Incoming6th GradeSummer Reading

The required text forall incoming 6th

graders is

What should I read? Freak the Mighty by 

Rodman Philbrick

RequiredReading

Freak the Mighty

This simple yet timeless story explores manythemes, including bullying -- an importanttopic in today's schools. Freak the Mighty is

sure to remain fresh, dramatic, andmemorable for the next twenty years and

beyond!

Ms. Stolzman suggests thefollowing titles

All incoming 6th graders are requiredto read "Freak the Mighty" as well as 1

other book from the book list.

Lost and alone in a forbidden forest, Otto meetsthree mysterious sisters and suddenly findshimself entwined in a puzzling quest involving aprophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decadeslater, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania,and Ivy in California each, in turn, becomeinterwoven when the very same harmonica landsin their lives.

Echo- Pam Munoz Ryan

Gr 4–6—Once a year in the Protectorate there is a Day ofSacrifice. The youngest baby is taken by the Elders and left in

the forest to die, thus appeasing the witch who threatens todestroy the village if not obeyed. Unbeknownst to the people,Xan, the witch of the forest, is kind and compassionate. Whenshe discovers the first baby left as a sacrifice, she has no idea

why it has been abandoned. She rescues the infants, feedseach one starlight, and delivers the shining infants to parents

in the Outside Cities who love and care for them.

The Girl who Drank the Moon

Raised in South Carolina andNew York, Woodson always

felt halfway home in eachplace. In vivid poems, she

shares what it was like to growup as an African American in

the 1960s and 1970s, living withthe remnants of Jim Crow andher growing awareness of the

Civil Rights movement. T

Brown Girl Dreaming

Read 25

minsnightly

Gr 4–7—A viscerally affecting story of war, loss, and thepower of friendship. Pennypacker, author of the

exuberant "Clementine" series (Disney-Hyperion) andthe charmingly morbid Summer of the Gypsy Moths

(HarperCollins, 2012), here displays not only herformidable writing skills and a willingness to stretchher storytelling into increasingly complex narrativeforms but also her ability to tackle dark and weighty

themes with sensitivity and respect for the child reader.

PAXInspired by the author's

childhood experience as arefugee�fleeing Vietnam after

the Fall of Saigon andimmigrating to Alabama�thiscoming-of-age debut novel

told in verse has beencelebrated for its touching

child's-eye view of family andimmigration.

Inside and Out and BackAgain

The Marvels by Brian SelznickGr 5–7—Eleven-year-old Ellie

Cruz's life changes dramaticallywhen her mother brings ateenage boy home one night andshe learns it is her estrangedgrandfather. Melvin is a scientistwho has figured out how toreverse aging and is now 13again. Tensions are high betweenMelvin and his adult daughter,Ellie's mother, but Ellie feels likeshe now has the opportunity toreally get to know hergrandfather.

Fourteenth Goldfish

The journey begins at sea in 1766,with a boy named Bil ly Marvel.

After surviving a shipwreck, he f indswork in a London theatre. There, hisfamily f lourishes for generations as

bril liant actors until 1900, when youngLeontes Marvel is banished from the

stage.

Raffa Santana has always loved the

mysterious Forest of Wonders. For a gifted

young apothecary like him, every leaf could

unleash a kind of magic.

When an injured bat crashes into his life,

Raffa invents a cure from a rare crimson vine

that he finds deep in the Forest. His remedy

saves the animal but also transforms it into

something much more than an ordinary bat,

with far-reaching consequences.

Adventure

Booked by Kwame Alexander

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, ISBN: 9780544570986

The thrill of a soccer tournament, the pressure of family expectations, the social minefield of crushes

and bullies, and the beauty of words are all explored in

this exciting, extraordinary novel

in verse.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini Bot Wars by J.V. Kade Above World by Jenn Reese Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly The Maze Runner by James Dashner Freakling by Lana Krumwiede Mortality Doctrine series by James Dashner The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Realistic Fiction

Crime Travelers by Paul Aertker

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Rule of 3 by Eric Walters

Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans

House of Scorpions by Nancy Farmer

I Am The Weapon by Allen Zadoff

Historical Fiction

Wing and Claw

Hatchet ISBN: 9780689840920

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness,learning to survive initially

with only the aid of a hatchetgiven to him by his mother,and learning also to survive

his parents' divorce. A Newbery Honor Book.