Summer Reading

2007

 

 

A suggested list of books for 6th graders

 

Compiled  by

Jonas Clarke and William Diamond Middle School Libraries

 

 

For a list of 2007 Best Books (recommended by the Young Adult Services Association (YALSA)) visit the website:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.htm

 

 

 

 

 

Balliett,Blue. Wright 3.  Scholastic, 2007.

In the midst of a series of unexplained accidents and mysterious coincidences, sixth-graders Calder, Petra, and Tommy lead their classmates in an attempt to keep Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Robie House from being demolished.

 

Barry,Dave.   Peter and the Starcatchers. Hyperion Books for Children, 2004.

In a story explaining how Peter Pan and the Lost Boys (here all orphans) ended up in Never Land, Peter and the boys join forces with Molly, a Starcatcher.  Peter and Molly  fight off thieves and pirates in order to keep the secret safe away from the diabolical Black Stache and his evil associate Mister Grin.  Try the sequel: Peter and the Shadow Thieves

 

Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks: a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy. Knopf, 2005.

While vacationing with their widowed fathering the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.

 

Flanagan, John. Ruins of Gorlan. Philomel Books, 2005.

When Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.

Try the sequel: Burning Bridge

 

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Water Street. Wendy Lamb Books, 2006

In the shadow of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, eighth-graders and new neighbors Bird Mallon and Thomas Neary make some decisions about what they want to do with their lives.

 

Grimes, Nikki. The Road to Paris. Putnam, 2006

Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision.

 

Hiaasen, Carl. Flush. Knopf, 2005.

With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister, Abbey, must gather evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge tanks into the protected waters around their Florida Keys home.

 

Horowitz, Anthony.  Stormbreaker. Philomel Books, 2001.

Action-packed adventures! As a spy for Britain's intelligence agency M16, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider has been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside, stood face to face with evil...what's next? Try the next in the series: Point Blank

                                       

Jones, Kimberly.  Sand Dollar Summer.  Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2006.

When twelve-year-old Lise spends the summer on an island in Maine with her self-reliant mother and bright--but oddly mute--younger brother, her formerly safe world is complicated by an aged Indian neighbor, her mother's childhood friend, and a hurricane.

 

Kadohata, Cynthia. Weedflower. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.

Set during World War II. After twelve-year-old Sumiko and her Japanese-American family are relocated from their flower farm in southern California to an internment camp on a Mojave Indian reservation in Arizona, she helps her family and neighbors, becomes friends with a local Indian boy, and tries to hold on to her dream of owning a flower shop.

 

Lord,Cynthia.  Rules. Scholastic Press, 2006.

Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with an young paraplegic

 

Patron,Susan. The Higher Power of Lucky. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.

Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.

 

Pearsall, Shelley. All of the Above : a novel. Little, Brown, 2006.

Five urban middle school students, their teacher, and other community members relate how a school project to build the world's largest tetrahedron affects the lives of everyone involved.

 

Resau,Laura. What the Moon Saw. Delacorte Press, 2006.

Fourteen-year-old Clara Luna spends the summer with her grandparents in the tiny, remote village of Yucuyoo, Mexico, learning about her grandmother's life as a healer, her father's decision to leave home for the United States, and her own place in the world.

 

Riordan, Rick.  The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.

Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp

Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.  Try reading the next in the series: The Sea of Monsters

 

Schwartz, Ellen. Stealing Home. Tundra Books,2006.

Nine-year-old Yankee fan and Bronx native Joey Sexton is sent to Brooklyn after his mother's death and finds himself battling prejudice in his own family, trying to win the acceptance of his white, Jewish grandfather, who looks down on him because he is half African-American.

 

Springer, Nancy. The Case of the Missing Marquess: an Enola Holmes Mystery. Philomel Books, 2006.

Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.

Also try: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady

 

Weeks, Sarah. So B. It. Laura Geringer Books, 2004.

After spending her life with her mentally retarded mother and agoraphobic neighbor, twelve-year-old Heidi sets out from Reno, Nevada, to New York to find out who she is.

 

Yee, Lisa.  Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005.

After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.

 

In addition to the above suggestions, you may also wish to wish read any books by the following authors:

 

Deborah Abela, Avi, Meg Cabot, Suzanne Collins, Sharon Creech, Cornelia Funke, Erin Hunter, , Kilary McKay, Gary Paulsen, J. K. Rowling, Louis Sachar, Lemony Snicket, Jonathan Stroud,  Wendelin Van Draanen and Cynthia Voight.