Summer Reading List
Summer 2015 Reading List
S.C.A.P.A. Fall 2015 Fourth Graders
Students are required to read at least three books from this list over the summer.
You are welcome and encouraged to read a book a week depending on the length of the
books!
ALL MUST READ: Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater. A classic of
American humor, the adventures of a house painter and his brood of high-stepping
penguins have delighted children for generations. Be ready to discuss and do various
activities with this book and all your new S.C.A.P.A. friends when school starts!
(5.6/870/3.0) (If you have previously read this great book, please read it again!!)
*** More FICTION:
1. A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck. In a novel that skillfully captures the nuances of
small-town life; an elderly man reminisces about his annual trips from Chicago to his grandmother's house in rural Illinois during the Depression. (5.0/781/5.0)
2. Amber Brown Series by Paula Danzinger, who has a magical way of meshing the fun (best
friends, school projects) with the serious (moving away), to create a splendid work of fiction that really appeals to young readers. (3.7-4.1/561-631/.5-3.0)
3. Anastasia Series by Lois Lowry. There are four books in this very popular series describing
the ups and downs of a precocious ten-year-old girl, Anastasia, who is an amusing and engaging
heroine.
a) Anastasia Krupnick (3.6/549/5.0) c) Anastasia Again (4.5/701/5.0)
b) Absolutely Anastasia (4.7/731/4.0) d) Anastasia at Your Service (4.3/669/5.0)
4. Any of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Books: Set during the pioneer days of the late 1800s and
early 1900s, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books chronicle her life growing up on the Western Frontier.
Great for 4 th Gr. Social Studies!
a) Little House in the Big Woods (5.3/829/5.0)
b) Little House on the Prairie (4.9/769/8.0)
c) By the Shores of Silver Lake (5.3/829/9.0)
d) Farmer Boy (5.2/811/9.0)
e) The Long Winter (5.3/829/10.0)
f) On the Banks of Plum Creek (4.6/720/8.0)
g) West from Home (5.7/888/4.0)
5. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. Through the love she gains from her new pet, a
girl gains the courage to ask her father about the mother who abandoned them. (3.9/600/3.0)
6. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. This is a best-selling novel for young readers about the
triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse. From Alec Ramsay and the Black's first meeting on an
ill-fated ship to their adventures on a desert island and their eventual rescue. (5.2/811/7.0)
7. Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Motherless Bud shares his amusingly astute rules
of life as he hits the road to find the jazz musician he believes is his father. A medley of
characters brings Depression-era Michigan to life. (5.0/781/8.0)
8. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry. A boy's character at ten years old is more often
influenced by emotion than by reasoning. Something in the conduct of a hero leaps like a spark to
light his own spirit. A book with a hero can sometimes bring this about. This is such a book.
(6.2/941/3.0)
9. Castaways and the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques. In 1620, a boy with his dog a rescued from the doomed ship Flying Dutchman by an angel, who guides them in traveling the
world, eternally helping those in great need. (5.4/841/12.0)
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl is a singular delight, crammed with mad
fantasy, childhood justice and revenge, and as much candy as you can eat. (4.8/750/5.0)
11. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. In this story of friendship, hardship, and the passing on into
time, E.B. White reminds us to open our eyes to wonder and miracle often found in the simplest
of things. (4.4/681/5.0)
12. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. In brief, four children travel repeatedly to a world
in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems. (Series:
3.6-5.7/549-888)
13. Class President by Johanna Hurwitz. Hurwitz masterfully demonstrates why she is one of the
premier practitioners of the humorous school story genre. (4.3/669/2.0)
14. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. This is the story of a musical cricket and
his friends, a mouse and a cat of real character, who took up their abode in a Times Square
newsstand. (4.9/769/4.0.)
15. Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright. Middle-grade mystery about a murder kept secret
in a dollhouse. Amy is terrified. She hears scratching and scurrying noises coming from the
dollhouse, and the dolls she was playing with are not where she left them. Dolls can't move by
themselves, she tells herself. (4.3/669/5.0)
16. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. This is a classic fairytale very similar to Cinderella
but with a more mature theme and morals to the story. Ella is a fifteen year old girl with a rare
gift for obedience.(4.6/720/8.0)
17. The Great Brain by John Fitzgerald. Tom, a.k.a., the Great Brain, is a silver-tongued genius
with a knack for turning a profit. Whether it’s saving the kids at school, or helping out Peg-leg
Andy, or Basil, the new kid at school, the Great Brain always manages to come out on top—and
line his pockets in the process.( 5.2/811/7.0)
18. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. Never out of print since its1944 publication, this
tender story offers readers of all ages a timeless message of compassion and understanding.
(5.4/84/1.0)
19. The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. Michael loves his great-great-aunt Dew,
even if she can’t always remember his name. He especially loves to spend time with her and her
beloved hundred penny box, listening to stories about each of the hundred years of her life.
(3.9/600/1.0)
20. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman. In resonant voices and striking
use of language, this 1989 Newbery Medal-winner explores the various sounds and concerns of
the insect world. (Science/not AR)
21. Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbitt (Farrar). “Here’s a wonderfully fluent fable about man’s
need to have something to believe in. . . .(4.4/681/2.0)
22. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, who takes us on an
extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of
an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle -- even
a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again. (4.4/681/2.0)
23. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Terribly unhappy in his family’s
crowded New York City apartment, Sam Gribley runs away to the solitude—and danger—of the
mountains, where he finds a side of himself he never knew. (5.2/811/6.0)
24. Redwall by Brian Jacques. Magical, mystical, and the stuff of legends, this stunning tale of
good battling with-- and ultimately triumphing over--evil takes the reader on a roller-coaster
adventure that barely draws breath from the first page to the very last. Brian Jacques is a true
master of his craft.(5.6/870/16.0)
25. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. In this 1986 Newbery Medal Winner, terse
writing and poetic rhythm flow to create a tender story about the fragile beginnings of a family
relationship. (3.4/511/1.0)
26. Scat by Carl Hiaasen. Eco-avengers; an endangered, hunted panther; illegal pipelines in the
Everglades; and an underachieving student with the nickname "Smoke" all play a part in this
gripping novel. From the first sentence, readers will be hooked. (5.5/860/12.0)
27. The Secret Garden (Unabridged) by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Neglected Colin lives the life
of a spoilt and incurable invalid until the arrival of an orphaned cousin, Mary. The two children
secretly combine to restore his mother's locked garden and Colin to health and his father's
affection. (6.3/951/13.0)
28. Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars. A story about the day when Sara Godfrey's mentally
handicapped brother Charlie disappears after visiting the swans at the lake. Nobody is sure what
happened to him, but everyone expects the worst because it's not typical for Charlie to have run
off alone.(4.9/769/4.0)
***After you have read many from above lists, you and your family might want to consider
the first book in the Kentucky Summer Series by SCAPA visiting author, Tim Callahan:
The Cave, The Cabin, and The Tattoo Man.
You are welcome to keep a list of vocabulary words that you discovered during your reading experiences. This will giving us a good starting point for our vocabulary journals, which you will keep throughout the year! Happy Summer Reading!!!