Please write a paragraph or two on the books you read, with the author, title, and a brief paragraph
including a summary and a statement of your reaction to the book, hand this into Charlie the first week of school in the fall. Don’t leave your reading until August it will be much harder for you to complete your assignment. Reading regularly during the summer will help you keep the skills you already learned this year, plus it’s fun!
To aid you in your book selection, books are placed in categories. Although each book has been placed in only one category, many books crossover into more than one. For example, A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO is listed under “Humorous”, but it could also be listed as “Historical”, so try books from more than one category. Remember that many “Historical” books can also be adventures, humorous or mysteries, and therefore, veryexciting. All 2013-14 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nominees appropriate for grades 4-5 have been included and are noted with DCF.
Vermont State Standard for grades 3-8: Demonstrates the habit of reading extensively* by...
"Reading the equivalent of at least two books a month, including in-school, out-of-school, and summer reading."
“*” = more challenging books
FICTION
If you like adventure…
Peter and the Starcatchers series – Dave Barry
Gone Away Lake – Elizabeth Enright
Chase - Jessie Haas * (horse)
Stowaway - Karen Hesse *
Small as an Elephant – Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Mossflower/Redwall series - Brian Jacques *
Steel Trap: The Challenge - Ridley Pearson
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg - Rodman Philbrick
Storm Runners – Roland Smith
Call it Courage - Armstrong Sperry *
If you like animals…
The One and Only Ivan – Katherine Applegate (2013 Newbury winner & DCF 2013-14)
Poppy (and other books in that series) - Avi
Little Dog, Lost – Shana Burg (DCF 2013-14)
The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale – Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright
The Tale of Despereau – Kate DiCamillo
Waiting for the Magic – Patricia MacLachlan
War Horse – Michael Morpurgo
A Dog’s Way Home – Bobbie Pyron
The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook – Joanne Rocklin (DCF 2013-14)
Listen! - Stephanie S. Tolan
If you like fantasy…
Will Sparrow’s Road – Karen Cushman (DCF 2013-14)
The Search for WondLa (sequel: A Hero for WondLa) by Tony DiTerlizzi
The Dragon Chronicles series - Susan Fletcher *
Inkheart series – Cornelia Funke
The Dragon of Trelian – Michelle Knudsen
Savvy and sequel – Ingrid Law
The Narnia series - C. S. Lewis
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Grace Lin
The Flint Heart – Katherine and John Paterson
The Heroes of Olympus and other series by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter series - J. K. Rowling
Septimus Heap series – Angie Sage
The Youngest Templar series – M. P. Spradlin
The Mysterious Benedict Society series – Trenton Lee Stewart
The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man’s Canyon – S. S. Taylor (dystopia/steampunk) (DCF 2013-14)
If you like history…
City of Orphans by Avi (1893)
The Mighty Miss Malone - Christopher Paul Curtis (1930’s) (DCF 2013-14)
Understood Betsy – Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1900s Vermont)
R My Name is Rachel – Patricia Reilly Giff (1930s)
Newsgirl - Liza Ketchum (1851 California)
Ture Colors - Natalie Kinsey-Warnock (1850s)
Inside Out and Back Again –Thanhha Lai (1975 Vietnam and Alabama)
Number the Stars - Lois Lowry (WWII)
A Single Shard - Linda Sue Park (medieval Korea)
Bread and Roses, too - Katherine Paterson (1912 Vermont)
May B. Caroline Starr Rose (1870s frontier)
Cabin on Trouble Creek - Jean Van Leeuwen (frontier)
If you like humor…
Troublemaker - Andrew Clements
The Moffats series – Eleanor Estes
The Great Brain series - John D. Fitzgerald *
Ungifted – Gordon Korman (DCF 2013-14)
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester - Barbara O’Connor
I Funny – James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein (DCF 2013-14)
