Summer+Reading+List

Using this wonderful medium, add the titles you want to this page so that we can all see them at once. - Each librarian will submit one title/author/30-word or less annotation for a K-2 book, 3rd-4th book, and a 5th-6th book, for the summer reading lists. To make it easier, I would suggest you put all three of your suggestions in one document and send to Debe Rogers, Bea Cochran and Marcia Zorn. - The lists will contain 10 fiction titles, 10 nonfiction titles, 5 suggested authors and 5 suggested series. - The final lists will be turned in to me by April 30th? (wasn’t that the date we selected???)

K-2** Sendak, Maurice. All of his books, including //Where the Wild Things Are//. Watt, Melanie. //Scaredy Squirrel//. Meet Scaredy Squirrel, a squirrel who never leaves his nut tree because he's afraid of the unknown "out there". But then, something unexpected happens that may just change his outlook. **(Angela Fincher)**
 * FICTION

Auch, Mary Jane. //The plot chickens//. Henrietta the chicken loves to read so much that she decides to write a book herself, but she has trouble finding someone to publish a book written by a chicken, and then, when she publishes it herself and it gets a terrible review in "The Corn Book," Henrietta is devastated. **(Mari Moon)**

__ Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book __ by YuYi Morales “ In this original trickster tale, Senor Calavera arrives unexpectedly at Grandma Beetle's door. He requests that she leave with him right away. "Just a minute," Grandma Beetle tells him. She still has one house to sweep, two pots of tea to boil, three pounds of corn to make into tortillas -- and that's just the start!” (Julie Vela) ** Yolan, Jane. __Commander Toad and the Black Hole.__ While leapfrogging through space Commander Toad and his crew of Star Warts encounter a black hole in space from which something long, pink and sticky emerges. What will save them? (Nancy Bellwood) **


 * Hole, Stian. __Garmann's summer__.** **As the summer ends and it is time for him to begin school, six-year-old Garmann's three elderly aunts visit and they all talk about the things that scare them.** (Marcia Z.)


 * Salley, Coleen. __Epossumondas plays possum.__** **Forgetting his mother's warnings, Epossumondas goes into the swamp alone then must pretend to be dead time and again as he hears frightening sounds and fears they are being made by the dreaded loup garou.** (Marcia Z.)

Clements, Andrew. __Dogku.__ A stray dog who is adopted by a loving family worries that the family will not keep him. He is pleasantly surprised in this very original book. (Carolyn Love)

Keller, Holly. __Farfallina and Marcel.__ This book traces the unlikely friendship of a caterpillar and a young gosling. When separation and maturation bring about changes in the appearance of both Farfallina and Marcel, they are no longer able to recognize one another and miss one another's company. Then, by chance, they are reunited. (Carolyn Love)

Cole, Joanna. __The Magic School Bus and the climate challenge.__ Mrs. Frizzle and her students board the Magic School Bus for a lesson in climate changes and what can be done to save the Earth. Look for neat tips and tricks that the class discovers as they travel! (Kiera, for Bettie)

Watt, Melanie __Chester__. Mélanie Watt is NOT the author of this book--Chester, her plump calico cat with the big red marker, is. Chester uses his red marker to edit the story, and create a perfect day for himself. (BrendaGeorge)

Rylant, Cynthia __The Old Woman Who Named Things .__An old woman with white hair piled high on her head and wearing cowboy boots, has outlived all her friends and does not want to be alone without anyone to call by name. So, she names things that she cannot outlive. A homeless puppy begins to appear at her gate. Afraid that she will outlive the puppy, she refuses to name it. Marcia Lanier

Dewdney, Anna. __Llama Llama Misses Mama.__ For anyone who loves their mama, this sweet story tells the experiences of a first day of school through the use of repetition. You will want to read all the llama llama books! (Nancy Guirguis)

Jenkins, Emily. //Toy Dance Party: being the further adventures of a bossyboots Stingray, a courageous Buffalo, and a hopeful round someone called Plastic.// In this collection of stories, the trio of toys are back and the toys deal with rejection when they discover that the little girl has left them behind on winter vacation, but has taken other toys. ** (Angela Fincher )**
 * 3-4 **

