Smoky Night by Eve Bunting

This book tells the story of a riot and fire through the eyes of a young boy. It is written for middle-elementary readers and mostly consists of the boy watching a riot on the streets below through his apartment window and asking his mother questions about it.
The main merit of this book besides the beautiful, unique illustrations is the way it shows how people are brought together through tragedy. Both the boy and his chinese neighbor's cats are lost in the fire, and both experience the fear of losing them as well as joy when they are found and safe. Because of the tragic experience of a local riot and a fire in their apartment building the boy and his mother make a new friend in the Chinese woman, who until previously they had viewed as too different from themselves to talk to.
Some may consider this book controversial because it contains references to riots and race-based prejudice, but considering that the main message in the story is one of acceptance and it is not by any means overly violent or crude, I think reading it in the classroom would be appropriate and for the benefit of the students.

The Misfits by James Howe

This is a novel written for upper elementary-junior high aged readers. This novel tells the story of a group of seventh graders who decide to form their own political party, the Freedom Party, and run for student council in their middle school's elections. The story is told through the eyes of Bobby, an overweight and frequently teased yet highly intelligent 12 year old. He and his friends, who are all social outcasts in one way or another, decide to run for student council because of their lack of representation in the two existing parties (Democrats and Republicans). They end up changing their name to the No-Name Party in order to accommodate a rule stating that in order to create a third party the party must prove that they have an agenda not represented in the other party's platforms.
This is a very well written book that should be read by all late-elementary students. The themes covered in the book- discrimination, coming of age, oppression, teasing, etc. are well developed and unfold in a suspenseful and clever way. Humor is used effectively in this book, making me laugh out loud many times throughout the story. The events in the book are meaningful without being overly sentimental or unrealistic. For example, even though Bobby pours his heart out in front of the whole school in an epic election speech and everyone loves, the No-Name Party does not win the election.
This book is considered controversial by some mostly because one of the main characters, Joe, is gay and the book contains themes about discrimination based on sexual orientation. I think the book confronting this theme makes it even more important for students to read. This kind of discrimination is probably the strongest and most apparent in junior high school, and reading this book may help students better understand and even relate to people who are different from them and help reduce bigotry.

Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti

This is the story of a young girl living in Germany during World War II. It is written for mid-elementary readers. This is a good story for children to read because it shows a child taking great personal risk by doing the right thing and helping others. Rose Blanche, the main character of the story, risks her life to take food to starving Jewish people in a concentration camp outside of her city.

Innocenti uses symbolism well in the book. For example, Rose Blanche, along with being the name of the main character was the name of a group of antiwar Germans who were all killed during the war. This symbolism is continued when Rose is shot by German soldiers at the end of the story because it is foggy and "the soldiers see the enemy everywhere."

Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya

This is a story, written for mid-elementary readers, about the impact World War II had on zoo animals and their keepers. It is beautifully illustrated and unique because the story is tells is not what first comes to mind when most people think of World War II. The deaths of the innocent animals by starvation and the powerful impact this had on the zookeepers shows the devastation war causes from a new perspective.
Some may consider this book controversial because of the clear anti-war message, but I would disagree with sheltering children from this story. Even if some do not agree with the zookeeper's conclusion that all war should be stopped, the events that lead to the zookeeper feeling this way are good and clear and reading this book will help children understand why some people feel so strongly about war.

Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron

This is a book written for mid-elementary readers. It is a story written as if a dialogue was going on between the teller (the old uncle of the main character of the story) and the group of people he is telling it to (his and the main character's family). The story he tells is about the girls 'nappy' hair, about how it is the nappiest hair in the world. The main purpose of the story is probably to make black girls and boys feel proud of their hair, the way they talk, their heritage, etc. Although this is a positive mission, parts of the story are considered controversial by some people. For example, there is a page that shows the little girl, who is the main character, giving a speech at school. The text of the story says "She's the only one in her school knows how to talk right. A rose among thorns. Them old hardheads think they can talk English. But this chiletalks the king's English." Although this page is probably intended to bring attention to how some black children are made to feel inferior because of the way they speak English, some would say that the author is practicing reverse racism by calling the presumably white classmates and teachers "thorns" and "hardheads".
Although this book has parts that may make some readers uncomfortable or angry, I would not ban it in my classroom and may even have students read it in order to then have a group discussion about why the book is considered controversial. A controversial book, unless uneccessarily crude, violent, vulgar, etc. provides a good opportunity for class discussions about what makes people uncomfortable or angry and helps students better understand other's perspectives on different issues.

Hiroshima, No Pika by Toshi Maruki

This is a book written for middle-upper elementary readers about the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Some consider this book too controversial for children because of the horrific discriptions and images in the story. Although the story certainly is uncomfortable and disturbing, it is the truth about a real event that happened through the eyes of a young girl. It is not excessively grim, it is simply a story of what this girl saw.
A great thing about this book is that it is incredibly powerful without being overly sentimental. The simple retelling of events and the hauntingly beautiful illustrations are so effective that the reader can not only infer the intense feelings of the characters but actually feel some of them themselves. The story being told through the eyes of a child is especially powerful because of the innocent non-judgemental power of her perspective.
It is very important that students read and discuss this book and other books like it. Although the story is disturbing and may strongly affect readers it is important that students understand that things like this can and do happen. Being able to feel the horrible power of the the consequences of using weapons like the atomic bomb is necessary for people to understand why they must stop this from happening in the future.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

This book, written for upper-elementary readers and middle school students, is one of the best I've read in awhile. It is the story of a young boy, Jonas, growing up in a seemingly utopian community. Gradually throughout the story things about the community are revealed that make the reader feel uncomfortable and question whether this community is ideal after all. Jonas is selected to become the next Receiver of Memory, a very honorable and rare profession. For his training Jonas begins to visit with the old Receiver of Memory daily and receive memories from him so that he can bear the burden of painful and powerful memories for his community so they don't have to suffer. Jonas' life is enriched by the memories that are forbidden to the rest of his community and he discovers that his seemingly utopian life is actually relatively empty and full of dark secrets.
This is probably the first dystopian novel that most children will read. It is a great introduction and not having experienced this genre before will make the twists-like when Jonas learns what it means to be 'released' especially powerful. Readers will learn to appreciate their own experiences and realize how important they are when they see how lacking Jonas' life is without them. This story helps readers understand the importance of negative emotions as well as positive and see how all feelings enrich their lives. This book gives insight into what makes life meaningful and why in an accessible way- I would definitely recommend reading and discussing it either for reading groups or as a language arts assignment.