Hong Kong International SchoolIncoming Grade 4 Students

Summer Reading

Hong Kong International SchoolIncoming Grade 4 Students

Summer Reading

Hong Kong International SchoolIncoming Grade 4 Students

Summer Reading

Hong Kong International SchoolIncoming Grade 4 Students

Summer Reading Almond, David. The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon. Candlewick, 2010. Helped by a very long ladder, some unusual acquaintances, two rather worried parents, a young English boy makes an astonishing discovery when he embarks on a mission to prove that the moon is nothing but a big hole in the sky.

Bergen, Lara. Sophie the Hero. Scholastic, 2010. Third-grader Sophie Miller, having saved Ella from getting hit by a car, gives herself a new name--Sophie the Hero--but soon learns being heroic is not always easy. Series

Cabot, Meg. Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: Stage Fright. Scholastic 2009. Allie's theatrical hopes are crushed when, instead of being cast as the princess, she is given the role of the evil queen in the fourth-grade class play. Series

Coville, Bruce. The Monster's Ring. Harcourt, 2002. Russell Crannaker's magic ring enables him to turn into a monster on Halloween and ward off the class bully once and for all. Series

Creech, Sharon. Hate That Cat. Joanna Cotler, 2008. Jack is studying poetry again in school, and he continues to write poems reflecting his understanding of famous works and how they relate to his life. Sequel to Love That Dog

Demi. Marco Polo. Marshall Cavendish, 2008. Travel with the legendary explorer, Marco Polo, through colorful, exotic lands, experiencing the dangers and adapting to strange cultures over his 24-year, 3,000-mile journey through the Far East.

Franco, Betsy. A Dazzling Display of Dogs: Concrete Poems. Tricycle Press, 2011. A collection of visual poems centered on the strange behaviors of dogs, including descriptions of obedience school, backyard escapes, and indiscriminate appetites.

Friedman, Laurie. Red, White & True Blue Mallory. Carolrhoda Books, 2009. On a class trip to Washington, D.C., Mallory keeps a journal in which she writes about sites she visits, her bothersome loose tooth, the lack of attention from her best friend, Mary Ann, and getting lost in a museum. Series

Glatt, Lisa. Abigail Iris: The One and Only. Walker and Co., 2009. Abigail Iris thinks she would rather be an only child but after going on vacation with her best friend, who is an "Only," she realizes there are benefits of being one of many. Series

Greene, Stephanie. Happy Birthday, Sophie Hartley. Clarion, 2010. Sophie, who is looking forward to her tenth birthday, has many ups and downs growing up in a family with five kids.

Hannigan, Katherine. Emmaline and the Bunny. Greenwillow Books, 2009. Everyone and everything in the town of Neatasapin is tidy, except Emmaline who likes to dig dirt and jump in puddles, and wants to adopt an untidy bunny.

Harper, Charise Mericle. Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu. Houghton Mifflin, 2010. When Grace and her friend, Mimi, babysit for a family renting a house on their street, little Lily likes Grace best, causing Mimi to doubt herself. Series

Krull, Kathleen. Albert Einstein. Viking, 2009. An exploration of the life and times of German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, whose contributions to the field earned his a Nobel Prize.

La Fevers, R. L. Flight of the Phoenix. Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Ten-year-old Nate is sent to live with a family cousin, the world's last beastologist, but danger mounts when he is brought on an expedition to the Arabian desert, gets lost, and must protect a newly hatched phoenix egg and rescue his guardian. Series

Larsen, C. S. Crust & Spray: Gross Stuff in Your Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat. Millbrook, 2010. Prepare to be both grossed out and educated by the wacky descriptions and graphic close up pictures of the fluids and ooze generated by the human body.

Lasky, Kathryn. The Deadlies: Felix Takes the Stage. Scholastic, 2010. Having been discovered, a family of poisonous but friendly brown recluse spiders must flee their cozy home in a symphony hall and go searching for a new place to live.

Lock, Deborah. Grow it, Cook it: Simple Gardening Projects and Delicious Recipes. DK, 2008. Explains how plants grow, looks at the processes of planting and growing different fruits and vegetables, and features instructions for harvesting small crops, and using produce in recipes.

Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything. Atheneum Books, 2006. After Ruby Lu's deaf cousin and her parents come from China to live with her, Ruby finds life challenging as she adjusts to her new family and faces various adventures in summer school.