Buckley, Michael. //The Fairy-tale Detectives//. (//Sisters Grimm series)// Buckley has created a world in which humans and fairy-tale creatures live side-by-side in rural New York in an uneasy alliance.. Enter Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, two sisters seemingly abandoned by their parents, who have been brought to live with a grandmother whom they thought was dead. Heartbroken and wary, the girls are immediately swept up in a mystery that includes giants, pixies, fairies, and witches. **(Mari Moon)**

__ Binky the Space Cat __ by Ashley Spires (graphic novel) “ Binky is a space cat - at least in his own mind. He's really a house cat who has never left the family "space station." Unlike other house cats, Binky has a mission: to blast off into outer space (outside), explore unknown places (the backyard) and battle aliens (bugs).” (Julie Vela) Applegate, Katherine. __Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs__ .(Roscoe Riley series) Roscoe Riley, upset with the notion that his teacher could get in trouble, comes up with a plan to keep the bee antennae on the first graders' heads, and help the drummers stay in their seats for the open house play. (Nancy Bellwood)


 * Kelly, Katy. __Melonhead.__ A budding inventor enters a science contest that challenges students to recycle an older invention into a new invention. (Marcia Z.)**

Estes, Eleanor. __The Hundred Dresses__. A shy, but talented Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson in kindness. (Carolyn Love)

Frazier, Sundee __Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in it__ Brendan Buckley, a biracial ten-year-old is looking forward to an exciting summer of scientific discoveries but what he uncovers cannot be explained by science. (Brenda George)

Lowry, Lois __Crow Call__ Lizz's father has just returned from war and is almost like a stranger to her. Liz with a crow call and her father with a rifle, become reconnected. (MarciaLanier)

Scieszka, Jon. __Summer Reading is Killing Me!__ (Time Warp Trio). Sam, Fred and Joe encounter Curious George, the Headless Horseman and other storybook characters when their summer reading list is accidentally put inside a magic book. (Nancy Guirguis)


 * 5-6**

Collins, Suzanne. //Gregor the Overlander//. Underland chronicles : bk. 1. When 11 yr. old Gregor and his 2 yr. old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving humans, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. **(Angela Fincher)**

Breen, M. E., //Darkwood.// Annie runs away from her miserable existence with her aunt and uncle. She embarks on a journey into the darkness of Howland, an alternate world in which magical creatures roam the woods and danger lurks everywhere. The imaginative story features solid writing, strong characters, and a richly layered plot. (Mari **Moon)** __ Journal of Curious Letters __ by James Dashner “ Thirteen-year-old Atticus "Tick" Higginbottom begins receiving mysterious letters from around the world signed only "M.G.," and the clues contained therein lead him on a journey to the perilous 13th Reality and a confrontation with evil Mistress Jane.” (Julie Vela) Lin, Grace. __Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.__ This enchanted adventure, Minli, whose name means “quick thinking,” lives with her desperately poor parents. While her mother worries and complains about their lot, her father brightens their evenings with storytelling. (Nancy Bellwood)

Broach, Elise. __Masterpiece__. An artistically talented beetle, wishes to give the boy whose home he inhabits a special birthday gift. The beetle produces a masterpiece that comes to the attention of a museum director who is trying to catch an art thief. Through a carefully crafted plot, the reader is plunged into the world of Albrecht Durer and his art. (Carolyn Love)

Corbett, Sue. __The Last Newspaper Boy in America.__ Twelve year old Wil looks forward to taking over his brother's newspaper route in a rural town, only to learn that the route may be discontinued because it is too costly. How the community reacts to this discovery is inspiring! (Nancy Guirguis)

===Couloumbis, Audrey. __War Games__ What were once just boys’ games become matters of life and death as Petros and his older brother Zola each wonder if, like their resistance-fighter cousin, they too can make a difference in a Nazi-occupied Greece.(Lauren Davidson) ===

**NONFICTION**


 * K-2**

Emberley, Rebecca. //Chicken Little.// You think you know the story of Chicken Little? Well, maybe you do, but the Emberleys’ hip, happening illustrations will make you see it in a whole new way. **(Mari Moon)**

__Alligators and Crocodiles__ by Gail Gibbons “ Provides information about alligators and crocodiles and describes their physical characteristics and abilities. Discusses the reasons they are an endangered species and includes a section of additional facts about crocodilians.” (Julie Vela)


 * Brown, Monica. __Pele, king of soccer / Pele, el rey del futbol.__ A bilingual presentation of the life and career of one of the world's best-known soccer players. (Marcia Z.)**

