2014 jared eliot middle school grades 6-8

Clinton Public Schools Clinton, CT

L

2014

Jared Eliot Middle School

Grades 6-8

Jared Eliot Middle School

Summer Reading 2014

Table of Contents

Summer Reading Instructions ................................................................................................ 1

Fiction/Historical ................................................................................................................... 1

Fiction/Fantasy ....................................................................................................................... 1

Fiction/Modern ................................................................................................................... 1-2

Fiction/Science ....................................................................................................................... 2

Fiction/Sports ......................................................................................................................... 2

Story Collection ..................................................................................................................... 2

Terrific Nonfiction ............................................................................................................. 2-3

Biography ............................................................................................................................... 3

Poetry ..................................................................................................................................... 3

Humorous Books ................................................................................................................ 3-4

Grade 6 Book Chat List.......................................................................................................... 5



Book Chat Notes .................................................................................................................... 8

Book Chat Questions ............................................................................................................. 9

Summer Reading Questions ........................................................................................... 10-13

Jared Eliot Middle School Summer Reading List 2014 Page | 1

Grades 6-8

Students entering Grades 6, 7, and 8 in

the fall are required to read a minimum

of three books. They must complete

two written assignments (attached)

and be prepared to take part in a Book

Chat on the third book. The following

roster of books is a suggested reading

list from which the students in grades 6,

7 and 8 may choose two books.

However, the third book for the Book

Chat must be selected from the Book

Chat list on pages 5-7. The asterisk (*)

and grade number next to some of the

books also indicate Book Chat

selections. All students must give

their assignments to their homeroom

teacher no later than Friday,

September 5, 2014. These two

assignments and the Book Chat will

be averaged and included as one of the

major grades of the first marking period

in English.

FICTION - HISTORICAL

Crossley-Holland, Kevin

At the Crossing Places

Erdich, Louise

The Birbarck House

Hobbs, Will

Jason’s Gold

Hoh, Diane

Titanic, The Long Night

Houston, Jeanne and James

Farewell to Manzanar

Hughes, Dean

Soldier Boys

Lowry, Lois

Number the Stars

Meyer, Carolyn

Beware, Princess Elizabeth

Myers, Walt Dean

Fallen Angels

Murphy, Jim

Across America on an Emigrant

Train

O’Dell, Scott

Sarah Bishop

Paulsen, Gary

Nightjohn

Rinaldi, Ann

The Last Silk Dress

The Journal of Jasper Jonathan

Pierce

Taylor, Mildred D.

The Land

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Yep, Lawrence

The Star Fisher

Yolen, Jane

(*8) The Devil’s Arithmetic

FICTION - FANTASY

Alexander, Lloyd

The Iron Ring

Cooper, Susan

The Dark is Rising

Jacquest, Brian

Pearls of Lutra

Juster, Norman

The Phantom Tollbooth

Levin, Gail C.

Ella Enchanted

L’Engle, Madeleine

A Wrinkle in Time

McKinley, Robin

The Hero and the Crown

Pierce, Tamora

The First Adventure

Rowling, J.K.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of

Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Chamber

of Secrets (other Harry Potter

titles)

Tolkien, J.R.R.

The Silmarillion

Wrede, Patricia

Dealing with Dragons

FICTION – MODERN

Avi

A Place Called Ugly

Something Upstairs

The Man Who Was Poe

The Confessions of Charlotte

Doyle

Bauer, Joan

Stand Tall

Bloor, Edward

Tangerine

Blume, Judy

Tiger Eyes

It’s Not the End of the World

Bodeen, S.A.

(*8) The Raft

Bunting, Eve

Blackwater

Card, Orson Scott

(*7) Ender’s Game

Christie, Agatha

And Then There Were None

Cooney, Caroline

(*8) Code Orange

Face on the Milk Carton

(*6) If the Witness Lied

Curtis, Christopher Paul

Bud, Not Buddy

The Watsons Go to Birmingham

Danzinger, Paula

The Pistachio Prescription

Earth to Matthew

(*7) The Cat Ate My Gym Suit

Duncan, Lois

Don’t Look Behind You

Fitzhugh, Louise

Harriet the Spy

Fletcher, Susan

Shadow Spinner

Funke, Cornilia

The Thief Lord

Hiaasen, Carl

(8) Hoot

Hinton, S.E.

