Parents

Summer Reading Lists

Dear Parents,

The Faculty and I would like to join with you in encouraging all of our students to use the summer months well. With days of vacation and freedom from the regular schedule of classes it is a marvelous time to continue to foster the wonderful habit of leisure reading.

We have listed some wonderful books including a collection of fine books that parents or older students can read to our children in our Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First Grade.

It is our hope that the children will read and enjoy the works of a variety of authors. These recommended listings cover a wide range of reading levels and are not meant to be confining. Students may read other titles and other authors or even read books on other grade lists. The goal is for them to take advantage of the summer to acquaint themselves with many authors and a variety of types of books.

As adults we know that reading is a marvelous habit to develop. We would like to bring our students to that same realization and the best way for that to happen is to encourage them to read, read, and read.

In this packet, we are also enclosing a paper for each child to record his/her readings during the summer. These should be returned to the classroom teacher in the fall and we can post them throughout the school. What a great way to start the year and to encourage reading!

Have a wonderful summer!

Faculty of Little Flower School
Sister Rosemaron, IHM

Early Childhood

Read Aloud Books

Nursery Rhymes/Poetry

Animal Crackers - Jane Dyer
Dragon’s Dragons - Eric Carle
Tomie dePaola’s Book of Poems - Tomie dePaola
Making Friends With Frankenstein - Colin McNaughton
You Be Good & I’ll Be Night - Eve Merriam
Here Comes Mother Goose - Iona Opie, editor
The Beauty of the Beast - Jack Prelutsky
My Favorite Things - Rodgers & Hammerstein
A Fawn in the Grass - Joanne Ryder

Alphabet Books

A Farmer’s Alphabet - Mary Azarian
Matthew A.B.C. - Peter Catalanotto
The Hullabaloo, A, B, C - Beverly Cleary
Firefighters A to Z - Chris L. Demarest
The Racecar Alphabet - Brian Floca
Running the Road to A, B, C - Denize Lauture
Action Alphabet - Marty Neumeier
Into the A, B, Sea - Deborah L. Rose
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten   - Joseph Slate
Wildlife A, B, C - Jan Thornbill

Anthologies

Old Testament Stories - Tomie dePaola
Favorite Nursery Tales - Tomie dePaola
Frederick’s Fables - Leo Lionni
Sing a Song of Popcorn - Scholastic Inc, editor
My Very First Mother Goose - Iona Opie, editor
Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter - Beatrix Potter

Nonfiction

Wild and Wooly Mammoths - Aliki
Life Story - Virginia Lee Burton
Red-Eyed Tree Frog - Joy Cowley
The Tiny Seed - Eric Carle
Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Boat Book - Gail Gibbons
Tool Book - Gail Gibbons
Night of the Pufflings - Bruce McMillan
Who is the World For? - Tom Pow
Book of Trucks - Seymour Simon

Counting Books

Ten Little Mice - Joyce Dunbar
Up to Ten & Down Again - Lisa Campbell Ernst
26 Letters, 99 Cents - Tana Hoban
The Red Apples - Pat Hutchins

Pattern Books

Jessie Bear, What Will You Wear? - Nancy Carlson
The Flea’s Sneeze - Lynn Downey
Go Away, Big Green Monster - Ed Emberley
Drummer Hoff - Ed Emberley
Time for Bed - Mem Fox
Sleepy Bear - Mem Fox
Brown Bear, Brown Bear - Bill Martin

Picture Books

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Judi Barrett
Stellaluna - Janell Cannon
Fin M’ Coul - Tomie dePaola
Olivia books - Ian Falconer
Possum Magic - Mem Fox
Chrysanthemum - Kevin Henkes
Kitten’s First Full Moon - Kevin Henkes
Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse - Kevin Henkes
I Want to Stay Here, Go There - Leo Lionni
Inch by Inch - Leo Lionni
Wump World - Bill Peet
Big Bad Bruce - Bill Peet
Thundercake - Patricia Polacco
The Great Gracie Chase - Cynthia Rylant
A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011 Caldecott Medal) - Philip & Erin Stead
Amos and Boris - William Steig
Brave Irene - William Steig
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - William Steig
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat - Simms Taback
Jumanji - Chris Van Alsburg
A Voyage to the Bunny Planet - Rosemary Wells
Rude Giants - Audrey & Don Wood
King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub - Audrey & Don Wood

