Grades 6 – 8 PWCS Summer Reading Program
Potomac Middle School
The purpose of the PWCS Summer Reading Program is to encourage students to enjoy quality
literature and to continue developing their independent reading skills. Student participation in the
program is voluntary. Students who choose to participate in the program are required to complete a
minimum number of readings over the summer.
Students in Grades 6 - 8 who participate will complete a list of books read. The documentation should include the name of
the author, the title of the book, an explanation of the topic or plot of the book, and a parent or guardian statement
indicating that the student has completed the reading. For Grades 6th – 8th grade students who participate in Prince
William County Public Library's Summer Reading Program, the Public Library documentation will apply. Students will
receive an extra A (100) for each book completed, with a maximum total of two. Completion of the summer reading will
be recorded for students by the end of the second week of school.
Lexile Levels
To help in choosing books that can promote reading growth, this year each child’s 2014 English SOL score will include a
Lexile Level. The Lexile Level is based on a student’s SOL score on the English portion of the SOL and approximates
his/her reading level. This means a child should be able to read and understand books in a Lexile range of approximately
100 points below to 50 points above the designated score.
Knowing a child’s Lexile range can help to locate books that he/she might enjoy reading. Student interest and motivation
for reading books that are age appropriate are critical factors to consider as book choices are made. Remember that
nothing replaces conversation with the student, his teachers, and librarians in making great choices.
It is important to note that the Lexile measure does not address the content or quality of the book. Many other factors
affect the relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the reader, and the
design of the actual book. The Lexile measure is a good starting point in the book-selection process, but parents should
always consider these other factors when making a decision about which book to choose.
Revised 05/2014
Page 1 of 12
PWCS Sixth Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian
and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also
acceptable.
Author
Title
Lexile
Level
830
Annotation
The Underneath
Pub.
Date
2008
Appelt, Kathi
Codell, Esme Raji
Sahara Special
2004
680
Duprau, Jeanne
City of Ember
2003
680
Graves, Will
Robert Griffin III: NFL
Sensation
2014
780
Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left,
Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who
supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her
classmates
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human
race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the
city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient
message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city.
She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before
the lights go out on Ember forever! This stunning debut novel
offers refreshingly clear writing and fascinating, original
characters.
The book summarizes Griffin's life and career to date and
Revised 05/2014
An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful
owner's run-down shack, and two kittens born
underneath the house, endure separation, danger, and
many other tribulations in their quest to be reunited and
free.
draws attention to accomplishments beyond his athletic
skill as well as career highlights thus far. Short,
informative sidebars add to the engaging, easy-to-read
text.
Page 2 of 12
Grimes, Nikki
Words with Wings
2013
850
Haddix, Margaret
Peterson
Among the Hidden
(Shadow Children
Series)
1998
800
Jackson, Melanie
Fast Slide
2010
510
Palacio, R.J.
Wonder
2012
790
Paulsen, Gary
Harris and Me
1993
1060
Paulsen, Gary
Lawn Boy
2009
780
Perkins, Mitali
Rickshaw Girl
2007
730
Revised 05/2014
Gabby daydreams to tune out her parents' arguments, but
when her parents' divorce, and she begins a new school,
daydreaming gets her into trouble. Her mother scolds her for
it, her teacher keeps telling her to pay attention, and the other
kids tease her. Until she finds a friend who also daydreams
and her teacher decides to work a daydreaming-writing
session into every school day. With a notebook "thick with
daydreams," Gabby grows more confident about herself and
her future.
In a future where the Population Police enforce the law
limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his
twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until
another third convinces him that the government is wrong.
Lifeguard Clay Gibson tries to clear his friend's name
when he is suspected of stealing forty thousand dollars
from the water park for which they work.
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until
now, has prevented him from going to school. Starting 5th
grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be
treated as an ordinary kid--but his new classmates can't get
past Auggie's extraordinary face. The story begins from
Auggie's point of view, but soon switches to include his
classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These
perspectives converge in a portrait of one community's
struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance
Sent to live with relatives on their farm because of his
unhappy home life, an eleven-year-old city boy meets his
distant cousin Harris and is given an introduction to a whole
new world.
Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a
neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing
business
Naima is a talented painter of traditional alpana patterns,
which Bangladeshi women and girls paint on their houses for
special celebrations. But Naima is not satisfied just painting
alpana. She wants to help earn money for her family, like her
best friend, Saleem, does for his family. When Naima's rash
effort to help puts her family deeper in debt, she draws on her
resourceful nature and her talents to bravely save the day.
