Name: _________________________
Reading Reflection/Summer Reading Contract
What do you know about yourself as a reader?
a) Describe your favorite types of books and why you enjoy them? (genre)
b) What did you learn about yourself as a reader this year? (look back through your reading logs and
notebooks to help you reflect)
Books that I would like to read this summer are:
Title
Author
_____________________
____________________________
_____________________
____________________________
_____________________
____________________________
Dear Sixth Grade Parents,
Studies reveal that students can drop up to two to three reading levels when they do not read
over the summer months. Summer is a great time for reading! Most people have extra time
to read, talk to friends about books, and discover new books. In an effort to maintain or
surpass their current reading levels when they enter 7th grade, we are asking that students


Read at least two books
Write 1 open-ended response for each book. You will be expected to turn these two open-ended
responses on the first day of your 7th grade year.
This summer I will choose at least two books to read. I understand the expectations and guidelines. I will bring
my summer open-ended responses (summer reading assignment) to school on the first day of 7th grade. I
understand I can read as many books as I wish, but I only need to complete this assignment for two books.
Sign, cut, and return this bottom slip of the contract
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name: ____________________________
Student’s Signature
___________________________________________
Parent’s/Guardian’s Signature
________________________________________
My Fiction Lexile Lexile from SRI (LA): __________________
My Non-fiction Lexile Level from Achieve 3,000 (Sci/SS) ___________________
RETURN SIGNED CONTRACT BY ________________
Summer Reading Assignment for Incoming 7th Graders
Objective:
To show understanding and comprehension of literature by writing about different aspects you notice
in what you’ve read
One of the primary ways we showed understanding and comprehension in grade 6 was writing about
ideas we found in our reading, and including text support to prove these ideas. Often, we started by
utilizing post-its to record ideas as we read, and then used these post-its as ideas or as text evidence
to help us construct open-ended responses. The following is a list of some of the things we have
jotted about as we read in language arts this year:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Characters (their traits, if they change, their relationships, etc)
Social issues
Themes/main ideas
Types of conflicts
What’s really important in the text (or what the text is really about)?
inferences, reactions, predictions, questions, connections (especially to other books,
articles, texts we have read)
Determining the most important/significant events and relationships in the book and
why they are significant
Determining how our personal experiences influence how we interpret a text,
character, etc.
And many, many more. See your RNB for a more thorough list of skills & strategies we
have used throughout the year.
Assignment: Continue to use the strategies you have used all year long to track your thinking &
ideas as you read. Then use those ideas to help you construct an open-ended response.
o
o
For 2 of the books you read this summer, you should complete one open-ended
response per book. Therefore, you will turn in two typed, double spaced
responses.
Your notebook is a great resource for models in both identifying worthy topics to write
about, and to see as a reminder of structuring a well-written open-ended response.
REMINDERS:
o
o
o
o
Introduction should include the title, author, and restate the question. (Underline the title!)
Should be at least 3 paragraphs in length.
Follow open-ended response format as taught throughout the year. (REEL Close)
You can of course read as many books/articles as you wish, and we encourage you to do so,
but you only need to complete this assignment for 2 books that you read.
Open-ended Response Questions
Directions: You may choose by genre or general questions. Answer one question per book. You must
complete two total open-ended responses as your summer assignment.
Fantasy OER Questions
1. How do ideas and themes in this book connect to other fantasy books you have read?
2. What special powers does the hero (protagonist) possess? For what purposes does he or she use these
powers?
3. Is there a struggle between forces of light and dark? Who wins? Use text examples and explanations to
explain why that “side” was the winner.
Science Fiction OER Questions
1. Compare and contrast problems the characters face in the story to those that people face today. Explain
with examples.
2. Would you like to live in this society? Are there advantages and disadvantages? Offer reasons from the
text for your decisions.
3. Does the author deal with present-day issues such as population, food supplies, ecology, technological
advances, or social issues? Compare the author’s views of those issues to your own views.
Realistic Fiction OER Questions
1. What problems do you and the main character or a minor character have in common? Compare the
way you deal with those problems to the way the character dealt with them.
2. What are the realistic themes and issues in the book? Do they have to do with growing up, peer
pressure, friendships, family relationships, survival, divorce, stereotyping? Discuss three themes the
book explored.
3. In real life, events and people can change a character. How did an important event or person change the
character at the end of the book?
4. Describe how the main character changed from the beginning to the end of the book?
5. Compare and contrast the main character in your book to another book or short story you have read.
How are they similar and different?
