Take Your Imagination on Vacation
This Summer!!!
2015
Summer Reading Program
Selections and Guidelines
Grades K – 5
Garfield Public School District
BOTH THE BOOK LIST AND ACTIVITIES ARE TO BE HANDED IN TO THE CLASSROOM
TEACHER IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR COMPLETING THE SUMMER READING
PROGRAM.
ALL INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED ON www.gboe.org BY CLICKING ON THE SUMMER
READING LINK.
BE SURE TO REGISTER FOR THE READING PROGRAM AT THE GARFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY.
BOOKS READ WITH THE LIBRARY PROGRAM MAY BE USED ON OUR LIST, AS LONG AS THE
BOOKS ARE ON THE CHILD’S READING LEVEL.
FORMS FOR ASSIGNMENTS CAN BE RECREATED BY PHOTOCOPYING, DOWNLOADING OFF
THE SCHOOL WEBSITE OR HANDWRITING IT ON A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER. A LIMITED
NUMBER OF FORMS WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE AT THE GARFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY.
June 2015
Garfield Public Schools
Nicholas L. Perrapato
34 Outwater Lane, Garfield, NJ 07026
973-340-5000
Superintendent of Schools
Dear Parents and Students,
Summer is a time for fun and relaxation as well as a great opportunity
to read! Therefore, we are inviting you to participate in our district-wide
K-5 summer reading program.
This program is a way to keep children’s
reading skills sharp while traveling or spending time at home during the
summer.
Provided in this packet is a list of age appropriate books and
activities for students to work on during summer vacation. The local library
as well as bookstores can assist you in finding these books.
Upon returning to school in the fall, students will hand in their
completed activities to their teacher.
The elementary schools will each
recognize those students for their extra hard work and dedication to reading
by bestowing upon them a reward for their participation in the program as
well as give credit towards their Reading grade.
Have a wonderful summer and come back in September ready to share all
your reading adventures!
The district is proud of our students and look
forward to seeing their growth as readers.
Sincerely,
Nicholas L. Perrapato
Superintendent of Schools
Incoming Grades K-2
All incoming Kindergarten through Second grade students in all the elementary schools throughout Garfield will be
participating in this year’s Summer Reading Program. The suggested reading list is attached for all grade levels. Students
may choose a book on any topic they enjoy that is written by one of the suggested authors from this list. The books MUST
be written on the student’s reading level. To be rewarded for successful reading, the Summer Reading Log form and all
assignments are to be completed and returned to the student’s classroom teacher NO LATER THAN
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015. Grades for this year’s completed Summer Reading assignments will be included in the first
Trimester Reading grade. Be sure that all of the information has been listed, assignments have been completed, and the
Summer Reading Log form is signed by a parent/guardian. Each student who completes ALL the Summer Reading
guidelines will be rewarded at the start of the school year.
 Students are expected to read, or have read to them, five books on their reading level. Complete the provided
Summer Reading Log form including all of the information listed.
 Students in incoming grades K and 1 must pick 1 book that they read and complete the attached story
assignment.
 Students in incoming grades 2 must pick 3 books that they read and complete the attached story assignments.
The elementary schools will each recognize students for their extra hard work and
dedication to reading by bestowing upon them a reward for their participation in the
program as well as give credit towards their reading grade.
******Suggested Summer Reading List for Grades K-2****
Fairy Tales
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Little Red Riding Hood
Puss in Boots
Rapunzel
Jack and the Beanstalk
Princess and the Pea
Sleeping Beauty
The Little Red Hen
Books written by Cynthia Rylant ; David A. Adler (A Picture Book of…)
Picture Books
Sergei Prokofiev
Robin Pulver
Brian Floca
Peter and the Wolf
Punctuation Takes a Vacation
Locomotive (Caldecott Award 2014)
Mutlticultural Books
Ysaye M. Barnwell
Evelyn Coleman
Bill Martin Jr.