Tex

(*7) The Outsiders

Hobbs, Will

Far North

Ghost Canoe

Horowitz, Anthony

(*7) Scorpia

Hunt, Lynda Mullaley

(*6) One for the Murphys

London, Jack

Call of the Wild

Mass, Wendy

(*6) Jeremy Fink and the

Meaning of Life

Maynard, Joyce

The Usual Rules

McDonald, Joyce

Swallowing Stones

Montgomery, L.M.

Anne of Green Gables

Mulligan, Andy

(*8) Trash

Myers, Walter Dean

Monster

O’Brien, Robert

Z for Zachariah

Paulsen, Gary

Mr. Tucket

The Foxman

Hatchet

The Crossing

Peck, Richard

Voices After Midnight

Philbrick, Rodman

Max, the Mighty


Rodgers, Mary

Freaky Friday

Rylant, Cynthia

Missing May

Sachar, Louis

Holes

Sheldon, Dyan

Planet Janet

Confessions of a Teenage Drama

Queen

Shusterman, Neal

(*7) Bruiser

Smith, Roland

Peak

Sonnenblick, Jordan

(*8) After Ever After

(*8) Curveball: The Year I Lost

My Grip

(*8) Notes from the Midnight

Driver

(*7) Zen and the Art of Faking It

Spinelli, Jerry

(*6) Maniac Magee

(*6) Who Put the Hair in My

Toothbrush?

Steinbeck, John

The Pearl

Stevenson, Robert Louis

Treasure Island

Taylor, Theodore

(*6) The Cay

Tomey, Ingrid

Nobody Else Has to Know

Twain, Mark

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Ullman, James Ramsey

Banner in the Sky

Van Draanen, Wendelin

(*7) The Running Dream

Voight, Cynthia

Solitary Blue

Zindel, Paul

Pardon Me, You’re Stepping on

My Eyeball

The Pigman

FICTION – SCIENCE

Adams, Douglas

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the

Galaxy

Bradbury, Ray

The Martian Chronicles

Clements, Andrew

Things Not Seen

Farmer, Nancy

House of the Scorpion

Levitin, Sonia

The Cure

Pfeffer, Beth

(*8) Life as We Knew It

Wells, H.G.

The Invisible Man

FICTION - SPORTS

Avi

(*6) S.O.R. Losers

Brooks, Bruce

The Move Makes the Man

Christopher, Matt

Undercover Tailback

Mountain Bike Mania

Dueker, Carl

High Heat

Dygard, Thomas

Soccer Duel

Gutman, Dan

Shoeless Joe and Me

Mickey and Me

Honus and Me

Hughes, Dean

End of the Race

Lupica, Mike

(*7) Batboy

Myers, Walter Dean

Hoops

Ritter, John

(*6) The Boy Who Saved Baseball

Choosing Up Sides

Spinelli, Jerry

There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock

STORY COLLECTIONS

Bradbury, Ray

The Illustrated Man

Carlson, Lori M.

Where Angels Glide at Dawn:

New Stories from Latin America

Cart, Michael

Tomorrowland

Gallo, Donald R.