Grade Two

Recommended Reading

Fiction

Young Cam Jansen (series) - David Adler
*Anna Hibuscus (other titles) - Atinuke
Little Rat Books - Monika Bang-Campbell
*Ivy and Bean (series) - Annie Barrows
Wagon Wheels - Barbara Brenner
Flat Stanley (and sequels) - Jeff Brown
The Golly Sisters Ride Again - Betsy Byars *Spunky Tells All - Ann Cameron
*The Catcher’s Mask: A Peach Street Mudders Story (series) - Matt Christopher
*The Trouble with Chickens: a J. J. Tully Mystery - Doreen Cronin
Dooby Dooby Moo - Doreen Cronin & Betsy Lewin
Mercy Watson books - Kate DiCamillo
Iris and Walter (series) - Elissa Haden Guest
Houndsley and Catina (series) - James Howe
The Horse in Harry’s Room - Sid Hoff
*The Three Day Enchantment - Mollie Hunter
& other Knight of the Golden Plain stories
*Riverside Kids (series) - Johanna Hurwitz
*The Curse of the Egyptian Mummy - Pat Hutchins
Nine Lives of Aristotle - Dick King-Smith
Horrible Harry (series) - Suzy Kline
Snowshoe Thompson - Nancy Levinson
Harley - Star Livingstone
Frog and Toad (series) - Arnold Lobel
Battle for St. Michael’s (I Can Read Chapter Book) - Emily Arnold McCully
The Bookstore Ghost - Barbara Maitland
Fox and His Friends - James Marshall
*The Doll Shop Downstairs - Yona Zeldis McDonough
Colly's Barn - Michael Morpurgo
The Drinking Gourd - F.N. Monjo
*Magic Tree House (series) - Mary Pope Osborne
The Outside Dog - Charlotte Pomerantz
High-Rise Private Eyes ( series) - Cynthia Rylant
Henry and Mudge (series) - Cynthia Rylant
*Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie - Julie Sternberg
Bake Sale (graphic novel) - Sara Varon
*Box Car Children Mysteries - Gertrude Chandler Warner

Nonfiction

*Picture Book Biographies - David Adler
Spiders - Nic Bishop
Marsupials - Nic Bishop
Butterflies and Moths - Nic Bishop
Frogs - Nic Bishop
Let’s Read and Find Out Science (series) - Harper Collins Publishers
Flight - Robert Burleigh
At the Edge of the Pond - Jennifer Dewey
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! (or other Eyewitness Readers Level 2) - Jennifer Dussling
My Place in Space - Robin Hirst
Follow the Money - Loreen Leedy
Ben Franklin: Printer, Author, Inventor, Politician (other titles: National Geographic History Chapters) - Pamela Rushby
What’s Smaller than a Pygmy Shrew - Robert Wells

Folk Tales

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears - Verna Aardema
Once a Mouse - Marcia Brown
The Gingerbread Boy - Paul Galdone
The Boy Who Cried Wolf - B. G. Hennessy
Anansi the Spider - Gerald McDermott
Jabuti the Tortoise - Gerald McDermott
The Talking Eggs - Robert D. San Souci

Poetry/Humor

Creepy Riddles - Katy Hall and Lisa Eisenberg
Talking Like the Rain - X.J. Kennedy
Mice are Nice - Nancy Larrick
The Frog Wore Red Suspenders - Jack Prelutsky
(and other Prelutsky titles)
*Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night - Joyce Sidman
(2011 Newbery Honor Medal) Asterisks indicate more challenging selections.

For the first week of school, Second Graders are asked to:

  1. Read at least twelve books.  Books listed represent different reading levels, with some more challenging than others.
  2. Turn in their list of summer readings, signed by parents, including the title and author of each selection.  Substitutions may be made with permission of parents.