Taro Yashima
Samantha R. Vamos
Claire Sidhorn Matz
Jacqueline Woodson
Nyul Choi
Monica Brown
Paulina Karwowska
No Mirrors in My Nana’s House
White Socks Only
Knots on a Counting Rope
Crow Boy
The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred
The Stars in my Geddoh’s Sky
The Other Side
Halmoni and the Picnic
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald No Combina
Wigilia: A Tale About a Polish American Family on Christmas Eve
Historical Fiction
Vaunda Michaeux Nelson
Connie Roop
Eileen Luca
Margaret K. Wetterer
Shirley Raye Redmond
Patricia Polacco
Deborah Hopkinson
Eve Bunting
Books written by: Jean Fritz; Avi
Almost to Freedom
Buttons for General Washington
Cracking the Wall: The Struggles of the Little Rock Nine
Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express
Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President
John Philip Duck
Apples to Oregon
Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story
Chapter Books
Cynthia Rylant
Books from the Henry and Mudge Series
Cynthia Rylant
Puppy Mudge Series
Paula Danziger
Books from the Amber Brown Series
Michael Bond
A Bear Called Paddington
Books written by A.A. Milne; Kate DiCamillo; Roald Dahl; E.B White; Beverly Cleary; Ann Cameron
History and Adventure
Eleanor Coerr
Thomas P. Lewis
Barbara Brenner
Linda Sue Park
Janet Squires
Elvira Woodruff
Myron Ulberg
Alison Inches
Books written by Meghan McCarthy
The Big Balloon Race (and other titles)
Hill of Fire
Wagon Wheels
Bee Bim Bop
The Gingerbread Cowboy
Small Beauties: The Story of Darcy Heart O’Hara
Dad, Jackie and Me
The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling
Math
John Updike
A Child’s Calendar
Ann Whitford Paul
Count on Culebra: Go From 1 to 10
Alison McGhee
Countdown to Kindergarten
Stephen T. Johnson
City by Numbers
Cathryn Falwell
Feast for Ten
Susan L. Roth
My Love for Mom All Year Round
Peg Deitz Shea &Cynthia Weill
Ten Mice for Tet
Margarette S. Reid
Lots and Lots of Coins
Christopher Wormell
Teeth Tails and Tentacles An Animal Counting Book
Keiko Kasza
My Lucky Day
Vera Williams
A Chair for My Mother
Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (and other titles)
Wanda Gag
Millions of Cats (and other titles)
Pat Hutchins
The Doorbell Rang (and other titles)
Books written by Marilyn Burns; Loreen Leedy
Science
Robert E. Wells
Anne Rockwell
Aliki
Ruth Krauss
Gail Gibbons
Can We Share the World With Tigers?
Apples and Pumpkins
My Hands
The Carrot Seed
Monarch Butterfly, Frogs, From Seed to Plant, Apples,
Elephants of Africa, Horses, Penguins
Books written by Seymour Simon; Melvin Berger
TO BE COMPLETED BY All INCOMING Kindergarteners and Grade 1 Students must complete this form.
Select one of the books you read this summer.
Your Name _______________________________________________________
Book Title ________________________________________________________
Author___________________________________________________________
In each box write a sentence and draw a picture that tells about the beginning, the middle, and the end of the book. If a
child cannot write their own sentences, children may dictate the sentences for the parent to write. You may also
use a separate piece of paper to write your sentences. Pictures should be drawn by the child.
Parent Signature X_________________________________________________
***TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL STUDENTS***
Summer Reading Log
Complete this log along with your activities and return it to your classroom teacher in
September. Make sure each book entry is signed by a parent/guardian.
