It is very important that our students continue to work on and develop their reading skills during the summer. Many of the books on our reading list are available at the Sussex-Wantage Library and can be reserved online by accessing their website: http://www.sussexcountylibrary.org/ There are some titles here from last year’s list and some new ones have been added. The new titles have been placed in italics, and an asterisk * indicates authors who have written many good books. For additional titles, please go to James Patterson’s site, Read Kiddo Read:
Cabot, Meg – Moving Day (new series: Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls) Allie faces her world with humor and common sense by making a list of rules to live by. Each rule has a story behind it. Rule # 1: Don’t Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend’s Throat evolves from the terrible fight between Allie and wimpy, weepy Mary Kay. Other rules come about after Allie finds out that the family is moving across town to a creepy Victorian house (she tries her best to sabotage the plans). A prize cat, a stolen turtle, two younger brothers, and a willing coconspirator in the form of an uncle all play a part in the antics as adventures unfold. Lively Allie is an appealing heroine who has an uncanny knack for getting into (and out of) scrapes with friends and family. The talented Cabot, popular with both teen and adult readers, will attract a new, younger audience with this novel, which will surely leave readers looking forward to future installments.
Connor, Leslie: Dead On Town Line This captivating novel slowly unfolds through a series of short, free-verse poems, which are written from the viewpoint of a murdered girl named Cassie. The poems begin as the confused ghost of Cassie observes her own search party in the woods, where her body has been buried in a shallow grave. There, Cassie meets the ghost of a young black woman, who, along with the child she carried, was murdered many years before. The poems recount Cassie's murder at the hands of a classmate, how Cassie's body and those of other ghosts are eventually discovered, and the apprehension of Cassie's murderers. In the end, Cassie finds a way to reach out to her loved ones. Connor's poetry successfully mixes sharp, concrete images with Cassie's memorable voice and a bit of teen melodrama.
Connor, Leslie – Waiting for Normal When her kindly stepfather leaves and takes her half sisters with him, its just Addie and her mother who remain, living hand-to-mouth in a rundown trailer that Dwight has provided for them. He stays in touch and tires to make sure the child is okay, but Mommers’ irresponsible behavior becomes increasingly problematic. This is a tough story of loss and of parental neglect, but Connor has created real and caring adults as well as a resilient protagonist who is ultimately able to embrace a new life.
Feinstein, John – Cover-Up Fourteen-year-old investigative journalists Steve Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, previously seen in Last Shot and Vanishing Act, are back! This time the duo trades the worlds of basketball and tennis for professional football as they try to expose a drug scandal.
Gephart, Donna - As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running For President! Vanessa Rothrock’s mother is running for president and it’s ruining her life. Isn’t it enough that her enormous feet trip her up all the time, even on stage during the school spelling bee? Isn’t it enough that Reginald Trumball, love of Vanessa’s pathetic life, read her personal and private list of deficiencies to some boy she doesn’t even know? Doesn’t Mom realize that Vanessa needs her more than the rest of the country? More importantly, doesn’t she realize that she may be in grave danger? Vanessa's receiving threatening notes at school–notes that imply some psycho has it out for her mother at the Democratic National Convention. Vanessa might be the only person who can save her. But does she have the courage to do what that requires?
Giff, Patricia Reilly – Eleven When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings forth memories from his past, and, with the help of a new friend at school and the castle they are building for a school project, his questions are eventually answered.
Haven, Paul - Two Hot Dogs With Everything Although everyone credits him and his superstitions for the Slugger's first winning streak in 108 baseball seasons, eleven-year-old Danny believes that his discovery of a secret from the team's past may be the real reason behind the ball club's success.
Hicks, Betty – Busted Anxious to distract his "overly" strict mother, twelve-year-old Stuart and his best friend, a girl named Mack, determine to fix her up with Mack's Uncle Joe.
Kephart, Beth - House of Dance As in her debut YA novel Undercover (2007), Kephart offers another quiet, sensitive story about a girl who pulls together her fragmented family. Fifteen-year-old Rosie faces a lonely summer. Her best friend is out of town, and Rosie has been charged with daily visits to her grandfather, who is dying of cancer. While sorting through her grandfather’s possessions, Rosie concocts a secret plan that she hopes will “give him back the life he loved.” As part of the scheme, Rosie begins dance instruction at a neighborhood ballroom, and her growing confidence on the dance floor strengthens her sense of self.
