Entering Grade 6

Summer Reading for  

Students Entering the 6th  Grade at St. Andrew’s  Episcopal School 2026-2027

6th Graders are required to read Buddy by M. H. Herlong and to  keep a journal that will need to be printed and turned in on the  first day of school. The 7 journal entries are assigned according to  chapter groupings, so it will be easier for the students to write their journal entries immediately after they finish reading each  section of chapters rather than waiting until they complete the  novel.  

Discussion Topics for Your Journal: The journals need to be a  minimum of five-seven sentences for each entry. Please make sure all  of your sentences begin with capital letters and have end punctuation  marks. These may be completed on the computer; however, they  

will need to be printed before the first day of school.  

****Note for parents: Since I will be using the journals to assess your  child’s writing, which will help determine where we need to begin our  writing lessons in 6th grade, remind your child to do his or her best  writing and to use capital letters and other punctuation marks, but  please, do not correct their journals.  

1. (For Chapters 1-4) At the beginning of the novel, what does Li’l T  want but his parents will not agree to him having? Compare his having to wait for what he wanted to a time when you had to wait for or couldn’t have something you really wanted. Did you feel and handle the situation similarly or differently?  

2. (For Chapters 5-12) From what you have read about Li’l T and if  he was someone you met (who you would like to be friends with on  your first day of school), how would you describe him to your parents  when you arrived home at the end of the day? What would you say to  your parents about him?  

3. (For Chapters 13-16) If you could describe your perfect pet,  what would it be like?

4. (For Chapters 17 and 18) After reading chapters 1-18, how do you  think Li’l T feels about leaving Buddy and why does he feel this way?  What do you think is going through his mind and heart as his dad tells  him to make Buddy sit in the bathroom? What do you think will happen  to the family after Katrina hits New Orleans?  

5. (For Chapters 19 and 23) How do you think Granpa T feels about  Katrina and the changes in his life? Why do you think he is remembering  his wife, Alice, at this time? Why does he feel the way he does?  

6. (For Chapters 24-27) What examples of community and family do  you see in the novel? What do you like about these examples and how  do you think it compares (what are some of the similarities) to the St.  Andrew’s community, a church, synagogue or mosque you attend, or  

your family.  

7. (Conclusion) Take on the persona of Brian (pretend you are Brian)  and write a letter from Brian to Lil’T after he leaves California without  Buddy and is back home in New Orleans. What do you think Brian would  write in his letter? (seven sentence minimum).