Fourth Grade Summer Reading Program...Page 2 of 24 Revised 04/2015 PWCS Sixth Grade Summer Reading Program Suggested Reading The following titles are suggestions for summer reading

Page 1 of 24 Revised 04/2015

Grades 6 – 8 PWCS Summer Reading Program

Louise A. Benton Middle School

The purpose of the PWCS Summer Reading Program is to encourage students to enjoy quality literature and to continue developing their independent reading skills. Student participation in the program is voluntary. Students who choose to participate in the program are required to complete a minimum of two books.

Students participating in the program in Grades 6 - 8 will complete a list of books read. The documentation is to include the name of the author, the title of the book, an explanation of the topic or plot of the book, and a parent or guardian statement that the student has completed the reading.

Students in Grades 6 - 8 who participate in Prince William County Public Library's Summer Reading Program, the Public Library documentation will apply. Students will receive an extra “A” (100) for each book completed, for a total of two. The summer reading documentation will be submitted by the student by the end of the first week of school.

The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian may be used. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation is also acceptable.


PWCS Sixth Grade Summer Reading Program

Suggested Reading

The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program

and its documentation is also acceptable.

Author Title Pub.

Date

Annotation

PWC Public

Library

Call Number

Bell, Cece

El Deafo

2014

The author recounts in graphic novel format

her experiences with hearing loss at a young

age, including using a bulky hearing aid,

learning how to lip read, and determining

her "superpower

J 741.5

Bel

Draper,

Sharon M.

Out of My

Mind

2010

Considered by many to be mentally

retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader

with cerebral palsy discovers a

technological device that will allow her to

speak for the first time.

J Fic

Draper


Fitzgerald,

Laura Marx

Under the Egg

2014

Her grandfather's dying words lead thirteen-

year-old Theodora Tenpenny to a valuable,

hidden painting she fears may be stolen, but

it is her search for answers in her

Greenwich Village neighborhood that

brings a real treasure.

J M

Fitzgerald

Fleming,

Candance

Amelia Lost:

The Life and

Disappearance

of Amelia

Earhart

2011

Tells the story of Amelia Earhart's life - as a

child, a woman, and a pilot - and describes

the search for her missing plane.

J Bio

Earhart

Fleming,

Candance

On the Day I

Died: Stories

From the

Grave

2012

In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold

October night, teen ghosts recount the

stories of their deaths in different time

periods, from 1870 to the present, to

sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly

picked up a phantom hitchhiker.

YA Fic

Fleming

Greenwald,

Tom

Charlie Joe

Jackson’s

Guide to NOT

Read (series)

2011

Middle schooler Charlie Joe is proud of his

success at avoiding reading, but eventually

his schemes go too far.

J Fic

Greenwald


Hemphill,

Michael

Stonewall

Hinkleman and

the Battle of

Bull Run

2009

While participating in a reenactment of the

Battle of Bull Run, twelve-year-old

Stonewall Hinkleman is transported back to

the actual Civil War battle by means of a

magic bugle.

J Fic

Hemphill

Korman,

Gordon

The Hypnotists

(Series)

2003

Twelve-year-old Jackson Opus is descended

from two powerful hypnotist bloodlines, but

he has just begun to realize that he can

control other peoples' actions with

sometimes frightening results--especially

when the head of the Sentia Institute plans

to use Jackson for his own benefit.

J Fic

Korman

Lai,

Thanhha

Inside Out and

Back Again

2011

Through a series of poems, a young girl

chronicles the life-changing year of 1975,

when she, her mother, and her brothers

leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

J Fic

Lai


Lord,

Cynthia

Half a Chance

2004

Lucy, with her mother and her photographer

father, has just moved to a small rural

community in New Hampshire, and with

her new friend Nate she plans to spend the

summer taking photos for a contest, but

pictures sometimes reveal more than people

are willing to see. .

J Fic

Lord

Marrin,

Albert

Years of Dust:

The Story of

the Dust Bowl

2009

In the 1930s, dangerous black storms swept

through the Great Plains. Created by drought

and reckless farming, these lethal storms were

part of an environmental, economic, and

human catastrophe that changed the course of

American history. In riveting, accessible prose,

an acclaimed historian explains the causes

behind the disaster and explores the Dust

Bowl's impact.

