Lake Zurich Middle School North
Summer Reading List
Grade 8
2015
May 5th, 2015
Dear Students and Parents,
During the summer prior to entering 8th grade, we are requesting that all students read at least one novel from
the attached summer reading list and complete the attached book report. The book and book report should be
completed before school starts. Students need to bring the book report to their 8th grade literature teacher on the
first day of the new school year.
In our effort to promote summer reading, students are encouraged to read as many books as they would like
from our list, but they are required to read one. Parents need to simply sign their name at the bottom of the
completed book report in order for their child to receive credit.
All literature teachers are planning special activities relating to summer reading for the first week of 8th grade,
so please remember to have your child bring their book report with them to class during the first week of
school. The books on this list have been carefully chosen by the 8th grade teachers because of their recognized
literary merit and because they directly relate to the eighth grade social studies and literature curriculum.
Students may purchase a book(s) from our list through the MSN library by filling out the attached form. All
forms must be turned into Mrs. Dooley-Taylor in the library by Friday, May 14th . Purchased books will be
distributed to students before the last day of 7th grade. You may also obtain these books at the library or at a
local bookstore, as we will be providing our summer reading list to Barnes and Noble in Deer Park, and the Ela
Area Library.
You have received your child’s fall and MAP score and will be receiving his/her spring MAP score at the end of
the year. On these tests you will find a Lexile Score, which may assist you and your child in selecting
appropriate level novels for this summer reading assignment. If you would like more information about Lexile
Scores and how to use them in selecting appropriate reading material, please refer to www.lexile.com.
We hope to make this summer reading initiative an enjoyable experience for all. Thank you for supporting us in
our efforts to keep students reading during the summer months and throughout the school year.
Sincerely,
The 8th Grade Team
Title
Chomp
Author
Carl Hiaasen
Lexile 800
Cinder
Marissa
Interest Level: Grades 7-8 Meyer
Lexile 790
A Monsters Calls
Patrick Ness
Interest Level: Grades 7-8
Lexile 730
Titanic: Voices from
the Disaster
Deborah
Hopkinson
Interest Level: Grades 5-7
Lexile 1040
Michael Vey: The
Prisoner of Cell 25
Richard Paul
Evans
Interest Level: Grades 7-8
Lexile 500
Lincoln’s Grave
Robbers
Interest Level: Grades 5-7
Lexile 930
Steve
Sheinkin
Description
Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he's grown up with all
manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, snappers, and more in his backyard.
The critters he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job
with a reality TV show called "Expedition Survival!", Wahoo figures he'll have to do a
bit of wrangling himself—to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show's
boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated.
Derek Badger seems to actually believe his PR and insists on using wild animals for his
stunts. And Wahoo's acquired a shadow named Tuna—a girl who's sporting a shiner
courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out. They've only been on location in
the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm.
Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna's dad shows up
with a gun . . .It's anyone's guess who will actually survive "Expedition Survival". . . .
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages
the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move.
No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl.Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.
She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed
for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome
Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a
forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must
uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside
his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting— he's been
expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his
mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And
wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants
the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd— whose
premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself— Patrick Ness has
spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and
imagined.
Scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the TITANIC, a
topic that continues to haunt and thrill readers to this day, this book by critically
acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the voices and stories of real
TITANIC survivors and witnesses to the disaster -- from the stewardess Violet Jessop to
Captain Arthur Rostron of the CARPATHIA, who came to the rescue of the sinking ship.
Packed with heartstopping action, devastating drama, fascinating historical details, loads
of archival photographs on almost every page, and quotes from primary sources, this
gripping story, which follows the TITANIC and its passengers from the ship's celebrated
launch at Belfast to her cataclysmic icy end, is sure to thrill and move readers.
To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special,
just the kid who has Tourette’s syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special—he
has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader
named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin,
the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their
abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group
who wants to control the electric teens—and through them, the world.
Service agents raid the Fulton, Illinois, workshop of master counterfeiter Ben Boyd. Soon
after Boyd is hauled off to prison, members of his counterfeiting ring gather in the back
room of a smoky Chicago saloon to discuss how to spring their ringleader. Their plan:
grab Lincoln's body from its Springfield tomb, stash it in the sand dunes near Lake
Michigan, and demand, as a ransom, the release of Ben Boyd --and $200,000 in cash.
From here, the action alternates between the conspirators, the Secret Service agents on
their trail, and the undercover agent moving back and forth between the two groups.
Along the way readers get glimpses into the inner workings of counterfeiting, grave
robbing, detective work, and the early days of the Secret Service. The plot moves toward
a wild climax as robbers and lawmen converge at Lincoln's tomb on election night:
November 7, 1876.
8th Grade Summer Reading Book Report
(Due on the first day of school-Please fill out completely, in ink! You may print or type your response.)
Student’s Name: ________________________________________________Date Finished Reading:____________
Please use the following words in your responses:
protagonist, antagonist, symbol, and characters traits.
Title of Book:____________________________________________
Setting-
Key characters with description of character traits:
Plot/Main Events-
Conflicts-What types of conflicts are present in the novel?
Climax-
Key Quote & what does it reveal about the main character(s)?
Resolution-
Theme-
Please list five new words that you found in the book.
Word
Page #
Meaning
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I, __________________________________, have completely read this book. This is the first time I have read it.
ure: ________________________Parent Signature_____________________________________