Dear 3rd Grade Parents,
As we move from “Learning to Read” to “Reading to Learn,” each child must develop stamina as they moving
along on their own continuum. To gain the necessary strength as a reader, children need lots of time to read lots
of books that are “just right” for their abilities. Besides the required books below, your child should be
encouraged to choose books for pleasure reading. Encourage a variety of genres (fiction, biographies, science,
history, etc.), as well as magazines, newspapers, etc.
All students will read at least 20-30 minutes every day and keep a Reading Log. If your child is a reluctant
reader, you may wish to break up the reading into two or three 10-minute time periods. All students must read
the three books listed below. They are encouraged to take notes (I like post-its or index cards) to cite new
vocabulary or questions they have while reading. These books were chosen as building blocks for our ELA
curriculum; students will be assessed on these books in September.
I’ve also compiled recommendations of grade-appropriate, challenging texts at different levels. But again, all
reading is good reading. And summer is the perfect time to experiment with new genres.
Required:
Magic Tree House Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne
Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Ancient Rome and Pompeii by Mary Pope Osborne
Boy Were We Wrong about Dinosaurs by Kathleen Kuduski
High Achiever Recommendations
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osbourne
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
The Fudge Books by Judy Blum
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar
The Storm (The Lighthouse Family) by Cynthia Rylant
The Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole
The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury Selected by Jack Prelutsky.
Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems Selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers et al.
Just Right Recommendations
The Boxcar Children mysteries by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton series by Geronimo Stilton
“I Survived” series by Lauren Tarshis
Flat Stanley Adventures by Jeff Brown
Bailey School series by Debbie Dadey
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon by Paula Danziger
My Weird School by Dan Gutman
The Storm (The Lighthouse Family) by Cynthia Rylant
101 Animal Secrets by Melvin Berger and Gilda Berger
Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems Selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers et al.
The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury Selected by Jack Prelutsky.
The Kid Who Only Hit Homers by Matt Christopher
Confidence Building Recommendations
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henke
A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy
Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
Magic Tree House series (and the nonfiction companion books) by Mary Pope Osbourne
Marvin Redpost- Class President by Louis Sachar
Miss Small is Off the Wall! by Dan Gutman
The Lucky Bat by Matt Christopher
The Storm (The Lighthouse Family) by Cynthia Rylant
Science of Living Things series by Bobbie Kalman
The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury Selected by Jack Prelutsky.
Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems Selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers et al.
Remember…
 Stick to the supply list. Unnecessary or excessive supplies will be sent home.
 Keep the office up-to-date about address and phone number changes.
 Go to Sunday Mass. Have your third grader participate in the Eucharist and the parts of the Mass.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me (elwares@stanthonyschool.org) or leave a message with
the office and I will get back to you. Have a restful summer.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wares, English Language Arts
BOY, WERE WE WRONG ABOUT THE DINOSAURS by Kathleen Kudlinski
Things to look for while reading:
 Challenging vocabulary words and how to figure out what they mean
 Specifically what did Scientists used to think and what do they think now
 How are dragons and dinosaurs the same/different
 Can Science change
 What can be learned about Science from this book
MAGIC TREE HOUSE VACATION UNDER THE VOLCANO by Mary Pope Osborne
MAGIC TREE HOUSE FACT TRACKER ANCIENT ROME AND POMPEII by Mary Pope Osborne
Things to look for while reading:
 Challenging vocabulary words and how to figure out what they mean
 What makes something “ancient?” and how is it different than prehistoric
 What connections can you make between the novel (VACATION UNDER THE VOLCANO) and the
informational text (FACT TRACKER)
 What was daily life like in Pompeii
ULARY
NAME ______________________________________________
Students should record their own books weekly with supervision. Feel free to copy this if you need
more lines.
DATE
TITLE
READING LOG
AUTHOR
TOTAL
PAGES
GENRE
PARENT
SIGNATURE
Sample genres: Realistic fiction, fantasy, biography, informational nonfiction, poetry, mystery