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2008 Middle School Summer Reading List
Click here for printable version.
STUDENTS ENTERING 6th GRADE
Challenge One – Students entering sixth grade are required to read one of the following titles:
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy.
2000 Newbery Medal Winner. 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, a renowned bandleader.
Giff, Patricia Reilly. Pictures of Hollis Woods.
2003 Newbery Honor Book. Twelve-year-old Hollis Woods is a gifted artist. She has run away from several foster homes and now lives with Josie, a retired art teacher, on Long Island. Hollis recalls the members of her last foster family whom she left under tense circumstances.
Paterson, Katherine. Great Gilly Hopkins, The.
1979 Newbery Honor Book. Eleven-year-old Gilly Hopkins, a smart but difficult foster child, dreams of being reunited with her mother. She is placed with a strange foster family and devises a plan to have her mother rescue her.
Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee.
1991 Newbery Medal Winner. After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee accomplishes several athletic feats and unites a town across racial lines. This story is presented as a modern day folk tale.
Challenge Two – All Middle School students are required to read the following book for a September book discussion:
Tolan, Stephanie S. Surviving the Applewhites.
2003 Newbery Honor Book. In this funny novel, we follow Jake Semple, who has been kicked out of several schools. He is placed in an eccentric family’s home school known as Creative Academy. Told through the eyes of Jake and the family’s only non-artist daughter, E.D., we learn how people discover their true selves.
Challenge Three – One book from this list will be required summer reading for sixth grade, in addition to the challenge one and challenge two requirements:
Avi. True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, The.
1991 Newbery Honor Book. Twelve-year-old Charlotte Doyle crosses the Atlantic in the early 1800’s on a ship with a mutinous crew and an evil captain. Will anyone believe her tale of adventure on the high seas when she reaches her destination?
Chabon, Michael. Summerland.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon’s first book for Young Adults is the story of Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player on Clam Island, WA, and his adventures in Summerland, a fantasy world. Chabon uses elements of American and Native American myths in his storytelling.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, The.
1996 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor Book. The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
DiCamillo, Kate. Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread, The.
2004 Newbery Medal Winner. The stories of Despereaux Tilling, Chiaroscuro, Miggery Sow and Princess Pea are tied together in this fantasy fairy tale about, among other things, love.
Gipson, Fred. Old Yeller.
1957 Newbery Honor Book. Fourteen-year-old Travis adopts an ugly, yellow, stray dog who he has fun and adventures with until he has to make a difficult decision after his dog is bitten by a rabid wolf.
Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean.
2004 Newbery Honor Book. As Martha and her family prepare for a trip to the ocean, the mother of a deceased classmate, Olive, brings Martha a page of Olive’s journal. Martha is described as a nice person in Olive’s journal but Martha can’t remember a specific occasion when she spoke with Olive. Through the summer Martha comes of age and learns more about her deceased classmate.
Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot.
2003 Newbery Honor Book. Roy Eberhardt is the new kid in Trace Middle School, Coconut Grove, FL. After a run-in with a bully, he finds companionship in two friends and leads a crusade to save a species of owl threatened by urban sprawl.
Lowry, Lois. Gathering Blue.
Lamed and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice. Here she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.
Martin, Ann M. Here Today.
Ellie is left in charge of her younger siblings while her father is at work and her mother has run off to New York to be a movie star. Problems in her neighborhood as well as school, complicate Ellie’s life even more.
Peck, Richard. Long Way from Chicago, A.
1999 Newbery Honor Book. Joey and Mary Alice go downstate from their home in Chicago to visit their eccentric grandmother. In episodes that take place from 1929 to 1942, the three family members have several adventures.
Raskin, Ellen. Westing Game, The.
1979 Newbery Medal Winner. The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must solve the mystery of his death before they can claim their inheritance.
Students may also choose any of the titles from Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series or Brian Jacques’ Redwall series for a Challenge Three book:
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Shadow Children series.
In a world where families are only allowed to have two children, illegal third children, otherwise known as Shadow Children, must escape authorities to avoid death.
| Among the Barons | Among the Betrayed | Among the Brave |
| Among the Enemy | Among the Free | Among the Hidden |
| Among the Impostors | | |
Jacques, Brian. Redwall series.
The Redwall series of books centers on a world where animals have epic adventures and fight evil.
| Bellmaker, The | High Rhulain | Legend of Luke, The |
| Loamhedge | Long Patrol, The | Lord Brocktree |
| Mariel of Redwall | Marlfox | Martin the Warrior |
| Mattimeo | Mossflower | Outcast of Redwall |
| Pearls of Lutra, The | Rakkety Tam | Redwall |
| Salamandastron | Taggerung, The | Triss |
STUDENTS ENTERING 7th GRADE
Challenge One – Students entering 7th grade are required to read one of the following titles:
Howe, James. Misfits, The.
