Middle School SummerReads

Emma Riley Class of 2017 The Pike School Summer 2013

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Dear Middle School Families, Recommending a good book is like sharing a nugget of gold with a friend. The titles Fran Mellin and Linda Spence have compiled make SummerReads a treasure chest. The variety of genres and reading levels ensure that everyone will find some gems. All children entering grades 3, 4, and 5 should read at least four books this summer . SummerReads is provided as a resource to help children choose books. The titles don’t have to come from this list—SummerReads is simply a resource for those wanting suggestions. Our goal for summer reading is much more than assigning homework or keeping skills honed. Our intent is to help children learn to love reading. Choosing engaging books sets them on their way. You can help your children deepen their passion for reading by:

• carving out daily reading time • reading with your children • talking about books everyone is reading.

I can’t wait to get started on my list. Have a wonderful, book-filled summer. Bo Baird

SummerReads is compiled by Pike librarians Mrs. Mellin and Ms. Spence. All books are available in paperback unless noted.

This list is available online at www.pikeschool.org/home/library.

Log in to your portal and click the “library” tab to watch book trailers, read our blog, see

photos, and read student reviews posted on Alexandria, our online catalog.

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New and Recommended The Invaders (Brotherband Chronicles) Flanagan Adventure

Hal and the Brotherband are in hot pursuit of a stolen treasure. Can they survive the stormy seas and defeat the evil Zavac? Non-stop action from the land of Skandia!

Deadweather and Sunrise Rodkey Adventure Egbert (Egg for short) lives on a dreary island, hated by his family. When his father stumbles upon valuable secrets, everyone’s life is in danger and Egg must find the courage to outwit the enemy while staying alive.

Splendors and Glooms (hardcover) Schlitz Adventure An evil puppet-master, disappearing children, an ancient grudge, and a powerful enchantress…Lizzie Rose and Parsefall race against time before the unthinkable happens. One of the best new books of the year!

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell Colfer Fantasy Alex and Conner have been given a treasured gift for their twelfth birthday: a well-loved book of fairy tales. Little do they know that the book is a portal to the Land of Stories. What adventures (and evils) await them there? How can they return home?

Starry River of the Sky (hardcover) Lin Fantasy Rendi has run away from home in a merchant’s cart. When he arrives at the Village of Clear Sky, he notices that the moon never appears. Is he destined to restore the moon to the sky – and maybe bring peace to the village and to himself as well?

Wildwood Meloy Fantasy When Prue’s brother is kidnapped by crows, she must enter the Impassable Wilderness to rescue him from the Dowager Governess. An amazing new world!

Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on the Titanic

Mone Historical Fiction

Patrick longs for adventure and jumps at the chance to leave Ireland as a steward on the famous ship. Once aboard, however, he discovers thievery and treachery.

The Grand Plan to Fix Everything Krishnaswami Humor Dini’s family is moving to India for two whole years – will the prospect of meeting her favorite Bollywood movie star make up for leaving her best friend?

Mistakes Were Made (hardcover) Pastis Humor Timmy Failure runs a detective agency, or at least he tries to. The most unbelievable things happen to him as he takes on case after case. For Wimpy Kid fans.

Hooey Higgins and the Shark (hardcover) Voake Humor Hooey and his brother are desperate to buy a gigantic chocolate egg, but they have no money. Their crazy money-making schemes will have you rolling on the floor!

Emmy and the Rats in the Belfry (hardcover) Jonell Mystery In Emmy’s newest adventure, she must once again try to outwit the villains Jane Barmy and Cheswick Vole, who are plenty dangerous, even if they are rats!

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas (hardcover)

Bang Non-fiction

Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the surface of the ocean? Learn all about how the sun’s rays help plants make important nutrients.

Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems Singer Poetry Based on classic fairy tales, these poems are incredibly fun! Read the first verse from top to bottom, the next verse from bottom to top!

The One and Only Ivan Applegate Realistic This is the touching story of a captive gorilla and his quest for a more humane existence. The 2013 Newbery Award winner.

The Candy Smash (hardcover) Davies Realistic Evan and Jessie from The Lemonade War are back! This time, Jessie is after a big newspaper story.

Wonder Palacio Realistic August has been home-schooled until this year because of his many facial surgeries. As he enters school for the first time, how will others react?

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Fiction

Classics The Wizard of Oz Baum Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Dahl Half Magic Eager The Saturdays Enright Harriet the Spy Fitzhugh The Phantom Tollbooth Juster A Wrinkle in Time L’Engle The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit Lester Pippi Longstocking stories Lindgren Five Children and It Nesbit A Cricket in Times Square Selden The Rescuers Sharp Charlotte's Web White Little House series Wilder

Fantasy The Magic Half Barrows Inkheart trilogy Funke The Graveyard Book (2009 Newbery Medal winner) Gaiman The Lost Conspiracy Harding Redwall series Jacques Finn Family Moomintroll Jansson Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat Jonell The Magickeepers series Kirov Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Lin 11 Birthdays (2011 Massachusetts Children's Book Award winner) Mass Harry Potter series Rowling The Septimus Heap series Sage The Night Fairy Schlitz Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series Scott The Emerald Atlas Stephens Five Ancestors series Stone Breadcrumbs Ursu

