SUMMER BOOK REPORT
Grades 3 to 7
General Directions
1. Choose a book from the Aquinas Academy Book List (to follow and posted on web site under “Parents”
tab) keeping in mind that you have to do two book reports. If you would like to read a book not on the
book list, please contact the school office for permission.
2. The second book should be a biography of a saint or person that demonstrates outstanding virtues.
3. As you read, do the following:
 Make a note or highlight important points that you may want to discuss in your report.
 Keep a list of the names of the main characters and the setting (when and where the story takes place.)
 You may also want to note the numbers of any pages you might want to refer to later.
On the first four lines, write the following:
Title: (write in the title of your book),
Author: (write in the author),
Type: (write the type of book it is – fiction, biography, history, etc.)
Characters: (write the names of the main characters)
Optional: Write an outline of your report. What will you discuss in your introduction, body paragraphs, and
conclusion? You may decide later to adjust the outline. Right now, you just want a rough outline to help you
get your thoughts in order.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Beginning Paragraph. This paragraph will serve as a beginning, or introduction, to your book report. The
beginning paragraph should have a good beginning sentence, should attract attention, should give an idea of
what is to follow, should be clear, and should make the reader interested. The beginning paragraph should
be general and let your reader know the title of the book you are reading and what you will be saying about
the book in your report.
Middle paragraphs. Depending on the age of the reader, there could be 1 to 3 middle paragraphs. The
middle paragraphs should follow the rules for good paragraphs, such as having a good beginning sentence,
at least three middle sentences and a good ending sentence. Each middle paragraph should develop the idea
or thought presented in the beginning paragraph. The middle paragraphs are not summaries of the events in
the book, but should explain what about the main characters you admired or disliked. (Preferably
emphasizing and giving examples of virtues demonstrated by the main characters.)
Final Paragraph. The final paragraph should let the reader know the report is finished; it should also tell
what the writer thinks or feels about the book, or restate the main idea or theme of the report. The final
paragraph should not mention any new examples or details from the book.
The report must be double-spaced and can be typed or handwritten.
Suggestions:
A book report is not a summary.
Underline titles of books.
A paragraph must have at least three sentences.
Indent the first line of each paragraph.
It can be typed or handwritten.
Proofread or have someone else proofread. Parents are encouraged to proofread with their child
whenever possible.
We suggest reading the following article which gives you an idea of why we pick certain
books over others.
Article by Theresa Fagan, author of A Mother’s List of Books.
SUMMER BOOK LIST: Grades 3 – 7.
This list is alphabetical by author. Some books give a grade level at the end of the book title.
Adams, Andy:
Log of A Cowboy
Adams, Abigail:
Letters
Aiken, Joan:
The Kingdom Under the Sea;
other Stories
Alcott, Louisa May:
Little Women; Eight Cousins;
Little Men; Rose in Bloom 7.9
Aldrich, Thomas Bailey:
Story Of a Bad Boy
Alexander, Lloyd:
The Book of Three 5.5
Anderson, Norman D.:
Investigating Science in the
Swimming Pool and Ocean
Barber, Richard:
A Strong Land and Sturdy:
Life in Medieval England
Barnum, P.T.:
Barnum’s Own Story
Barrie, James:
Drums; Peter Pan
Baum, L. Frank:
The Wonderful World of Oz;