J 978.032

Mar

Murphy,

Jim

An American

Plague: The

True and

Terrifying

Story of the

Yellow Fever

Epidemic of

1793

2003

1793, Philadelphia. The nation's capital and

the largest city in North America is

devastated by an apparently incurable

disease, cause unknown . . . In a powerful,

dramatic narrative, critically acclaimed

author Jim Murphy describes the illness

known as yellow fever and the toll it took

on the city's residents, relating the epidemic

to the major social and political events of

the day and to 18th-century medical beliefs

and practices.

J 614.541

Mur


Palacio, R.J.

Wonder

2012

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was

born with extreme facial abnormalities and

was not expected to survive, goes from

being home-schooled to entering fifth grade

at a private middle school in Manhattan,

which entails enduring the taunting and fear

of his classmates as he struggles to be seen

as just another student.

J Fic

Palacio

Patterson,

James

Public School

Superhero

2015

In Kenny Wright's active imagination he's a

world famous superhero, but in the real

world he's a sixth grade "Grandma's Boy"

whose struggles to fit in at his Washington

D.C. inner city school will put his grades

and family loyalty to the test

J Fic

Patterson

Schrefer,

Eliot

Endangered

(Series)

2012

Sophie is not happy to be back in the Congo

for the summer, but when she rescues an

abused baby bonobo she becomes more

involved in her mother's sanctuary--and

when fighting breaks out and the sanctuary

is attacked, it is up to Sophie to rescue the

apes and somehow survive in the jungle.

YA Fic

Schrefer


Swanson,

James

The President

Has Been

Shot!: The

Assassination

of John F.

Kennedy

2013

Recounts the 35th president's assassination

and details key events while sharing

informative back matter and archival

photographs.

J 973.222

Swa

Turnage,

Sheila

Three Times

Lucky

(Series)

2012

Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo

Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now

eleven, and her best friend Dale turn

detective when the amnesiac Colonel,

owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with

his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a

murder.

J M

Turnage

White, Ruth

You’ll Like it

Here

(Everybody

Does)

2011

Forced to flee a small North Carolina town

when the neighbors suspect they are aliens,

sixth-grader Meggie Blue and her family

leave Earth and arrive in Fashion City,

where individuality is punished and the

greatest crime is being "grossly unique."

Juv Fic

White


Williams-

Garcia, Rita

One Crazy

Summer

2010

In the summer of 1968, after traveling from

Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a

month with the mother they barely know,

eleven-year-old Delphine and her two

younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as

they discover that their mother, a dedicated

poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion

of their visit and wants them to attend a

nearby Black Panther summer camp.

J Fic

Williams-

Garcia

Yelchin,

Eugene

Breaking

Stalin’s Nose

2011

In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-

year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted

Communist, but when police take his father

away and leave Sasha homeless, he is

forced to examine his own perceptions,

values, and beliefs.

J Fic

Yelchin


PWCS Seventh Grade Summer Reading Program

Suggested Reading



Author Title Pub.

Date

Annotation PWC Public

Library

Call Number

Bartoletti,

Susan

Campbell

Hitler youth:

Growing Up in

Hitler’s

Shadow

2005

The story of a generation of German young

people who devoted all their energy to the

Hitler Youth and the propaganda that

brought gave Hitler his power, and the

youths that resisted the Nazi movement.

J 943.086

Bar

Bauer,

Joan

Almost Home

2012

Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose

their beloved house and experience the

harsh world of homelessness.

J Fic

Bauer


Frost, Helen

Hidden

2011

When fourteen-year-olds Wren and Darra

meet at a Michigan summer camp, both are

overwhelmed by memories from six years

earlier when Darra's father stole a car,

unaware that Wren was hiding in the back.

YA Fic

Frost

Goldblatt,

Mark

Twerp

2013

In Queens, New York, in 1969, twelve-

year-old Julian Twerski writes a journal for

his English teacher in which he explores his

friendships and how they are effected by

girls, a new student who may be as fast as

Julian, and especially an incident of

bullying.