Mystery OER Questions
1. What is the mystery that must be solved? How does the setting affect the mystery?
2. What traits does the main character possess that enables him or her to solve the mystery? Provide text
examples that prove the main character possesses those traits.
3. What part did you consider most suspenseful? Share it and explain why.
Historical Fiction OER Questions
1. What does this book teach you about the role of men and women during these times?
2. What does this book teach you about family life and relationships between family members during this
time period?
3. What kinds of struggles and problems did the main character face? List three and explain how the main
character dealt with and solved each one. If there was no solution, explain why you think the problems
couldn’t be solved.
4. What issues did you see in the book? Are these issues still problems in today’s society? Explain why or
why not or give examples from real life.
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir OER Questions
1. Discuss three to four personality traits that helped make this person achieve his or her goal. Provide
examples that prove the person possesses those traits.
2. Were there people and/or events that helped this person realize his or her dreams? Select two and show
how each influenced the person.
3. What do you admire or dislike about this person? Explain your position.
Nonfiction OER Questions
1. Why did you select this book? What new information did you learn?
2. Did this book change your thinking on this topic? How?
3. Did the author weave opinions into facts? Can you find examples of each?
4. What did you learn from photographs? from charts and diagrams? from illustrations?
5. Describe a cause & effect relationship about your topic that you have read about.
6. What is the main idea of the book? Use supporting details to explain why that is the main idea.
7. What are the most important events/information/ideas? What are the impact/effect of these events on the
topic?
General OER Questions
1. Discuss similarities between other books you have read or that have been read aloud to you and connect
it to the current book you have finished: similar themes, similar relationships, similar problems, similar
characters, etc.
2. Comments on why one part of the book was important to the story. Explain.
3. Think of three decisions a character made and explain what the decisions taught you about the character.
Explain. Did the character’s beliefs and words always match his/her actions? Explain.
4. What is one major message/theme the author is trying to convey, or reveal, to the reader? Use effective
text information to justify your interpretation.
5. Within a novel, characters react to story events in different ways. Choose a major event in the novel
when the main character reacted in a way you either believe is justified or unjustified. Use effective
text information to justify your interpretation. Also, what does this reaction make you infer about the
character (or their relationships).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CDMS Incoming 7th Graders Summer Reading Book list
A lexile measures a student's ability to read sentence structure/complexity (from short, simple
sentences to complex, long sentence structures) and knowledge of vocabulary. It does not assess reading
comprehension directly. As well, it is only one measure of a student's reading ability; so to say your child is a
"6th grade reader" would be a partial view of her/him as a reader. As well, lexiles do not take into account
content, appropriateness, or interest level but the score can help match students to text that they may be able
to tackle. When you receive a Lexile measure, try not to focus on the exact number. Instead, consider a reading
range around the number. A person's Lexile range is from 100L below to 50L above his or her reported Lexile
measure. When choosing high level lexile books, be aware that the content may NOT be appropriate for the
child’s age, so you may want to help your child find appropriate books.
You are NOT required to read a book from this list. You may find and choose your own book within
your lexile level by visiting www.lexile.com (quick book search, top right corner) OR
http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/. Happy Summer Reading!
Grade 6-8 Range of Lexile Levels: 955-1155
My Fiction Lexile Lexile from SRI (LA): __________________
My Non-fiction Lexile Level from Achieve 3,000 (Sci/SS) ___________________
FICTION LIST
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret – 590L
Blume, Judy
Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old girl talks over her problems
with her own private God.
It’s Not the End of the World – 530L
Blume, Judy
When her parents divorce, a sixth grader struggles to understand that sometimes people are unable to live
together.
Gettysburg [graphic novel]
Butzer, C.M.
Presents a comic book style depiction of the Battle of Gettysburg; the national movement to create a memorial
at the battle site; and the day of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in 1863, drawn from first-person letters,
speeches, and other primary sources.
Princess Diaries [The first in a ten-book series] – 790L-1040L for the series
Cabot, Meg
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2001
Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn
that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to
the throne.
Bud, Not Buddy – 950L
Curtis, Christopher Paul
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2000
Newbery Medal 2000
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster
home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway
of Grand Rapids.
Elijah of Buxton – 1070L
Curtis, Christopher Paul
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2008
Coretta Scott King Author Award 2008
Newbery Honor 2008
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing
the American South in 1859, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen
money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
Matilda – 840L
Dahl, Roald
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss
Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.
