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Summer Reading for Rising 7th Graders
2014
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Dear rising seventh grader, It’s time to think about summer reading! I hope you have lots of time to read books this summer. We want you to read books that you will enjoy, so we’ve included a lot of choice in your requirements. Please keep a reading log this summer. There is an example at the end of this booklet. This allows you to record what you read over the summer. You will turn in your reading log in English class during the first week of classes.
Please read at least four books this summer. 1) Read one book for our book discussion groups. You should have already chosen a book. Look on the summer reading website for the choices. If you don’t like the book you have chosen, you can switch to another group. Just email me at tvahlsing@abingtonfriends.net to let me know. Some groups may not have enough people to have a discussion and you won’t want to read a book that no one else has! 2) Required summer reading for seventh graders: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 3) The rest of your reading is completely your choice. The next pages contain a list of my suggestions if you need ideas. Students will be able to check out books from the Faulkner Library for summer reading. Of course any books not returned in the fall will be billed. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email. Sincerely, Toni Vahlsing Director of Libraries Abington Friends School (215) 576-3976 tvahlsing@abingtonfriends.net
Distinguished Summer Reading: For those of you who want an additional challenge, aim to become a “Distinguished Reader.” To earn this recognition, you must do the following: 1) Read 2000 pages during the summer months, including the books required above. 2) Total the pages that you read on your reading log. Students who rise to this challenge will receive a notation on their official school transcript and will be recognized in other ways as well.
Required Reading for Rising 7th Graders! From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by e.l. Konigsburg Have you ever wanted to run away and stay someplace safe, but unusual? Here is a story of two kids who accomplish that! In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of all places. This classic tale is part mystery, a lot of adventure, and a whole lot of fun.
Read at least two additional books of your choice: Here are some suggestions- you can read what you want to read. The point of summer reading is to enjoy it. I’d Tell You That I Loved You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women could be considered a school for geniuses, but it is really a school for spies. Callie is a second generation Gallagher Girl. She already speaks 14 languages and can kill a man in seven different ways, but she is not prepared to fall in love with a normal boy who thinks she is just a normal girl. The situations she puts herself into in order to see this boy are quite funny. Rooftoppers by Katerine Rundell The opening sentence of this book might catch your attention: “ On the morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel.” Charles finds Sophie (the baby) and raises her until the authorities think it is improper for a single man to raise a young woman. Then they go on a crazy adventure, looking for Sophie’s mother. Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt Ally is super smart, but she can’t read, a fact she has been hiding from everyone for years. She feels really dumb. On top of this, she’s an army kid, so has been in seven schools in seven years. Her luck changes in November when her regular teacher goes on maternity leave and she gets the best substitute ever, one who is working on a masters in special education and recognizes her dyslexia.
Did you know? If you participate in your public library’s summer reading program, you can get all sorts of free stuff? Some libraries enter teenagers into drawings for BIG prizes! Go to your public library. Another advantage of going... they will have many of these books and you won’t have to buy them!
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai Mai was planning on spending her summer at the beach with her best friend. At the last moment, her parents tell her she is going to Vietnam with her grandmother. Mai’s grandfather has been missing since the Vietnam war, and her grandmother has yet to fully accept his death. When Mai first gets there she hates everything about Vietnam-- the heat, the mosquitoes, the lack of internet connectivity. It is fun to learn to love Veitnam while Mai does. Numbers by Rachel Ward Jem has the unique ability of seeing a number whenever she looks into another human’s eyes. It is the date of their death that she sees. When visiting the London Eye, she notices that everyone around here has today’s date in their eyes. She panics and runs away. Of course, there is a terrorist attack at the Eye, and now Jem is a suspect. She and her friend Spider are on the run.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Sophie Hatter is resigned to a boring life running a hat shop, when the wicked Witch of the Waste puts a curse on her, aging her and making it impossible to tell anyone about the curse. Sophie ends up taking refuge in Howl’s moving castle. If you’ve seen the movie, read the book. It’s even better. If you haven’t seen the movie or read the book, do both. The Recruit by Robert Muchamore James and his sister were recently orphaned and James is in trouble. But he is brilliant at math and is secretly recruited to be a CHERUB agent. CHERUB agents are all under 17 years old and have to go through a grueling 110 day training. No one knows they exist. This thrilling adventure will make you want to read the rest of the series. Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter Old Doc Altenheimer promised not to sell his orchard that includes the town’s baseball field, if the rag-tag baseball team can beat the team from the posh town next door. Enter Cruz de la Cruz with a bat in his saddlebags and a computer program to help the team with their batting. Tom, the benchwarmer, may just have to save the day. The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake Maleeka is relentlessly teased at school, not only for her good grades and her hand-made clothes, but for the darkness of her skin. When a new teacher arrives at school who has a white birthmark across her dark skin, Maleeka is sure there will be trouble for her, too. She is surprised by Miss Saunders’ attitude. Can Maleeka be proud of the skin she’s in, like Miss Saunders?
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan Willow is a twelve-year-old genius who doesn’t have any friends until she is sent for counseling for allegedly cheating on a test. At counseling, she meets people who will help her through a terrible crises. Willow is awesome, and her friends are pretty memorable, too.
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman Did you ever know a kid so quiet that you didn’t know he was there? The Schwa is like that. Anthony is his friend who starts to take advantage of the fact that the Schwa is practically invisible. Add in a blind girlfriend and an old man with lots of crazy dogs and you’ll find this cast of characters irresistable.