Book Title
Author
Parent Signature
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Student’s Name _________________________________________________
Teacher’s Name_______________________________________Grade____________
All Incoming Grades 3-5
All incoming grade three through grade five students in all the elementary schools throughout Garfield will be participating
in this year’s Summer Reading Program. The suggested reading list is attached for these grade levels. Students may
choose a book on any topic they enjoy that is written by one of the suggested authors from this list. The books MUST be
written on the student’s reading level. To be rewarded for successful reading, the summer reading form and all
assignments are to be completed and returned to the student’s classroom teacher NO LATER THAN
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015. Grades for this year’s completed Summer Reading assignments will be included in the first
Trimester Reading grade. Be sure that all of the information has been listed, assignments have been completed, and the
Summer Reading Log form is signed by a parent/guardian. Each student who completes ALL the Summer Reading
guidelines will be rewarded at the start of the school year.
Students are expected to read five books on their reading level. Complete the summer reading form provided, including
all of the information listed. Choose three books from the five books read and complete the form The Story Unfolds
for fiction books and My Personal Thinking and Learning Record for nonfiction books. One Summer Reading form
for each of the three books should be completed. A picture should be drawn on a separate piece of paper to go along with
the book form. The student will give the classroom teacher three book forms with a picture attached to each form.
The elementary schools will each recognize students for their extra hard work and
dedication to reading by bestowing upon them a reward for their participation in the
program as well as give credit towards their reading grade.
****Suggested Summer Reading List for Grades 3-5***
Fairy Tales
John Steptoe
Robert D. San Souci
Robert D. San Souci
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters
Cendrillon
Little Gold Star: A Spanish-American Cinderella Tale
Fiction
Kate DiCamillo
Rachel Vail
Kevin Henkes
Sharon Creech
Stephen Pastis
Sarah Weeks
Andrew Clements
Judy Blume
Mary Hoffman
Jerry Spinelli
David Adler
Beverly Cleary
Paula Danziger
James Preller
Avi
Patricia Polacco
Ann Cameron
Johanna Hurwitz
Marjorie Sharmat
Tomie de Paola
Louis Sachar
Marcia Brown
Richard Atwater
Eleanor Estes
Barbara Robinson
Donald J. Sobol
Flora and Ulysses (Newbery Award 2014)
Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom
Junonia
The Great Unexpected
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
Pie
About Average
Freckle Juice (and other titles)
Amazing Grace (and other titles)
Loser
Cam Jansen (Series)
Ramona (Series)
Amber Brown (Series)
The Case of the Spooky Sleepover
Poppy
Mrs. Katz and Tush (and other titles)
Julian’s Glorious Summer
Class Clown
Nate the Great
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
Marvin Redpost (Series)
Stone Soup
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
The Hundred Dresses
The Best School Year Ever
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (Series)
Allan Say
Grandfather’s Journey
Patricia MacLachlan
Betsy Duffy
Mary Pope Osborne
Lois Lowry
Roald Dahl
Sharon Creech
E.L. Konigsburg
Yoshiko Uchida
Scott O’Dell
Virginia Hamilton
Betsy Byars
Jan Lawrence
Elizabeth Levy
Gordon Korman
Sarah, Plain and Tall
How to Be Cool in 3rdGrade
The Magic Treehouse (Series)
Number the Stars
Matilda (and other titles)
Walk Two Moons
The View From Saturday
The Best Bad Thing
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Zeely
The Summer of the Swans
America’s Most Wanted Fifth Grader
My Life as a Fifth Grade Comedian
No More Dead Dogs
Graphic Novels
Nick Bruel
Jennifer Holm
Bad Kitty Meets the Baby
Extreme Babymouse
Historical Fiction
Patricia Reilly Giff
Lauren Tarshis
Gingersnap (and other titles)
I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863
Mystery
Alexander McCall Smith
Maryrose Wood
The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unseen Guest
Nonfiction
Lila Perl
It Happened in America; True Stories From the 50 States
Deborah Hopkinson
Titanic: Voices From the Disaster
Joanna Cole
Magic School Bus (Series)
Aliki
The Story of Johnny Appleseed
Lynne Cherry
A River Ran Wild
Derrick Barnes
Brand New School, Brave New Ruby
Lorien Kite
Life in the Rainforest
Betsy Maestro
The Statue of Liberty
Lucy Baker
Life in the Oceans
Ann McGovern
If You Lived a Hundred Years Ago
Jeri Ferris
Walking the Road to Freedom (and other titles)
Betsy Maestro
The Discovery Of Americas
Henry Coles
Unspoken: A Story From the Underground Railroad
Carolyn Descristofano
A Black Hole is Not a Hole
National Geographic
Angry Birds: Space
Books written by Gail Gibbons; Laurence Pringle; Seymour Simon
Biography
Lisa Cline-Ransome
Margaret Frith
Sharon Robinson
Tanya Lee Stone
Malala Yousafzai
Anne Frank
Laurie Myers
Michell McCann
Melvin Berger
Pam Pollack
Kadir Nelson
In Your Own Words
Diary of a Young Girl
Lewis and Clark and Me
Boys Who Rocked the World
What Makes the Light Bright, Mr. Edison?