Middle School: the worst years of my life (and sequels) – James Patterson
A Long Way From Chicago – Richard Peck
Looking for Bobowicz – Daniel Pinkwater
May B.- Caroline Starr Rose(DCF 2013-14)
Glory Be – Augusta Scattergood (DCF 2013-14)
Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze - Alan Silberberg
If you like mystery and suspense…
The Secret Series – Pseudonymous Bosch
Murder Afloat - Jane Conly
The Lemonade Crime – Jacqueline Davies
Belly Up - Stuart Gibbs
Chase - Jessie Haas
Closed for the Season - Mary Downing Hahn
Chomp – Carl Hiassen (DCF 2013-14)
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat - Lynne Jonell
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls – Claire Legrand (DCF 2013-14)
Splendors and Glooms – Laura Amy Schlitz
“Who Could That Be at This Hour?” - Lemony Snicket
The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye & others in the Enola Holmes Mystery series- Nancy Springer
Three Times Lucky – Shelia Turnage (DCF 2013-14)
Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief & others in the series - Wendelin Van Draanen
If you like realistic or coming of age…
The Penderwicks and sequels - Jeanne Birdsall
Laugh with the Moon – Shana Burg (DCF 2013-14)
Out of My Mind - Sharon M. Draper
Mockingbird - Kathryn Erskine
Hidden – Helen Frost
Olive’s Ocean – Kevin Henkes *
The Whole Story of Half a Girl – Veera Hiranandani (DCF 2013-14)
Same Sun Here – Silas and Neela House (DCF 2013-14)
Turtle in Paradise - Jennifer Holm
Rules - Cynthia Lord
11 Birthdays – Wendy Mass
Wonder – R. J. Palacio (DCF 2013-14)
Summer of the Gypsy Moths – Sara Pennypacker (DCF 2013-14)
When Life Gives You O. J. – Erica S. Perl
Esperanza Rising - Pam Munoz Ryan*
Holes - Louis Sachar
Liar and Spy – Rebecca Stead (DCF 2013-14)
A Crooked Kind of Perfect - Linda Urban
If you like science fiction…
The White Mountains series - John Christopher
Gregor series – Suzanne Collins
Rat Trap – Michael Daley
The City of Ember and sequels - Jeanne DuPrau *
A Wrinkle in Time series – Madeline L’Engle
The True Meaning of Smekday - Adam Rex
Robot Dreams – Sara Varon (graphic)
If you like sports…
One Handed Catch - Mary Jane Auch
The Moves Make the Man – Bruce Brooks *
Safe at Second - Scott Johnson *
Sugar and Ice - Kate Messner
NON-FICTION
If you like biographies…
Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini - Sid Fleischman *
Eleanor Roosevelt - Russell Freedman *
A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson - Michelle Y. Green
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio - Peg Kehret
Ten Queens: Portraits of Women of Power – Milton Meltzer
Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford - Don Mitchell
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World –Sy Montgomery (DCF 13-14)
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow - James Sturm (graphic)
How Angel Peterson Got His Name: and Other Outrageous Tales About Extreme Sports –
Gary Paulsen +
Bill Peet: an autobiography – Bill Peet
Knucklehead - Jon Scieszka (graphic)
If you like poetry…
Poetry for Young People series
The Place My Words are Looking For - Janeczko (also other Janeczko anthologies)
The Same Sky - Naomi Shihab Nye
Oxford Book of Children’s Verse- Opie
Math Verse or Science Verse – Jon Scieszka
Everything On It - Shel Silverstein
Mirror mirror - Marilyn Singer
Locomotion - Jacqueline Woodson
If you like other non-fiction…
Through My Eyes - Ruby Bridges (civil rights)
Tracking Trash - Loree Griffin Burns (environment)
The Wicked History of the World: History with the Nasty Bits Left In! - Terry Deary
(humorous history)
A Black Hole is not a Hole – Carolyn Cinami Decristofano
Bodies from the Ash - James M. Deem (Pompeii)
Titantic Sinks! – Barry Denenberg
Who Was First? - Russell Freedman (discovering America)
Christo and Jeanne-Claude –Jan Greenberg & Sandra Jordan (art)
What’s Happening to My Body for Boys/Girls - Linda Madaras (health)
Dewey: A Small-town Library Cat Who Touched The World – Vicki Myron
Heart and Soul – Kadir Nelson (African American history)
Beowulf, a Hero’s Tale Retold – James Rumford
Gorilla Doctors - Pamela S. Turner (science)
Have a great summer!