Connections

Gifaldi, David

Rearranging and other stories

Grey, Zane

The Redheaded Outfield and Other

Baseball Stories

Greenberg, Martin & Charles

Waugh

The Highest Hit and Other

Selections by Newberry Authors

Hearne, Betsy

The Canine Connection

O’Mara, Lesley

Best Cat Stories

Soto, Gary

Baseball in April and Other

Stories

Local News

Thomas, Joyce Carol

A Gathering of Flowers

Yolen, Jane

Here There Be Ghosts

TERRIFIC NONFICTION

Armstrong, Jennifer

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the

World: The Extraordinary True

Story of Shackleton and the

Endurance

Beals, Melba Pattillo

Warriors Don’t Cry

Bradley, James and Ron Powers

Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of

Iwo Jima

Capuzzo, Michael

Close to Shore: The Terrifying

Shark Attacks of 1916

Collins, Michael

Flying to the Moon: An

Astronaut’s Story

Crowe, Chris

Getting Away with Murder: The

True Story of the Emmett Till

Case

Crutcher, Chris

King of the Mild Frontier

Drez, Ronald

Remember D-Day

Gantos, Jack

Hole in My Life

Gilbert, Thomas

Baseball at War

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan

Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an

Artist

Hart, Christopher

Drawing on the Funny Side of the

Brain: How to Come up with

Jokes for Cartoons and Comic

Strips


Jackson, Donna

Bone Detectives: How Forensic

Anthropologists Solve Crimes and

Uncover Mysteries of the Dead

Jukes, Mavis

The Guy Book: An Owner’s

Manual

Kuklin, Susan

Trial: The Inside Story

MacDonald, Andy

Dropping in with Andy Mac: Life

of a Pro Skateboarder

Mallory, Kenneth

Swimming with Hammerhead

Sharks

Mortenson, Greg

Three Cups of Tea

An American Plague: The True

and Terrifying Story of the Yellow

Fever Epidemic of 1793

Myers, Walter Dean

Bad Boy: A Memoir

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali

Nelson, Pete

Left for Dead: A Young Man’s

Search for Justice for the USS

Indianapolis

O’Grady, Captain Scott with

Michael French

Basher Five-Two: The True Story

of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain

Scott O’Grady

Paulsen, Gary

How Angel Peterson Got His

Name and Other Outrageous

Tales about Extreme Sports

BIOGRAPHY

Clearly, Beverly

My Own Two Feet

Cox, Clinton

Houdini

Dash, Joan

The World at Her Fingertips

Herriot, James

All Creatures Great and Small

Johnson, Rheta Grimsley

Good Grief: The Story of Charles

M. Schultz

O’Grady, Captain Scott

Basher Five-Two

Parks, Rose

My Story

Paulsen, Gary

Caught by the Sea

Guts

Rabinovici, Schoschana

Thanks to My Mother

Sproule, Anna

The Wright Brothers

Stine, R.L.

It Came From Ohio! My Life as a

Writer

Uchida Toshiko

Invisible Thread

POETRY

Ciurau, Carmela

Poems for America

Elledge, Scott

Wider Than the Sky: Poems to

Grow Up With

Fleischman, Paul

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two

Voices

Horvath, Brooke and Time Wiles

Line Drives

Livingston, Myra C.

Call Down the Moon: Poems of

Music

Sidman, Joyce

World According to Dog: Poems

and Teen Voices

Soto, Gary

Neighborhood Odes

Testa, Maria

Becoming Joe DiMaggio

HUMOROUS BOOKS

Bauer, Joan

Squashed

Thwonk

Brashares, Ann

The Sisterhood of the Traveling

Pants

Cabot, Meg

All-American Girl

The Princess Diaries

Clarke, Judith

The Heroic Life of Al Capsella

Cresswell, Helen

Ordinary Jack

Cushman, Karen

Catherine, Called Birdy

Danziger, Paula

Can You Sue Your Parents for

Malpractice? A Novel

Fleischman, Paul

A Fate Totally Worse Than Death

Goldman, E.M.

Getting Lincoln’s Goat: An Elliot

Armbruster Mystery

Hiaasen, Carl

Hoot

Horvath, Polly

The Canning Season

Everything on a Waffle

Howe, James

Misfits

Howe, Norma

Blue Avenger Cracks the Code

Jennings, Richard W.