Who was Nelson Mandela?
Nelson Mandela
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Chris Columbus
Adam Gidwitz
Christopher Healy
House of Secrets
In A Glass Grimmly
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass
Who Was Franklin D. Roosevelt?
Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell
Poetry
Jack Prelustsky
Langston Hughes
Shel Siverstein
Marilyn Singer
I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus ( Or other titles)
I, Too, Am America
Falling Up (Or other Titles)
Mirror Mirror: A book of Reversible Verse
Sports
Chris Crowe
David Kelly
Pat McKissack
Just as Good: How Larry Doby Changed America’s Game
Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse
The Home Run King
Matt Christopher
Derek Jeter
At the Plate with Mark McGuire (Series)
Derek Jeter: The Contract
More Great Authors to Explore:
Dan Gutman; Gordon Korman; Wendy Mass; Gary Paulsen; Nic Bishop; Kate DiCamillo
TO BE COMPLETED BY All INCOMING GRADE 3 THROUGH GRADE 5 STUDENTS FOR FICTION BOOKS
The Story Unfolds
Name ___________________________________________________________
Book Title ________________________________________________________
Author __________________________________________________________
How well did you understand the story? Fill in the sections below. Talk it over with a parent/guardian.
Main Characters:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Problem or Conflict in the Story
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Major Event #1:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Major Event #2:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Major Event #3:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Outcome or Solution:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
**On a separate piece of paper, write a paragraph that states the theme of
the story. Make sure you use details from the story to support your
answer.***
TO BE COMPLETED BY All INCOMING GRADE 3 THROUGH GRADE 5 STUDENTS FOR FICTION BOOKS
(Fiction = Fake/Not Real)
TO BE COMPLETED BY All INCOMING GRADE 3 THROUGH GRADE 5 STUDENTS FOR NON-FICTION BOOKS
(Non-fiction = Real / Not Fake)
Name___________________________ Date_______________________
My Personal Thinking and Learning Record
Directions:
1. Before you read, write down everything you already know about the topic in the What I Know box.
2. Then write questions you have about the topic in the What I Want to Know box.
3. After you read, write important information and answers to your questions in the What I Learned box.
4. On the reverse side of this page, write two paragraphs. For the first paragraph write a
summary about the book. In the second paragraph explain your feelings about the book and provide
examples from the book to support your thinking.
Topic:
K
What I Know
W
What I Want to
Know
L
What I Learned
TO BE COMPLETED BY All INCOMING GRADE 3 THROUGH GRADE 5 STUDENTS FOR NON-FICTION BOOKS
(Non-fiction = Real / Not Fake)
***TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL STUDENTS***
Summer Reading Log
Complete this log along with your activities and return it to your classroom teacher in
September. Make sure each book entry is signed by a parent/guardian.
Book Title
Author
Parent Signature
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Student’s Name _________________________________________________
Teacher’s Name_______________________________________Grade____________