YA Fic

Goldblatt

Goldsmith,

Connie

Traumatic

Brain Injury:

From

Concussion to

Coma

2014

Two soccer players collide on the field. A

soldier in Afghanistan is thrown to the

ground during a bomb explosion. A teen has

an accident while riding her bike--and she

isn't wearing her helmet. Each of these

incidents can produce a traumatic brain

injury (TBI). Find out about the different

types of TBIs, what causes them, and how

they are diagnosed and treated.

J 619.481

Gol


Gratz,

Alan

Prisoner B-

3087

2013

Based on the life of Jack Gruener, this book

relates his story of survival from the Nazi

occupation of Krakow, when he was eleven,

through a succession of concentration

camps, to the final liberation of Dachau.

YA Fic

Gratz

Horowitz,

Anthony

Stormbreaker

(Series)

2001

After the death of the uncle who had been

his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider

is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous

work for Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6.

YA Fic

Horowtiz

Hiassen, Carl

Scat

2013

Nick and his friend Marta decide to

investigate when a mysterious fire starts

near a Florida wildlife preserve and an

unpopular teacher goes missing.

YA Fic

Hiaasen


Hunt, Lynda

Mullay

One for the

Murphys

2012

After heartbreaking betrayal, Carley is sent

to live with a foster family and struggles

with opening herself up to their love

YA Fic Hunt

Korman,

Gordon

Schooled

2007

Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother,

Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never

watched television, tasted a pizza, or even

heard of a wedgie. But when his

grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is

forced to move in with a guidance

counselor and attend the local middle

school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-

dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education

could prepare him for the politics of public

school.

YA Fic

Korman

Leyson,

Leon

The Boy in the

Wooden Box

2013

The biography of Leon Leyson, the only

memoir published by a former Schindler's

List child.

YA Bio

Leyson


Markle,

Sandra

The Case of the

Vanishing

Honey Bees:

a Scientific

Myster

2014

Honeybees are a crucial part of our food chain.

As they gather nectar from flowers to make

sweet honey, these bees also play an important

role in pollination, helping some plants produce

fruit. But large numbers of honeybees are

disappearing every year ... and no one knows

why. In this real-life science mystery, scientists

and beekeepers are working to answer these

questions ... and save the world's honeybees

before it's too late.

J 595.799

Mar

Meyer,

Marissa

Cinder

(Series)

2013

As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth,

observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder,

a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes

involved with handsome Prince Kai and

must uncover secrets about her past in order

to protect the world in this futuristic take on

the Cinderella story.

YA Fic

Meyer

Mills,

Claudia

Zero Tolerance

2013

Seventh-grade honor student Sierra Shepard

faces expulsion after accidentally bringing a

paring knife to school, violating the school's

zero-tolerance policy.

YA Fic

Mills


Nielsen,

Jennifer

The False

Prince

(Series)

2012

In the country of Carthya, a devious

nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal

competition to be selected to impersonate

the king's long-missing son in an effort to

avoid a civil war.

YA Fic

Nielsen

Partridge,

Elizabeth

Marching for

Freedom: Walk

Together,

Children, and

Don’t You

Grow Weary

2009

Only 44 years ago in the U.S., Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr. was leading a fight to win

blacks the right to vote. Focusing on the

courageous children who faced terrifying

violence in order to march alongside King,

this is an inspiring look at their fight for the

vote. Stunningly emotional black-and-white

photos accompany the text.

J 323.1196

Par

Reinhardt,

Dana

The Summer I

Learned to Fly

2011

Thirteen-year-old Drew starts the summer

of 1986 helping in her mother's cheese shop

and dreaming about co-worker Nick, but

when her widowed mother begins dating,

Drew's father's book of lists, her pet rat, and

Emmett, a boy on a quest, help her cope.

YA Fic

Reinhardt


Riordan,

Rick

The Red

Pyramid

(Series)

2010

After their father's research experiment at

the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian

god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a

dangerous journey across the globe--a quest

which brings them ever closer to the truth

about their family, and their links to a secret

order that has existed since the time of the

pharaohs.

