The English Department congratulates you on reaching this milestone in your academic journey! To help prepare you for the rigors of high school, the 9th grade teachers have chosen summer reading texts that we hope will entertain and challenge you.

Required Reading:

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (novella)

“The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. (short story)

Assessment:

Students will be asked to demonstrate an understanding of their reading in an assignment the first week of school.

Where to find the texts:

Of Mice and Men can be found in local libraries, bookstores, the Walt Whitman English Department, and online. “The Scarlet Ibis” can be found online.

Recommended Reading:

The texts below are suggestions for summer reading, not requirements. We encourage you to read a biography or autobiography of one of the influential people below.

Albert Einstein Audrey Hepburn

Marie Curie J.R.R. Tolkien

Eleanor Roosevelt Billie Holiday

Mahatma Gandhi Frank Sinatra

Nelson Mandela Ray Charles

Princess Diana Aretha Franklin

Dalai Lama Pablo Picasso

Joseph Stalin Jesse Owens

Mother Teresa Lou Gehrig

Alfred Hitchcock Jackie Robinson

Oprah Winfrey Billie Jean King