Summer 2012 Reading List
Incoming Grade 6 Students
Family, Friends, and School
Cole, Brock
The Goats
A boy and girl are marooned on a small island for the night. They are the 'goats.' The kids at
camp think it is a great joke. No harm is intended, but the goats don't see it that way.
Mass, Wendy
11 Birthdays
2 friends, Amanda and Leo are bound by friendship, and their birthdays. After a falling-out, the
2 are spending their birthdays apart for the first time ever. After Amanda’s failed birthday party,
she falls asleep and realizes that she has awoken, again, on her 11th birthday.
Mass, Wendy
A Mango Shaped-Space
Mia, a 13 year old, is affected by a rare disorder called synesthesia. After struggling with what
the disorder actually is, Mia begins having a very hard time at school and within her social life.
After letting relationships crumble, and her life escape her, a heartbreaking experience turns
Mia’s world around.
Trueman, Terry
Stuck in Neutral
Shawn, a young man, has a debilitating illness that leaves him speechless and motionless. The
story is told from his point of view and debates many normal teenage problems, from a very
different and interesting narrator.
Sachar, Louis
Holes
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune that they attribute to a curse on a distant relative,
Stanley Yelnats is sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real
friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.
Spinelli, Jerry
Stargirl
This story chronicles the pressures of being a young lady. The issues Spinelli covers concern
conformity, living up to the expectations of boys, and how to be comfortable in your own skin.
It also shows how cruel kids can be to one another and how students must rise above it.
Humor
Bauer, Joan
Squashed
As a sixteen-year-old pursues her two goals--growing the biggest pumpkin in Iowa and losing
twenty pounds herself--she strengthens her relationship with her father and meets a young man
with interests similar to her own.
Howe, James
Bunnicula
Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their
foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.
Wallace, Bill
The Biggest Klutz in Fifth Grade
Tired of being taunted for his clumsiness, Pat makes a bet that he can get through the summer
and start sixth grade without breaking any bones or having to get stitches.
Fantasy/Science Fiction
Calhoun, Dia
Aria of the Sea
In the magical kingdom of Windward, thirteen-year-old Cerinthe arrives at the Royal Dancing
School, where she finds herself torn between the two careers of dancer and healer.
Christopher, John
When the Tripods Came (series)
Fourteen-year-old Laurie and his family attempt to flee England when the Tripods descend from
outer space and begin brainwashing everyone with their hypnotic Caps.
Dickinson, Peter
The Ropemaker
When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja and her companions journey into the
evil Empire to find the ancient magician Faheel, who originally cast those spells.
Mass, Wendy
Every Soul Has a Star
During a solar-eclipse, the lives of Ally, Bree, and Jack all seem to bump into one another. As
the story unfolds, each of their lives begins to take new turns. Some of them are welcomed
change, and others are painful lessons in growing up.
Jacques, Brian
Redwall (series)
When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny
and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of
Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
This epic fantasy depicts the Great War of the Ring, a struggle between good and evil in Middleearth.
Winthrop, Elizabeth
Castle in the Attic
A gift of a toy castle, complete with silver knight, introduces William to an adventure involving
magic and a personal quest.
Wrede, Patricia C.
Dealing with Dragons (trilogy)
Bored with traditional palace life, a princess goes off to live with a group of dragons and soon
becomes involved with fighting against some disreputable wizards who want to steal away the
dragons' kingdom.
Animals
Burnford, Sheila
Incredible Journey
A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young Labrador retriever travel together 250 miles
through the Canadian wilderness to find their family.
Gibson, Fred
Old Yeller
This book is about a Texas pioneer family in the 1860s and the big yellow stray dog that affects
their lives.
Naylor, Phyllis
Shiloh
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it
from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season
and to mistreat his dogs.
O’Dell, Scott
Island of the Blue Dolphins
The book chronicles the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen
years on an isolated island off the California coast when her tribe emigrated and she was left
behind.
Mysteries/Thrillers
Raskin, Ellen
The Westing Game
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs
who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.
White, Robb
Deathwatch
A hunting trip turns into a test for survival as Ben guides a ruthless businessman into the desert.
Spinelli, Jerry
Wringer
Palmer LaRue is not looking forward to the day he turns 10. His town has an annual Pigeon Day.
