Middle School SummerReads

The Pike School

Summer 2014

“Mythical Beast” Charlie Domina Class of 2023

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Dear Middle School Families, Recommending a good book is like sharing a nugget of gold with a friend. The titles Fran Mellin and Linda Spence have compiled make SummerReads a treasure chest. The variety of genres and reading levels ensure that everyone will find some gems. All children entering grades 3, 4, and 5 should read at least four books this summer . SummerReads is provided as a resource to help children choose books. The titles don’t have to come from this list—SummerReads is simply a resource for those wanting suggestions. Our goal for summer reading is much more than assigning homework or keeping skills honed. Our intent is to help children learn to love reading. Choosing engaging books sets them on their way. You can help your children deepen their passion for reading by:

• carving out daily reading time • reading with your children • talking about books everyone is reading.

I can’t wait to get started on my list. Have a wonderful, book-filled summer. Bo Baird

SummerReads is compiled by Pike librarians Mrs. Mellin and Ms. Spence.

The “New and Recommended” section now includes award-winning books in many categories. For more information about the American Library

Association’s Youth Media Awards, visit www.ala.org.

This list and other reading links available online at www.pikeschool.org/home/library.

NEW – SUMMER FAMILY CHECK - OUT NOW AVAILABLE!!

Another way to keep reading this summer! Visit the library with your child(ren) during our summer check-out mornings of June 25th and August 6th.

Full details on the library web site.

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New and Recommended

The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas Almond Adventure

For Roald Dahl fans! Stanley, a mild-mannered orphan, runs away to join a traveling carnival and meets the amazing Pancho Pirelli. Can he survive the piranha tank?

Doll Bones Black Adventure Zach, Poppy, and Alice embark on a crazy quest to return a bone china doll. Part ghost story, part mystery, part friendship story…and all amazing! A 2014 Newbery Honor Book.

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant ’s Tale Tonatiuh Adventure When his father fails to return from El Norte, Pancho must journey across a treacherous landscape to find him. A Pura Belpré Honor Book.

Flora and Ulysses: The Il luminated Adventures DiCamillo Fantasy When Flora rescues a poor squirrel who has been run over by a vacuum cleaner, she is excited to have a new friend. There’s only one problem: Flora’s mother! Winner of the 2014 Newbery Award.

Handbook for Dragon Slayers Haskell Fantasy For Harry Potter fans! Princess Matilda and her friends decide to write a how-to book for battling dragons, but their quest proves surprisingly dangerous. Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award (Middle School).

City of Death (City Trilogy , vol . 3) Yep Fantasy Scirye and her allies return to the Kushan Empire in hopes of defeating their nemesis, Mr. Roland, and save the world in this adventure set in an alternate 1941.

Mister Orange Matti Historical Linus is in charge of delivering groceries from his family’s store, now that his brother has left their New York City home to fight in World War II. Will Albie return home safely? The 2014 Batchelder Award Winner.

P .S . Be Eleven Williams-Garcia Historical It’s 1968, and Delphine is getting used to Pa’s new girl friend, as she also tries to understand why her uncle is different after returning from the Vietnam War. Winner of the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award. The Legend of Diamond Lil: A J .J . Tully Mystery Cronin Humor The spunky search-and-rescue dog from The Trouble with Chickens is back! This time, there’s a possum to catch and a new dog with a mysterious past.

The 13-Story Treehouse Griffiths Humor For Captain Underpants fans! Incredible adventures await as you visit Andy and Terry’s most unusual treehouse, complete with bowling alley and flying cats!

The Windy City (I .Q . Book Five) Smith Mystery Chicago is in danger from the terrifying Ghost Cell. Angela and her brother Q must race to find the spy responsible for leaking information before it’s too late.

Look Up! Bird Watching in Your Own Backyard Cate Non-fiction Bring this guidebook outside and get to know birds up close! A 2014 Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor book.

Locomotive Floca Non-fiction This unique picture book shows a family’s journey west on the newly-built transcontinental railroad. Winner of the 2014 Caldecott Medal.

Words With Wings Grimes Realistic Gabby is lonely after moving to a new school and begins writing poetry to make sense of her daydreams. A 2014 Coretta Scott King (Author) Honor book.