Grade Three

Recommended Reading

Fiction

Cam Jansen (series) - David Adler
*The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Tornado - Betsy Byars
Saxby Smart Private Detective - Simon Chesire
Henry Huggins (or any Henry or Ramona book) - Beverly Cleary
*The Saturdays - Elizabeth Enright
A Toad for Tuesday - Russell Erickson
Traitor in Williamsburg (and other American Girl Mysteries) - Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Chet Gecko Mystery Series - Bruce Hale
Runaway Radish - Jessie Hass
Our Strange New Land, Elizabeth’s Diary - Patricia Hermes
(or other books in My America series)
Goof-off Goalie (or any Gym Shorts series title) - Betty Hicks
Piper Reed: Navy Brat (and sequels) - Kimberly Willis Holt
Pee Wee’s Tale and other Park Pals Adventures - Johanna Hurwitz
George Speaks - Dick King-Smith
*Tales from Moominvalley - Tove Jansson
*The Phantom Tollbooth - Norman Juster
Spiders on the Case - Kathryn Lasky
Invisible Inc. (series) - Elizabeth Levy
Mason Dixon (series) - Claudia Mills
7X9=Trouble!(and sequel) - Claudia Mills
Clementine (and others in series) - Sara Pennypacker
Marvin Redpost (series) - Louis Sachar
*Gully's Travels - Tor Seidler
*Abel's Island - William Steig
*The Cricket in Times Square - George Selden
Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye - Geronimo Stilton
(or any Geronimo or Thea Stilton book)
Nate the Great (series) - Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
Akimbo - Alexander McCall Smith
The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean - Alexander McCall Smith

Nonfiction

Childhood of Famous Americans (any title) - Aladdin Paperbacks
A Medieval Feast - Aliki
Moonwalk (Step Into Reading) - Judy Donnelly
Great Northern Diver - Barbara Esbensen
Giant Pandas (or any nonfiction title) - Gail Gibbons
Teammates - Peter Golenbock
Who Was . . . Biography series - Grosset & Dunlap
Best Book of Whales & Dolphins (any title in this series) - Christiane Gunzi
The Remarkable Benjamin Franklin - Cheryl Harness
Eyewitness Reader-Level 2, 3, or 4 - Dorling Kindersley DK Publishing
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth - Kathryn Lasky
Magic Tree House Research Guides - Mary Pope Osborne
Step into Reading (Level 3 or 4) - Random House

Poetry

Insectlopedia (or any title by Florian) - Douglas Florian
Ride a Purple Pelican (or any title by Prelutsky) - Jack Prelutsky
Where The Sidewalk Ends (or any title by Silverstein) - Shel Silverstein

Folk Tales/Myth

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain - Verna Aardema
Who’s In Rabbit’s House? - Verna Aardema
Paul Bunyan (or other tales by this author) - Steven Kellogg
Fables - Arnold Lobel
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great - Gerald Morris
(or any Knights’ Tales series title)
Tales from the Odyssey Series - Mary Pope Osborne
Squids Will Be Squids - Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

*Asterisks indicate more challenging selections.

For the first week of school, Third Graders are asked to:

  1. Read a minimum of five books chosen from at least three different categories. Books listed represent different reading levels, with some more challenging than others.
  2. Turn in a list of summer readings, signed by parents, including the title and author of each selection. Substitutions may be made with permission of parents.

Grade Four

Recommended Reading

Historical Fiction

Qwerty Stevens, Back in Time: the Edison Mystery (and sequel) - Dan Gutman
Misty of Chincoteague - Marguerite Henry
Ben and Me - Robert Lawson
Galen: My Life in Imperial Rome - Marissa Moss
Detectives in Togas - Henry Winterfeld
Dear America Series (any title) - Scholastic Books

Realistic Fiction

The Penderwicks (and sequel) - Jeanne Birdsall
The Lemonade War - Jacqueline Davies
Because of Winn-Dixie - Kate DiCamillo
Melonhead and sequel - Katy Kelly
Come Back Kids series - Mike Lupica
The Doll with the Yellow Star - Yona Zeldis McDonough
The Library Card - Jerry Spinelli
All of a Kind Family - Sidney Taylor