When a boy turns 10 in this town, they become "wringers" and strangle the pigeons wounded
during the annual pigeon shoot. He must either accept this task or find the courage to say no. His
buddies soon discover Palmer is hiding a pet pigeon in his room.. Palmer finds it is hard not to
go along with the crowd.
Paulson, Gary
Hatchet
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to
survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to
survive his parents' divorce.
Historical Fiction
Boyne, John
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
During WWII, two young boys live two drastically different lives. Bruno, the son of a powerful
head officer, and Shmuel, a young prisoner at Auschwitz, begin to share a friendship filled with
imagination and heartbreaking danger. Will their friendship last in a time of hate, intolerance,
and murder?
Hahn, Mary Downing
Stepping on the Cracks
In 1944, while her brother is overseas fighting in World War II, eleven-year-old Margaret gets a
new view of the school bully Gordy when she finds him hiding his own brother, an army
deserter, and decides to help him.
Lisle, Janet Taylor
The Art of Keeping Cool
In 1942, Robert and his cousin Elliott uncover long-hidden family secrets while staying in their
grandparents' Rhode Island town, where they also become involved with a German artist who is
suspected of being a spy.
Pearsall, Shelley
Trouble Don’t Last
Samuel, an eleven-year-old Kentucky slave, and Harrison, the elderly slave who helped raise
him, attempt to escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.
Reeder, Carolyn
Shades of Grey
At the end of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Will, having lost all his immediate family,
reluctantly leaves his city home to live in the Virginia countryside with his aunt and the uncle he
considers a "traitor" because he refused to take part in the war.
Christopher Paul Curtis
Bud, Not Buddy
Bud runs away from an abusive foster home, and sets out to find Herman E. Calloway, a
musician who he believes is his father. Taking place during the Great Depression, this story
describes his journey.
The Classics
Burnett, Frances H.
The Secret Garden
Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an
invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.
Montgomery, L.M.
Anne of Green Gables (series)
Anne, a mischievous, red-haired, eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely,
middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an
indelible impression on everyone around her.
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit
Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day
the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may
never return.
Wyss, Johann
Swiss Family Robinson
This book is about the fortunes of a family struggling to survive after being shipwrecked on an
island with abundant plant and animal life.
Alternate Selection: As an alternative to the above list, we invite you to read a book of your own
choosing. To help you make a choice, visit the School Library Journal’s website for a list of books for
students in grades 5 and up:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/SLJ/Reviews/Grade5AndUp/index.csp.
Finally, you may browse your local book store or public library for a book that interests you. If you take
the “alternate selection” option, complete the information below in addition to the other required
assignments. Your parent must approve your book choice.
Personal Choice___________________________________________
Title of the Book
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Author
Parent’s Signature______________________________________________________
Summary: Write a brief summary of the book like the ones in the above list. (Maximum 5 sentences. Try
to entice someone to read the book without giving away the ending. If we add your book to the list next
year, we might use your summary.) Your teacher will collect your summaries.
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Your Name________________________________ Grade________ Teacher’s Name_____________
DIRECTIONS FOR GRAPHIC ORGANIZER: Within the first few weeks of school you will be
required to complete an in-class assignment. The notes on your graphic organizer are pre-writing for
this assignment. Pay close attention as you read and take relevant, significant notes based on the
sample graphic organizer below.
Characters: Tell about the main characters. Give good descriptions. (physical, mental, emotional, etc) Only
write about the characters that are involved in the one main conflict and resolution of the story you’re
choosing to write about. (see below)
Setting: Tell about the time, place, and details of the surroundings that are connected with the conflict
and resolution.
Plot: Tell about the sequence of events that happen in the story that lead up to and involve the one conflict
you’ve chosen to write about and its resolution within the story.
Conflict: Tell about one major problem in the story that involves the main characters you mentioned in the
first body paragraph
Resolution: Tell about how this major problem solved
Theme/Lesson Learned: What is the lesson learned by the main character or characters in the
story? AND/OR What lesson is the author trying to teach? Is there a main theme that runs throughout
the book? Explain what this lesson or theme is.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZER – BOOK #1 ___________________________(TITLE)
CHARACTERS
SETTING
PLOT
CONFLICT
RESOLUTION
THEME / LESSON LEARNED
GRAPHIC ORGANIZER – BOOK #2 ___________________________(TITLE)
CHARACTERS
SETTING
PLOT
CONFLICT
RESOLUTION
THEME / LESSON LEARNED