Because of Winn-Dixie – 610L
DiCamillo, Kate
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2001
Newbery Honor 2001
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things
that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
The City of Ember [The first of a four-book series.] – 680L-790L for the series
Duprau, Jeanne
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2004
In the city of Ember, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new
places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
The Breadwinner [first book of a trilogy] – 630L
Ellis, Deborah
Because the Taliban rulers of Kabul, Afghanistan, impose strict limitations on women's freedom and behavior,
eleven-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy so that her family can survive after her father's arrest.
Inkheart [Inkheart trilogy] – 780-890L
Funke, Cornelia
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father Mo, a bookbinder, can "read" fictional characters to life when an
evil ruler named Capricorn, freed from the novel "Inkheart" years earlier, tries to force Mo to release an
immortal monster from the story.
Gone [First of a four-book series] – 550-620L
Grant, Michael
In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a
battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who
have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.
Old Yeller – 910L
Gipson, Fred
Newbery Honor 1957
In the late 1860s in the Texas hill country, a big yellow dog and a fourteen-year-old boy form a close, loving
relationship.
Found [First of the Missing series of five books] – 710L-790L for the series
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that
appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a
mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time.
Flush – 830L
Hiaasen, Carl
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2006
With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister, Abbey, must gather
evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge tanks into the protected waters around their
Florida Keys home.
Hoot – 760L
Hiaasen, Carl
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2003
Newbery Honor 2003
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of
burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal [first book of the popular series] – 950L
Kinney, Jeff
Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized
weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more
popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet – 850L
L’engle, Madeline
The youngest of the Murry children must travel through time and space in a battle against an evil dictator who
would destroy the entire universe.
A Wrinkle in Time – 740L
L’engle, Madeline
Three extraterrestrial beings take Meg and her friends to another world.
Ella Enchanted – 670L
Levine, Gail Carson
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey
any order given to her.
Number the Stars – 670L
Lowry, Lois
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and
courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
The Big Field – 970L
Lupica, Mike
When fourteen-year-old baseball player Hutch feels threatened by the arrival of a new teammate named Darryl,
he tries to work through his insecurities about both Darryl and his remote and silent father, who was once a
great ballplayer too.
Heat – 940L
Lupica, Mike
Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League
baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
Game Changers – 870L
Lupica, Mike
When the coach's son, Shawn O'Brien, is chosen to play quarterback, eleven-year-old Ben McBain is not
surprised--but when he tries to be a good teammate and help the inconsistent Shawn, he is startled to learn
that his new friend does not really want the position.
Travel Team – 930L
Lupica, Mike
After he is cut from his travel basketball team--the very same team that his father once led to national
prominence--twelve-year-old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.
The Doll People [first book in a series] – 570L
Martin, Ann
A family of porcelain dolls that has lived in the same house for one hundred years is taken aback when a new
family of plastic dolls arrives and doesn't follow The Doll Code of Honor.
11 Birthdays – 650L
Mass, Wendy
After celebrating their first nine same-day birthdays together, Amanda and Leo, having fallen out on their tenth
and not speaking to each other for the last year, prepare to celebrate their eleventh birthday separately but
peculiar things begin to happen as the day of their birthday begins to repeat itself over and over again.
Every Soul a Star – 740L
Mass, Wendy
Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, to watch a total eclipse of the sun; but
soon they begin to learn a great deal about themselves, each other, and the universe.
The Lightning Thief [first book of the popular Percy Jackson and The Olympians series] – 740L
Riordan, Rick
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent
to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the
gods.
Becoming Naomi Leon – 830L
Ryan, Pam Munoz
When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother
and younger brother in search of her father.
Esperanza Rising – 750L
Ryan, Pam Munoz
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor
camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers
on the eve of the Great Depression.
The Bad Beginning [First of the 14-book Series of Unfortunate Events series] – 1010L
Snicket, Lemony
Tales of three likable, resilient, and unfortunate Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, in search of a
home--stories that are literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted.
Milkweed – 510L
Spinelli, Jerry
Follows a young Jewish orphan in the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two as he slowly understands the
horrible reality that surrounds him and attempts to steal in order to help others survive.
Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception [12 book series] – 660L
Van Draanen, Wendelin
Exciting mysteries starring the feisty and funny, smart and spunky seventh-grade ace detective, Samantha
Keyes.
Little House in the Big Woods [first book in a popular series] – 930L
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the
daily chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share special occasions when they get together with
relatives or neighbors.
Fever, 1793 – 580L
Anderson, Laurie Halse
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2001
Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance
when she is forced to cope with the horrors of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.
