Orca Soundings are teen novels for reluctant readers. Orca Currents are middle-school novels for reluctant readers. Written at a grade 2.0 to grade 4.5 reading level, these compelling contemporary novels have proven incredibly popular with teachers and librarians looking for material that will engage their most reluctant of readers. Orca has always provided professionally written teachers guides to accompany these books. Now we offer a complete resource guide to enable classroom integration of these popular titles. Including sections on reading levels, book discussion groups, literacy circles, assessment and follow-up activities, this resource guide enables a teacher to implement the Orca Soundings and Orca Currents series as part of a comprehensive independent reading and literacy unit.

Holding each other up with respect, dignity and kindness.

Key Selling Points This book was nominated for Best Quick Read by the American Library Association. Maxed Out is the first of two books that feature brothers Duncan and Max. The second, Camped Out, won the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award. Enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

In most ways, Poe is like the other kids in his school. He thinks about girls and tries to avoid too much contact with teachers. He has a loving father who helps him with his homework. But Poe has a secret, and almost every day some small act threatens to expose him. He doesn't have a phone number to give to friends. He doesn't have an address. Poe and his father are living in a tent on city land. When the city clears the land to build housing, Poe worries that they might not be able to find another site near his school. Will Poe have to expose his secret to get help for himself and his father? This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

When Cody and his friends accept a challenge from a local gang to steal a park bench, their main concern is keeping themselves on the gang's good side. Cody learns that the stolen bench had been dedicated to the father of the English teacher who sponsors the school newspaper—the paper that Cody has just started writing for—and he's worried about the consequences. As the gang applies pressure for more from Cody and his friends, he realizes they've crossed a line, and now he has to figure out how to make it right.

Key Selling Points This is a story full of humor and heart with a cast of multigenerational women working together for change. Flower Power was shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Award. Enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

It's hard enough for Eve to adjust to a new high school without the extra weight she's gained over the summer. Her best friend is ashamed to hang out with her, and she's become the focus of a schoolmate's cruelty. Determined not to be "that pathetic fat girl" at school, Eve struggles with a diet and forces herself to join a mentoring program. The diet only makes her food obsessed, and she feels she is failing as a mentor. How can a lonely fat girl gain the confidence she needs to succeed? This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!