Fantasy/Science Fiction/Mystery

Pals in Peril Tales - M. T. Anderson
Poppy (or other books in this series) - Avi
Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Mistaken Identity - Mac Barnett
(or others in series)
The Children of Green Knowe (or other Green Knowe Chronicles) - L. M. Boston
A Nest for Celeste - Henry Cole
The Magician’s Elephant - Kate DiCamillo
The Spiderwick Chronicles - Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Half Magic - Edward Eager
Inkheart - Conelia Funke
Toad Rage (and sequels) - Morris Gleitzman
Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep - Gail Carson Levine
(or others in The Princess Tales series)
The Secret of Platform 13 - Eva Ibbottson
Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist (Books 1-4) - R. L. LaFevers
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
The People in Pineapple Place (and sequel) - Anne Lindbergh
The Doll People (and sequels) - Ann Martin
Secrets at Sea - Richard Peck
Harry Potter (any title) - J.K. Rowling
Rowan of Rin (and sequels) - Emily Rodda
The Time Warp Trio (series) - Jon Scieszka

Nonfiction

When Mammoths Walked the Earth - Caroline Arnold
The Journey That Saved Curious George - Louise Borden
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta - Mary Kathleen Glavich, SND
(or any title in Encounter the Saints series)
Volcano - Patricia Lauber
Swimming with Hammerhead Sharks - Kenneth Mallory
The Amazing Potato - Milton Meltzer
Saturn (or other titles by this author) - Seymour Simon
Joan of Arc - Diane Stanley

Folklore/Myths/Fairy Tales

Aesop’s Fables - Aesop
Tales From Grimm/More Tales From Grimm - Grimm
The McElderry Book of Greek Myths - Eric Kimmel
American Tall Tales - Mary Pope Osborne
D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths - Ingri & Edgar Parin D’Aulaire
Cut From the Same Cloth - Robert D. San Souci

For the first week of school, Fourth Graders are asked to:

  1. Read at least four of the recommended books. Other recommended books for your level may be substituted with permission of parents.
  2. Turn in a list of summer readings signed by parents. Include the title, author and illustrator. You will receive special fourth grade tickets for each book you read.

Grade Five

Recommended Reading

Realistic Fiction

The Incredible Journey - Sheila Burnford
No Talking - Andrew Clements
The Saturdays (others in Melendy Quartet) - Elizabeth Enright
Sun and Spoon - Kevin Henkes
Touch Blue - Cynthia Lord
The Candymakers - Wendy Mass
Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear - Lensey Namoika
Finding Buck McHenry - Alfred Slote
A Series of Unfortunate Events (any title) - Lemony Snicket
Banner in the Sky - James R. Ullman
The Best Bad Thing - Yoshiko Uchida
The Incorrigble Children of Ashton Place series, Bks. 1 & 2 - Maryrose Wood

Historical Fiction

The Door in the Wall - Marguerite DeAngeli
Stepping on the Cracks - Mary Downing Hahn
The Star of Kazan - Eva Ibbottson
Jip - Katherine Paterson
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg - Rodman Philbrick
Washington City is Burning - Harriette Gillem Robinet
Esperanza Rising - Pam M. Ryan
My Name is America (series) - Scholastic Books

Autobiography/Biography/Nonfiction

Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters that Changed History - Bryn Barnard
Amelia Lost: the life and disappearance of Amelia Earhart - Candace Fleming
Lincoln - Russell Freedman
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt - Jean Fritz
The Coast Mappers - Taylor Morrison
The Autobiography of a Kid - Jerry Spinelli
Gorilla Doctors: saving endangered great apes - Pamela S. Turner
(Scientists In The Field series)

Fantasy/Mystery

The Book of Three (Prydain Chronicles series) - Lloyd Alexander
The 100-year-old Secret (Sherlock Files series) - Tracy Barrett
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (and sequels) - Robert O’Brien; Jane Leslie Conly
The Boggart (and sequel) - Susan Cooper
The 7 Professors of the Far North (and sequel) - John Fardell
Honus and Me (or any Baseball Card Adventure) - Dan Gutman
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Grace Lin
The Sixty-Eight Rooms - Marianne Malone
Archer’s Quest - Linda Sue Park
Septimus Heap (series) - Angie Sage
The Mysterious Benedict Society (and sequels) - Trenton Lee Stewart
Dealing with Dragons - Patricia Wrede
(Enchanted Forest Chronicles series)

For the first week of school, Fifth Graders are asked to:

  1. Read at least three books from the list.
  2. Write a letter to the author of one of the books you read. Tell the author about yourself and how this book relates to the challenges you will face as a fifth grade student. Be specific and give details to support your reaction. The letter should be one page in length.
  3. Make a cover for your letter that includes a scene from the book.
  4. Turn in a list of summer readings signed by parents. Include the title and author of each selection.