The Angel Experiment (or other Maximum Ride Books) by James Patterson Angel and her family are hybrid bird people. They have hollow bones and can fly. They’ve escaped from the lab which created them and are usually trying to hide from everyone so they don’t get studied again (and kept in dog crates.) This fantastic series will always keep you on your toes as this adventure is full of surprises and action. Toby Wheeler, 8th Grade Benchwarmer by Thatcher Heldring Toby plays a lot of basketball at the rec center. He thinks he’s really good at basketball, until he tries out for his school’s team. He’s the 12th man in, putting him firmly on the bench for most games. His relationship with his new coach is made more complicated by the friendship (or is it more?) with the coach’s daughter.
The Lighthouse Land by Adrian McKinty Jamie and his mother have inherited a whole island in Ireland. They leave New York City to go live there. Jamie has been mute since he lost his left arm to bone cancer, but befriends talkative Ramsey in Ireland. Jamie discovers that the lighthouse is a portal to another world, one that is dying out. Many adventures and a love interest keep this fantasy series interesting. If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko Told in two voices, this book explores the cruelties of middle school. Kirsten in an overweight girl who has lost her best friends. Walker is an African American boy who is new to a mostly white private school. They discover a secret that rocks them to the core.
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher I love the cynical humor in this book. Jamie’s older sister was killed in a terrorist attack. Her death has torn his family apart and his dad blames all Muslims. When he moves to a new school, the only person who will be his friend is a Muslim girl. He is torn between wanting to be a good friend and being a good son. Atlantia by Ally Condie Atlantia is a small world under the sea, built by those “above” before the divide. Those from the above send down food and those from the below send up minerals mined from the ocean floor. It is dangerous to live in “the above” because the air is so bad. But once a year, the young people can decide to stay in the below or go to the above. Rio and Bay’s mother has died mysteriously and Bay makes Rio promise to stay with her in the below, but then Bay decides to go above without telling Rio. Rio has much to mourn, and much to discover.
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Wednesday afternoons are a time for religious instruction in the late 1970s. Kids either go to the Catholic church for instruction or to the synagogue. If you are the only Protestant in your grade, like Holling Hoodhood, you are stuck in class by yourself with your teacher. Holling is convinced that she hates him. Especially when she starts assigning him Shakespeare for their Wednesday afternoon sessions!
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney What would happen if you turned over your milk carton and saw your face there? Janey had been kidnapped when she was young and did not know it. Her whole world is turned upside down. Warning: make sure you have the second book in this series because this ends in a cliffhanger. Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan Maya lives like a captive with her grandmother who lies to her about her mother. When her grandmother dies, Maya moves to Wyoming to be with her mother’s family that Maya did not know existed. Suddenly her life is so different, filled with horses and freedom. The Fold by An Na Joyce’s image-obsessed, rich aunt offers to pay for plastic surgery for Joyce to make her Asian eyes look more Western by adding a fold. If you’ve ever thought about a change you would like to make to your body, you will enjoy reading about Joyce’s struggle with this issue.
Nation by Terry Pratchett A tsunami has wiped out everyone on Mau’s island except him. The same tsunami maroons a ship leaving one girl, Daphne, as the only survivor. Refugees from other islands arrive and Daphne and Mau help them. When raiders arrive, Mau must use all of his ingenuity to outsmart their leader.
Mister Max by Cynthia Voigt A great adventure story with a few mysteries sprinkled liberally throughout. I love Mister Max as a character, too. Because this is the first in a series, you will have to read more to find out what happened to Max’s parents, and the second book is just as fun!
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Enter another world, where all humans have an animal companion, a daemon. Humans and daemons are tethered together. In this world, a war is brewing, bigger than humans. This is the first of a trilogy. If you like the first one, you will need to read all three.
Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers Abbey and her great-grandmother have been running a beauty shop together, but Granny Po wants to retire, renting out her shop. When Gena arrives and turns it into a day spa, at first Abbey is reluctant, but then starts earning more money. Abbey’s mom, who has a history of substance abuse, shows up and Abbey gives her mom her hard-earned savings so they can get a house and live together. Of course, things don’t turn out the way you’d want them to. Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samatha Van Leer What if the characters in a book were alive, and whenever you closed the book, they went about their own lives? Prince Oliver is stuck in his book and can’t stand the person he is supposedly in love with. He falls in love with a reader of his book. Told from different perspectives, we occasionly get to read a few pages of the story from which Oliver is trying to escape. Really enjoyable! Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix At age 100, Melly and other residents of her old age home are given the chance to get a shot that will “unage” them. When they reach the ideal age, they can get another shot to stop the process. That shot kills the people who get it, so Melly and her friend Anny Beth are forced to get younger until they reach zero. This makes for all sorts of interesting circumstances, like finding parents for themselves, and losing driving privileges when then turn 15. A great science fiction tale. The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier Set in a fantastical world of mages, dragons, and islands that float above the sea, this book is told from alternating viewpoints. Trei is a boy who has lost his family suddenly and comes to the islands to find his uncle. He wants to become a kajutaihi, a man who can fly. His cousin, Araene, longs for the freedom that boys have in her world. Her resolve to get some of this freedom is tempered by a great loss. This seat-gripping adventure deals with themes of loyalty and belonging. Cinder by Marissa Meyer Cinder is a cyborg, which is looked down on by society. She lives in New Beijing in the far future when Earth’s biggest worry is the Lunars who are descendants from the first colonists on the moon. Plot twists and subterfuge abound. If you are looking for a series to really sink your teeth into, this could do it! Your librarian read three books of this series in four days!
This is a sample reading log. You can turn this in, or make your own. Reading Log Name_________________ Title
Author
# pages
Date completed
Total pages
To sum up: 1)Read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 2) Read a book for your book group 2)Read at least two other books of your choice. 3)Keep a reading log. Would you like some free audiobooks? Sync gives away two free audiobooks per week! Visit audiobooks.sync.com!