Untitled Document

BOOKS FOR SUMMER READING
2008

GRADES 5 – 6

Torchlight by Carol Otis Hurst
            Fifth grader Charlotte makes friends with an Irish-American girl in 1864 in her town of Westfield, Massachusetts and has to try to understand the prejudices between the Irish and the Yankees.

Way Down Deep by Ruth White
            In the 1950s, a foundling by the name of Ruby June is living with Miss Arbutus at the local boardinghouse, when the mystery of her past begins to unravel.

Ben and the Sudden Too-Big! Family
by Colby Rodowsky
            Until now, ten-year-old Ben has considered himself lucky because it was just he and his dad. However, his father re-marries and his new step mother and his father adopt a baby from China.

The Quail Club by Carolyn Marsden
            Oy who is in 5th grade wants to do a Thai dance at the school talent show but her friend threatens to kick her out of their club if they do not perform an American style skit together. This is the sequel to The Gold- Threaded Dress.

The Traitors’ Gate by Avi
            Fourteen-year-old John Huffam’s father is arrested as a debtor in 1849 London and he has to find out who can help his family and why people are spying on him and his family.

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn
            Thirteen-year-old Ali goes to spend the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family’s vacation home and learns about a family secret.

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
          Fourteen-year-old Enola, sister of famed detective Sherlock Holmes, disguises herself in order to attempt to solve the kidnapping of a baronet’s sixteen-year-old daughter in 19th century London.

No Talking by Andrew Clements
            The loud and disorderly kids in the fifth grade of Laketon Elementary School make a no talking challenge with the boys against the girls.

Emma Dilemma and the Two Nannies
by Patricia Hermes
            Emma and her siblings try to keep their beloved nanny from going on a three-week vacation and leaving them in the care of Mrs. Potts, who is an uncool and animal hating substitute.

How To Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor
            Living in the family car in their small town in North Carolina after their father leaves them, Georgina thinks that she can improve their situation by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer.

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Julia, a Korean American girl, and her friend Patrick raise silkworms for a project for an after school club. In doing so they learn about prejudice and the complexities of friendship.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
Eleven-year-old Mildred is focused on growing a pumpkin big enough to win the annual pumpkin growing contest instead of clothing and growing up.

The Linden Tree by Ellie Mathews
In 1948, nine-year-old Katy Sue’s mother dies from meningitis, and her Aunt Katherine quits her teaching job to help out on their Iowa farm.

The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
Most boys in a small Mississippi town look forward to the annual July 4th baseball game, but the game might be cancelled due to their county’s anniversary pageant.

Missing Magic by Emma Laybourn
The only person who doesn’t have magical powers is eleven-year-old Ned, but when the Necromancers strike and the world is turned upside down his lack of powers works in his favor.

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
            Twelve-year-old Igraine, the daughter of two magicians, wants to become a knight. She has the chance to show her bravery when her neighbor attacks her family’s castle and tries to steal their singing magic books.

Bridge To America by Linda Glaser
            Nine-year-old Fivel tells of the story of his family’s desperate lives in a shtetl in Poland in 1920 and their dreams of being reunited with their father in the United States.

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan
            Maya has lived with her overprotective grandmother, but she leaves to stay with her mother’s family on a remote Wyoming ranch when her grandmother has a stroke.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free born child in 1860 in Buxton, Canada sees first hand the horrors from which his parents fled.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
Two orphaned peasant children find a mysterious pouch, and are led to the majestic Castle Corona where their lives change dramatically.

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson
Jake and Rosa, two children living in Lawrence, Massachusetts, are sent to Vermont for safety while the women of the textile industry strike during the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, vacation with their widowed father at an estate in the Berkshire Mountains and have many adventures.

Water Street by Patricia Reilly Giff
Eighth-graders Bird Mallon and Thomas Neary live near the site of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge during 1875 and make some decisions about their future.

Flush by Carl Hiaasen
While their father is in jail for sinking a floating casino, Noah and Abbey Underwood have to gather evidence that the owner of the river boat is emptying the boat’s bilge tanks into the Florida waters near their home.

Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Michael is swept off his family’s yacht and washes up on a desert island where he struggles to survive.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Sam, who can barely read, finds a newspaper clipping that brings forth memories from his past. With the help of a friend, his questions are eventually answered.

Chu Ju’s House by Gloria Whelan
Fourteen-year-old Chu Ju knows that the law of China states that a family may have only two children and that tradition dictates that every family should have a boy, so when a baby girl is born to her family she leaves her rural home in China to save her baby sister from being sent away.

Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach
After moving to a new home with her family, sixth grader Hero, together with the most popular boy in school, go in search for a valuable diamond that is rumored to be hidden in her house.

Urchin and the Heartstone by M.I. McAllister
Book two of the Mismantle Chronicles that began with Urchin of the Riding Stars. The inhabitants of the island of Mismantle are preparing for the coronation of Crispin the Squirrel.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
When Dustfinger finds a crooked storyteller who can read him back to Inkscape, he leaves his apprentice behind to journey back to that magic land. Farid looks for Meggie and the two follow him back into the enchanted book. This is the sequel to Inkheart.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Thirteen-year-old Jessie finds out that her 1840 village is really a 1996 tourist site.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
A fanciful story of the four Willoughby children who try to become “deserving orphans” after their neglectful parents take a dangerous around - the – world adventure and leave them in the care of a nanny.

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park
In Brooklyn in 1951, a Giants fan teaches nine-year-old Maggie, who is a Dodgers fan, how to use a technique to keep score of a baseball game. She continues this friendship when he is sent to Korea to fight in the war.

Wild Reads@your library, the 2008 Massachusetts Summer Library Adventure, is funded by the Concord Free Public Library, the Massachusetts Regional Library Systems, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

BOOKS FOR SUMMER READING 2008

GRADES 5 – 6

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free born child in 1860 in Buxton, Canada sees first hand the horrors from which his parents fled.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech Two orphaned peasant children find a mysterious pouch, and are led to the majestic Castle Corona where their lives change dramatically.

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson Jake and Rosa, two children living in Lawrence, Massachusetts, are sent to Vermont for safety while the women of the textile industry strike during the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall Four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, vacation with their widowed father at an estate in the Berkshire Mountains and have many adventures.

Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo Michael is swept off his family’s yacht and washes up on a desert island where he struggles to survive.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff Sam, who can barely read, finds a newspaper clipping that brings forth memories from his past. With the help of a friend, his questions are eventually answered.

Urchin and the Heartstone by M.I. McAllister Book two of the Mismantle Chronicles that began with Urchin of the Riding Stars. The inhabitants of the island of Mismantle are preparing for the coronation of Crispin the Squirrel.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke When Dustfinger finds a crooked storyteller who can read him back to Inkscape, he leaves his apprentice behind to journey back to that magic land. Farid looks for Meggie and the two follow him back into the enchanted book. This is the sequel to Inkheart.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix Thirteen-year-old Jessie finds out that her 1840 village is really a 1996 tourist site.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry A fanciful story of the four Willoughby children who try to become “deserving orphans” after their neglectful parents take a dangerous around - the – world adventure and leave them in the care of a nanny.

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park In Brooklyn in 1951, a Giants fan teaches nine-year-old Maggie, who is a Dodgers fan, how to use a technique to keep score of a baseball game. She continues this friendship when he is sent to Korea to fight in the war.

Wild Reads@your library, the 2008 Massachusetts Summer Library Adventure, is funded by the Concord Free Public Library, the Massachusetts Regional Library Systems, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

BOOKS FOR SUMMER READING
2008

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free born child in 1860 in Buxton, Canada sees first hand the horrors from which his parents fled.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
Two orphaned peasant children find a mysterious pouch, and are led to the majestic Castle Corona where their lives change dramatically.

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson
Jake and Rosa, two children living in Lawrence, Massachusetts, are sent to Vermont for safety while the women of the textile industry strike during the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, vacation with their widowed father at an estate in the Berkshire Mountains and have many adventures.

Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Michael is swept off his family’s yacht and washes up on a desert island where he struggles to survive.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Sam, who can barely read, finds a newspaper clipping that brings forth memories from his past. With the help of a friend, his questions are eventually answered.

Urchin and the Heartstone by M.I. McAllister
Book two of the Mismantle Chronicles that began with Urchin of the Riding Stars. The inhabitants of the island of Mismantle are preparing for the coronation of Crispin the Squirrel.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
When Dustfinger finds a crooked storyteller who can read him back to Inkscape, he leaves his apprentice behind to journey back to that magic land. Farid looks for Meggie and the two follow him back into the enchanted book. This is the sequel to Inkheart.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Thirteen-year-old Jessie finds out that her 1840 village is really a 1996 tourist site.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
A fanciful story of the four Willoughby children who try to become “deserving orphans” after their neglectful parents take a dangerous around - the – world adventure and leave them in the care of a nanny.

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park
In Brooklyn in 1951, a Giants fan teaches nine-year-old Maggie, who is a Dodgers fan, how to use a technique to keep score of a baseball game. She continues this friendship when he is sent to Korea to fight in the war.