Dear 7th and 8th Graders and Parents,
Book Club will meet once a month, on an A Day, starting in October. Students will
have lunch in the library during a designated week each month (schedule to follow
once groups have been assigned) while they discuss the book of the month in a
small group setting. Discussions will be led by the students with parent volunteers
functioning as meeting assistants. The included books are those that have been
nominated for the Middle School Level of the 2015-2016 Virginia Reader’s Choice
Award as well as a “must-read” book recommended by Harmony students and staff
for this age group and a Book Club choice book! Upon conclusion of the program,
each student will have a chance to vote for the book that he/she thinks should win
the prestigious Virginia Reader’s Choice (VRC) award. Our votes will be tallied with
all other participating Virginia schools at the annual Virginia State Reading
Association conference in the spring. The Virginia Reader’s Choice winner will then
be awarded! The selections for this year are:
Zero Tolerance*
by Claudia Mills
Oct/Nov
Seventh-grader Sierra Shepard has always been the perfect
student, so when she sees that she accidentally brought her
mother's lunch bag to school, including a paring knife, she
immediately turns in the knife at the school office. Much to her
surprise, her beloved principal places her in in-school suspension
and sets a hearing for her expulsion, citing the school's ironclad
no weapons policy. While there, Sierra spends time with Luke, a
boy who's known as a troublemaker, and discovers that he's not
the person she assumed he would be--and that the lines between
good and bad aren't as clear as she once thought.
Shadow*
by Michael
Morpurgo
Nov/Dec
A stunning and moving new novel from Michael Morpurgo, the
nation's favorite storyteller - featuring the bravest dog in all
the world! He tackles a current war with the story of a sniffer
dog named Shadow and an Afghan boy.
Survive. At any cost.
10 concentration camps.
10 different places where you are starved, tortured, and worked
mercilessly.
It's something no one could imagine surviving.
But it is what Yanek Gruener has to face.
As a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the
Nazis who have taken over. Everything he has, and everyone he
loves, have been snatched brutally from him. And then Yanek
himself is taken prisoner -- his arm tattooed with the words
PRISONER B-3087.
He is forced from one nightmarish concentration camp to
another, as World War II rages all around him. He encounters
evil he could have never imagined, but also sees surprising
glimpses of hope amid the horror. He just barely escapes death,
only to confront it again seconds later.
Can Yanek make it through the terror without losing his hope,
his will -- and, most of all, his sense of who he really is inside?
Based on an astonishing true story.
Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the
Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to
the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit,
Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including
that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the
concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the
generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar
Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his
mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their
names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became
world renowned: Schindler’s List.
Prisoner B-3087 *
by Alan Gratz
Dec/Jan
The Boy on the
Wooden Box*
by Leon Leyson
-A remarkable
memoir from Leon
Leyson, one of
the youngest
children to
survive the
Holocaust
Counting by 7s*
by Holly Sloan
Jan/Feb
choice
Jan/Feb
choice
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature
and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to
count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with
anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her
from leading a quietly happy life... until now. Suddenly Willow’s
world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car
crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world.
Half a Chance*
by Cynthia Lord
Jan/Feb
choice
When Lucy's family moves to an old house on a lake, Lucy tries
to see her new home through her camera's lens, as her father
has taught her -- he's a famous photographer, away on a shoot.
Will her photos ever meet his high standards? When she
discovers that he's judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to
enter anonymously. She wants to find out if her eye for
photography is really special -- or only good enough.
As she seeks out subjects for her photos, Lucy gets to know
Nate, the boy next door. But slowly the camera reveals what
Nate doesn't want to see: his grandmother's memory is slipping
away, and with it much of what he cherishes about his summers
on the lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the power of art
The President Has
Been Shot!: The
Assassination of
John F. Kennedy*
by James L.
Swanson
Seeing Red*
by Kathryn
Erskine
Jan/Feb
choice
Twerp*
by Mark Goldblatt
Jan/Feb
choice
Jan/Feb
choice
Under the Egg*
Jan/Feb
by Laura Marx
choice
Fitzgerald
-From the
Mixed-Up Files
of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler meets
Chasing
Vermeer in this
clever story!
to show truth. And Lucy will learn how beauty can change lives . .
. including her own.
James Swanson transports readers back to one of the most
shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. As he
did in his bestselling Scholastic YA book, CHASING LINCOLN'S
KILLER, Swanson deploys his signature "you are there" style -- a
riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an unprecedented eye for
dramatic details and impeccable historical accuracy -- to tell the
story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before.
Life will never be the same for Red Porter. He's a kid growing up
around black car grease, white fence paint, and the backward
attitudes of the folks who live in his hometown, Stony Gap,
Virginia.
Red's daddy, his idol, has just died, leaving Red and Mama with
some hard decisions and a whole lot of doubt. Should they sell
the Porter family business, a gas station, repair shop, and
convenience store rolled into one, where the slogan -- "Porter's:
We Fix it Right!" -- has been shouting the family's pride for as
long as anyone can remember?