The Great White Whale of Kansas

Jones, Diana Wynne

Dark Lord of Derkholm

Howl’s Moving Castle

Kindl, Patrice

Goose Chase

Koertge, Ronald

The Arizona Kid

Confess-O-Rama

Korman, Gordon

No More Dead Dogs

Levine, Gail

The Wish

Lipsyte, Robert

The Chemo Kid

Lubar, David

Wizards of the Game

Lynch, Chris

Slot Machine

McKay, Hilary

Saffy’s Angel

Morris, Gerald

The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds

The Grooming of Alice

Osa, Nancy

Cuba 15


Paulsen, Gary

Harris and Me: A Summer

Remembered

How Angel Peterson Got His

Name and Other Outrageous

Tales About Extreme Sports

Peck, Richard

Fair Weather

The Ghost Belonged to Me: A

Novel

A Year Down Yonder

Pinkwater, Daniel Manus

The Snarkout Boys & the Avocado

of Death

Pinkwater, Jill

Buffalo Brenda

Pratchett, Terry

The Wee Free Men: A Story of

Discworld

Rennison, Louise

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal

Snogging: Confessions of Georgia

Nicolson

Rice, David

Crazy Loco

Shusterman, Neal

The Schwa Was Here

Sleater, William

Oddballs

Soto, Gary

Fearless Fernie: Hanging out with

Fernie and Me


Flipped

Vande Velde, Vivian

Heir Apparent

Never Trust a Dead Man

Voigt, Cynthia

Bad Girls in Love

Young, Karen Romano

The Beetle and Me: A Love Story

Please be sure to complete the attached Jared Eliot Middle School “Summer

Reading Questions” after you have read two of the three books. You may use

the “Book Chat Notes” form to take notes on your third book which will help

you discuss the book during the book chat.

If additional copies of the forms are needed, you may either copy

them or use the same format on your own paper.


Grade 6

Students entering Grades 6 must select one of their three book choices from the following list.

Students should take some notes on their selection so that they will be prepared to discuss the book

with a teacher in a small group in the fall.

The book chat will be counted as part of an English grade in the first marking period.

Avi

S.O.R. Losers

South Orange River (S.O.R.) School is famous

for its teams and athletes until the dedicated

non-jocks of the special seventh grade soccer

team make a new kind of sports history. A very

funny sports saga.

Cooney, Caroline

If the Witness Lied

First Jack Fountain’s mother dies of cancer after

postponing treatment so her baby, Tris, could be

born. Then his father is run over after two year

old Tris accidentally moves the parking brake.

When their evil aunt comes to take care of the

family, she sells the Fountains’ tragic story as a

reality TV show. Every chapter is narrated

alternately by each sibling and ends with

suspense.

Hunt, Lynda Mullaley

One for the Murphys

Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her

emotional walls high and thick. But the day she

becomes a foster child, and moves in with the

Murphys, she’s blindsided. This loving family

shows Carley the stable family life she never

thought existed. Despite her resistance, the

Murphys eventually show her what it feels like

to belong—until her mother wants her back.

Mass, Wendy

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Just before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink

receives a keyless locked box—set aside by his

father before his death five years earlier—that

purportedly contains the meaning of life.

Ritter, John

The Boy Who Saved Baseball

The story of a boy named Tom who loves

baseball and has to win a game to save the

baseball field from being destroyed. The story is

funny and delightful.

Spinelli, Jerry

Maniac Magee

The class award winning story of a twelve-year-

old boy who finds himself when he escapes an

unbearable situation. When Jeffrey Lionel

Magee wanders into Two Mills, Pennsylvania,

the stories begin to circulate about how fast and

how far he can run, and how he scores forty-nine

touchdowns when he plays football with the

high school team. The story is told with

exaggeration, humor, and melodrama.

Spinelli, Jerry

Who Put the Hair in My Toothbrush?

It’s all out war between brother and sister who

do everything to sabotage each other.

Taylor, Theodore

The Cay

All his life Phillip had looked down upon black-

skinned people. Now, suddenly, he was a

refugee from a fatal shipwreck, and dependent

on an extraordinary West Indian named Timothy.

There were just the two of them cast up on the

barren little Carribbean island, and a crack on

the head left Phillip blind. An exciting moving

adventure story tells of their struggle for survival.


