Summer reading an effort to keep students engaged with the skills embedded in our curriculum while away from school. When students return to school, they engage in small book club discussions around the books they read. 

Students are grouped based on the book they completed for the summer reading work, so they can fully engage in deeper conversation. 

To help us present a list of titles that are vetted as good literature at the appropriate reading level for middle school students, we have selected the Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award Nominees for 2026. 

This well-respected list of books which is sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians. The selection committee is composed of children's librarians and school library-media specialists who are members of these two organizations as well as students who have read 60-80 books from which the selection is made. According to their website, All books nominated for the Nutmeg Intermediate, Middle School, and High School Awards must be:

• works of fiction, with appeal for readers in grades 4-6 , 7-8 or 9-12;

• must be copyrighted in the United States within the five (5) years preceding and including the year of the award;

• currently in print, and available in paperback;

• well-written, with strong characterization, vivid setting, striking language, a well-constructed plot, and plausible conclusion.

https://www.nutmegaward.org/