With Daddy gone, everything's different. Through his
friendship with Thomas, Beau, and Miss Georgia, Red starts to
see there's a lot more than car motors and rusty fenders that
need fixing in his world.
When Red discovers the injustices that have been happening in
Stony Gap since before he was born, he's faced with unsettling
questions about his family's legacy.
Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake. So
when he returns to school after a weeklong suspension, his
English teacher offers him a deal: if he keeps a journal and
writes about the terrible incident that got him and his friends
suspended, he can get out of writing a report on Shakespeare.
Julian jumps at the chance. And so begins his account of life in
sixth grade--blowing up homemade fireworks, writing a love
letter for his best friend (with disastrous results), and worrying
whether he's still the fastest kid in school. Lurking in the
background, though, is the one story he can't bring himself to
tell, the one story his teacher most wants to hear.
When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on
her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be
an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news
for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s twohundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on
her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem:
Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.
With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo's search for
answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a
side of the city—and her grandfather—that she never knew. To
solve the mystery, she'll have to abandon her hard-won selfreliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a
time.
STUDENT
CHOICE- TBA!
Feb/Mar
WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE
HERE? WRITE YOUR SUGGESTION (S)
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOOK CLUB
ORDER FORM AND WE WILL VOTE AT
OUR MEET ‘N GREET IN OCTOBER!
Savvy
by Ingrid Law
Mar/Apr
For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical
secret. They each possess a "savvy" -a special supernatural
power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba
moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and
spark electricity . . . and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day.
As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news
two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible
accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the
hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she
sneaks onto a salesman's bus . . . only to find the bus heading in
the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an
unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of
growing up-and of other people, who might also have a few
secrets hidden just beneath the skin.
*=Virginia Readers Choice
Book summaries excerpted from http://www.goodreads.com/
Students across the state participating in the Virginia Reader’s Choice Program
must read a minimum of 4 (out of 10) nominated books to be eligible to vote in
April. Therefore, our 1st four meetings will be dedicated to the VRC program. The
last two meetings will focus on one “must-read” book recently recommended by
Harmony students and staff for our 7th and 8th graders and one book of the club’s
choice 
All students wishing to participate should fill out the attached registration form
and return to the Library no later than SEPTEMBER 28th (7th grade) or OCTOBER
1st (8th grade). You will also see an order form for the books we will be reading. If
you wish to purchase the books, please fill out the form, attach a check payable to
“Harmony Middle School,” and return it with your order. Our Library has limited
copies of each book; these books will be available on a first come, first serve basis.
These books are also available through the Loudoun County Public Library.
HELP! We need the participation of parents in order to make this program
possible. It is only a 30 minute per month obligation. Parent assistants will simply
provide supervision of student groups and guidance when necessary.
Once all applications have been received and we have secured parent volunteers, we
will send home a letter with your child that lists his/her group, group leader with
contact information, and the dates of each meeting.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Wendy Ricci
Harmony Library Media Specialist
(540) 751-2500
wendy.ricci@lcps.org
REGISTRATION AND BOOK ORDER FORM
Please complete and return by SEPTEMBER 28th(Gr. 7) or OCTOBER 1ST(Gr. 8)
1. Child’s Name_______________________________________________________
English Teacher and Grade______________________________________________
Parent’s email address__________________________________________________
(By providing this address, you agree to be added to our Book Club email contact list which will be shared with our
volunteer leaders and club members. It is our primary means of communication for the school year. If you wish to be
contacted another way, please provide the necessary information above.)
2. My child DOES/DOES NOT
(circle one)
have food allergies that would be a concern
during the book club meeting. If so, please specify any
accommodations______________________________________________________.
________(please
check)
3. Yes, I would like to be a Harmony Book Club Meeting
Assistant!
Name_______________________________________________________________
Home Phone________________________Cell Phone__________________________
4. Complete the order form on the back of this page (many students like to have
their own copies of the books we read)
___________(please
check)
OR
My child will get a copy of each book from the Harmony
library (LIMITED copies available), public library, an eReader, or another way.
5. Make check payable to “Harmony Middle School” and attach check to form.
HARMONY BOOK CLUB ORDER FORM
Please mark the books you would like to order for
7th and 8th Grade Book Club:
Quantity
Title
Twerp
Counting by 7s
The Boy on the Wooden Box
Half a Chance (only available from source in hardcover)
The President Has Been Shot!: The
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Price
6.00
8.00
7.50
12.50
14.00
Total
(only available from source in hardcover)
Prisoner B-3087
12.00
Seeing Red
12.00
Shadow
Under the Egg
Zero Tolerance
Savvy
6.50
6.99
6.50
7.00
Total
payment
(only available from source in hardcover)
(only available from source in hardcover)
BOOK CLUBBERS! WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ IN
FEBRUARY/MARCH? WRITE YOUR SUGGESTION(S) HERE. WE WILL VOTE AT OUR
MEET ‘N GREET IN OCTOBER!
STUDENT
CHOICE:
Feb/Mar
WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE
HERE?
NOTE: This student-choice book will have “bonus” copies available to students in the Harmony
Library; however any student purchases for this title will be on an individual basis.