and peek inside her inner workings. During their summer stay, Cecile sends the girls to a day camp run by the Black Panthers group. While there, the Gaither sisters meet new people and make new friends. They learn about what the Black Panthers are trying to accomplish and all the good they do for the community. By the end of the summer, the Gaither sisters manage to reconnect with their mother and make lifelong friends.

Rise up and fight against injustice. This resource aligns perfectly with the novel and is a great source to gage what students are comprehending. Predict whether Luke will stay hidden after the woods are cut down, based on what you know of him so far. Detail the difference between Luke’s bread and his mother’s. Identify statements about Jen’s life as either true or false. Write a journal entry from Jen’s point of view detailing her preparations for the rally. Match the synonyms to key vocabulary words found in the novel. Perform a tableau of your favorite scene from the story. Create a coat of arms detailing one theme from the novel. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: Among the Hidden focuses on the dystopian world of Luke Garner, where having more than two children is illegal. Unfortunately for Luke, he’s the youngest of three brothers. Therefore, he must stay hidden to avoid detection from the US government. At some point in the past, the US government enacted a Population Law to help fight against food shortages. However, some believe that this is simply the government’s way of controlling its citizens. One of these people is Luke’s neighbor, who’s also a third child. Jen comes from a well-off family. She has access to the Internet and books, something Luke does not. Jen explains to Luke that she wants to start a revolution. She’s in communication with other third children, and is organizing a rally to be held outside the Whitehouse. When things go wrong, Luke finds himself in danger and must make a choice: risk being found, or assume a new identity and leave his home.

The Great Depression is the setting for this tale of overcoming hardships. This resource is designed to help struggling readers understand the book. Make predictions about Billie Jo’s future playing the piano. Put events in order as they happen to Billie Jo and her classmates. Students imagine making the same decisions Billie Jo faces regarding her future. Identify the metaphor Billie Jo uses for her father and what it means. Compare and contrast your own holiday traditions with the ones celebrated by Billie Jo’s community. Explore key sequences of events from the story on a plot train graphic organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: Out of the Dust tells the story of Billie Jo as she struggles during the Great Depression while living on a farm in Oklahoma. Billie Jo lives with her parents on a small farm with very little money and insufficient crops. Drought rages across the country. With no water, nothing can grow and soon the ground turns to dust. Dust is everywhere. It’s in their food, their clothes, their beds, their mouths, and even their eyes. There is no break from it. The only good thing is Billie Jo’s love of playing the piano. She inherits this from her mother, who soon allows her to start playing at shows. However, things get worse for the family when tragedy befalls their small farm. An event causes Billie Jo to lose her mother and unborn brother. She also injures her hands so severely that she can no longer play the piano. Billie Jo and her father soon drift apart. It’s only a matter of time before Billie Jo must decide whether to leave the farm for a better life, or stay and watch her farm and father be swallowed in dust. Told from her perspective, Billie Jo’s voice is evident as she retells the hardships her and her family have endured while trying to survive, living among the dust.

Discover firsthand what it’s like for refugees entering the US in this coming-of-age story of one girl’s struggle to belong. This resource has everything you will need in one packet, from pre-assessment material, to comprehension questions incorporating vocabulary. Reflect on Hà’s mother’s decision of having to choose a different country to live in. Put the events that describe Hà’s first day of school in the order that they occur. Describe what Miss Scott shows to the class, and how Hà reacts to it. Predict whether the family will learn what happened to their father. Put yourself in Hà’s shoes and imagine what you would wish for during Têt. Explore the concept of language and how difficult it can be to learn by researching common idioms used in your language. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: Inside Out & Back Again follows 10-year-old Hà and her family as they struggle as refugees in 1970’s America. The story begins in 1975 Saigon. Hà’s father has been missing for years since leaving to fight in the war of Vietnam. The war is now over and the Americans are leaving. Communists from the North threaten the family’s safety and freedom. They come to the hard decision of leaving their beloved home to seek shelter elsewhere. They settle on America, and with the sponsorship of a kind “cowboy”, the family start their new home in Alabama. Their struggles don’t stop there, however. Their first task is to learn English. Hà struggles with this as she enters school in America. She is met with bullies and miscommunication in language and culture. With the help of a kind neighbor, Hà quickly learns how to survive in her new home. She begins to make friends at school, and her family begin to prosper as well. The day comes when the family must make the difficult decision regarding her father, but nothing will stop them from making the most of their new lives in America.