Summer Reading

As summer makes the slow descent to fall, my thoughts turn to new students and new teachers. During the early weeks of the school year, much of my time is devoted to helping my new students find books to read and helping new teachers find books for their students. I also spend a lot of time policing the summer reading program, divining which students completed their reading requirements and who did not. Although it can be tedious to contact non-compliant parents to track down their children's summer reads, it is also exciting to see just what our students DID read last summer. I'm always excited to see that teachers and students have taken my recommendations and more excited when they have enjoyed them. If you're looking for a good read, here is the list I offered to the Kildonan tutors last spring as they prepared summer reading lists for their students. I hope we'll be up and running with some book reviews soon.

Students with Reading Skills 5th Grade and Below:

Alexie, Sherman - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (GE=3.4) 

Creech, Sharon - Hate That Cat

Cushman, Karen - The Loud Silence of Francine Green (GE=4.3)

Frazer, Sundee T. - Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It (GE=3.5) 

Hautman, Pete - Rash (GE=4.0)

Hornby, Nick et. al - Click (GE=4.4)

Korman, Gordon - Born to Rock (GE=4.5)

Lyga, Barry - The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (GE=3.7)

McLaughlin, Patricia - Edward’s Eyes

Meyer, Stephanie - Twilight (GE=5.0); New Moon (GE=4.7); Breaking Dawn (GE=4.3); Eclipse (GE=4.3)

Miller, William - Richard Wright and the Library Card (GE=4.8)

Sis, Peter - The Wall:  Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Spinelli, Jerry -  Love, Stargirl (GE=3.3); Eggs

Winerip, Michael - Adam Canfield Watch Your Back (GE=4.4)

Woodson, Jacqueline - Behind You (GE=3.9); After Tupac & D Foster (GE=4.6)

Students with Reading Skills between 5th and 7th Grade:

Appelt, Kathi -  The Underneath (GE=5.4)

Brashares, Ann - 3 Willows 

Collins, Suzanne - Hunger Games (GE=5.3)

Crane, E.M. - Skin Deep (GE-5.5)

Draper, Sharon M. - November Blues

Gaiman, Neil - The Graveyard Book (GE=5.4)

Galante, Cecilia - The Patron Saint of Butterflies

Green, John - Paper Towns (GE=5.5)

Hiaasen, Carl - Scat (GE=5.3)

Kinney, Jeff - Diary of a Wimpy Kid (GE=5.3):  and others in this series

Knox, Elizabeth - Dreamhunter (GE=5.5) and Dreamquake (GE=5.5), both of the Dreamhunter Duet

Konigsburg, E.L. - The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World

Kuhlman, Evan - The Last Invisible Boy

Lockhart, E. - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (GE=5.7)

Lupica, Mike - Heat (GE=5.5)

Nelson, Kadir - We Are the Ship:  The Story of Negro League Baseball (GE=6.2)

Satrapi, Marjane - Persepolis (GE=5.8)

Schmidt, Gary D., The Wednesday Wars (GE=6.1)

Selznick, Brian - The Amazing Adventures of Hugo Cabret (GE=5.2)

Smith, Charles R., Jr. - Twelve Rounds to Glory:  The Story of Muhammad Ali

Woodson, Jacqueline, Feathers (GE=5.3)

Students with Reading Levels 7 and up:

Blundell, Judy - What I Saw and How I Lied

Brande, Robin - Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

Chaltas, Thalia - Because I Am Furniture

Clarke, Judith - One Whole and Perfect Day

Cohn, Rachel and David Levithan - Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Curtis, Christopher Paul - Elijah of Buxton (GE=7.8)

Dozois, Gardner - The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection

Duey, Kathleen - Skin Hunger

Felin, M. Sindy- Touching Snow

Forman, Gayle - If I Stay

George, Madeleine - Looks

Hemphil, Stephanie - Your Own Sylvia:  A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath

Hornby, Nick - Slam

Jenkins, A.M. - Repossessed

Lanagan, Margo - Tender Morsels  

Law, Ingrid - Savvy (GE=8.5)

Lupica, Mike - The Big Field (GE=7.6); Summer Ball (GE=7.2) 

Lyga, Barry - Hero Type

Marchetta, Melina - Jellicoe Road 

Myers, Walter Dean - Game (and others by this author)

Pratchett, Terry - Nation 

Rowling, J.K. - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (GE=7.4)

Schutz, Samantha - I Don’t Want to Be Crazy (GE=10.4)

Stork, Francisco X. - Marcelo in the Real World

Tharp, Tim - The Spectacular Now; Nights of the Hill Country

Zarr, Sara - Story of a Girl

Additional Selections for Outstanding Readers:  The Alex Awards

The Alex Awards are given by the American Library Association to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. 

Beah, Ishmael - A Long Way Gone:  Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Iggulden, Conn - Genghis:  Birth of an Empire

Jones, Lloyd - Mister Pip

Kyle, Aryn - The God of Animals

Lemire, Jeff - Tales from the Farm:  Essex County, v.1

Lutz, Lisa - The Spellman Files

Maltman, Thomas - The Night Birds

Matthew, Polly - American Shaolin:  Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch; An Odyssey in the New China

Rothfuss, Patrick - The Name of the Wind

Ruff, Matt - Bad Monkeys