JR. HIGH SUMMER READING LIST
The students will read the required book for their grade level, and then choose from the reading list for their second book. The Jr. High students will read a total of TWO books for summer reading. They will complete a reading report for each book to be turned in for a quiz grade on the first day of school. Please understand we will have classroom activities the first week of school based off of the required summer reading.
7th Grade Required Book:
The Sign of the Beaver- Elizabeth George Speare
Matt and his father have built a cabin for their family in Maine and Matt’s father must leave to bring the family to the new settlement. Matt must try to survive on his own. He is brave, but not prepared for what happens. When months pass and there is no sign of Matt’s family he must make a decision to join the Beaver tribe and move north or continue to wait.
8th Grade Required Book:
The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster
Milo drives his toy car through the “tollbooth” one day to travel to Dictionopolis. He must go to save the two princesses, “Rhyme” and “Reason”. His travels will take him through the city of Words, the Forest of Sight, the Valley of Sound, and the City of Numbers.
Book List:
Out of the Silent Planet – C.S. Lewis
This is the first book in a space trilogy. Dr. Ransom is abducted by megalomaniacal physicist in a spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra. Will Dr. Ransom fit the bill for the needed human sacrifice?
Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Dr. Manette is rescued from a long imprisonment and his daughter nurses him back to life. Darnay is saved twice and others face life and death. The resurrected lives weave through the entire plot and hold the story together.
The Cricket in Times Square – George Selden
Chester Cricket arrives in the New York City Subway Station. He becomes friends with Tucker and Harry. Chester discovers he has an unusual musical ability. Read to discover the events that occur with this musical talent Chester has discovered.
Johnny Tremain – Ester Forbes
Johnny is a young apprentice silversmith and caught up in the danger and excitement of Boston in the 1770’s, just before the Revolutionary War. He is swept along by a current that will lead to the Boston Tea Party and Battle of Lexington along with a discovery of his own life.
Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
Crusoe’s father wanted him to be a lawyer, yet he wanted to experience the life on the sea. He has many adventures which lead him to living on an island alone for 27 years. He has to learn to cook, build his home, and embrace his religion.
Animal Farm – George Orwell
This is a satirical fable set on Manor Farm, a typical England Farm. This is told in 3rd person as how the animals would perceive the situation.
The Incredible Journey – Sheila Bumford
A Siamese cat, an old bull Terrier dog, and a young Labrador retriever dog travel 250 miles through Canadian wilderness to find their family. They experience many dangers and adventures on this journey.
The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
When an orphaned Mary Lennox comes to her uncle’s home, she finds it is full of secrets. The secret garden is walled off and has been forgotten for years. Can Mary bring it back to life?
Jacob Have I Loved – Katherine Paterson
This book revolves around sibling rivalry between two sisters. The story deals with how two sisters are treated by family members and how one must come to realize how they will decide their future destiny. Read to find out if she will remain in the shadows of her sister or step forward to become herself. Will she ever understand the true meaning of love?
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – Jacqueline Kelly
The summer of 1899 is hot in Calpurnia’s sleepy Texas town, aren’t a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine, but Callie is thinking of cutting her hair an inch at a time. She’s a girl at the turn of the century, expected to cook and clean and sew. Will she ever find a way to take control of her destiny?
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
Black Beauty is a colt with a strong spirit. His owners are forced to sell him, and his life of comfort becomes one of cruelty. He learns how unpredictable life can be with man as his master.
Ship Breaker – Palo Bacigalupi
In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
Incarceron – Catherine Fisher
Incarceron is a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world. A young prisoner, Flinn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form of prison. Both seek ways to escape. The story is fast-paced and full of twists and turns.
Fallen Angels – Walter Dean Myers
Seventeen –year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam.
Zane and the Hurricane – Rodman Philbrick
A novel about a boy and his dog who are separated from family and have to survive in New Orleans during the turmoil of Hurricane Katrina.