6th Grade Summer Reading

Libraries

Summer Reading for Rising 6th Graders

2012

Dear Rising Sixth Grader, It’s time to think about summer reading! I hope you have lots of time to read books this summer. We want you to read books that you will enjoy, so we’ve included a lot of choice in your requirements.

Please keep a reading log this summer. There is an example at the end of this booklet. This allows you to record what you read over the summer. You will turn in your reading log in English class during the first week of classes.

1) Please read a book for our book discussion groups. You should have chosen one already and know what group you are in.

2)We enourage you to read a book by our visiting author, David Lubar. A list and description of some of his books are in this booklet. .

3)In all, you should read at least four books this summer- one for the discussion group and three others.

One could be written by David Lubar. At the end of this booklet is a list of my suggestions and some suggestions from current sixth graders if anyone is stuck for what to choose.

When you return to school, you will be writing a review of your free choice book, that will be posted in our library catalog so other students can see if they would be interested in reading the book that you read. On your reading log, you should make some notes so that it will be easier to write the review.

Students will be able to check out books from the Faulkner Library for Summer Reading. Of course any books not returned in the fall will be billed.

I look forward to reading your reviews in the fall. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me.

Sincerely, Toni Vahlsing Director of Libraries Abington Friends School (215) 576-3976 tvahlsing@abingtonfriends.net Distinguished Summer Reading: For those of you who want an additional challenge, aim to become a “Distinguished Reader.” To earn this recognition, you must do the following: 1) Read 1400 pages during the summer months, including the books required above.

2) Write an additional review for our catalog in the fall.

3) Total the pages that you read on your reading log.

Students who rise to this challenge will receive a notation on their official school transcript and will be recognized in other ways as well.

We highly suggest that you read one book by David Lubar.

If you like books that are funny, I think you will like his books. If you don’t like a book you are reading, choose a different book, but try to become familiar with some of Lubar’s work.

Books by David Lubar

Hidden Talents: Martin can’t seem to stay in any one school for very long because he seems to have a talent for making teachers angry. So he is shipped off to an alternative boarding school which seems to be the end of the line. There he finds some other boys who have talents that they won’t admit they have. A fun read.

True Talents: A year after the end of Hidden Talents Martin and his friends are back home, trying to control their talents so they can go to high school and keep in touch with their friends. One of them gets in trouble and the other have to rally to save him.

The Weenie Books: Lubar writes a collection of dark, but funny short stories in each of these books. If you like short stories and you like to know what inspired each story, try one of these.

Dunk: Chad lives on the Jersey shore and is fascinated by Bozo the clown, who taunts people from a dunk tank. Chad wants to be Bozo, thinking he would be good at it. His dad has left, his friend has a serious illness, and there is a boarder living upstairs to complicate things. Despite all of this, a funny and hopeful book.

My Rotten Life: The first in a series about a boy who accidentally becomes a zombie. Even though he enjoys some aspects of being halfdead, he wants to become human again. Will he find the cure?

Flip: Twins Ryan and Taylor find some disks that enable them to become famous people from history. If you could choose, who would you become?

Punished!: Logan and his friend Benedict run into the wrong guy at the library. They are punished and have three days to finish tasks before the professor lifts the magical punishment that keeps getting them into more trouble.

There are other books by David Lubar that you might also like to look at. When a visiting author comes, it helps to know something about the author’s books.

Suggestions for your other books: Here are some suggestions- you can read what you want to read. The point of summer reading is to enjoy it.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements What would happen if you woke up and were invisible? What would you do? Fifteen year-old Bobby has to decide whether to attend school and face all sorts of questions or to disappear from life to try to figure out what is happening to him.

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson Lonnie’s story is told through 60 poems that he has written. While trying to express himself creatively, he gradually tells us about the fire that left him orphaned as well as his sister who has been adopted. Lonnie is still in foster care. If you have trouble writing poetry, you might identify with Lonnie as he struggles to convey his feelings.

Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg If you enjoy reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you’ll love Milo. Not only does he deal with the day-to-day life of being a seventh grader, but also being without his mom, who died a few years before this story. The cartoon illustrations that are interspersed throughout the book are hilarious in their own right, not just illustrating the story. This is laugh-outloud funny. I loved it so much that I read it at the circulation desk in the library because I couldn’t put it down!

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau When the generators fail in the city of Ember, it is totally dark. The generators are failing more and more often and the city is running out of supplies. Lina and Doon team up to figure out what is happening to their city and to find out what is beyond the city limits.

You will want to read the next in the series, too.

