Dyker Heights Intermediate School 201
Robert Ciulla, Principal
Grade 8 Summer Reading Assignment (2015)
Dear Parents and Students,
This summer, students must read 2 books. First, they are to choose 1 book from the Fiction List and 1
book from the Non-Fiction list. Second, students must complete a writing task for each book. Students need to
write a five paragraph response (a paragraph is at least 5-8 sentences). If the response is typed, please double
space and use 12 Font/ Times New Roman, or it may be neatly handwritten. This Summer’s Reading Assignment
will be collected during the first week of school in September.
NOTE: The Summer reading assignment will also be posted on the school’s website.
8th Grade Fiction Titles:
1) Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie By: Jordan Sonnenblick (Lexile Level 940)
From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest
girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia,
Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one
piece.
2) Wonder By: R.J. Palacio (Lexile Level 790)
From Amazon: August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream
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.
3) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas By: John Boyne (Lexile Level 1080)
From Amazon: When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father
has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with
and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can
see in the distance.
4) Endangered By: Eliot Schrefer (Lexile Level 900)
From Amazon: Congo is a dangerous place, even for people who are trying to do good. When Sophie has to visit her mother at her
sanctuary for bonobos, she’s not thrilled to be there. Then Otto, an infant bonobo, comes into her life, and for the first time she feels
responsible for another creature.
5) Stargirl By: Jerry Spinell (Lexile Level 590)
From Amazon: 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.
8th Grade Nonfiction
Non – Fiction Titles:
1) Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Wartime Sarajevo By: Zlata Filipovic (Lexile Level 640)
From Amazon: When Zlata’s Diary was first published at the height of the Bosnian conflict, it became an international bestseller and
was compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, both for the freshness of its voice and the grimness of the world it describes. It begins as
the day-today record of the life of a typical eleven-year-old girl, preoccupied by piano lessons and birthday parties. But as war engulfs
Sarajevo, Zlata Filipovic becomes a witness to food shortages and the deaths of friends and learns to wait out bombardments in a
neighbor’s cellar. Yet throughout she remains courageous and observant. The result is a book that has the power to move and instruct
readers a world away.
2) Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman By: Dorothy Sterling (Lexile Level 910)
From Amazon: Born into slavery, young Harriet Tubman knew only hard work and hunger. Escape seemed impossible — certainly
dangerous. Yet Harriet did escape North, by the secret route called the Underground Railroad. Harriet didn't forget her people. Again
and again she risked her life to lead them on the same secret, dangerous journey.
3) Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow By: Susan Campbell Bartoletti (LL1050)
From Amazon: By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It
would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion
of so many of Germany's young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.
4) The Warrior’s Heart: Becoming a Man of Courage and Compassion By: Eric Greitens (LL N/A Grade Level 7)
From Amazon: In this adaptation of his best-selling book, The Heart and the Fist, Eric speaks directly to teen readers, interweaving
memoir and intimate second-person narratives that ask the reader to put themselves in the shoes of himself and others. Readers will
share in Eric’s evolution from average kid to globe-traveling humanitarian to warrior, training and serving with the most elite military
outfit in the world: the Navy SEALs. Along the way, they’ll be asked to consider the power of choices, of making the decision each
and every day to act with courage and compassion so that they grow to be tomorrow’s heroes. Sure to inspire and motivate.
5) We’ve Got a Job: 1963 Birmingham Children’s March By: Cynthia Levinson (LL1020)
From Amazon: We’ve Got a Job tells the little-known story of the 4,000 black elementary-, middle-, and high school students who
voluntarily went to jail in Birmingham, Alabama, between May 2 and May 11, 1963. Fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi s and Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. s precept to fill the jails, they succeeded where adults had failed in desegregating one of the most racially violent
cities in America. Focusing on four of the original participants who have participated in extensive interviews, We’ve Got a Job
recounts the astonishing events before, during, and after the Children’s March.
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8th Grade Writing Response Tasks
Directions: After reading 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction book from the list above, complete the following writing tasks.
Responses should be typed or neatly written. Responses should be in essay format (at least 5 paragraphs).
For Fiction:
Write an essay in which you explore how the protagonist’s (main character’s) experiences cause
him/her to change throughout the novel. Be sure to cite specific evidence from the novel in which you
highlight points of change.
For Non – Fiction:
What is the central/main idea discussed in the book? What issues or ideas does the author explore?
What evidence does the author use to support the book’s ideas? Cite at least 3-5 details to support the
main idea.
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
--Dr. Seuss