Miss Olbon’s 2017 Summer Reading List
REQUIRED BOOK: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
READER’S CHOICE LIST
CLASSICS
The Odyssey- Homer
The Iliad- Homer
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Little Women- Louisa May Alcott
Anything by Jane Austen
Any Shakespeare play
Anne of Green Gables- LM Montgomery
Mythology- Edith Hamilton
White Fang- Jack London
The Little Prince- Antione de Saint-Exupery
Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
The Hunchback of Notre Dame- Victor Hugo
The Three Musketeers- Alexandre Dumas
Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens
Great Expectations- Charles Dickens
War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy
REALISTIC FICTION
Bridge to Terebithia- Katherine Paterson
Walk Two Moons- Sharon Creech
Chasing Redbird- Sharon Creech
Paper Towns- John Green
The House on Mango Street- Sandra Cisneros
Julie of the Wolves- Jean Craighead George
My Side of the Mountain- Jean Craighead George
Izzy, Willy-Nilly- Cynthia Voigt
Tangerine- Edward Bloor
HISTORICAL FICTION
Fever 1793- Laurie Halse Andersen
Heart of a Samurai: Based on the True Story of Manjiro Nakakama- Margi Preus
Streams to the River, River to the Sea- Scott O’Dell
Lyddie- Katherine Peterson
Catherine, Called Birdy- Karen Cushman
Matilda Bone- Karen Cushman
The Witch of Blackbird Pond- Elizabeth George Speare
Letters from Rifka- Karen Hesse
The Devil’s Arithmetic- Jane Yolen
Out of the Dust- Karen Hesse
Nory Ryan’s Song- Patricia Reilly Giff
Lily’s Crossing- Patricia Reilly Giff
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg- Rodman Philbrick
The Chosen- Chaim Potok
The Killer Angels- Michael Shaara
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle- Avi
Juba!- Walter Dean Meyers
The Water Seeker- Kimberly Willis Holt
HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY
The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman
Anything by John Bellairs
Anything by Agatha Christie
Anything by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Dracula- Bram Stoker
Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
SCIENCE FICTION
Any book by Madeline L’Engle
Gathering Blue- Lois Lowry
Matched (first in a series)- Ally Conde
The Maze Runner- James Dashner
A Journey to the Center of the Earth- Jules Verne
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne
Dune- Frank Herbert
Jurassic Park- Michael Crichton
A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
FANTASY
Here, There Be Dragons- James A. Owen
The Eragon series- Christopher Paolini
Any of the Narnia series- C.S. Lewis
The Eye of the World- Robert Jordan
The Redwall Series- Brian Jacques
The Blue Sword- Robin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown- Robin McKinley
Any of the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Gypsy Rizka- Lloyd Alexander
The Arcadians- Lloyd Alexander
The Wind on Fire Trilogy- William Nicholson
The Thief- Megan Whalen Turner
Any Rick Riordan book
Ella Enchanted- Gail Carson Levine
Anything by J.R.R. Tolkien
A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket
The Neverending Story- Wolfgang Petersen
Any of the Earthsea Quartet- Ursula K. LeGuin
Howl’s Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones
Any of the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
The Wizard of Oz- L. Frank Baum
The Dark is Rising- Susan Cooper
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making- Cathrynne Valente
NON-FICTION
An American Plague- Jim Murphy
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi- Neil Bascomb
The Greatest: Muhammad Ali- Walter Dean Myers
This Land Was Made for You and Me- Elizabeth Partridge
Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex- Nathaniel Phillbrick
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, and Bravery- Steve Sheinkin
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer- James L. Swanson
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia- Candace Fleming
Strong Inside Young Reader’s Edition: The True Story of How Perry Wallace Broke
College Basketball's Color Line- Andrew Maraniss
Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad- Anne Petrey
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics- Daniel James Brown
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club- Phillip Hoose
The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr- Judith St. George
MEMOIR
Brown Girl Dreaming- Jacqueline Woodson
Enchanted Air- Margarita Engle
I Will Plant You A Lilac Tree- Laura Hillman
Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea- Sungju Lee
Bad Boy- Walter Dean Myers
Autobiography- Benjamin Franklin
The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank
Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo- Zlata Filipovic
Hello 7th & 8th Grade!
For your summer reading, you are required to read BOTH the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen AND at least one book from the “Reader’s Choice” list. For Hoot, you are required to write a book report using the Standard Book Report Format below.
For the book from the “Reader’s Choice” list, you may choose any ONE response option from the menu below.
Should you choose to read more than one of the “Reader’s Choice” books and create a response from the menu, you may accrue extra credit for Literature class. Throughout the school year, you may return to the “Reader’s Choice” list and response menu for extra credit for Literature class.
Standard Book Report Format
All of the following should be addressed in paragraph form. The report may be hand-written or typed.
• Name the title, author, and the number of pages.
(Remember to underline or italicize the title of the book.)
•Identify the main characters.
Write 2-3 descriptive sentences about each.
Include both physical and personality traits whenever possible.
•Describe the book's setting.
Include the mood.
•Give a brief summary of the plot. (Address beginning, middle, and end)
What were the goals of the character? Were the goals met? Why or why not?
What was the conflict or conflicts in the story?
What type of conflict/s were they? Were they resolved? How?
•What was the theme of the book?
Was there a message for the reader?
What was it?
•Explain why you liked or disliked the book. Be specific!
RESPONSE MENU
1. Create a musical playlist (at least 5 songs) based on your book. The playlist can be focused around the theme, time period, characters, plot, etc. Each song should have a short written rationale explaining why you chose the song and how it relates to your book.
2. Create a travel brochure for your book. Why would someone want to visit the place where your book takes place? What are some of the interesting things that have happened there?
3. Write a newspaper article about the major event in your book.
4. Write a poem based on your book.
5. Write a new last chapter for your book. How do you think it should have ended?
6. Write a book report using the Standard Book Report Format.
7. Should I read this book? Write a convincing position essay about your book. (one page)
8. Make a poster advertising your book- why should someone read it? Include the main characters, setting, title, author, and a BRIEF, spoiler-free plot summary.
10. Create a short comic strip illustrating a scene you liked, a chapter that stood out to you, or a major plot point of the book.
11. Record a podcast! This can be done with a partner. In your podcast, you can interview “the main character” or “the author,” discuss the book & its major themes, or just talk about whether you liked the book.
12. Create a timeline of the major events of the book. Make sure it is illustrated and annotated.
13. Create a collage or other work of art based on the book. Write a rationale explaining your artistic choices and connections to the book.
14. Make a video trailer for the book- convince someone to read your book! This can also be a partner project.
15. Curate a recommendation list for someone who liked your book- what books, poems, or plays have you read that remind you of this one? What movies or TV shows have you seen that are similar? What musical artists might someone who likes this book like? Be sure to include a written rationale explaining your choices and how they relate to the book.