Game Changers Lupica Realistic Ben has all the skills to be a great quarterback for his Pop Warner team. The only problem is that the coach’s son has the spot. Will he get a chance to show what he can do?

The Best Kept Secret (Family Tree series , #3) Martin Realistic Francie, an only child, struggles with reading and writing but is determined to succeed.

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Fiction

Classics The Wizard of Oz Baum Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Dahl Half Magic Eager The Saturdays Enright Harriet the Spy Fitzhugh Finn Family Moomintroll Jansson The Phantom Tollbooth Juster A Wrinkle in Time L’Engle The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit Lester Pippi Longstocking stories Lindgren Five Children and It Nesbit A Cricket in Times Square Selden The Rescuers Sharp Charlotte's Web White Little House series Wilder

Fantasy The One and Only Ivan (2013 Newbery Medal winner) Applegate The Magic Half Barrows Land of Stories series Colfer Inkheart trilogy Funke Redwall series Jacques The Magickeepers series Kirov Starry River of the Sky Lin 11 Birthdays (2011 Massachusetts Children's Book Award winner) Mass Wildwood Meloy The Kane Chronicles series Riordan Harry Potter series Rowling The Septimus Heap series Sage The Night Fairy Schlitz Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series Scott The Emerald Atlas Stephens Five Ancestors series Stone Breadcrumbs Ursu

Historical Fiction Iron Thunder Avi Bud, Not Buddy Curtis The Birchbark House Erdrich The Year of the Bomb Kidd Inside Out & Back Again Lai Away West McKissack Heart of a Samurai Preus Moon Over Manifest (2011 Newbery Medal winner) Vanderpool

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Humor The Riot Brothers series Amato Origami Yoda series Angleberger Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One Blume Ramona the Pest Cleary Dead End in Norvelt (2012 Newbery Medal winner) Gantos Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading Greenwalt 43 Old Cemetery Road series Klise The Grand Plan to Fix Everything Krishnaswami Platypus Police Squad series Krosocska Gum Girl: Chews Your Destiny Montijo The Hoboken Chicken Emergency Pinkwater Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians series Sanderson My Life as a … series Tashjian Hooey Higgins and the Shark Voake Little Wolf's Book of Badness Whybrow

Mystery and Adventure Chasing Vermeer Balliett The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes series Barrett The Potato Chip Puzzles Berlin The Terces Society series Bosch The Bell Bandit Davies The Invaders Flanagan Chet Gecko mysteries Hale Chomp Hiaasen Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series Jacques Emma and the Rats in the Belfry Jonell From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Konigsburg The Willoughbys Lowry The Candymakers Mass Deadweather and Sunrise Rodkey Capital Mysteries series Roy Riding Freedom Ryan Splendors and Glooms Schlitz Phantom of Blood Alley Stewart/Riddell

Hit the Jackpot at Your Public Library! Make sure you visit your local library this summer, either in person or online. Here is just a sampling of what you can do:

• Enjoy special concerts and activities • Sign up for summer reading programs, sponsored by the Boston Bruins • Borrow book club kits • Download e-books, audio books, and music • Borrow movies

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Realistic Dancing Home Ada The Penderwicks Birdsall Because of Mr. Terupt (2013 Mass. Children’s Book Award winner) Buyea Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series Cabot The Candy Smash Davies Salsa Stories Delacre Operation Redwood French Dyamonde Daniel series Grimes Junonia Henkes The Year of the Dog Lin Marty McGuire Digs Worms! Messner Wonder Palacio Rickshaw Girl Perkins Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet Salisbury Wonderstruck Selznick The Great Wall of Lucy Wu Shang When You Reach Me (2012 Mass. Children’s Book Award winner) (2010 Newbery Medal winner)

Stead

Last Summer With Maizon Woodson Bobby Vs. Girls (Accidentally) Yee

Science Fiction Whales on Stilts! Anderson, M.T. Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies Beaty Space Station Rat Daley City of Ember Duprau Found (2010 Massachusetts Children's Book Award winner) Haddix Seven Wonders series Lerangis Pi in the Sky Mass Galaxy Zack series O’Ryan My Cousin, The Alien Service First Light Stead