Kerzweil, Allen - Leon and the Spitting Image Leon, a fourth grader at The Ethical School, tries to outwit the school bully and learn to sew for fanatical teacher Miss Cronheim, with unexpected help from his final project - a doll with magical powers.
* Korman, Gordon - Schooled Capricorn, 13, lives with his hippie grandmother Rain on a farm commune. He's never been to school, never watched TV, and doesn't even own a phone. When Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums and is sent to rehab for several weeks, Cap stays with a social worker and is sent to the local junior high school. There he is introduced to iPods, cell phones, spit balls, and harassment. Cap, with his long frizzy hair, hemp shoes, and serene ignorance of everything most of the kids care about, is the dweebiest of the dweebs, and it's the custom at this school to elect such a kid to be eighth-grade class president (which offers extra humiliation opportunities). Readers will stay tuned to the last page, and Korman's many fans won't be disappointed.
Korman, Gordon – Swindle After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back; planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention, the Smart Pick fruit picker.
Krulik, Nancy E. – Can You Get An F In Lunch?Jenny McAfee feels totally prepared to start sixth grade until her best friend Addie Wilson decides to hang out with The Pops -the coolest seventh graders in the school.Lubar, David – Punished Logan and his friend Benedict are playing tag in the library when a mysterious man punishes him for his disrespect by making him speak only in puns.
* Lupica, Mike – The Big Field Sports journalist Lupica scores again with a baseball tale in the classic tradition. As his American Legion team works its way to the 17-and-under league Florida State championship series, team captain Hutch finds himself both locking horns with an arrogant, immensely talented new teammate and fuming at his father’s long-standing emotional distance. By the end, father and son have both taken steps toward each other; the team has endured a set of exciting, hard-fought play-off contests; and because Hutch is an uncommonly canny, conscientious student of the game, readers can’t help but come away more knowledgeable about baseball’s strategy and spirit.
Morgan, Nicola - Chicken Friend When her parents decide to move their family to the English countryside, homeschool their children, and raise chickens, Becca tries to make friends with her new neighbors by hiding her diabetes and throwing a twelfth birthday party for herself.
O’Connor, Barbara – How To Steal A Dog One day Georgina has a home, a best friend, and plenty to eat. The next, she's living in a car with her mother and brother. Carrying on as usual isn't possible: washing up in a restaurant bathroom, doing homework by flashlight, losing her friend. Mom works two jobs, but it's not enough, so impatient Georgina decides to steal a dog, hoping to collect a reward. She picks her furry victim and makes careful plans--but she doesn't count on her conscience. In stripped-down, unsentimental prose, Georgina tells her own story, her words making clear her vulnerability and heartbreak as well as her determination and pride. It's puzzling why Mom doesn't seek outside help for her desperate family, and the appearance of wise Mookie, a sort of transient deus ex machina, verges on excess. Yet in the end, this is truly Georgina's story, and to O'Connor's great credit, it's Georgina herself who figures out what's right and does it. The myriad effects of homelessness and the realistic picture of a moral quandary will surely generate discussion.
Petersen, P.J. - Rising Water Tracy, her brother, and the new animal care volunteer at the Jefferson Science Center travel by boat to feed a dog stranded by flooding, and end up having a full day of dangerous adventures, which give them new perspectives about themselves and about each other.
* Sonnenblick, Jordan - Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.
* Spinelli, Jerry – Eggs Mourning the loss of his mother, nine-year-old David forms an unlikely friendship with independent, quirky thirteen-year-old Primrose, as the two help each other deal with what is missing in their lives.
* Van Draanen, Wendlin- Runaway After running away from her fifth foster home, Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, travels across the country, keeping a journal of her experiences and struggle to survive.
Warner, Sally - It's Only Temporary When Skye's older brother comes home after a devastating accident, she moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to California to live with her grandmother and attend middle school, where she somewhat reluctantly makes new friends, learns to stand up for herself and those she cares about, and begins to craft a new relationship with her changed brother.
Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn – 42 Miles Since her parents divorced, when she was an infant, life has been split between them: “School days in the city with Mom / weekends on the farm with Dad.” Even her names are different—Ellen with Mom; Jo with Dad. But as she turns 13, she’s determined to be JoEllen, to show her city friends that the country is not “hick,” and her farm cousin that the city holds more than “concrete and crime.” Using free verse, Zimmer shows the richness in both places, while black-and-white composite illustrations bring the bits and pieces together—from the baseball trophies in Dad’s old room to the overview of city traffic. Casual and open, both the poetry and pictures show the fun: “With Dad, one thing’s for certain; NOTHING !”. |