Paxon Hollow Middle School Summer Reading

Summer reading is a requirement for all students. Students will return in September prepared to focus on their reading as one of the first areas of study in English class. If books are read early in the summer, it is suggested that students keep a reading journal or review their reading in late August.

The Marple Newtown School District requires a summer reading program for all students.  Research has shown the following benefits of summer reading:

*Encourages a love and enjoyment of books
*Provides exposure to a variety of genres
*Increases vocabulary knowledge
*Increases reading fluency
*Develops background concepts and general knowledge
*Provides models of good writing
*Provides maintenance of reading skills learned during the school year
*Provides a sense of participation in a community of readers

For students entering: | Grade 8 | Grade 7 | Grade 6

6 th Grade Summer Reading-Total 2 Books for all students.

****All students in regular, remedial, and learning support classes read:

A Week in the Woods, by Andrew Clements
Hardy Elementary School’s fifth grade camping trip in the woods tests Mark’s survival skills and his ability to relate to his teacher who seems to be out to get him.
AND
****All students in regular, remedial, and learning support classes also choose one of the following (total of two books):

Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Imagine a world where families are allowed only two children.  Illegal third children, Shadow Children, must live in hiding.  If they are discovered, there is only one punishment: Death.

Redwall Series, by Brian Jacques (any book from the series)
When the peaceful life of the ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat, Cluny, and his villainous hordes, Mattias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which he is convinced will help Redwall’s inhabitants destroy the enemy.

Sports Biography Series, by Matt Christopher (any book from the series)
Choose from over 30 different sports biographies such as Jeff Gordon, Kobe Bryant, Tony Hawk, Wayne Gretsky, Mia Hamm, Grant Hill and Tiger Woods.

Everest, by Gordon Korman (any book from the series)
Four kids are prepared to go into thin air in order to become the youngest people ever to climb Everest. They are not prepared for the challenges that await them as they get closer to the summit.  Supplies are low.  Conditions are extreme.  One of the kids is trying to sabotage the others.  And then the storm hits…

Kidnapped, by Gordon Korman (any book from the series)
Aiden Falconer and FBI Agent Harris are closing in on the people who kidnapped Aiden’s sister, Meg.  There’s just one hitch:  Meg is trying to escape from them on her own, and is never where she’s supposed to be.  Before, it was Meg who was in trouble; now, both Meg and Aiden are in grave danger.

Willow Run, by Patricia Reilly Giff
Meggie Dillon’s life has been turned upside down by World War II.  Her father has announced that they must move to Willow Run, Michigan, where he will work in a factory building war planes.  In Willow Run, Meggie meets Patches and Harlan, and other kids like her whose parents have also come here to do their part in the war.  Here she faces questions and finds courage, and learns to keep hope alive on the home front.

****All student in enriched classes must read:

The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
AND
****All students in enriched classes must read one of the following books (total of two books):

Redwall, by Brian Jacques.  When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat, Cluny, and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy. (Any book from the series.)

Far North, by Will Hobbs.  After the destruction of their floatplane, two teenage boys struggle for survival in the wilderness along the South Nahanni River.

Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson  While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads to a pirate fortune as well as great danger.

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  An orphaned girl who lives on Prince Edward Island experiences romance as she begins her years of young adulthood.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young women in nineteenth-century New England.

The Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt, by Elizabeth Payne. Gives information on the history of ancient Egypt and what life was like along the Nile from the earliest civilization through its disintegration beginning with Rameses II, as it has been gathered from the work of archeologists in the area.

7 th Grade Summer Reading-Total 2 Books

***All students in enriched classes read the following book, plus one of the choice books.  (Total of 2 books):

Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston
This is the true story of one spirited Japanese American family’s attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United Sates.

***All students in regular, remedial, and learning support classes read the following book, plus one of the choice books (total of 2 books):

Ruby Holler, by Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old twins, Dallas and Florida have spent most of their lives in a terrible orphanage, but their lives change forever when an eccentric, but sweet older couple invites them on an adventure, beginning in a magical place called Ruby Holler.

***Choice books--All students also choose one of the following:

Everything on a Waffle, by Polly Horvath
Eleven-year-old Primrose, who lives in a small fishing village in British Columbia, has lost her parents at sea, but is convinced they are on an island waiting to be rescued.  The only two people who do not try to take that belief away are her Uncle Jack, and the owner and chef of the local restaurant.

Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in flint Michigan during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father-the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway, of Grand Rapids.

Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah
The author returns to her roots to paint an authentic portrait of 20th century China and to tell the story of her painful childhood as an unwanted daughter.