Grade Six

Required Reading

All students must read: Every Soul A Star - Wendy Mass

Recommended Reading

Realistic Fiction

Chasing Vermeer & sequels - Blue Balliett
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup - Sharon Creech
London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd
Time Stops for No Mouse - Michael Hoeye
My Louisiana Sky - Kimberly Willis Holt
Rules - Cynthia Lord
Hatchet (and sequels) - Gary Paulsen
Paint the Wind - Pam M. Ryan

Historical Fiction

The Shakespeare Stealer (and sequels) - Gary Blackwood
A Different Kind of Courage - Ellen Howard
The Thieves of Ostia (any Roman Mysteries series title) - Caroline Lawrence
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - Jacqueline Kelly
Casting the Gods Adrift - Geraldine McCaughrean
Mara, daughter of the Nile - Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Kensuke’s Kingdom - Michael Morpurgo
Waiting for Anya - Michael Morpurgo
Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O’Dell
Island on Bird Street - Uri Orlev
A Long Way From Chicago (and sequels) - Richard Peck
The Upstairs Room - Johanna Reiss
The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth George Speare
Maia of Thebes: 1453 BC - Ann Warren Turner

Fantasy, Myths, Fables, Folklore

Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt
The Children’s Homer - Padraic Colum
The Trojan War - Olivia Coolidge
The Dark Is Rising (and sequels) - Susan Cooper
The Last Dragon - Silvana De Mari
Ranger’s Apprentice (series) - John Flanagan
Inkspell (and sequels) - Cornelia Funke
The Gammage Cup - Carol Kendall
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (series) - R.L. LaFevers
Savvy (and sequel) - Ingrid Law
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Odysseus (and other titles in the series) - Geraldine McCaughrean
Darkwing and sequels - Kenneth Oppel
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (series) - Rick Riordan
The Kane Chronicles Bks. 1 & 2 - Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus (series) - Rick Riordan
Odysseus in the Serpent Maze - Jane Yolen & Robert J. Harris

Autobiography/Biography/Nonfiction

Bodies from the Ash - James M. Deem
Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini - Sid Fleischman
The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig
The Story of Salt - Mark Kurlansky
Giants of Science series - Kathleen Krull
When Is a Planet Not a Planet? The Story of Pluto - Elaine Scott
The Frog Scientist (Scientists In The Field series) - Pamela S. Turner

For the first week of school, Sixth Graders are asked to:

  1. Be prepared to enter into a class discussion of the required reading book, Every Soul A Star.
  2. Write a one page friendly letter to the class about Every Soul A Star. In this letter, you should:
    • Give a detailed explanation of what the story was about.
    • Explain your feelings and write your questions about the story.
    • Be careful to use the proper friendly letter format, grammar, spelling and punctuation.
    • You may type your letter (double space) or neatly write on loose-leaf in cursive on one side of the paper.
    • Make a cover for your letter that is a scene you imagined as you read the book. Please print the title and author at the top of the picture and your first and last name at the bottom of it.
  3. Read at least four books from the Recommended Reading List.
  4. Turn in a list of summer readings signed by parents. Include the title and author of each selection.

Grade Seven

Required Reading

All students must read:

 A Long Walk to Water - Linda Sue Park
The Bark of the Bog Owl - Jonathan Rodgers

Recommended Reading 

(Choose one of the following.)

