MRS. HALL’S 7TH GRADE SUMMER READING LIST
Requirements:
1. Choose 2 books from the reading list. It is important that you research the books for yourself and find
books that will be interesting to you. There is a wide variety of books provided.
2. Be sure that you have not read these books before or taken an AR test on the books you decide to read
this summer.
3. You must choose books (2) that are on the list that I have provided. Otherwise, you will not receive
credit for your summer reading project. Talk to me if you have issues with any of the following books.
4. Read BOTH books over summer break and complete an approved summer reading project. Choose
from the projects listed below.
Summer reading projects:
Each project must include these story elements:
o Title & Author
o Main Character information (who were they? A brief description of
character including items such as looks and character traits/personality)
o Setting (Where did the story take place, location and time period)
o Plot/Resolution (What was the main problem/plan/story line/scheme of
the story and how it was resolved?)
o Personal Review (Include likes and dislikes with reasons for both, what
you learned from the book, how you connected to the character(s), would
you recommend this book)
1. Shrunken Book- Create a new book. For each chapter you will write 3-4 sentences to describe the
main idea. Include an illustration for each chapter. Be sure to blend all required story elements into your
“shrunken” version of the book.
2. Television Reporter/Video- Create a video on DVD where you are a television reporter. You will be
reporting the main story elements as if they were appearing on the local news as a real event. You
must report on all of the required story elements. You must create a script with the story elements to
follow. Dress up to look like a reporter.
3. Cereal Box/Shoe Box Diorama- Recreate the book in 3-D using a cereal box or shoe box. The inside
of the box becomes the diorama where you will display the main conflict of the story or display your
favorite scene. Be sure to include buildings, characters, furniture, etc. Make it believable and be
creative!
4. Story Elements Essay- Use the required story elements above and write an essay covering all of the
necessary information. Your essay must be at least 3 pages long (handwritten) on regular notebook
paper. The essay should be neat and written in paragraph form. Make sure that you organize your
ideas and use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
***Choose ONE project per book. Therefore, you cannot do two dioramas or two
shrunken books. You have to mix them up. For example, do a video for one book and
write an essay for the second book***
SUMMER READING LIST (Choose 2)
That Was Then, This Is Now -S.E. Hinton
This book is a timeless story of the bond between best friends Bryon and Mark. They, like many other
best friends, go through a lot in life and they are always there for each other. However, there comes a time
when tensions build and the best friends begin to grow up and grow apart. How will these two friends handle
their gradual separation?
Stargirl –Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum
with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a
school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn
on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate
with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal.
Uglies –Scott Westerfeld
Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to
have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty
at all.
Silent to the Bone –E. L. Konigsburg
Connor is sure his best friend, Branwell, couldn't have hurt Branwell's baby half-sister, Nikki. But Nikki
lies in a coma, and Branwell is in a juvenile behavioral center, suspected of a horrible crime and unable to utter
the words to tell what really happened. Connor is the only one who might be able to break through Branwell's
wall of silence. But how can he prove Branwell didn't commit the unspeakable act of which he's accused -when Branwell can't speak for himself?
Among the Hidden -Margaret Haddix
Luke Garner, twelve-year-old child, lives on a farm with his mother, father, and two brothers, Matthew
and Mark. As a third child, Luke and his parents are in violation of the law. Luke, like all third children, must
spend his days hidden or away from public view. When the government starts building houses in the woods
behind the Garners' house, Luke is forced to hide inside his house, in total isolation from the outside world. In
the beginning of the story, Luke is quite scared of being caught by the Population Police. But toward the end of
the story, he becomes more brave and faces his fears about the Population Police.
Flipped –Wendelin Van Draanen
In the beginning, Julianna falls hard for Bryce. Naturally, being 7 years old and in second grade, Bryce
has no interest. “Juli” stalks Bryce all through his childhood: staring at his house, asking him to play, following
him to school, etc. Bryce, being unbelievably shy and annoyed by all the attention, must find a way to keep Juli
away. However, as the novel progresses, both children grow up and their emotions change drastically.
Ender’s Game –Orson Scott Card
Andrew “Ender” Wiggins is this novel’s protagonist and one of the world’s most talented children. He
and other chosen children are taken at a young age to a training center known as the Battle School. There,
teachers train them in the arts of war through difficult games to prepare for a possible war with an alien race.
This novel is a science fiction book and it is set in Earth’s future.
Homecoming -Cynthia Voight
Homecoming, set in the very early 1980s, tells the story of four siblings aged between six and thirteen,
whose mother abandons them one summer afternoon in their car next to a Connecticut shopping mall during
an aborted road trip to a family member in Bridgeport. Realizing that their mother is not coming back, and that
they cannot go home (their father walked out before the youngest child was born), the children travel together,
mostly on foot, trying to reach Bridgeport. There, they hope to find their missing mother at the home of a
relative they have never met. The children find themselves on a journey that is emotional as well as literal during their weeks on the road their adventures and the people they meet along the way help them to find out
more about who they are and what is important to them, as well as to cope with the loss of their mother and to
understand society's reaction to her poverty, isolation, mental illness and the fact that she was an unmarried
mother of four.
Because of Winn Dixie –Kate DiCamillo
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie
supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she
dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for
each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and
together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND
PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the
animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.Opal spends all that sweet summer
collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps
because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship—and forgiveness—can sneak up
on you like a sudden summer storm.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry -Mildred D. Taylor
This novel explores life in Depression-era Mississippi as lived by an African-American family, the
Logans. The Logans are fortunate; they own their own land in a time and place when many—black and white—
are living as sharecroppers on various plantations and racially-motivated crimes are common. The novel
focuses on the importance of owning land and the effects of racism. Focusing on Cassie Logan, (the narrator)
the story also is a "coming of age" story as Cassie learns "the way things are".
The Westing Game –Ellen Raskin
Sixteen individuals are mysteriously chosen to live in the Sunset Towers apartment building on the
shore of Lake Michigan. They come together to hear the will of the self-made millionaire, Samuel W. Westing.
The will takes the form of a puzzle, dividing the sixteen heirs into eight pairs, giving each pair a different set of
clues and challenging them to solve the mystery of who killed Sam Westing. Whoever solves the mystery will
inherit Sam Westing's $200 million fortune, and his company, Westing Paper Products
Z for Zachariah –Robert C. O’Brien
Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged
by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no
evidence of any other survivors.
Peak –Roland Smith
After Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he's left with two choices:
wither away in Juvenile Detention or go live with his long-lost father, who runs a climbing company in Thailand.
But Peak quickly learns that his father's renewed interest in him has strings attached. Big strings. He wants
Peak to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit--and his motives are selfish at best. Even so, for
a climbing addict like Peak, tackling Everest is the challenge of a lifetime. But it's also one that could cost him
his life.
Read books over the break. BOTH projects are due during the first full week of school!