Four students, on the outer fringe of their school, run for Student Government office. Each of the four “misfits” has been the victim of name-calling and work together to change their school’s opinion of them.
Koja, Kathe. Buddha Boy.
Justin spends time with Jinsen, the unusual and artistic new student whom the bullies torment and call Buddha Boy, and ends up making choices that affect Jinsen, himself, and the entire school.
Koss, Amy Goldman. Girls, The.
Maya and Candace were part of the same group until Candace and the clique blow Maya off. Maya has to find out who her real friends are and who she can trust.
Challenge Two – All Middle School students are required to read the following book for a September book discussion:
Tolan, Stephanie S. Surviving the Applewhites.
2003 Newbery Honor Book. In this funny novel, we follow Jake Semple, who has been kicked out of several schools. He is placed in an eccentric family’s home school known as Creative Academy. Told through the eyes of Jake and the family’s only non-artist daughter, E.D., we learn how people discover their true selves.
Challenge Three – One book from this list will be required summer reading for seventh grade, in addition to the challenge one and challenge two requirements:
Balliett, Blue. Chasing Vermeer.
Petra and Calder, two students who love art, try to track down the thief of a Vermeer painting using mathematical clues the criminal leaves in the newspaper.
Carbone, Elisa. Storm Warriors.
All Nathan Williams wants to be is a life saver off the Shores of Pea Island, NC. In 1895, Nathan’s father wants him to be a fisherman like himself, but Nathan is determined to work on the life-saving boat until a difficult rescue changes his mind.
Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game.
Ender Wiggin is the hero of this Science Fiction novel in which military geniuses are bred to save the world against alien attacks.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts.
2005 Newbery Honor Book. In 1935, Moose Flanagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so his father can work as a prison guard and his autistic sister can attend a special school in San Francisco. Moose befriends the warden’s daughter and learns to cope with his awkward situation.
Crutcher, Chris. Sledding Hill, The.
Told from the point of view of his dead friend, Eddie Proffit becomes a mute and must find a way to stop his evil principal from banning a beloved book.
Ferris, Jean. Love Among the Walnuts.
Born and raised in isolation in a wealthy, eccentric family, Sandy is shocked when he, his parents and their servants become victims of a plot by his greedy uncles.
Konigsburg, E.L. Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, The.
Margaret Rose Kane is expelled from her summer camp for defying the Camp Director. Because her parents are away, she spends the rest of the summer with her two great uncles who are building ornate clock towers on their home. Margaret must use her strength to help fight the town that wants to remove her uncle’s towers.
Konigsburg, E.L. Silent to the Bone.
When his baby sister stops breathing, Branwell Zamborska tries to call 911, but soon realizes he can’t speak. Branwell’s best friend, Connor, tries to figure out why he has stopped talking and discovers some surprising details about Branwell.
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars.
1990 Newbery Medal Winner. In September, 1943, the Nazis were to round up the Jews of Denmark and send them off to the death camps. Word got out and the people of Denmark worked to move 7,000 Jews to Sweden. This is a fictionalized account of one family’s experience during that time.
Lupica, Mike. Travel Team.
Danny is cut from the local travel basketball team. With the help of his troubled father, Danny forms a team of cast-offs and takes on the team that cut him.
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie.
Steven Alper’s little brother has been diagnosed with leukemia. As his family deals with this life-changing event, Steven must navigate the 8th grade, and balance his love of drumming, caring for his family, and a crush on the prettiest girl in school.
Woodson, Jacqueline. Hush.
2002 National Book Award Finalist. Thirteen-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family enters the witness protection program.
Students may also choose any of the titles from Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series or Brian Jacques’ Redwall series for a Challenge Three book:
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Shadow Children series.
In a world where families are only allowed to have two children, illegal third children, otherwise known as Shadow Children, must escape authorities to avoid death.
| Among the Barons | Among the Betrayed | Among the Brave |
| Among the Enemy | Among the Free | Among the Hidden |
| Among the Impostors | | |
Jacques, Brian. Redwall series.
The Redwall series of books centers on a world where animals have epic adventures and fight evil.
| Bellmaker, The | High Rhulain | Legend of Luke, The |
| Loamhedge | Long Patrol, The | Lord Brocktree |
| Mariel of Redwall | Marlfox | Martin the Warrior |
| Mattimeo | Mossflower | Outcast of Redwall |
| Pearls of Lutra, The | Rakkety Tam | Redwall |
| Salamandastron | Taggerung, The | Triss |
STUDENTS ENTERING 8th GRADE
Challenge One – Students entering eighth grade are required to read:
Butler, Octavia. Kindred.
