Summer Reading List for Global 9H
2017-2018
Students who are registered for Global History and Geography 9 Honors must complete summer reading. Each student will read ONE novel and complete the written assessment in class on September 8th. Students are encouraged to take notes on paper (not in the book) that can be used for the in class assessment on September 8th. Failure of this assessment may result in your removal from the honors course. They must choose from the list provided.
Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard
A riveting adventure infused with the world of Shoguns and Samurai in ancient Japan. When the powerful Lord Takeda’s soldiers sweep across the countryside, killing and plundering, they spare the boy Taro’s life and take him along with them. Taro becomes a servant in the household of the noble Lord Akiyama, where he meets Togan, a cook, who teaches Taro and makes his new life bearable. But when Togan is murdered, Taro’s life takes a new direction: He will become a samurai, and redeem the family legacy that has been stolen from him.
Becket by Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh tells the troubled story of the relationship between Thomas a Becket and Henry Plantagenet, known to history as King Henry II of England. This relationship begins as a friendship and ends with the murder of Becket by Henry’s henchmen at the Cathedral of Canterbury.
The Iliad by Homer
The stirring story of the Trojan War and the rage of Achilles. This classic novel reveals the political ambitions of the ancient Greeks and Trojans.
The Odyssey by Homer
The adventures of Odysseus as he returns from the Trojan War. An epic of drama and action. A classic every lover of mythology should read!
Don Quixote by Cervantes
The classic story of a brave knight and his trusty sidekick. The adventures of Don Quixote and his idealistic search for truth and justice will warm the hardest of hearts!
Lady of Ch’iao Kuo: Warrior of the South by Laurence Yep
A Hsien Princess lives in a time where her people are threatened by tribes and have a distrust of the neighboring Chinese. She learns from the Chinese as she teaches them. Will the two cultures unite against a common enemy or will the Hsien be wiped out?
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Satirical spoof taking an American backward in time to the England of Galahad.
Shanbanu by Suzanne Staples
Shabanu, the eleven-year-old daughter of a nomad in Cholistan Desert, present day Pakistan, is pledged in marriage to an older man whose money will bring prestige to her family. Shabanu must either accept the decision, as is custom, or risk the consequences of defying her father’s decision.
The Return by Sonia Levitin
Desta and the other members of her Falasha family, Jews suffering from discrimination in Ethiopia, finally flee the country and attempt the dangerous journey to Israel.