Language

Arts

These are a sampling of book titles that we may read this year in literature circles.

*Parents, please make sure your child does not read any of the books listed below ahead of time.
I will be providing the students with paperback copies of each book to read in class.

"Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner

Stone Fox is a story about love and loyalty. Little Willy's grandfather is sick, and it's up to Willy to save their farm from tax collectors. Their only hope is the prize money from the National Dogsled Race. But a lot of other people want to win the race, too, including Stone Fox, who has never lost a race in his life.

Do Willy and his dog Searchlight stand a chance against the toughest racers around? Can they win the race to save the farm -- and Grandfather -- before it's too late?

"Bunnicula" by Deborah Howe & James Howe

BEWARE THE HARE!


Is he or isn't he a vampire?


Before it's too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household -- a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits...and fangs!

"The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies

Jessie Treski and her brother Evan have a pretty good relationship…usually. But when Evan finds out that Jessie will be skipping third grade and will share his fourth-grade classroom, he gets pretty angry. It’s bad enough that his sister gets all the good grades, but now she is going to mess up things with his friends as well. His anger grows…and grows…and then he explodes, saying awful things to her that he knows he will regret later. Jessie responds and their argument swells until they make a wager with high odds, all riding on who can sell the most lemonade in the last five days before school starts.

Jessie is awesome at figuring out her potential profit from a pitcher of lemonade, but she isn’t really good at reading people’s body language or interpreting what they say. Evan is much better at understanding people, and he uses this to his advantage. But Evan has a hard time planning the business side of things, and so he loses money with poor financial planning. In the midst of Evan’s anger and Jessie’s bewilderment, they both have forgotten what a good team they make together.

"Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

Charlotte's Web is the story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur--and of Wilbur's dear friend Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider who lived with Wilbur in the barn.

With the help of Templeton, the rat who never did anything for anybody unless there was something in it for him, and by a wonderfully clever plan of her own, Charlotte saved the life of Wilbur, who by this time had grown up to quite a pig. How all this comes about is Mr. White's story. It is a story of the magic of childhood on the farm.

"Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo

One summer’s day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries—and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It’s because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it’s because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that summer is because of Winn-Dixie.

"BFG" by Roald Dahl

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

"Frindle" by Andrew Clements

Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.

"Swindle" by Gordon Korman

After a mean collector named S. Wendell Palomino cons Griffin Bing out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin must put together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in Griffin's way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and his inability to drive -- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his...even if hijinks ensue.