J Fic

Riordan

Schlitz,

Laura Amy

Splendors and

Glooms

2012

When Clara vanishes after the puppeteer

Grisini and two orphaned assistants were at

her twelfth birthday party, suspicion of

kidnapping chases the trio away from

London and soon the two orphans are

caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient

rival, a witch with a deadly inheritance to

shed before it is too late.

J Fic

Schlitz

Selznick,

Brian

The Invention

of Hugo Cabret

2007

When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan

living and repairing clocks within the walls

of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a

mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter,

his undercover life and his biggest secret

are jeopardized.

J Fic

Selznick


PWCS Eighth Grade Summer Reading Program

Suggested Reading



Author Title Pub.

Date

Annotation PWC Public

Library

Call

Number

Alexander,

Kwame

The Crossover

2014

Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh

and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on

and off the court as their father ignores his

declining health.

YA Fic

Alexander

Baldacci,

David

The Finisher

2014

Vega Jane has never left the village of

Wormwood. But this isn't unusual, nobody

has ever left the village of Wormwood. At

least not until Quentin Herms vanishes into

the unknown. Vega knows Quentin didn't just

leave, but that he was chased. And he's left

behind a very dangerous trail of clues that

only she can decode. Vega is determined to

uncover the truth. But the closer she gets, the

more she risks her life.

J Fic

Baldacci


Bragg,

Georgia

How They

Choked:

Failures, Flops,

and Flaws of

the Awfully

Famous

2014

Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes, epic

failures even lead to super successes...

sometimes they become deep dark secrets.

But remember-to fail is human, to laugh

about our shortcomings divine. How They

Choked knocks fourteen famous achievers off

their pedestals to reveal the human side of

history.

J 920

Bra

Carman,

Michael

Pulse

(Series)

2013

In the year 2051, who has a pulse? With the

help of her mysterious classmate Dylan

Gilmore, Faith Daniels discovers that she can

move objects with her mind. This telekinetic

ability is called a "pulse," and Dylan has the

talent, too. In order to save the world, Faith

will have to harness not only the power of her

mind, but the power of her heart, too.

YA Fic

Carman

Erksine,

Kathryn

Seeing Red

2013

When twelve-year-old Frederick "Red"

Porter's father dies in 1972, his mother wants

to sell their automobile repair shop and move

her two sons back to Ohio, but Red is

desperate to stop the sale even if it means

unearthing some dark family secrets in a

Virginia rife with racial tensions.

J Fic

Erskine


Falls,

Kat

Dark Life

2011

When fifteen-year-old Ty, who has always

lived on the ocean floor, joins Topside girl

Gemma in the frontier's underworld to seek

and stop outlaws who threaten his home, they

learn that the government may pose an even

greater threat.

J Fic

Falls

Fleischman,

John

Phineas Gage:

A Gruesome

But True Story

About Brain

Science

2002

Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his

head. A railroad construction foreman, Phineas

was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in

1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot

through his brain. Miraculously, he survived

another eleven years and became a textbook case

in brain science. But he was forever changed by

the accident, and what happened inside his brain

will tell you a lot about how your brain works

and what makes us who we are.

J 363.1

Fle

Freedman,

Russell

Abraham

Lincoln and

Frederick

Douglas: the

Story Behind

an American

Friendship

2012

A clear-sighted, carefully researched account

of two surprisingly parallel lives and how

they intersected at a critical moment in U.S.

history.

J 973.70922

Fre


Gaiman, Neil

The Graveyard

Book

2008

Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that

he has been raised by ghosts and other

denizens of the graveyard.

YA Fic

Gaiman

Gantos, Jack

Dead End in

Norvelt

(Series)

2011

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania,

twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the

summer of 1962 grounded for various

offenses until he is assigned to help an

elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore

involving the newly dead, molten wax,

twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies,

underage driving, lessons from history,

typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

J Fic

Gantos

Korman,

Gordon

Masterminds

2015

A group of kids discovers they were cloned

from the DNA of some of the greatest

criminal masterminds in history for a

sociological experiment.

