Summer Reads – St. Bernard Middle School - 2009
Saint Bernard School Summer Reading Program
Dear Parents and Students:
To share in our community, all students read over the summer, and
are ready to discuss the book for their grade on the very first day of
school. In addition, we encourage our students to explore the world of literature by reading books of their own choosing for personal enjoyment and enrichment, as well as those assigned for more formal class work. The benefits of reading are many, and we know parents will support our program. Undoubtedly over the summer you will have opportunities to encourage your children to read, and we hope you will take your child to visit your bookstore and library.
The program for summer reading for grades 6, 7, and 8:
Students will be given one assigned text and will choose at least one self-selected work.
ASSIGNED GRADE-SPECIFIC TEXTS :
Incoming 6th graders should read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli over the summer. “Winner of the Newbery
Medal, this tall tale concerns a super-athletic teenager who bridges his town's racial gap.”
Incoming 7th graders should read Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver over the summer. Filled with action, mystery
and excitement, Wolf Brother is about a boy who loses his father to a huge bear during hunter-gatherer times. Helped by a
girl from another clan, but without any adult aid, he must battle the elements as he finds a way to destroy the bear before it
destroys the whole world. Students should have a copy of the book to bring to class and be ready to discuss it on the first day
of school. Used copies are available very inexpensively on Amazon.com
Incoming 8th graders should read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins over the summer. Set in the future, this
book is about a US transformed into a harsh state with limited food. Every district must send two young teens as tribute each
year to compete – to the death – in the ultimate TV reality show, the Hunger Games. The main characters, the boy and girl
who are the tribute from Appalachia, must learn to survive, which includes cooperating as well as competing. Students should
have a copy of the book to bring to class and be ready to discuss it on the first day of school. Check Amazon.com for discount
pricing.
In addition, each student in 6th, 7th and 8th grade should also read another age-appropriate book of their choice.
This book can be fiction, true adventure, history, sports, biography, or science, and should be one the student has not read before.
Some grade-specific suggestions follow. (Important: No Goosebumps, Animorphs, Star Wars, Halo, Manga, or "how to" books,
please.)
Hate to read? Try recorded books. Audio books (on tape, on CD, and on MP3 players like iPods) are easy to listen
to – and help students improve their reading. Students can follow along with a paper copy of the book, or just listen. Libraries
have many audio books in a variety of formats, and some now have free audio books for MP3 players.
Write down the titles and authors for each book that you read. In addition, find something the author wrote in the book that you find interesting or confusing. Write this down and then explain why you picked it. (This should be more than just one sentence.) Be prepared to hand this in, and to discuss both of your books, on the first day of school.
Self-selection List:
Some recommendations for 6th Graders
Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle The Giver – Lowry
Ella Enchanted – Levine Charlie Pippin – Boyd
Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls Walk Two Moons – Creech
Freaky Friday – Rodgers The Summer of the Swans - Byars
Holes – Sachar Sisterhood Traveling Pants – Brashares
The Cay – Taylor Sammy Keys – Van Draanen
The Time Quartet – L’Engle Among the Hidden - Haddix
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Taylor Redwall - Jacques
Castle in the Attic – Winthrop Ben and Me - Lawson
Dealing With Dragons – Wrede The Moorchild - McGraw
Because of Winn-Dixie – DiCamillo Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Twain
Behind the Bedroom Wall – Williams Child of the Owl - Yep
Artemis Fowl – Colfer Sam I Am - Cooper
A Long Way from Chicago – Peck The Great Fire - Murphy
A Year Down Yonder – Peck Heartbeat - Creech
Under the Blood Red Sun – Salisbury My Brother Sam is Dead - Collier
Half Magic – Eager Indian in the Cupboard – Banks
PS Longer Letter Later – Danziger, Martin Snail Mail No More – Danziger, Martin
The Man in the Ceiling – Feiffer Millicent Min:Girl Genius – Yee
Baseball in April and Other Stories – Soto Belle Teal – Martin
Boy2Girl – Blacker Inkheart – Funke
The Misfits – Howe Tangerine – Bloor
Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery
The Princess Diaries – Cabot Shiloh – Naylor
Bridge to Terabithia – Patterson Hoot – Hiaasen
So Be It – Sachar Esperenza Rising – Ryan
Bud, Not Buddy – Curtis Frindle – Clements
Some recommendations for 7th and 8th Graders - Just ideas - you can choose other books, too.