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 5
Berger, Melvin:
Quasars, Pulsars and Black
Holes in Space
Brink, Carol:
Caddie Woodlawn 5.3
Browning, Robert:
The Pied Piper of Hamlin
Brownlee, Walter D.:
The First Ships Round the World
Burnett, Frances Hodgson:
The Secret Garden 6.5;
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Burnford, Sheila:
Incredible Journey 6
Burns, Marilyn:
The Book of Think: Or How to
Solve a Problem Twice Your Size
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
Tarzan Series
Carroll, Lewis:
Through the Looking Glass;
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Chase, Alice Elizabeth:
Looking at Art
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley George
Benet:
The Worst Journey in the World:
Antarctic
Chinery, Michael:
The Living World
Church, Alfred John:
The Iliad & Odyssey of Homer
Retold
Clarke, Pauline:
The Return of the Twelve
Clark, Ann Nolan:
Secret of the Andes 5.5;
All This Wild Land
Colum, Padraic:
Children of Odin;
The Golden Fleece;
Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles
Conrad, Joseph:
Youth from Youth & The End of
the Tether
Cowper, William:
John Gilpin’s Ride
Cummings, Richard:
Make Your Own Model Forts
& Castles
Dahl, Roald:
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory 6;
The Magic Finger;
James & the Giant Peach 4
Dana, Richard Henry:
Two Years Before The Mast
Defoe, Daniel:
Robinson Carusoe 10
DeFrance, Marie:
Shadow of the Hawk
De La Mare, Walter:
Come Hither
Denny, Norman, and
Filmer-Sankey, Josephine:
The Bayeux Tapestry: The Story
of the Norman Conquest 1066
Dickens, Charles:
Christmas Carol 6
David Copperfield 8.2
Oliver Twist 9
Dickinson, Emily:
Collected Poems
Dixon, Charlotte:
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Dodge, Mary Mapes:
Hans Brinker
Dostoevsky, Fyodor:
An Honest Thief; other Stories
Doyle, Arthur Conan:
The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes
Durrell, Gerald:
The Talking Parcel
Elliott, Donald, and Arrowood,Clinton:
Alligators and Music
Farley, Walter:
The Black Stallion 6.5
Little Black, A Pony
Fisher, Leonard Everett:
Alphabet Art: Thirteen ABC’s
from around the World
Fixx, James F.:
Solve It
Forbes, Esther:
Paul Revere & The World He
Lived In; Johnny Tremain 5.5
Forester, C.S.:
Captain Horatio Hornblower
Frost, Robert:
A Swinger of Birches; Poems Of
Robert Frost For Young People
Garfield, Leon:
Smith
Garner, Alan:
The Owl Service;
Elidor
George, Jean Craighead:
Julie of the Wolves 5.6
My Side of the Mountain 6.7
Gilbreth, Frank & Ernestine:
Cheaper By the Dozen 7
Belles on Their Toes
Godden, Rumer:
The Doll’s House
Gogol, Nikolai:
The Overcoat & Other Tales of
Good and Evil
Gouge, Elizabeth:
The Little White Horse;
Linnets and Valerians;
Rosemary Tree;
Green Dolphin Street;
and Others
Grahame, Kenneth:
The Wind in the Willows
Gunther, John:
Alexander the Great
Gysson, Fred:
Old Yeller 5.4
Haggard, H. Rider:
King Solomon’s Mines
Hale, E.E.:
The Man Without a Country
Jarrell, Randall:
The Animal Family
Jaspersohn, William:
How the Forest Grew
Kaufman, Mervyn D.:
Thomas Alva Edison
Kaune, Merriman B.:
My Own Little House
Keats, Ezra Jack:
Hi, Cat!;
The Snowy Day 3.2
Kessler, Leonard:
Mr. Pine’s Mixed-Up Signs
Kingsley, Charles:
Water Babies; The Heroes
Kipling, Rudyard:
Just So Stories; 4.6
Jungle Book 4
Krasilovsky, Phyllis:
The Very Little Girl
Kunhardt, Dorothy:
Pat the Bunny
Lamb, Charles:
Beauty and the Beast;
Tales From Shakespeare
Lamorisse, Albert:
The Red Balloon 4.2
Lang, Andrew:
The Blue Fairy Book;other Colors
Larrick, Nancy:
Piping Down the Valleys Wild
Lawson, Robert:
Rabbit Hill 5.4
Leaf, Munro:
The Story of Ferdinand 2.8
Lear, Edward:
Nonsense Omnibus
Lee, Dennis:
Alligator Pie
Lewis, C.S.:
The Lion, The Witch and the
Wardrobe (series) 5.9