Amalee by Dar Williams Amalee has been raised by her father and his four friends from college. When Amalee’s father gets sick, it is his friends that help Amalee deal with her father’s sickness as well as the mean girls at school. You will cheer for Amalee as she navigates this difficult time in her life.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Meggie’s father is so good at reading books aloud that when he does, characters from the books appear in our world. Unfortunately a person from this world goes into the book to take that character’s place. Meggie’s mother has been missing for years. Guess where she is? In a book, that only has a few copies left in the world. Meggie’s father needs to find the book before someone else does.

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli Did you enjoy reading Maniac McGee? If so, you will love Smiles to Go. Will Tuppence is a ninth grader in the middle of a love triangle. As he is grappling with this, something happens with his adorable five year old sister that puts his life into perspective. You will not forget Will or his sister anytime soon.

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson A doorway between two worlds only opens every nine years for nine days. A prince from one world has been lost in ours when he was a baby. The king and queen have had nine years to plan. Which magical creatures will they send? A very odd, but endearing rescue team is put together. Mistaken identity, magic, and friendship make this fantastical adventure a great read.

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo Charlie Bone discovers that he has special powers and has to go to a special school.

No, this is not Harry Potter, but if you are a Harry Potter Fan, give this a try. Charlie, and the other children with special powers can each do one specific thing. Charlie can hear voices through paintings and photographs. There is a battle going on and Charlie lives at home on the weekend with family members taking different sides. The evil characters are pure evil, including one of Charlie’s grandmothers. I certainly wouldn’t want to live with her! This book starts a long series that you will continue to want to read.

Rules by Cynthi Lord Catherine has an autistic younger brother whom she loves, but sometimes feels embarrassed by his behavior. She makes rules for him, about who he should hug, about…. , and other things “normal” people know. When Catherine gets to know a boy who communicates with a word board and is confined to a wheel chair defining “normal” is not important anymore.

Sea Legs by Alex Shearer If your dad were a steward on a cruise ship would you stowaway to be with him? These twin boys do just that. Hanging out by the pool, sneaking to their hideout, it is all a great adventure. They just don’t want to get caught.

The Boxes by William Sleator Annie’s mysterious Uncle Marco gives her two boxes for safekeeping, instructing Annie not to open them. Of course she does, and the consequences are quite extreme. Time itself is not safe when the boxes are opened and near each other.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart Put four very different, but brilliant, children together and you can conquer almost anything. That is the theory of Mr. Benedict, anyway. He gets a crack team of children to infiltrate a school that seems to be the center of evil. The testing that each child goes through is very strange. Once you read this one, you will want to finish the series to follow the further adventures of these endearing characters.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko I know many of you read the first one of these when Gennifer Choldenko came to visit.

If you haven’t read the second in this series, you should. You won’t be able to put it down, especially during the escape attempt by the inmates.

Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen Sammy lives illegally in a high rise apartment for seniors with her Grandmother. She also solves a lot of mysteries. The intersection of these two things makes her life interesting, i.e. she can’t let the police know where she lives. Sammy’s archenemy, Heather, and her brother (a romantic interest of Sammy’s) make her life even more complicated. Full of characters who get more complex as the series continues, give this great series a try.

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin Jason’s autism gets in the way of making friends. His greatest talent is writing stories. He posts them to an online group and meets “Phoenixbird” virtually. She likes his writing and may be Jason’s first friends. When a chance to meet in person arrises, Jason is worried that she will only see his autism and not the writer that she knows. This is a fascinating look through Jason’s eyes.

Did you know that if you sign up for your public library’s summer reading program, you can win prizes for bringing them a reading log?

You can also get a free book from Barnes and Noble!

These books are recommended by current 6th graders Title Elsewhere Ender’s Game Hunger Games Series of Unfortunate Events Crispin Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series Keeper The Schwa was Here Crash Locomotion (reviewed above) Inkheart (reviewed above) The Book Thief Princess Diaries Things Not Seen (reviewed above) When you Reach Me (reviewed above) Peak Shadow Children Series Palace of Mirrors Young Samurai series

Author Gabrielle Zevin Orson Scott Card Suzanne Collins Lemony Snickett Avi Rick Riordan Mal Peet Neal Shusterman Jerry Spinelli Jacqueline Woodson Cornelia Funke Marcus Zusak Meg Cabot Andrew Clements Rebecca Stead Roland Smith Margaret Peterson Haddix Margaret Peterson Haddix Chris Bradford

To sum up: 1) Read a book for our summer book groups.

2)Read at least three other books of your choice, we suggest one could be written by David Lubar.

3)Keep a reading log.

This is a sample reading log. You can turn this in, or make your own. Only write down the title of the book after you have read it, not everyday that you read.

If you read eight books this summer and fill out a log from Barnes and Noble, you can get a free book at B&N. You can make a copy of that form to count as your reading log.

Reading Log Title

Author

Name_________________

# pages

Total pages

Date completed