Middle School Summer Reading 2012

Seventh Grade Summer Reading 2012

During the summer, Seventh Graders are required to read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi and two choices from the list to the right. For The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle,you are going to write three diary entries which trace the main character's change from a pampered and naive thirteen-year-old to an independent young woman who defies society's stereotype of how a young woman should act. Each entry, about half of a page in length, should use the first person narrative point of view. The entry will be written as if Charlotte is writing it herself. The first entry will show how she feels about Captain Jaggery, Zachariah, and the rest of the crew. Indicate her attitude about being the only female on board and a person of class among the lowly crew. The second will reveal the events and people who bring about the change in Charlotte's attitude. The last will cover her feelings about the events and people toward the end of the story and the startling end of the story. Remember to talk about the details of the story, but the entries should include Charlotte's feelings. They are not summaries. Entries should be typed and double-spaced. The whole thing should be about a page and a half in length. If you read this novel early in the summer, please review it before school begins as there will be a quiz on comprehension and activities centered around the story to start off the year.

Eighth Grade Summer Reading 2012

During the summer, Eighth Graders are required to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and two other books chosen from the list below. For The Hunger Games, you can choose from one of the following for your reading response. Each of the responses should be typed and double-spaced. The entire response should be about two pages in length.


1.  Write a character sketch of Katniss. What is she like as a person? Choose two or three attributes and develop each of these in a well-developed paragraph that includes analysis supported by specific details and well-chosen short quotations. Conclude with your personal feelings about Katniss.


2. Discuss the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. Peeta's feelings for Katniss are quite obvious, but Katniss's feelings for him are much more complicated. Explore this relationship in depth. Of course, you will have to include Gale in your discussion.


3.  Why does the government in the Capitol have the Hunger Games? What do the games reveal about the controlling society's attitude toward the people in the districts, particularly the children?

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Required Reading

Choice of two of the following:

  • Alcott, Little Women; Eight Cousins
  • Anderson, Speak
  • Armstrong, Sounder
  • Barry et al., Peter and the Starcatchers
  • Bloor, Tangerine
  • Burch, They Cage the Animals at Night
  • Bray, A Great and Terrible Beauty
  • Bruchac, The Winter People
  • Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
  • Cather, My Antonia
  • Christie, And Then There Were None
  • Cleaver, Where the Lillies Bloom
  • Colfer, Artemis Fowl
  • Collier and Collier, With Every Drop of Blood; Jump Ship to Freedom; War Comes to Willy Freeman
  • Collodi, Pinocchio
  • Cooper, King of Shadows
  • Cormier, The Chocolate War
  • Creech, Walk Two Moons
  • Crutcher, Whale Talk
  • Dickens, A Christmas Carol
  • Eliot, Silas Marner
  • Fleischman, Whirligig
  • Funke, Inkheart; Inkspell
  • Funke and Burmingham, The Thief Lord
  • Gaiman, Coraline
  • Hesse, Out of the Dust
  • Howe, The Misfits
  • Johnson, The Key to the Golden Firebird
  • Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees
  • Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare
  • L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
  • London, The Call of the Wild
  • Maguire, Son of a Witch
  • Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
  • Myers, Monster
  • Paterson, Lyddie; Bridge to Terabithia
  • Paolini, Eragon; Eldest
  • Pullman, The Golden Compass
  • Rawlings, The Yearling
  • Riordan, The Lightening Thief
  • Sage and Zug, Magyk
  • Shute, On the Beach
  • Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  • Spinelli, Stargirl; Loser
  • Sone, Nisei Daughter
  • Speare, The Witch of Blackbird Pond
  • Steinbeck, The Pearl; Grapes of Wrath
  • Stevenson, Kidnapped; Treasure Island
  • Sykes, The Seven Daughters of Eve
  • Tolan, Surviving the Applewhites
  • Tolkien, Lord of the Rings
  • Trueman, Stuck in Neutral
  • Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court; The Prince and the Pauper; Tom Sawyer
  • Wharton, Ethan Frome
  • Yep, Dragonwings
  • Voigt, Homecoming; Izzy-Willy Nily
  • Yolen, The Devil’s Arithmetic
  • Westerfeld, Uglies
NONFICTION
  • Bruchac, Joseph. Bowman’s Store: A Journey to Myself (memoir)
  • Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. The Body Project (history)
  • Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl (diary)
  • Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher.  A Midwife’s Tale  (history)
  • Strauch, Barbara. The Primal Teen (science)
  • Schlosser, Chew on This (science)
Especially for Eighth Graders

(sequels and other books related to 7th grade curriculum)

  • Collier and Collier, My Brother Sam is Dead
  • Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
  • Taylor, Let the Circle Be Unbroken; The Land
  • Zindel, The Pigman’s Legacy