Grade 7


Students should take some notes on their selection so that they will be prepared to discuss the book with a

teacher in a small group in the fall.


Card, Orson Scott

Ender’s Game

Enders’s skills make him a leader in school and

respected in the Battle Room, where children

play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet

growing up in an artificial community of young

soldiers, Ender suffers from isolation, rivalry

from his peers, pressure from adult teachers,

and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His

psychological battles include loneliness, fear of

becoming like his brother, and fanning the

flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Danzigar, Paula

The Cat Ate My Gym Suit

Marcy hates school until Ms. Finney comes

along, an English teacher with innovative

methods. When Ms. Finney gets suspended,

Marcy organizes a student protest on her behalf.

Hinton, S.E.

The Outsiders

Since his parents’ deaths, Ponyboy’s loyalty has

been to his brothers and his gang. However,

when his best friend kills a member of a rival

gang, Ponyboy finds himself caught up in a

nightmare of violence.

Horowitz, Anthony

Scorpia

Alex Rider, teen spy, has always been told he is

the spitting image of the father he never knew.

But when he learns that his father may have

been an assassin for the most lethal and

powerful organization in the world, Scorpia,

Alex’s world shatters. Now Scorpia wants him

on their side. Alex no longer has the strength to

fight them until he learns of Scorpia’s latest

terrorist plot. Can Alex prevent the slaughter, or

will Scorpia prove once and for all that the terror

will not be stopped?

Lupica, Mike

Batboy

Brian Dudley grew up around baseball. His dad,

Cole, was a major league pitcher, and they had

season tickets for the Detroit Tigers games.

Even though Cole walked out on Brian and his

mom, Brian still loves baseball and lands a job

as a batboy for the Tigers. He is put in the line

of action.

Shusterman, Neal

Bruiser

There’s a reason why Brewster can’t have

friends-why he can’t care about too many people.

Because when he cares about you, things start to

happen. Impossible things that can’t be

explained. I know, because they’re happening to

me.

Sonnenblick, Jordan

Zen and the Art of Faking It

With a father in jail and a mother trying hard to

keep her family together, San Lee’s home life is

anything but Zen. He’s entering yet another new

school as an outside eighth grader—and moving

from big town Houston to small-town

Pennsylvania isn’t exactly his idea of fun. He

becomes an unlikely school hero, the local Zen

Master.


The Running Dream

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a

leg in a car accident. She’s not comforted by the

news that she’ll be able to walk with the help of

a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when

you live to run?


Grade 8


Students should take some notes on their selection so that they will be prepared to discuss the book with a

teacher in a small group in the fall.


Bodeen, S.A.

The Raft

Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken

the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a

group of Pacific islands where her parents live,

many times. When she has to get to Midway in a

hurry, she gets on the next cargo flight. All

systems are go until a storm hits during the

flight. Robie doesn’t panic until the engine

suddenly cuts out, and she finds herself on a raft

in the middle of the Pacific Ocean fighting for

her life.

Cooney, Caroline

Code Orange

Mitty has always loved New York City and felt

safe there, even after 9/11. When he is doing

research for his Biology class, he stumbles upon

a dangerous and deadly virus. Could he be

infected? Terrorists kidnap Mitty to use him as

a biological weapon; he must find a way to

protect himself and the people in the city he

loves.

Mulligan, Andy

Trash

One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds

something very special and very mysterious. So

mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when

the city police offer a handsome reward for its

return. That decision brings with it terrifying

consequences.

Pfeffer, Beth

Life as We Knew It

The moon’s orbital path is slightly changed after

a giant meteor crashes into it. The moon is now

closer to Earth, and it is creating many climactic

changes and problems like earthquakes,

tsunamis, volcanic eruptions etc. Miranda

writes in her journal how this is affecting her

family and everyone around her.

Sonnenblick, Jordan

After Ever After

This is a sequel to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous

Pie. Jeffrey isn’t a little boy with cancer anymore.

He’s a teen who’s in remission, but life still feels

fragile. The after effects of treatment have left

Jeffrey with an inability to be a great student or to

walk without limping. Jeffrey has to learn how to

deal with his challenges.