Jenkins, Steve. __Biggest, Strongest, Fastest.__ The record-holders of the animal world, from strongest to longest to slowest, are wonderfully illustrated. The most fascinating tidbits about each species are revealed in this spare little book. (Carolyn Love)

===Cobb, Vicki. __I Fall Down__ What happens when you trip or when you drop a ball? Explore what makes things fall and discover hands-on activities that show how gravity really works.(Lauren Davidson) ===

Hatkoff, Juliana. //Winter's tail : how one little dolphin learned to swim again.// Recounts the true story of Winter, a dolphin who lost her tail and had to relearn how to swim using a specially-created prosthetic tail. **(Mari Moon)**
 * 3-4**

Jules, Jacquline. __Unite or Die : How Thirteen States Became a Nation__. Told through colorful comic-book illustrations, it stars students dressed as states humorously explaining the path to the writing of the Constitution. (Nancy Bellwood)

__The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth__ by Kathleen Krull “Plowing a potato field in 1920, a 14-year-old farm boy from Idaho saw in the parallel rows of overturned earth a way to "make pictures fly through the air." This boy was not a magician; he was a scientific genius and just eight years later he made his brainstorm in the potato field a reality by transmitting the world's first television image.” (Julie Vela)

===Prap, Lila. __Why?__ Hilarious answers to common questions children ask about animals like: Why are zebras striped? Some of the answers to the questions in this book are silly, some are sensible, and some are scientific.(Lauren Davidson) ===

 __Marsupials__ by Nic Bishop SLJ: “This book is full of the exceptional-quality photographs and enticing facts that readers have come to expect from Bishop. His endnotes explain how he captured the images using trip wires and bait for many of these nocturnal mammals.” R. jackson

Gianopoulos, Andrea. __The attractive story of magnetism with Max Axiom, super scientist.__ One of a series of graphic novels in which Max explains a scientific princple. (Marcia Z.)

Dennis, Brian. __Nubs: the True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle.__ This is the true story of an American soldier and his dog as they serve together in Iraq and later settle in the U.S. (Carolyn Love)

Barton,Chris __The Day-Glo Brothers__ The author tells the story of two very different brothers who invented and developed flourescent paint. The illustrations help tell the story beginning with gray and ending using neon colors. (Marcia Lanier)

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. //Bad News for Outlaws : The remarkable life of Bass Reeves, deputy U.S. marshal.// Bass Reeves, born a slave, captured over three thousand outlaws as a deputy U.S. marshal. This captivating biography is told in language as colorful as Reeves's career. (**Mari Moon)**
 * 5-6**

__Perseus and Medusa__ by Blake Hoena (graphic novel) “ Upon learning the prophecy that he will be killed by his grandson Perseus, the king of Argos has him and his mother thrown into the sea where they are rescued and cared for by a fisherman and his family. Later, in order to claim his heritage, Perseus is ordered to kill the monster, Medusa, and is aided by gods and goddesses.” (Julie Vela)


 * Krull, Kathleen. __Albert Einstein__ (Giants of Science series) With the very first sentence -- "Albert Einstein had major bedhead" -- readers are drawn into the engrossing and remarkable biography of the high-school dropout turned Nobel-winning physicist. (Nancy Bellwood) **

Davies, Nicola. __Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals are Big and Little__ __Animals are Little.__ This fascinating book uses the concepts of surface area, volume and weight to explain why spiders cannot grow to be as large as cars and why humans can neither lift buses or flap their wings and fly. The Big Thing, Little Thing Rule, says the author, works for anything and everything. (Carolyn Love)

Rylant, Cynthia. __The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold__. These ancient Greek myths of love and loss, pride and forgiveness, courage and cowardice, and hope are retold in a soft and subtle manner. (Nancy Guirguis)

K-2 Mo Willems (Julie Vela) Kate McMullan (R. Jackson) Audrey Wood (R. Jackson) Eric Carle (Carolyn Love) Melanie Watt ( Brenda George) Margaret Hillert (Nancy Guirguis) 3-4 Megan McDonald (Julie Vela) Kate DiCamillo(R. Jackson) John Reynolds Gardiner (Stone Fox author) {Carolyn Love} Suzy Kline (Nancy Guirguis)
 * Author Suggestions**

5-6 Andrew Clements (Rebecca Jackson) Roald Dahl (Julie Vela) Rick Riordan (Carolyn Love)  Patricia Reilly Giff **(Angela Fincher)** Henry Winkler ​ **(Mari Moon)** Joseph Delaney (Nancy Guirguis)

K-2 Trucktown by Jon Scieszka (Julie Vela) Fluffy Series by Kate McMullan (R.J.) Houndsley and Catina (Carolyn Love) Biscuit (I Can Read ) series by Alyssa Capucilli
 * Series Suggestions**

3-4 Marvin Redpost by Louis Sachar (Julie Vela) Ramona, Beezus, and Henry Huggins books (R.J.)