Includes a glossary of Bangla words and an author's note
about a changing Bangladesh and microfinance
Page 3 of 12
Spinelli, Jerry
Maniac Magee
1990
820
Scieszka, Jon
Knucklehead : Tall
Tales & Mostly True
Stories About Growing
Up Scieszka
One Crazy Summer
2008
750
2010
750
Williams-Garcia,
Rita
P.S. Be Eleven
2014
770
Jobling, Curtis
Rise of the Wolf (or any
other in the Werewolf
Series)
2013
970
Williams-Garcia,
Rita
Revised 05/2014
Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life
if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with
his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he
decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where
the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of
a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary
feats
Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down memory
lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative
mind and a free spirit.
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to
Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they
barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger
sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their
mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the
intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black
Panther summer camp.
Sequel to: One crazy Summer. After spending the summer of
1968 with their mother and the Black Panthers, Delphine,
Vonetta, and Fern return home to Brooklyn with a new feeling
of independence, but they discover their father has a new
girlfriend, Uncle Darnell has come home from Vietnam a
changed man, and Big Ma still expects Delphine to take care
of everything. Feeling overwhelmed, Delphine writes to her
mother, who reminds her to enjoy being eleven and not grow
up too fast.
When a beast invades his father's farm and sixteen-year-old
Drew suddenly transforms into a werewolf. He runs away
from his family, seeking refuge in an obscure part of Lyssia.
He is captured by Lord Bergan's men and forced to battle
numerous werecreatures while trying to prove that he is not
the enemy.
Page 4 of 12
Ventura, Marne
Astrophysicist and
Space Advocate Neil
deGrasse Tyson
2014
760
Have you ever stared into the night sky, full of stars and
planets? As a kid, Neil deGrasse Tyson was star struck
when he first visited a planetarium. The universe was
calling him. Tyson pursued his interest in astronomy and
studied to be an astrophysicist. In 1996, he became the
director of New York's Hayden Planetarium. He is
passionate about teaching people about the universe and
is known for making science fun and easy to understand.
Follow his path from fascinated kid to popular space
expert, Director of New York's Hayden Planetarium and
narrator of Cosmos television program.
Revised 05/2014
Page 5 of 12
PWCS Seventh Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian
and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also
acceptable.
Author
Title
Lexile
Level
580
Annotation
Fever 1793
Pub.
Date
2000
Anderson, Laurie
Halse
Burpo, Todd
Heaven is for Real
2010
650
When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency
appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous
survival. What they weren't expecting, though, was the story
that emerged in the months that followed—a story as beautiful
as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to
heaven and back.
Choldenko,
Gennifer
No Passengers Beyond
This Point
2010
Cooney, Caroline
Code Orange
2005
Revised 05/2014
620
850
Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick
mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she
is forced to cope with the horrors of the yellow fever epidemic
in Philadelphia in 1793.
Three siblings - India, Finn, and Mouse - have less than fortyeight hours to pack up all their belongings and fly, without
Mom, to their uncle Red's in Colorado, after they lose their
house to foreclosure. But when they land, a mysterious driver
meets them at the airport, and he's never heard of Uncle Red.
Like Dorothy in Oz, they find themselves in a place they've
never heard of, with no idea of how to get home, and time is
running out
While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox,
Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox
scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New
York City.
Page 6 of 12
DiCamillo, Kate
2013
520
It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic
accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel
never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described
cynic Flora Belle Buckman, is just the right person to
step in and save him. What neither can predict is that
Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers
of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry -- and that Flora
will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of
hope and the promise of a big heart. This laugh-out-loud
story is filled with eccentric, endearing characters and an
exciting new format -- a novel interspersed with comicstyle graphic sequences and full-page illustrations.
Melody has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her body
but not her mind. Although she is unable to walk, talk, or feed
or care for herself, she can read, think, and feel. A brilliant
person is trapped inside her body, determined to make her
mark in the world in spite of her physical limitations
Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA
came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium—a strip
of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was
once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a
petri dish. He is a boy now, but most consider him a
monster—except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he
loves himself, because Matt is himself
Flora and Ulysses: The
Illuminated Adventures
Draper, Sharon
Out Of My Mind
2010
700
Farmer, Nancy
House of the Scorpion
2002
660
Fern, Tracey
Pippo the Fool
2009
770
In fifteenth-century Florence, Italy, a contest is held to design
a magnificent dome for the town's cathedral, but when Pippo
the Fool claims he will win the contest, everyone laughs at
him. Based on a true story.