J Fic

Korman


Lu,

Marie

Legend

2011

In a dark future, when North America has

split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-

olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy

June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture

him, discover that they have a common

enemy.

YA Fic

Lu

Magoon,

Kekla

The Rock and

The River

2009

In 1968 Chicago, fourteen-year-old Sam

Childs is caught in a conflict between his

father's nonviolent approach to seeking civil

rights for African Americans and his older

brother, who has joined the Black Panther

Party

YA Fic

Mag

Morpurgo,

Michael

Shadow

2014

Teenager Aman and his mother lose their

loyal spaniel Shadow while escaping

Afghanistan to flee to England. Now they

must depend on a friend and his grandfather

to enable Shadow's return.

YA FIC

Morpurgo


Preller,

James

Bystander

2009

Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers there are

consequences to not standing by and

watching as the bully at his new school hurts

people, but although school officials are

aware of the problem, Eric may be the one

with a solution.

YA Fic

Pre

Sandler,

Martin

The Impossible

Rescue: The

True Story of

an Amazing

Arctic

Adventure

2012

In 1897, whaling in the Arctic waters off

Alaska's coast was as dangerous as it was

lucrative. And in that particular year, winter

blasted early, bringing storms and ice packs that

caught eight American whale ships and three

hundred sailors off guard. Their ships locked in

ice, with no means of escape, the whalers had

limited provisions on board, and little hope of

surviving until warmer temperatures arrived

many months later. Here is the incredible story

of three men sent to rescue them.

J 979.803

San

Scott, Elaine

Buried Alive!:

How 33 Miners

Survived 69

Days Deep

Under the

Chilean Desert

2011

Describes the 2010 mining accident in San

Jose, Chile, in which thirty-three men became

trapped underground for over sixty days and

details the rescue efforts and the worldwide

media coverage of the event.

J 363. 11

Sco


Schmidt,

Gary

The

Wednesday

Wars

2007

During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday

afternoons when all his classmates go to

either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-

grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs.

Baker's classroom where they read the plays

of William Shakespeare and Holling learns

much of value about the world he lives in.

J Fic

Schmidt

Smith,

Roland

Peak

2007

A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the

youngest person to reach the top of Mount

Everest.

YA Fic

Smith

Woodson,

Jacqueline

Brown Girl

Dreaming

2014

Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest

writers, tells the moving story of her childhood

in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina

and New York, Woodson always felt halfway

home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares

what it was like to grow up as an African

American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the

remnants of Jim Crow and her growing

awareness of the Civil Rights movement.

Touching and powerful, each poem is both

accessible and emotionally charged, each line a

glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her

place in the world.

J Bio

Woodson


Prince William County Public Schools Summer Reading 2015

Documentation Grades 6-8

Students in Grades 6-8 who read a minimum of two books will receive an extra “A” (100) for each book completed, for a total of two. Please include the name of the author, the title of the book, publishing information, and an explanation of the general topic or plot of the book along with a parent or guardian signature stating that the student has completed the reading. Completion of the summer reading will be recorded for students by the end of the second week of school. The format to use in recording the bibliographic information includes the name of the author, the title of the book, the location and name of the publisher, and date of publication. Example:

Christopher, Matt. Great Moments in the Summer Olympics. New York: Brown and Co.,

2012. Print.


**Please note students may also participate in the Prince William County Public Library Summer Quest Program, and the Public Library documentation will apply.

Summer Reading Documentation Form Grades 6-8

Use this form for EACH title you read.

Student Name:

Bibliographic Information Sample: Using MLA format (author’s last name, first name. Title. City of publication: Publishing Company, date. Medium of Publication.) Example: Christopher, Matt. Great Moments in the Summer Olympics. New York: Brown and Co., 2012. Print.

Bibliographic Information:

Explanation of the general topic or plot of book:

Parent or Guardian Signature Date

Documents

Fourth Grade Summer Reading Program...Page 2 of 24 Revised 04/2015 PWCS Sixth Grade Summer Reading Program Suggested Reading The following titles are suggestions for summer reading