Hope Was Here – 710L
Bauer, Joan
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2001
Newbery Honor 2001
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to
work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's
political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – 1080L
Boyne, John
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a
Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Ender’s Game [first book of a popular series] – 780L
Card, Orson
ALA Notable Children’s Books 1995
Young Ender Wiggin may prove to be the military genius Earth needs to fight a desperate battle against a
deadly alien race that will determine the future of the human race.
Graceling [first book of a popular trilogy] – 730L–870L for the series
Cashore, Kristin
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for
redemption from her own horrifying Grace of killing and teams up with another young fighter to save their land
from a corrupt king.
Artemis Fowl [first of a popular 7 book series] – 600L
Colfer, Eoin
When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a
ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.
Uprising – 790L
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
In 1927, at the urging of twenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs. Livingston reluctantly recalls her experiences at the
Triangle Shirtwaist factory, including miserable working conditions that led to a strike, then the fire that took
the lives of her two best friends, when Harriet, the boss's daughter, was only five years old. Includes historical
notes.
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl – 820L
Hansen, Joyce
Twelve-year-old Patsy keeps a diary of the ripe but confusing time following the end of the Civil War and the
granting of freedom to former slaves.
Wonderland [graphic novel]
Kovac, Tommy
Based on Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. A graphic novel based on Lewis Carroll's classic stories and
follows the White Rabbit's housemaid, Mary Ann, on her nonsensical adventures in Wonderland.
Savvy – 1070L
Law, Ingrid
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2009
Newbery Honor 2009
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical
power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.
Airborn – 760L
Oppel Kenneth
Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team
up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the
Earth's surface.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox – 570L
Pearson, Mary
In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible
but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses,
learns a startling secret about her existence.
Eyes of the Emperor – 630L
Salisbury, Graham
Following orders from the United States Army, several young Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt
Asians during World War II.
Under the Blood-Red Sun – 640L
Salisbury, Graham
Tomikazu Nakaji's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a local bully, until life with his Japanese family
in Hawaii changes drastically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy – 1000L
Schmidt, Gary
ALA Notable Children’s Book 2005
Michael L. Printz Honor 2005
Newbery Honor 2005
In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets
Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town
fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot.
Everlost [first book of the popular Skinjacker series] – 860L-910L for the series
Shusterman, Neal
When Nick and Allie are killed in a car crash, they end up in Everlost, or limbo for lost souls, where, although
Nick is satisfied, Allie will stop at nothing--even skinjacking--to break free.
The Schwa was Here – 790L
Shusterman, Neal
A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending
into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.
Heroes of the Valley – 770L
Stroud, Jonathan
Halli Sveinsson, a mischievous young man who does not fit in with his peers and siblings, plays a trick on
Ragnor that goes too far, forcing him to embark on a hero's quest in which he will face highway robbers,
monsters, an intriguing girl, and truths about his family and the legends he grew up with.
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree – 830L
Tarshis, Lauren
A quirky and utterly logical seventh-grade girl named Emma-Jean Lazarus discovers some interesting results
when she gets involved in the messy everyday problems of her peers.
The Hobbit – 1000L
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The adventures of the well-to-do hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who lived happily in his comfortable home until a
wandering wizard granted his wish.
The Lord of the Rings – 810L-920L for the trilogy
Tolkien, J.R.R.
A trilogy, which tells of the quest undertaken by the hobbit Frodo and his companions to journey across Middleearth and cast the evil One Ring, into the Cracks of Doom.
Uglies [first book of a series] – 770L- 880L for the series
Westerfeld, Scott
Tally is faced with a difficult choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the outside rather than
submit to the forced operation that turns sixteen year old girls into gorgeous beauties, and realizes that there is
a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn't like.
American Born Chinese [graphic novel] – 530L
Yang, Gene Leun
Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the
popular culture.
Dragonwings – 870L
Yep, Laurence
In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father in San Francisco and helps him realize his
dream of making a flying machine.
Elsewhere – 720L
Zevin, Gabrielle
After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike
Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to "live."
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (740)
Thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is excited to return home from her school in England to her family in Rhode
Island in the summer of 1832.But when the two families she was supposed to travel with mysteriously cancel
their trips, Charlotte finds herself the lone passenger on a long sea voyage with a cruel captain and a mutinous
crew. Worse yet, soon after stepping aboard the ship, she becomes enmeshed in a conflict between them!
What begins as an eagerly anticipated ocean crossing turns into a harrowing journey, where Charlotte gains a
villainous enemy . . . and is put on trial for murder!
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Rhilbrick (740)
It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence
back to the planet. In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is
the rare human being who can see life as it really is. When he meets an old man called Ryter, he begins to
learn about Earth and its past. With Ryter as his companion, Spaz sets off an unlikely quest to save his dying
sister -- and in the process, perhaps the world.