Lowry, Lois. The Willoughby’s. Houghlin Mifflin, 2008. A tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, in which the four Willoughby children set out to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

MacLachlan, Patricia. Word After Word After Word. Katherine Tegan Books, 2010. A visiting poet, Ms. Mirabel, teaches five friends in grade school about the power of words and writing.

Morris, Gerald. Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great. Houghtin Mifflin, 2008. Sir Lancelot arrives in King Arthur's court and has many grand adventures after becoming the king's bravest and greatest knight. Series

Morse, Scott. Magic Pickle vs. the Egg Poacher. The Magic Pickle, a secret weapon created in a special lab under the floor of Jo Jo Wigman's bedroom, and Jo Jo set out to stop a rotten egg from creating havoc at the zoo. Series

Nimmo, Jenny. The Snow Spider. Orchard Books, 2006. Gifts from Gwyn's grandmother on his ninth birthday open up a whole new world to him, as he discovers he has magical powers that help him heal the breach with his father that has existed ever since his sister's mysterious disappearance four years before. Series

Rodda, Emily. Rowan of Rin. Avon Books, 2004. Because only he can read the magical map, young, weak and timid Rowan joins six other villagers to climb a mountain and try to restore their water supply, as fears of a dragon and other horrors threaten to drive them back. Series

Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Morrow Junior Books, 1998. Humorous episodes from the classroom on the thirtieth floor of Wayside School, which was accidentally built sideways with one classroom on each story.

Santopolo, Jill. Alec Flint Super Sleuth: The Nina, the Pinta, and the Vanishing Treasure. Orchard Books, 2008. Amateur sleuth Alec and his sidekick Gina investigate when the Christopher Columbus exhibit disappears from the museum. Series

Sanvoisin, Eric. Ink Drinker. Delacorte, 1998. In this little French import, a boy who hates reading and is stuck working in his father’s bookstore spies a vampire who sucks ink from old books with a straw. Series

Shlitz, Amy Laura. The Night Fairy. Candlewick. Flory loses her wings after a bat attack and struggles to adapt to life as a day fairy.

Scieszka, Jon. Spaceheadz. Simon & Schuster, 2010. Michael moves to a new school and learns that some of his friends are really aliens who have come to Earth in order to convince millions of kids to be Space Heads. Series

Scott, Elaine. When is a Planet Not a Planet?: The Story of Pluto. Clarion, 2007. Learn about how Pluto was downgraded from planet to dwarf planet and how the number of planets has changed through the centuries.

Service, Pamela F. Alien Expedition. Carolrhoda Books, 2009. Alien agent Zack is on a mission to help rescue alien dinosaurs from another planet who have been taken hostage in Mongolia by the Kiapa Kapa Syndicate. Series

Spinelli, Eileen. The Dancing Pancake. Knopf, 2010. Winkler and her family find their way through tough times with the love and support of the community that grows around their newly opened restaurant, "The Dancing Pancake."

Stauffacher, Sue. Animal Rescue Team: Show Time. Knopf, 2011. Keisha's family's animal rescue center is asked to help at a nearby college that is being overrun with squirrels, while Keisha is trying to deal with her nervousness as she prepares for the regional jump-rope competition. Series

Shiga, Jason. Meanwhile. Abrams/Amulet. Jimmy explores the lab of a mad scientist in this “Choose Your Own Adventure” style graphic novel.

Van Draanen, Wendelin. The Gecko and Sticky: The Power Potion. Knopf, 2011. Thirteen-year-old Dave and Sticky, his kleptomaniac sidekick gecko, try to keep a special potion from falling into the hands of the diabolical Damien Black. Series

Wargin, Kathy Jo. Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize. Sleeping Bear Press, 2009. An illustrated exploration of Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite and how his feelings about how it was used led him to create the Nobel Prizes.

Watts, Claire. The Most Explosive Science Book in the Universe by the Brainwaves. DK, 2009. Presents illustrated fun facts about various topics, such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, light, relativity, motion, scientific method, magnetism, and electricity.

Yee, Lisa. Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally). Arthur A. Levine, 2009. Two long-time best friends' disagreement escalates into a war between the girls and boys of their fourth-grade classrooom. Series