Hiccup the Dragon by Cressida Cowell (Marcia Z.) Bunnicula series by James Howe. (Carolyn Love) Bailey School Kids by Debbie Dadey (Nancy Guirguis)

5-6 Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan (Julie Vela) Septimus Heap Series (Carolyn Love) The Seekers and also Warrriors series by Erin Hunter. The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney (Nancy Guirguis)

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Required Reading for 7th Grade GT and 7th Grade Pre-AP: ** Conor Broekhart was born to fly. In fact, legend has it that he was born flying in a hot air balloon at the world's fair. In the 1890's Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king's daughter, Princess Isabella, but his idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king. Thrown unfairly into prison, the months turn into years, but eventually the day comes when Conor must find the courage to trust his revolutionary designs and take to the skies. **// Airman //**** by Eoin Colfer ** Conor Broekhart was born to fly. In fact, legend has it that he was born flying in a hot air balloon at the world's fair. In the 1890's Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king's daughter, Princess Isabella, but his idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king. Thrown unfairly into prison, the months turn into years, but eventually the day comes when Conor must find the courage to trust his revolutionary designs and take to the skies.
 * // Airman //**** by Eoin Colfer **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;">All Other Incoming 7th Graders choose one title from among the following: **

= = = //Armageddon Summer// by J. Yolen = Fourteen-year-old Marina, with her younger brothers, is caught up in her mother’s religious fanaticism. When her mother takes them to Mount Weeupcut to await the End of the World, Marina meets sixteen-year-old Jed, who is there to look after his father. The story, told in both Marina’s and Jed’s point of view, is a story about friendships, love, loss, and faith.

When a twelve-year-old evil genius tried 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.
 * //Artemis Fowl// by Eoin Colfer **

Fifteen years ago, Rudi Matt’s father died trying to climb the Citadel, the last unconquered summit in the Alps. Now, at 16, Rudi wants to place his banner on the top to prove that it can be done.
 * //Banner in the Sky// by James Ramsey Ullman **

When fourteen-year-old Lindsay meets Talon and discovers the Downsiders world which had evolved from the subway built in New York in 1867 by Alfred Ely Beach, she and her new friend experience the clash of their two cultures.
 * //Downsiders// by Neal Shusterman **

Sixteen-year-old Shane Hunter has it all: a spacious home, private school, good grades, good friends, and a supportive father who encourages his talent as a pitcher. Suddenly, all that is gone, and Shane’s sense of fairness and purpose in life begins to crumble.
 * //High Heat// by Carl Deuker **

In this continuation of the Cinderella story, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming’s proposal ensnares her in a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette, so she plots to escape.
 * //Just Ella// by Margaret Peterson Haddix **

Four English school children find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
 * //The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe// by C. S. Lewis **

Fourteen-year-old Rick Waller feels that his life is unfair. After his grandmother’s death, he travels to several foster homes and is eventually placed in Blue Canyon Youth Detention Center. After escaping and meeting Lon, Rick learns about the endangered condors and finds his way through the Maze Canyonlands National Park and the maze of his own life.
 * //The Maze// by Will Hobbs **

When Nick Abbott makes the varsity basketball team as a sophomore, his life seems to be perfect. Unfortunately, disaster strikes when his parents suddenly separate and his friend and teammate is implicated in the shooting of a neighborhood boy. Can Nick concentrate on basketball and lead his team to the championship, or will problems off the court interfere with this focus?
 * //Night Hoops// by Carl Deuker **

Fourteen-year-old Mia thinks she is just a typical teenager until her father comes for a visit. Not only does she find out that she is the princess of Genovia, but she is also forced to take princess lessons from her overbearing grandmother. Will Mia be able to keep the news a secret from her peers at Albert Einstein High School?
 * //The Princess Diaries// by Meg Cabot **