Old Yeller by Fred Gipson is a 7th grade Battle book. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I have read it aloud to many of my classes, and they all end up loving it. (And Disney did a good job on the movie.)
This is the story of how a young teenager, Travis, grows up in the wilds of Texas just after the Civil War. Life was very different back then, and Gipson does a good job describing how difficult it could be. The characters are very much alive, though, especially the little brother Arliss, and of course, that "ole yeller dog."
Picture yourself in the west, give yourself a western drawl, and have fun with this book.