Sonnenblick, Jordan

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip

Meet Peter Friedman, high school freshman,

talented photographer, former baseball star.

When a freakish injury ends his pitching career,

Peter has some major things to figure out. Is

there life after sports?

Sonnenblick, Jordan

Notes from the Midnight Driver

One measly little car crash. And suddenly I’m

some kind of convicted felon. My parents are

getting divorced, I might be in love with a girl

who could kill me with one finger, and now I’m

sentenced to baby-sit some insane old guy. What

else could possibly go wrong?

Yolen, Jane

The Devil’s Arithmetic

Hannah is tired of hearing about the Nazis

during the Holocaust, but when she opens the

door for Elijah at the Passover Seder, she is

transported in time to 1940’s Poland where she

is captured and put in a death camp.

Jared Eliot Middle School Summer Reading – Book Chat Notes Page | 8

Book Chat Notes

Please jot down notes on your book that will help you during the book chat. These notes should include

characters, setting (time and place), problem, events, solution to the problem, conclusion. Please review the

book chat question sheet (attached).

Jared Eliot Middle School Summer Reading – Book Chat Questions Page | 9

Book Chat Questions

1. Did you like the book? Why or why not? Give an example of something that happens in the book to

illustrate your point.

2. Who was your favorite or least favorite character? What was he/she like? Give an example from the

book that shows one of his/her traits.

3. What was a conflict in the story? How was it resolved? What did this show about the character

involved?

4. How was friendship shown in the book? Talk about the relationship, whether friendly or not, between

any two people in the book.

5. What was the author’s purpose in writing this book? What message was he/she trying to tell us.

6. Who would you recommend this book to? Why?

7. What was the setting (time and place)? Was it important to the story? Could this story have happened

anywhere and/or anytime?

8. Describe the conclusion of the story. Were all conflicts resolved? Did the story have a satisfying

ending? Suggest a different type of ending.

9. What is the significance of the book title? Suggest another title.

Jared Eliot Middle School Summer Reading – Summer Reading Questions Page | 10

Summer Reading Questions

Name of Student:__________________________________________Date: ___________________________

Title of Book Read: ________________________________________________________________________

Author: __________________________________________________________________________________

Check One: Fiction Nonfiction

Answer all 5 questions. Write a neat 5-7 sentence paragraph for each.

FORMING A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING:

20 PTS. 1. What important lesson does the main character learn in the story? Use examples in the story

to support your answer:

20 PTS. 2. State the main problem and explain how it was resolved giving specific details or information

from the text to support your answer:


MAKING READER/TEXT CONNECTIONS

20 PTS. 3. Make a connection to a similar situation or event in your school, in the world, or from another

text. Elaborate with details and examples:

EXAMINING THE CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

20 PTS. 4. Think about the way the book ended and write what you think could happen next. Use

information from the text to support your answer:

DEVELOPING INTERPRETATION

20 PTS. 5. What is the author’s purpose for writing this story? Support your answer with details from

the text:


Summer Reading Questions

Name of Student:__________________________________________Date: ___________________________

Title of Book Read: ________________________________________________________________________

Author: __________________________________________________________________________________

Check One: Fiction Nonfiction

Answer all 5 questions. Write a neat 5-7 sentence paragraph for each.

FORMING A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING:

20 PTS. 1. What important lesson does the main character learn in the story? Use examples in the story

to support your answer:

20 PTS. 2. State the main problem and explain how it was resolved giving specific details or information

from the text to support your answer:


MAKING READER/TEXT CONNECTIONS

20 PTS. 3. Make a connection to a similar situation or event in your school, in the world, or from another

text. Elaborate with details and examples:

EXAMINING THE CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

20 PTS. 4. Think about the way the book ended and write what you think could happen next. Use

information from the text to support your answer:

DEVELOPING INTERPRETATION

20 PTS. 5. What is the author’s purpose for writing this story? Support your answer with details from

the text:

2014 jared eliot middle school grades 6-8

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