Summer Reading List
Books marked with an asterisk (*) are required.
Books marked with a plus sign (+) are available at the MSOR library, which will be open on
Wednesdays from 9 AM – 1 PM starting June 6th.
Rising 4th Years
Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry *+
A legendary adventure story of how Mafatu, the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a Polynesian race
who worships courage, conquers his fear of the sea and proves he isn't a coward.
Amos Fortune Free Man by Elizabeth Yates *
This book is the story of an African man who was captured by slave traders and brought to
Massachusetts, where he was a slave until he was able to purchase his freedom.
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
When Professor William Waterman Sherman leaves San Francisco in a balloon in August, 1883, he
intends to stay in the air for quite some time. Little does Professor Sherman realize that he will come
down in only one week, nor that he will land on Krakatoa.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien +
When mouse widow Mrs. Frisby needs advice on how to move her children safely, she consults the rats
who live under the rosebush. Not only do they help her, they tell her of their escape from a laboratory
where experimentation had made them literate, and of the brave death of her husband.
Holes by Louis Sachar +
Stanley Yelnats has had awful luck his whole life: He's overweight, kids tease him, his family is poor,
and now he's accused of a crime he didn't commit! Stanley blames his great-great grandfather, Elya
Yelnats, who stole a pig from a gypsy. According to legend, the gypsy put a curse on Elya and all his
descendants.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor +
When Marty Preston comes across a young beagle in the hills behind his home, it's love at first sight -and also big trouble. It turns out the dog, which Marty names Shiloh, belongs to Judd Travers, who
drinks too much and has a gun -- and abuses his dogs. So when Shiloh runs away from Judd to Marty,
Marty just has to hide him and protect him from Judd. But Marty's secret becomes too big for him to
keep to himself, and it exposes his entire family to Judd's anger. How far will Marty have to go to make
Shiloh his?
5th Years
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor *
In all Mildred D. Taylor's unforgettable novels she recounts "not only the joy of growing up in a large
and supportive family, but my own feelings of being faced with segregation and bigotry." Her Newbery
Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of one African American family, fighting
to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep
South of the 1930s. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan, growing up protected by her loving family, has never
had reason to suspect that any white person could consider her inferior or wish her harm. But during
the course of one devastating year when her community begins to be ripped apart by angry night riders
threatening African Americans, she and her three brothers come to understand why the land they own
means so much to their Papa. "Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain't never had
to live on nobody's place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you'll never have to.
That's important. You may not understand that now but one day you will. Then you'll see."
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park *
Tree-ear, an orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch'ulp'o, a potters' village famed for delicate celadon ware.
He has become fascinated with the potter's craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter
Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his
helper, Tree-ear is elated — until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and
hauling clay, Min's irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove
himself — even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min's work in the hope of
a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single
celadon shard.
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden-red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone
stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of
misfortune. Although he was swift as the desert winds, Sham's pedigree would be scorned all his life by
cruel masters and owners. This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. their
adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara. to the royal courts of France, and finally to the
green pastures and stately homes of England. For Sham was the renowned Godolphin Arabian, whose
blood flows through the veins of almost very superior thoroughbred. Sham's speed -- like his story -has become legendary.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson +
In this classic novel, fifth grader Jesse Aaron's dreams of becoming the fastest runner in his class are
dashed when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns everybody, even him. But Jess and Leslie begin a
friendship, and soon they discover a magical kingdom in the forest, where they reign as king and queen.
The friendship between young Jess and Leslie grows as they meet in Terabithia — their secret hiding
place — and only ends with the tragic death of one of them.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo *+
Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess
named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world
filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple,
impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down
into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. And what
happens then?
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George +
To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When
her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan
wilderness. Without food and time running out, Miyax tries to survive by copying the ways of a pack
of wolves. Accepted by their leader and befriended by a feisty pup named Kapu, she soon grows to love
her new wolf family. Life in the wilderness is a struggle, but when she finds her way back to
civilization, Miyax is torn between her old a new lives. Is she Miyax of the Eskimos -- or Julie of the
wolves?