Sports Soccer Team Upset Bowen The Warriors Bruchac Long-arm Quarterback Christopher Roberto and Me Gutman Slam Dunk Hirschfeld True Legend Lupica The Ghost of the Stanley Cup (Screech Owl Series) MacGregor The Home-run King McKissack Karate Kick Peters My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard Winkler Good Luck, Ivy Yee

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Graphic Novels , Graphic Non-fiction Knights of the Lunch Table Cammuso Snowboard Standoff Ciencin Stone Rabbit series Craddock Fashion Kitty Harper Zita the Spacegirl Hatke Lunch Lady series Krosoczka Big Fat Little Lit Puffin Books Sidekicks Santat Smile Talgemeier Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders Townsend Robot Dreams Varon

Non-Fiction Inside Dinosaurs Abramson Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table Briggs The Ultimate Guide to Football Buckley Mummies (National Geographic Science Reader) Carney A Black Hole is Not a Hole DeChristofano The Story of Buildings: From the Pyramids to the Sydney

Opera House and Beyond Dillon

Top Secret: A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing Janeczko Stink-o-pedia, Volume 2: More Stink-y Stuff from A to Z MacDonald Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds McCallum Treasury of Egyptian Mythology Napoli Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans Nelson Dog Heroes (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker) Osborne Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to Creativity Peot Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry Prelutsky Comic Strips: Create Your Own Comic Strips From Start to

Finish Roche

Parrots Over Puerto Rico Roth Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories about

Growing Up Scieszka Scieszka

Extraordinary Endangered Animals Silhol The Everything Kids’ Astronomy Book Wagner No Rouz: Our Persian New Year Zameen

Recommended by Book Squad Students! This year, the Middle School Book Squad participated in the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award program, reading nominated titles and voting for their favorites along with students across the state. Students also wrote book reviews for the Pike library catalog. Here are some short snippets – visit the Pike Library catalog online and search for the book title to read the students’ full reviews. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes , Auxier Izzy T . This book is about a blind orphan boy who grows up as a thief. It brings you to other lands, and you always want to know what happens next. Read this book if you like other worlds, magic, big realizations or conclusions at the end of books. World Cup , Christopher Braden T . This book is about the history of the World Cup. I liked all the photos. Read this book if you like soccer and nonfiction. The Lost Children , Cogahan Sophie G . This book is about a girl who discovers that her old shed is a time machine and goes on an adventure to another time. I liked this book because it was an easy book to connect to, and was a very detailed and powerful book. The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet , Dionne Caroline S . I recommend this book to kids who like some comedy, and some tragedy, and a bunch of other things. Kids who sometimes feel like they don't fit in with their friends will especially enjoy this book. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Out of My Mind , Draper Kendall M . The 2014 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award Winner! This book is about a girl named Melody with disabilities who is trying to fit in with the world. I liked this book because it was a really touching story that makes you look at your life in a different way. Small as an Elephant , Jacobson Izzy T . Jack and his mother go on a camping trip, but when Jack wakes up the next morning, his mother is not there. What will happen to him as he makes his way through Maine while the police are searching for him? A great story - keeps you up at night to read! Hero , Lupica Pratik A . Zach's father has died in a mysterious plane crash, and Zach inherits super powers from him. Full of suspense and a surprise ending! Read this book if you like: super heroes, fantasy, humor, action, and just a great book! The Unwanteds , McMann This book is really really interesting. If you like Harry Potter or The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel you will love this book! Max F . A mind-blowing fantasy adventure! Thomas O . The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus , Book 1), Riordan A 2014 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award Honor Book! I recommend this book for people who like fantasy and humor. Kayla L . It was funny! Read this book if you like Greek mythology. Alex S . I liked this book - it has a lot of action and is very interesting. Ethan W . My favorite character is Leo because he has a golden tool belt. Kevin L . Jake & Lily , Spinelli Lyla G . A 2014 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award Honor Book! Jake and Lily are twins. But when Jake finds new friends, Lily's whole world is turned upside down. I liked this book because Jake and Lily switch off telling the story and they each tell it from different points of view.