Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling has SEL themes that relate to all three grades for Emozi® Middle School. This book has themes of fitting in, living with a physical disability, and perseverance.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus is an award-winning book about a thirteen-year-old girl named Aven Green. She is a strong-willed, believe-in-yourself girl who doesn't let anything stop her, even though she was born without arms! This story shows the reader what it's like to feel and be different. Aven moves to Phoenix, AZ, when her father takes a job running a Western theme park called Stagecoach Pass. She has to start a new school and try to make new friends while simultaneously solving a mystery. This story is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny while dealing with the serious topics of being physically disabled, having Tourette's, weight issues, and fitting into middle school.
This book presents several powerful social-emotional topics rarely addressed in literature for this age group. The themes to highlight are self-awareness, self-confidence, human diversity, dealing with differences, finding your voice, gaining confidence and facing your fears, learning about who you are, reaching out for resources, and who are your true friends - all of these topics are fundamental to the development of middle schoolers. This is a really good read! It's fun and deals with meaningful topics!
"My missing arms weren't an issue for me or my parents...They always said things like, "You'll have to do this differently from other people but you can manage," and " I know this is challenging. Keep trying," and "You're capable of anything, Aven." p 1-2.
"I think I can do all these things because my parents have always encouraged me to figure things out on my own - well, more like made me figure things out on my own. I suppose if they had always done everything for me, I would be helpless without them. But they didn't, and I'm not." p3
Aven tells the reader that she made up a story about how she lost her arms which upset another child. Her parents remind her to be truthful and not upset other kids...and she did for a while. But by fifth grade, she begins to make up stories about how she "lost" her arms. This time she doesn't get into trouble.
Chapter 1 ends with the paragraph, "Then again, I never imagined I would save the Old West, perform for an audience in the desert, and solve a mystery. You'd be surprised at all I'm capable of, though. Even without arms." p7
Grade 6
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Grade 7
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Grade 8
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
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