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Collier (770)
The Revolutionary War comes alive in this contemporary classic for young adults. The War had no clear-cut
loyalties--it divided families, friends and towns. Young Tim Meeker's 16-year-old brother goes off to fight with
the Patriots while his father remains a reluctant British Loyalist in the Tory town of Redding, CT. Tim’s always
looked up to his brother, who’s smart and brave. With the war soon raging, Tim knows he'll have to make a
choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father. Over the
course of the war Tim learns that life teaches some bitter lessons and does not guarantee clear answers.
The Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyui Chou (840)
In 1945, 10-year-old Sookan's homeland of North Korea is occupied by the Japanese. Left behind while her
resistance-fighter father hides in Manchuria and her older brothers toil in Japanese labor camps, Sookan and
her remaining family members run a sock factory for the war effort, bolstered only by the dream that the
fighting will soon cease. Sookan watches her people--forced to renounce their native ways--become increasingly
angry and humiliated. When war's end brings only a new type of domination--from the Russian communists-Sookan and her younger brother must make a harrowing escape across the 38th parallel after their mother has
been detained at a Russian checkpoint. Drawn partly from Choi's own experiences, her debut novel is a
sensitive and honest portrayal of amazing courage.
Joey Pigza Swallowed a Key by Jack Gantos (970) Joey Pigza's got heart, he's got a mom who loves him,
and he's got "dud meds," which is what he calls the Ritalin pills that are supposed to even out his wild mood
swings. Sometimes Joey makes bad choices. He learns the hard way that he shouldn't stick his finger in the
pencil sharpener, or swallow his house key, or run with scissors. Joey ends up bouncing around a lot - and
eventually he bounces himself all the way downown, into the district special-ed program, which could be the
end of the line. As Joey knows, if he keeps making bad choices, he could just fall between the cracks for good.
But he is determined not to let that happen.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1000)
A story of a 12-year old girl who lives alone on a Pacific island after she leaps from a rescue ship. Isolated on
the island for eighteen years, Karana forages for food, builds weapons to fight predators, clothes herself in a
cormorant feathered skirt, and finds strength and peace in her seclusion.
Freak the Might by Rodman Philbrick (1000)
Maxwell Kane, a lumbering eighth grader who describes himself as a "butthead goon," has lived with
grandparents Grim and Gram ever since his father was imprisoned for murdering his mother. Mean-spirited
schoolmates and special ed (for an undetermined learning disability) haven't improved his self-image, so he is
totally unprepared for a friendship with Kevin, aka Freak, a veritable genius with a serious birth defect that's left
him in braces and using crutches. Max is uplifted by Freak's imagination and booming confidence, while Freak
gets a literal boost--hoisted onto Max's shoulders, he shares Max's mobility. Together they become Freak the
Mighty, an invincible duo.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1020)
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is
flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered
Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present—and the dreadful secret that has been tearing
him apart since his parent’s divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair—it will take all his
know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
NON-FICTION LIST
One Step at a Time: A Young Marine's Story of Courage, Hope and a New Life in the NFL – 820L
Bleill, Josh
Josh Bleill tells people he had "one bad day". On October 15, 2006, while on a combat patrol in Fallujah Iraq, an
IED (improvised explosive device) struck Josh's Humvee. The explosion tore through the vehicle killing two of
his fellow marines and severely injuring Bleill and his best friend. Josh awoke five days later with the news of
the loss of his two friends and both of his legs.
America is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell. – 840L
Brown, Don
Provides a chronological account of September 11, 2001, and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in
New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the hijacking of a plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat – 930L
Chevat, Richie
Examines the origins of the different food chains that have sustained humans throughout history, discussing
how certain foods and cuisines have become a popular part of people's daily diets.
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. – 930L
Fleming, Candace
Traces the life of female aviator Amelia Earhart from her childhood to her final flight, discusses the extensive
search for her and her missing plane, and includes photographs, maps, handwritten notes by Amelia, and
sidebars.
The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing – 1010L
Jurmain, Suzanne
Tells the story of the doctors and researchers who worked to track down the cause of yellow fever and find a
way to eliminate the disease.
Hana’s Suitcase – 730L
Levine, Karen
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2004
A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the
curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about her life after Hana's suitcase was sent to her.
Pharaoh’s Boat – 1170L
Weitzman, David
ALA Notable Children’s Books 2010
Provides an illustrated account of the construction of Egyptian pharaoh Cheops' funeral boat, and discusses its
discovery centuries later during an archaeological dig.