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg +
When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn't just want to run from
somewhere she wants to run to somewhere--to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and preferably
elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Knowing that her younger
brother, Jamie, has money and thus can help her with the serious cash flow problem she invites him
along. Once settled into the museum, Claudia and Jamie, find themselves caught up in the mystery of
an angel statue that the museum purchased at an auction for a bargain price of $250. The statue is
possibly an early work of the Renaissance master Michelangelo, and therefore worth millions. Is it? Or
isn't it? Claudia is determined to find out. This quest leads Claudia to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the
remarkable old woman who sold the statue and to some equally remarkable discoveries about herself.
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis +
It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but he's on a
mission. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: posters of Herman E.
Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression! Bud's got an idea that those
posters will lead to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can
stop him. Bud, Not Buddy is full of laugh-out-loud humor and wonderful characters, hitting the high
notes of jazz and sounding the deeper tones of the Great Depression.
Hachet by Gary Paulsen +
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single engine plane in which
he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but
his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother has given him as a present — and the
dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart ever since his parents' divorce. But now Brian has no
time for anger, self-pity, or despair — it will take all his know-how and determination, and more
courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
6th Years
Claudette Colvin, Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose *
On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation,
refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of
being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin
found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later
she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that
struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim
Crow South.
Johnny Tremain by Ester Forbes
Because Johnny is proud of the work he does as a silversmith's apprentice, his master warns him that
pride goes before a fall. When Johnny violates the law by working on Sabbath Day, his hand is maimed
by hot silver and he must find a new profession. His search lands him in the middle of America's fight
for freedom.
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata *
Katie's first word is "kira-kira," the Japanese word for "glittering," and she uses it to describe
everything she likes. It was taught to her by her older sister, Lynn, whom Katie worships. Both girls
have trouble adjusting when their parents move the family from Iowa to a small town in rural Georgia,
where they are among only 31 Japanese-Americans. They seldom see their parents, who have grueling
jobs in chicken-processing plants. Then Lynn becomes deathly ill, and Katie is often left to care for her,
a difficult and emotionally devastating job. When her sister dies of lymphoma, Katie searches for ways
to live up to her legacy and to fulfill the dreams she never had a chance to attain. Told from Katie's
point of view and set in the 1950s, this beautifully written story tells of a girl struggling to find her own
way in a family torn by illness and horrendous work conditions. Katie's parents can barely afford to pay
their daughter's medical bills, yet they refuse to join the growing movement to unionize until after
Lynn's death.
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt *
It only takes a few hours for Turner Buckminster to start hating Phippsburg, Maine. No one in town
will let him forget that he's a minister's son, even if he doesn't act like one. But then he meets Lizzie
Bright Griffin, a smart and sassy girl from a poor nearby island community founded by former slaves.
Despite his father's — and the town's — disapproval of their friendship, Turner spends time with Lizzie,
and it opens up a whole new world to him, filled with the mystery and wonder of Maine's rocky coast.
The two soon discover that the town elders, along with Turner's father, want to force the people to leave
Lizzie's island so that Phippsburg can start a lucrative tourist trade there. Turner gets caught up in a
spiral of disasters that alter his life — but also lead him to new levels of acceptance and maturity.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech +
On a long car trip from Ohio to Idaho, 13-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle tells her grandparents about
her friend Phoebe, who is coping with the disappearance of her mother. Beneath Phoebe's story is Sal's
search for her own mother, who left one sunny morning and never returned.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse +
A poem cycle that reads as a novel, Out of the Dust tells the story of a girl named Billie Jo, who
struggles to help her family survive the dust-bowl years of the Depression. Fighting against the
elements on her Oklahoma farm, Billie Jo takes on even more responsibilities when her mother dies in
a tragic accident. A testament to the American spirit, this novel is an instant classic.