Note: Since many young adult books, including the “classics,” contain inappropriate language, and often address difficult issues, the choice of books remains with each family. Many will be good for 6th graders, while others may be too intense, or concern topics more appropriate for older students.
.
Adventure/Quest (also try Fantasy/Science Fiction)
Will Hobbs Maze, Far North
Ian Laurence The Wreckers
Gary Paulsen Hatchet, Harris and Me, Brian’s Return,
Brian’s Winter, Winterdance
Jack London Call of the Wild, White Fang
Megan Whalen Turner The Thief
Anthony Horowitz Stormbreaker
Theodore Taylor The Cay
Jon Krakauer Into Thin Air
Historical Fiction
Karen Cushman Catherine Called Birdie
Laurie Halse Anderson Fever 1793
Richard Peck A Year Down Yonder
Linda Sue Park A Single Shard
Christopher P. Curtis Bud Not Buddy
Gary Blackwell The Shakespeare Stealer, Shakespeare’s Scribe
Julia Alvarez Before we were free
Fantasy/Science Fiction (also try Adventure/Quest)
Chris Paolini Aragon, Eldest, Brsinger
Patricia Kindle Woman in the Wall
Margaret Peterson Haddox Just Ella, Among the Hidden
Philip Pullman The Golden Compass
William Golding The Princess Bride
J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbitt, The Lord of the Rings
Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game
Gloria Skurzynski Virtual War
Madeline L’Engle Wrinkle in Time
Lois Lowry Gathering Blue
H.G. Wells Time Machine, War of the Worlds
Eofin Colfer Artemis Fowl
Patricia Wrede Dealing with Dragons
Douglas Adams Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Susan Cooper King of Shadows
Animals and Adventure
Kenneth Oppel Silverwing
Jean Craighead George My Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves
James Herriot All Creatures Great and Small
Contemporary Realistic
Carl Hiaason Hoot, Flush
David Pelzer A Man Named Dave Mature
Joan Bauer Hope was Here
Andrew Clements Things Not Seen
Sharon Creech Chasing Redbird, The Wanderer
Sue Monk Kidd The Secret Life of Bees
Kate DiCamillo Because of Winn-Dixie
Jack Gantos Joey Pigza Loses Control
Ben Mikaelsen Touching Spirit Bear
Robert Cormier The Chocolate War, I Am the Cheese
Cynthia Voigt Dicey’s Song, Homecoming, Izzy Willy Nilly
Karen Hesse Phoenix Rising, Music of the Dolphins, Witness,
Out of the Dust
Jerry Spinelli Stargirl, Loser
Walter Dean Myers Monster, Slam!, Scorpions, Hoops Mature
Beverly Naidoo The Other Side of Truth, No Turning Back
An Na A Step from Heaven
Pam Munoz Ryan Esperanza Rising
Joyce McDonald Swallowing Stones
Rodman Philbrick Freak the Mighty
David Klass California Blue, You Don’t Know Me Mature
Richard Jennings Great Whale of Kansas
Louis Sacher Holes, Small Steps
Wendelin Van Draanan Flipped
Norma Fox Mazer Girlhearts
Avi Nothing but the Truth
Robert Lipsyte One Fat Summer
Suzanne Fisher Staples Shabanu, Haveli
Roland Smith Zach’s Lie
Mystery
Carolyn Cooney Face on the Milk Carton, The Terrorist, Driver’s Ed,
Mummy, Hush Little Baby, Burning Up
Norma Fox Mazer Taking Terri Mueller
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Ice, Jade Green
Sports
Chris Crutcher Ironman, Whale Talk Mature.
Bruce Brooks The Moves Make the Man
Mike Lupica Heat
Rich Wallace Wrestling Sturbridge Mature.