Haddix, Margaret
Peterson
Double Identity
2005
810
Holm, Jennifer
Middle School is Worst
Than Meatloaf: A Year
Told in Stuff.
720
2007
Thirteen-year-old Bethany's parents have always been
overprotective, but when they suddenly drop out of sight with
no explanation, leaving her with an aunt she never knew
existed, Bethany uncovers shocking secrets that make her
question everything she thought she knew about herself and
her family
Ginny makes a to do list for her seventh grade year, which
includes landing a role in the school play, trying to make
friends, ignoring her horoscope, and going to see her grandpa
Joe in Florida; but she always seems to come up short in
accomplishing any of it.
Revised 05/2014
Page 7 of 12
Horowitz,
Anthony
Stormbreaker
2000
670
They told him his uncle died in an accident. But when
fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle's windshield
riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident.
What he doesn't know yet is that his uncle was killed
while on a top-secret mission. Fourteen-year-old Alex
Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work
for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.
Levine, Kristin
The Best Bad Luck
Ever
2009
680
In Moundville, Alabama, in 1917, twelve-year-old Dit hopes
the new postmaster will have a son his age, but instead he
meets Emma, who is black, and their friendship challenges
accepted ways of thinking and leads them to save the life of a
condemned man.
Murphy, Jim
An American Plague :
the True and Terrifying
Story of the Yellow
Fever Epidemic of 1793
2003
1130
Solheim, James
It’s disgusting and We
Ate It
1998
1010
Woodson,
Jacqueline
After Tupac and D.
Foster
2010
750
Provides an account of the yellow fever epidemic that swept
through Philadelphia in 1793, discussing the chaos that
erupted when people began evacuating in droves, leaving the
city without government, goods, or services, and examining
efforts by physicians, the Free African Society, and others to
cure and care for the sick
A collection of poems, facts, statistics, and stories about
unusual foods and eating habits from around the world and
throughout history.
In Queens, NY in the year 1996, three girls bond over their
shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to
make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live.
McKissack, Pat
A Friendship for Today
2007
670
Revised 05/2014
Twelve-year-old Rosemary Patterson learns that she will
be attending an all-white school in the fall; but when her
best friend is diagnosed with polio, she must face the
first day of school alone.
Page 8 of 12
PWCS Eighth Grade Summer Reading Program
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian
and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also
acceptable.
Author
Title
Pub.
Date
2007
Lexile
Level
850
Abdel-Fattah,
Randa
Does My Head Look Big
in This?
Blumenthal, Karen
Steve Jobs: The Man
Who Thought Different
2012
1110
Card, Orson Scott
Ender’s Game
1992
780
Clements, Andrew
Things Not Seen
2004
690
Draper, Sharon
We Beat the Street
2006
860
Revised 05/2014
Annotation
Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing
the hijab full- time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents,
her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands
by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it
does make her a little different from everyone else.
Chronicles the life and accomplishments of Apple mogul Steve
Jobs, discussing his ideas, and describing how he has
influenced life in the twenty-first century.
Young Ender Wiggin may prove to be the military genius Earth
needs to fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race
that will determine the future of the human race
When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes up and finds himself
invisible, he and his parents and his new blind friend Alicia try
to find out what caused his condition and how to reverse it.
Sampson, George, and Rameck could easily have followed
their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison.
Like their peers, they came from poor, single-parent homes in
urban neighborhoods where survival, not scholastic success,
was the priority. When the three boys met in a magnet high
school in Newark, they recognized each other as kindred
spirits who wanted to overcome the incredible odds against
them and reach for opportunity. They made a friendship pact,
deciding together to take on the biggest challenge of their
lives: attending college and then medical school. Along the
way they made mistakes and faced disappointments, but by
working hard, finding the right mentors, separating themselves
from negative influences, and supporting each other, they
achieved their goals--and more.
Page 9 of 12
Draper, Sharon
Copper Sun
2006
820
Two 15 year old girls—one slave and the other an
indentured servant—escape their Carolina plantation and
try to make their way to Fort Mose, Florida, a Spanish
colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders
Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four
tournament, where they discover that a talented player is
being blackmailed into throwing the final game.