Historical Fiction Iron Thunder Avi The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate Kelly The Year of the Bomb Kidd Inside Out & Back Again Lai Abby Takes a Stand McKissack Heart of a Samurai Preus The Wednesday Wars Schmidt Moon Over Manifest (2011 Newbery Medal winner) Vanderpool

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Humor The Riot Brothers series Amato The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity Barnett Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel Barshaw Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One Blume Dead End in Norvelt (2012 Newbery Medal winner) Gantos Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading Greenwalt Billy the Fish James 43 Old Cemetery Road series Klise Big Nate series Peirce Clementine series Pennypacker The Hoboken Chicken Emergency Pinkwater Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians Sanderson My Life as a Book Tashjian Little Wolf's Book of Badness Whybrow

Mystery and Adventure The Postcard Abbott Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop Allison The Calder Game Balliett The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes series Barrett The Potato Chip Puzzles Berlin The Terces Society series Bosch We the Children Clements The Bell Bandit Davies Eleven Giff Tunnels series Gordon Chet Gecko mysteries Hale Chomp Hiaasen Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series Jacques The Fenway Foul-up Kelly From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Konigsburg The Willoughbys Lowry The Candymakers Mass Capital Mysteries series Roy

Science Fiction Whales on Stilts! Anderson, M.T. Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies Beaty Space Station Rat Daley City of Ember Duprau The 7 Professors of the Far North Fardell The Other Side of the Island Goodman Found (2010 Massachusetts Children's Book Award winner) Haddix My Cousin, The Alien Service Trash Crisis on Earth! Stadler First Light Stead

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Realistic Home of the Brave Applegate Anything But Typical Baskin The Penderwicks Birdsall Because of Mr. Terupt (2013 Mass. Children’s Book Award winner) Buyea Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series Cabot Operation Redwood French Dyamonde Daniel series Grimes Junonia Henkes Hoot Hiaasen The Year of the Dog Lin Rickshaw Girl Perkins Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet Salisbury Wonderstruck (hardcover) Selznick When You Reach Me (2012 Mass. Children’s Book Award winner) (2010 Newbery Medal winner)

Stead

Sports Soccer Team Upset Bowen The Warriors Bruchac Long-arm Quarterback Christopher Roberto and Me Gutman Slam Dunk Hirschfeld Million-dollar Throw Lupica The Ghost of the Stanley Cup (Screech Owl Series) MacGregor Karate Kick Peters Six Innings Preller Hothead Ripkin, Jr. My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard Winkler Good Luck, Ivy Yee

Graphic Novels , Graphic Non-fiction Knights of the Lunch Table Cammuso Snowboard Standoff Ciencin Stone Rabbit series Craddock Fashion Kitty Harper Zita the Spacegirl Hatke Lunch Lady series Krosoczka Big Fat Little Lit Puffin Books Sidekicks Santat Bone series Smith Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders Townsend Robot Dreams Varon

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Massachusetts Children ’s Book Award

Nominees for 2014! The Massachusetts Childrens’ Book Awards are chosen by students across the state. Each year, the Middle School’s book club enthusiastically participates in this program, which is administered by Salem State University. Here is the list of nominated titles for next year. Start reading over the summer, and join the McBad Book Club next year!

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes Auxier Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog Beha The Red Blazer Girls: The Vanishing Violin Beil Perfect Game Bower World Cup Christopher We the Children (Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School) Clements The Lost Children Cogahan The Trouble with Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery Cronin The Mighty Miss Malone Curtis The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet Dionne Out of My Mind Draper 90 Miles to Havana Flores-Galbis The Other Half of My Heart Frazier Chomp Hiaasen Small as an Elephant Jacobson Inside Out & Back Again Lai Hero Lupica The Unwanteds McMann Summer of the Gypsy Moths Pennypacker The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the

Ghosts, Found Out Where They Went, and Went There Pinkwater

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) Riordan Emma on Thin Icing (Cupcake Diaries) Simon I Survived: Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Tarshis Dragon Breath #1 Vernon

Hit the Jackpot at Your Public Library! Make sure you visit your local library this summer, either in person or online. Here is just a sampling of what you can do:

• Enjoy special concerts and activities • Sign up for summer reading programs, sponsored by the

Boston Bruins • Borrow book club kits • Download e-books, audio books, and music • Borrow movies

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Non-Fiction Inside Dinosaurs Abramson Oh My Gods! A Look-it-up Guide to the Gods of Mythology Bryant The Ultimate Guide to Football Buckley Mummies (National Geographic Science Reader) Carney A Black Hole is Not a Hole (hardcover) DeChristofano Top Secret: A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing Janeczko Stink-o-pedia, Volume 2: More Stink-y Stuff from A to Z MacDonald Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds McCallum Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

(hardcover) Nelson

Dog Heroes (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker) Osborne Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to Creativity Peot Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry Prelutsky Lady Liberty: A Biography Rappaport Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America Robinson Comic Strips: Create Your Own Comic Strips From Start to

Finish Roche

Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories about Growing Up Scieszka

Scieszka

Extraordinary Endangered Animals (hardcover) Silhol The Everything Kids’ Astronomy Book Wagner Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story (hardcover) Yezerski

My Notes

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