Lexau, Joan M.:
Olaf Reads
Lindsay, Vachel:
Johnny Appleseed;
other Poems
Lionni, Leo:
Frederick 2.8
Lobel, Arnold:
Mouse Tales:
Frog & Toad are Friends 2.4
Lofting, Hugh:
Dr. Doolittle’s Circus;
Lopshire, Robert:
Put Me in the Zoo
Martell, Hazel Mary:
Na Ceiltigh, “The Celts” Window into History Series
McCloskey, Robert:
Make Way for Ducklings 3.1
Homer Price 7.3
McCord, David:
One at a Time
MacDonald, George:
At the Back of the North Wind
Marshall, Catherine
Christy 8.8
Milligan, Spike:
Silly Verse for Kids
Milne, A.A.:
Winnie the Pooh;
others in the Series
Minarik, Else Homelund:
Little Bear; 1
A Kiss for Little Bear 2.3
Moore, Clement C.:
The Night Before Christmas
Mother Goose
Pearce, Philippa:
Tom’s Midnight Garden 6.5
Perrault, Charles
Fairy Tales
Piper, Watty:
The Little Engine That Could
Potter, Beatrix:
Tales of Peter Rabbit; 1
The Tailor of Gloucester;
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny’ 3.5
The Tale of Tom Kitten; 3.5
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
Prescott, Orville:
A Father Reads to His Children
Prysen, Alf:
Little Old Mrs. Pepperpot;
other Stories
Ransome, Arthur:
Old Peter’s Russian Tales
Rawls, Wilson:
Where the Red Fern Grows; 5
Summer of the Monkeys 6
Reeves, James:
The Merry-Go-Round
Rey, H.A.:
Curious George 2.4
Riley, James Whitcomb:
Poetry for Small Children
Roberts, Elizabeth Madox:
Under the Tree
Robinson, Barbara:
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever 5.1
Rosetti, Christina:
Sing Song
Ruskin, John:
The King of the Golden River
Salten, Felix:
Bambi-translated by Whittaker 6.9
Chambers
Sanchez-Silva, Jose Maria:
The Boy and the Whale
Sandburg, Carl:
The Sandburg Treasury:
Prose & Poetry for Young People
Early Moon
Schenk de Regniers, Beatrice:
May I Bring a Friend?
Scott, Geoffrey:
Egyptian Boats
Selden, George:
The Cricket in Time Square 6.2
Seton, Ernest Thompson:
Two Little Savages
Sewell, Anna:
Black Beauty 7.4
Shakespeare, William:
Comedy of Errors:
Romeo and Juliet; As You Like It; 9
A Midsummer Night’s Dream;
Much Ado About Nothing
Sherwood, Robert:
Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Speare, Elizabeth George:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond; 7.4
The Bronze Bow; 6.5
The Sign of the Beaver 5.3
Spyri, Johanna:
Heidi 7.6
Steele, Mary Q.:
Journey Outside 4.5
Stevenson, Robert Louis:
A Child’s Garden of Verses 4.8
Treasure Island; 8
Kidnapped 7.1
Stoutenburg, Adrien:
American Tall Tales
Taylor, Mildred:
Roll of Thunder;
Hear My Cry 6.9
Stowe, Harriet Beecher:
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Swift, Jonathan:
Gulliver’s Travels 5.6
Tarkington, Booth:
Penrod; Penrod and Sam;
Penrod and Jasper;
The Arabian Nights;
Seventeen
Thurber, James:
The Thirteen Clocks;
Many Moons 2
Short Stories
Tolkein, J.R.R.:
Farmer Giles of Ham
The Hobbit 7.5
Tolstoy, Leo:
Fables and Fairy Tales
Master and Man; other Stories
Trelease, Jim:
The Read-Aloud Handbook
Tennyson, Alfred Lord:
Poetry
Travers, Pamela L.:
Mary Poppins
Twain, Mark:
Tom Sawyer; 7
Huckleberry Finn; 7
The Prince & the Pauper 5.4
Van Loon, Hendrik Willen:
Story of Mankind;
Story of America;
Ancient Man & His Geography
Verne, Jules:
Around the World in 80 Days; 9
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 5.5
Vinton, Iris:
Look Out for Pirates
Watson, Clyde:
Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes
White, E.B.:
Stuart Little; 5.4
The Trumpet of the Swan; 5.5
Charlotte’s Web 5
Whittier, John Greenleaf:
The Poetical Works of Whittier 4
Wilde, Oscar:
Stories for Children
Wilder, Laura Ingalls:
Little House on the Prairie Series 4
Williams, Jay:
Leonardo Da Vinci;
Joan of Arc
Williams, Margery:
The Velveteen Rabbit 4.2
Windeatt, Mary Fabyan:
the saint series
Wyss, Johannes:
Swiss Family Robinson 8.