Today's top authors for teens and young people come
together to share their stories about bullying—as bystanders,
as victims, and as the bullies themselves—in this moving and
deeply personal collection. Lauren Oliver, R. L. Stine, Ellen
Hopkins, Carolyn Mackler, Kiersten White, Mo Willems, Jon
Scieszka, Lauren Kate, and many more contributed 70
heartfelt and empathetic stories from each corner of the
schoolyard. In addition, Dear Bully includes resources for
teens, educators, and parents, and suggestions for further
reading.
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
Due to an administrative mix-up,8th grade troublemaker
Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic
Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students,
after pulling a major prank at middle school.
Feinstein, John
Last Shot: A Final Four
Mystery
2005
760
Hall, Kelly
Dear Bully
2011
850
Hopkinson,
Deborah
Titanic: Voices from the
Disaster
2012
1040
Korman ,Gordon
Ungifted
2012
730
Lupica, Mike
QB1
2013
Mikaelson, Ben.
Touching Spirit Bear
2001
Revised 05/2014
Jake Cullen, fourteen, lives in the shadows of his father and
older brother until he becomes the starting quarterback for the
high school football team and finally has his chance to shine.
670
After his anger erupts into violence, fifteen year-old Cole, in
order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a
sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle
Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an
encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life
Page 10 of 12
Myers, Walter
Dean
Bad Boy: A Memoir
2002
970
In a memoir that is gripping, funny, and ultimately
unforgettable, New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean
Myers travels back to his roots in the magical world of Harlem
during the 1940s and 1950s. Here is the story of one of the
most distinguished writers of young people's literature today.
As a boy, Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong,
always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously—he would
check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden
in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He
aspired to be a writer.
Myers, Walter
Dean
Invasion
2013
760
It's May 1944. World War II is ramping up, and so are these
young recruits, ready and eager. In small towns and big cities
all over the globe, people are filled with fear. When Josiah and
Marcus come together in what will be the greatest test of their
lives, they learn hard lessons about race, friendship, and what
it really means to fight. Set on the front lines of the Normandy
invasion, this novel, rendered with heart-in-the-throat
precision, is a cinematic masterpiece. Here we see the bold
terror of war, and also the nuanced havoc that affects a young
person's psyche while living in a barrack, not knowing if today
he will end up dead or alive.
Pfeffer, Susan
Beth.
Life As We Knew It
2006
770
Stone, Tanya Lee
The Good, the Bad, and
the Barbie: a Doll's
History and
Her Impact on Us
The Tinker King
2010
1120
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes
her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon,
causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic
eruptions.
Explores how Barbie has influenced generations of girls,
discussing criticisms of the doll, her role in fashion, and her
surprising popularity during her first fifty years.
Trent, Tiffany
Revised 05/2014
2014
760
After Vespa, Syrus, and Bayne defeated the Grue and restored
order to their world in The Unnaturalists, they thought their
future was secure. Empress Olivia, committed to peace and
equality for humans and Elementals alike, was a fair and just
ruler. The Creeping Waste had vanished, giving them hope for
the first time, but rebellion is brewing in the far-off city of
Scientia, and dark Elementals are plotting war in the ruins of
New London. Before they know what's happening, Vespa,
Syrus, and their friends are plunged into a new swamp of
intrigue, deception and magic—and the cost of survival may
be more than any of them are willing to pay.
Page 11 of 12
Updale, Eleanor
Montmorency: Thief,
Liar, Gentleman?
2203
1100
Van Tol, Alex
Sonia Sotomayor: U.S.
Supreme Court Justice
2011
1070
Selznick, Brian
Wonderstruck
2011
830
Revised 05/2014
After his life is saved by a young physician, a thief utilizes the
knowledge he gains in prison and from the scientific lectures
he attends as the physician's case study exhibit to create a
new, highly successful, double life for himself.
Sonia Sotomayor, born of Puerto Rican parents in the Bronx,
New York, became a household name when President Barack
Obama nominated her to the United States Supreme Court in
2009. Her confirmation made her the country's first Hispanic
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. But even before that,
Sonia was an inspiration to others for her hard work and her
accomplishments as a student, an attorney, and a judge.
Raised by her widowed mother in the housing projects of New
York, Sonia Sotomayor has built a life as a jurist, activist, and
mother, committed to the rights and advancement of people of
all backgrounds and ethnicities.
Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelveyear-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the
father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose,
who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's
story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.
Page 12 of 12