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and brought back in time to the South shortly before the Civil War.
Challenge Two – All Middle School students are required to read the following book for a September book discussion:
Tolan, Stephanie S. Surviving the Applewhites.
2003 Newbery Honor Book. In this funny novel, we follow Jake Semple, who has been kicked out of several schools. He is placed in an eccentric family’s home school known as Creative Academy. Told through the eyes of Jake and the family’s only non-artist daughter, E.D., we learn how people discover their true selves.
Challenge Three – One book from this list will be required summer reading for eighth grade in addition to the challenge one and challenge two requirements:
Carbone, Elisa. Stealing Freedom.
Ann Maria Weems’ whole family has escaped slavery and is waiting for her in the North. Ann must disguise herself and make a dangerous journey to be reunited with her family.
Crutcher, Chris. Sledding Hill, The.
Told from the point of view of his dead friend, Eddie Proffit becomes a mute and must find a way to stop his evil principal from banning a beloved book.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge.
Luther T. Farrell tries to break out of his life in Flint, MI in order to go to Harvard. Luther tries to tackle all the problems of other fifteen-year-olds, as well as put up with his tough mother, the Sarge.
Hinton, S.E. Outsiders, The.
This classic novel deals with the worlds of the greasers and socs (socialites) in 1960’s America. Ponyboy is conflicted about right and wrong when his fellow greaser Johnny kills a soc.
Johnson, Angela. First Part Last.
Bobby is a 16 year old father struggling to raise a child. In flashbacks we see how Bobby gets to where he is today and how he deals with the stress and joy of being a father.
Kadohata, Cynthia. Kira-Kira.
2005 Newbery Medal winner. A Japanese family moves from Iowa to Georgia and must learn how to deal with the illness of a loved one as well as the curious stares from the community.
Murphy, Jim. Great Fire, The.
1996 Newbery Honor Book. This non-fiction book tells the story behind Chicago’s Great Fire in 1871. It is told with a strong narrative and period illustrations.
Myers, Walter Dean. Slam!.
1997 Coretta Scott King Award winner. Greg "Slam" Harris is an excellent basketball player but will his off the court troubles catch up with him?
Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn.
2005 Printz Honor Book. In an alternate world, Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard a huge airship. Reminiscent of the adventure stories of Verne and Stevenson, Matt must investigate an old man’s claims of seeing mysterious flying creatures.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm.
In George Orwell’s classic book, a farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals.
Paulsen, Gary. Transall Saga, The.
Thirteen-year-old Mark crosses into another world on a camping trip. He must learn how to survive in this new alien world.
Sender, Ruth Minsky. Cage, The.
The story of Holocaust survivor Riva Minska as told to Ruth Minsky Sender.
Sonnenblick, Jordan. Notes from the Midnight Driver.
Alex Gregory has made some bad decisions. After a drunk driving incident, he is sentenced to spend time in a retirement home with an old man with a mystery.
White, Robb. Deathwatch.
1973 Edgar Award Winner (Juvenile). After a hunting accident that kills someone, a young man and a business tycoon are at odds with each other. This is a story of adventure, suspense and ethics.
Yolen, Jane. Devil’s Arithmetic, The.
1989 National Jewish Book Award Winner. Hannah is transported back to 1942 Poland during her modern day Passover Seder. As she tries to figure out what has happened, Nazi soldiers begin to take everyone away. Hannah is the only one that knows what horrors are in store.
Students may also choose any of the titles from Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series or Brian Jacques’ Redwall series for a Challenge Three book:
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Shadow Children series.
In a world where families are only allowed to have two children, illegal third children, otherwise known as Shadow Children, must escape authorities to avoid death.
| Among the Barons | Among the Betrayed | Among the Brave |
| Among the Enemy | Among the Free | Among the Hidden |
| Among the Impostors | | |
Jacques, Brian. Redwall series.
The Redwall series of books centers on a world where animals have epic adventures and fight evil.
| Bellmaker, The | High Rhulain | Legend of Luke, The |
| Loamhedge | Long Patrol, The | Lord Brocktree |
| Mariel of Redwall | Marlfox | Martin the Warrior |
| Mattimeo | Mossflower | Outcast of Redwall |
| Pearls of Lutra, The | Rakkety Tam | Redwall |
| Salamandastron | Taggerung, The | Triss |
|
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