Fantasy

Watership Down - Richard Adams
Nick of Time - Ted Bell
Warriors (series) - Erin Hunter
Dogsbody - Diana Wynne Jones
Beauty - Robin McKinley
Keys to the Kingdom (series) - Garth Nix
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett
Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (series) - Michael Scott
The Silver Bowl - Diane Stanley
The Bartimaeus Trilogy - Jonathan Stroud
The Chronus Chronicles - Anne Ursu

Historical Fiction

Fever 1793 - Laurie Anderson
Stealing Freedom - Elisa Carbone
Revolution is not a Dinner Party - Ying Chang Compestine
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple - Karen Cushman
Homesick, My Own Story - Jean Fritz
Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam - Cynthia Kadohata
Weedflower - Cynthia Kadohata
Miss Spitfire - Sarah Miller
A Single Shard - Linda Sue Park
When My Name Was Keoko - Linda Sue Park
After the Dancing Days - Margaret I. Rostkowski
The Case of the Missing Marquess: an Enola Holmes Mystery - Nancy Springer
(and other titles in the series)
Moon Over Manifest (2011 Newbery Medal) - Clare Vanderpool
The Serpent’s Children - Laurence Yep

 

Contemporary Fiction

Nothing But the Truth - Avi
The Moves Make the Man - Bruce Brooks
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
Six Innings - James Preller
Homecoming - Cynthia Voigt

Nonfiction

The Mysterious Universe: supernovae, dark energy and black holes (Scientists In The Field series) - Ellen B. Jackson
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution - Ji-li Jiang
An America Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 - Jim Murphy
Team Moon, How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon - Catherine Thimmesh

Classics

The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
The Sword in the Stone - T. H. White

For the first week of school, Seventh Graders are asked to:

  1. Have read three books from the list – two required and at least one other.
  2. Turn in a one-page typed report for each of the three books. Half of the page should be a summary. The other half should include reactions, thoughts and feelings about the book.
  3. Be prepared to take a test on each of the required books.
  4. Be prepared to discuss the required books in class.
  5. Turn in a list of all summer readings signed by parents.  Include the title and author of each selection.

Grade Eight

Required Reading

All students must read:

Blood on the River: Jamestown, 1607 - Elsa Carbone
The Sword and the Circle - Rosemary Sutcliff

Recommended Reading

Classics

Little Men or Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
The Pearl - John Steinbeck
20,000 Leagues under the Sea - Jules Verne

Contemporary Fiction

Where the Streets Had A Name - Randa Abdel-Fattah
Mockingbird - Kathryn Erskine
Olive’s Ocean - Kevin Henkes
Scorpions - Walter Dean Myers
Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
Shabanu - Suzanne Staples 

Historical Fiction

The Boy Who Dared - Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Jason’s Gold - Will Hobbs
Across Five Aprils - Irene Hunt
The King’s Swift Rider - Mollie Hunter
A Million Shades of Gray - Cynthia Kadohata
Hattie Big Sky - Kirby Larson
Before the Creeks Ran Red - Carolyn Reeder
In My Father’s House - Ann Rinaldi
Under the Blood-Red Sun and sequel - Graham Salisbury
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy - Gary D. Schmidt
The Land - Mildred Taylor
Climbing the Stairs - Padma Venkatraman

Nonfiction

Six Days in October - Karen Blumenthal
The Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth  - James Cross Giblin
The Many Rides of Paul Revere - James Cross Giblin
Kon Tiki - Thor Heyerdahl
No Pretty Pictures - Anita Lobel
Years of Dust: the story of the Dust Bowl - Albert Marrin
Black Diamond: Story of Negro Baseball Leagues - Patricia McKissack
Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America - Jim Murphy
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: the secrets behind what you eat, Young Readers Edition, adapted by Richie Chevat  - Michael Pollan
The Notorious Benedict Arnold - Steve Sheinkin
Chasing Lincoln's Killer - James L. Swanson

Fantasy and Myth

The Sea of Trolls (trilogy) - Nancy Farmer
A wizard of Earthsea - Ursula Le Guin
The Seeing Stone (trilogy) - Kevin Crossley-Holland
Airborn (trilogy) - Kenneth Oppel
Endymion Spring - Matthew Skelton
First Light - Rebecca Stead
The Lord of the Rings (series) - J.R.R. Tolkien

For the first week of school, Eighth Graders are asked to:

  1. Have read three books—two required and at least one other.
  2. Turn in two one-page typed report for each of the three books..   Half of the page should be a summary.  The other half should include reactions, thoughts, and feelings about the book.
  3. Be prepared to take a test on each of the required books.
  4. Be prepared to discuss the required books in class.
  5. Turn in a list of all summer readings signed by parents.  Include the title and author of each selection.