Racing the Past, by Sis Deans
Eleven-year-old Ricky stops taking the school bus home, to avoid fights with the school bully.  He gradually begins to increase his running speed, and tries to beat the bus home.

The Art of Keeping Cool, by Janet Taylor Lisle
In the spring of 1942, Robert, his mother, and sister are living out the war in Rhode Island where Nazi submarines are torpedoing U.S. ships.  When violence breaks out in his paternal grandparents’ home, Robert is afraid he and his family may not survive the war.

Pictures of Hollis Woods, by Patricia Reilly Giff
Abandoned at birth, Hollis Woods has lived in about half a dozen foster homes, and always wished for a family.  When Josie, a retired art teacher, takes her into her home, the two bond almost immediately.  It soon becomes clear, however, that Josie is becoming forgetful.  As time goes on, Hollis starts to become the caregiver.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne

Bruno is a naïve nine-year-old, growing up in a privileged but strict household.  When the family moves from Berlin to “Out-With”, in Poland, Bruno sees a high wire fence surrounding a small community across from their home.  The residents of the community wear striped pajamas and caps all day.  Bruno meets Schmuel, who shares the same birth date.  A Holocaust allegory.

8 th Grade Summer Reading Books-Total 2 Books

Students in enriched classes choose one of the following required books, plus one of the Choice books:

The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
Fourteen-year-old Lily and her companion, Rosaleen, an African-American woman who has cared for Lily since her mother's death ten years earlier, flee their home after Rosaleen is victimized by racist police officers.   They find a safe haven in Tiburon, South Carolina, at the home of three beekeeping sisters, May, June, and August.

Students in regular and remedial read ANY TWO OF THE FOLLOWING CHOICE BOOKS:

Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick
At the beginning of eighth grade, learning disabled Max and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team.

The Merchant of Death, by DJ McHale
Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon, having learned he is a Traveler--someone who can ride "flumes" through time and space, is soon off to the alternative dimension of Denduron where he teams up with Loor, a girl his age from the warrior-territory of Zadaa, in an attempt to save the gentle Milago people from slavery.

A Family Apart, by Joan Lowery Nixon
When their mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri in 1860.

Nothing But The Truth:  A Documentary Novel, by Avi
A ninth-grader's suspension for singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" during homeroom becomes a national news story.

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
After the Civil War sweeps away the genteel life to which she has been accustomed, Scarlett O'Hara sets about to salvage her plantation home.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
The true story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan -- and her erratic, eccentric family -- in the turn-of-the-century Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn.

The Afterlife, by Gary Soto
You’d think a knife in the ribs would be the end of things, but for Chuy, that’s when his life at last gets interesting.  He finally sees that people love him, faces the consequences of his actions, finds in himself compassion and bravery…and even stumbles on what may be true love.

Maximum Ride, by James Patterson  series of four books, you may chose one.
Brave bird-kid and her flock fly south on a perilous quest to find their parents, after having rescued Angel and recovered secret documents about their origins.  But just when they think they’ve finally escaped the hungry claws of evil Erasers, they’re discovered by an FBI agent and forced to face perhaps an even worse nightmare: going to school.  There’s no such thing as an ordinary day when Max’s “homework” includes decoding documents, deciphering when (and how) she’s supposed to save the world, and learning to face what may be her greatest enemy: herself. 

Hidden Talents, David Lubar  or sequel True Talents
Martin Anderson and his friends don’t like being called losers.  But they’ve been called that for so long even they start to believe it.  Martin makes an incredible discovery:  each of his friends has a special hidden talent.  Edgeview Alternative School was supposed to be the end of the road, but for Martin and his friends it just may be a new beginning.

Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard, by Mawi Asgedom
An autobiography of a boy who, at the age of three, fled civil war Ethiopia by walking with his mother and brother to a Sudanese refugee camp, and later moved to Chicago and earned a scholarship to Harvard University.

Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher Staples. 
Najmah is a young Afghan girl, whose father and older brother have been conscripted by the Taliban.  After her mother and newborn brother are killed in an air raid, Najmah sets out to find her father and brother.  She meets Nusrat, a young American woman who has come to Pakistan with her husband, so he might run a clinic.  While Nusrat waits out the war and awaits her husband’s return, she runs a school under the persimmon tree.

Lone Survivor,  Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson,
This is  a true story of four U.S. Navy Seals on a  mission in the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border.  Their task was to document the activity of an AlQaeda leader.  Five days later, only one of those Navy Seals made it out alive.