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2011 Burlington Twp. Schools’ Summer Reading Selections Students Entering 6 th , 7 th , and 8th grades. Consider some of the following books when making your summer reading selections…. Elijah of Buxton By Christopher Paul Curtis.
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2011 Burlington Twp. Schools’Summer ReadingSelectionsStudents Entering6th, 7th, and 8th grades Consider some of the following books when making your summer reading selections…
Elijah of BuxtonBy Christopher Paul Curtis • Exciting, yet touching, heart-wrenching, yet hilarious, Elijah of Buxton is Christopher Paul Curtis at his very best — and it's an unforgettable testament to the power of hope. • Elijah of Buxton is the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor Book for 2008.
Elijah Freeman The first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit, Elijah is best known in his hometown as the boy who threw up on Frederick Douglass. (Not on purpose, of course — he was just a baby then!)
But things change when a former slave calling himself the Right Reverend Zephariah W. Connerly the Third steals money from Elijah's friend Mr. Leroy, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the south. Elijah joins Mr. Leroy on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the disreputable preacher, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled — a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to go back home.
Will Elijah be able to bring justice to the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family’s freedom?
The Princess DiariesBy Meg Cabot “Whatever comes,” she said “cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.” A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett
Meet Mia Mia Thermopolis is just a regular high school freshman at Albert Einstein High School. Well, as regular as you can be when you live in a loft in downtown New York with your flighty artist Mom. And as regular as you can be when your best friend is Lilly, a punky and spunky militant about everything type who produces her own TV show.
This book takes the form of a diary, written by Mia. Over the span of a month, she relates her daily woes and embarrassments in heart breaking detail. As with most teenaged girls, Mia thinks she is hopeless, looks-wise. She's tall --- 5'9" --- and klutzy.
One day, Mia finds out she is a princess. Okay, I know that doesn't sound bad to most girls, but Mia hates the idea instantly. How does this fairytale come true? Her father is ruler of the principality of Genovia and since Mia is his only child, she is next in line to the throne. Her dad sends in the big guns to convince Mia that being a princess is what she is meant to do. Her formidable grandmother comes to New York give Mia "Princess Lessons". And as the word spreads around Albert Einstein High School that Mia is royalty, her life just gets more crazy.
But…Just how crazy? The ending of THE PRINCESS DIARIES is a twisty one and will leave you wanting to read it again and again.
THE ARM OF A CHAMPION Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life…
Facts about Michael… • He is from Cuba • He is newly orphaned after his father leads the family on an escape from Cuba • His only family is his 17 year old brother • He is 12 years old
Major conflicts Michael must face… • Social Services! • Possible separation if the boys are caught living on their own • Possibly being sent back to Cuba • No proof of his age and no birth certificate
What the critics have to say… “Heat is a terrific book for every kid who dreams big, and for every mom and dad cheering in the bleachers. Mike Lupica has written another winner.” -Carl Hiaasen, author of Hoot “Top-notch entertainment!” -Booklist
The “heat” is on! What will Michael do when his secret world is blown wide open?
Hope Was HereBy Joan Bauer By age sixteen, Hope Yancey has created her own recipe for survival. Abandoned at birth by her mother, Hope joins her Aunt Addie, serving up comfort food in diners from all over, finally settling at the Welcome Stairways cafe in rural Wisconsin. Here, behind the facade of quiet, smalltown life, they discover political corruption and intimidation simmering.....
Hope Was Here is set in rural Wisconsin, in the heart of cheese country. Among the one-story buildings and quiet of the small town of Mulhoney, Hope Yancey learns some very hard truths about life and love. The town of Mulhoney, where one major economic influence dominates the lives of many, is the perfect atmosphere to weaken the will of the majority to fight the powerful forces of money and power. At the same time, the town's size also allows Hope to settle in quickly, find a job, make new friends, and immediately become involved in the town's activities. Because there is very little else to do, business at the Welcome Stairways Diner booms, and this places Hope and the other characters in the center of town’s happenings.
Issues! Hope and Braverman are both children of nontraditional families, but for different reasons. Hope suffers knowing her mother abandoned her at birth, and she does not know the identity of her biological father. Braverman lived with both parents, but his father eventually abandoned them. Both characters struggle to come to terms with these wounds and to work through their internal hostilities and anxieties about their parents. Along the way, they each find mentors and role models to provide the guidance their absent parents cannot, and both are led to a new perception of parents and family.
Along the way, they each find mentors and role models to provide the guidance their absent parents cannot, and both are led to…
Read Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer and find out which path Hope will chose.
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of LifeBy Wendy Mass "The Meaning of Life. For Jeremy Fink to open on his 13th birthday"
The Mystery Box One month before his 13th birthday, Jeremy Fink receives a mysterious box in the mail. It is securely locked and has the engraving "The Meaning of Life. For Jeremy Fink to open on his 13th birthday" written across the top. Even stranger than the cryptic message and the security system is the fact that the box is from Jeremy's father, who was killed in a car accident five years earlier. Along with the box is a letter from a lawyer, explaining that before he died, Jeremy's father had instructed the lawyer to send the box to Jeremy for his 13th birthday, but unfortunately, the keys to the box are missing and cannot be replaced.
Although Jeremy has never strayed far from his New York apartment on his own, his best friend and neighbor, Lizzie, is somewhat braver and more adventurous. So she convinces Jeremy to begin a search for the missing keys, which takes them through New York and New Jersey. Desperate to find the keys before Jeremy turns 13, they scour flea markets and visit the lawyer's abandoned office, all to no avail.
As events lead them to a summer job working for a retiring pawnbroker, delivering pawned items to their original owners, Jeremy and Lizzie find themselves meeting intriguing people who introduce them to fascinating things and new ideas about the world. Their one-month journey to open the box containing "the meaning of life" soon turns into a much bigger adventure with many life lessons learned along the way.
What is in the box? Read Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass to find out! The BIG Question
Under the Banyan TreeBy Toni de Palma “...told with complexity and depth...Irena discovers the true meaning of family.”-Booklist“...a cast of likable characters with big hearts and compelling histories.”-Publishers Weekly“…enormously appealing.” - Kirkus Review
Irena’s not sure where she’s headed when she runs away—she just wants to leave the trailer she used to share with her mama and daddy far behind. But when she stumbles upon the Banyan Tree Motel, something tells her it’s exactly where she’s meant to be.
The elderly owner generously welcomes Irena, and the Banyan soon begins to feel like home. But trouble follows Irena wherever she goes, and the Banyan is no different: a mysterious guest, money problems, and secrets from her past soon threaten the stability of her new life.
This moving story distills life’s joys and pains, and uncovers just what it really means to be a family. Under the Banyan Tree Toni de Palma
StormbreakerBy Anthony Horowitz How does adventure, danger, technology, cool gadgets, and spies sound? This book has it all!
Meet Alex Rider, the reluctant teenage spy When his guardian dies in suspicious circumstances, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his world turned upside down. Forcibly recruited into MI6, Alex has to take part in grueling SAS training exercises.
Armed with his own special set of secret gadgets, Alex is off on his first mission to Cornwall, where Middle-Eastern multi-billionaire Herod Sayle is producing his state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers. Sayle has offered to give one free to every school in the country – but there’s more to the gift than meets the eye.
Only Alex can find out the truth. But time is running out and Alex soon finds himself in mortal danger. It looks as if his first assignment may well be his last...
….or will it? To find out, read Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz.
Josh Cameron has it all: a World Championship ring with the Boston Celtics, an MVP award, a clean-cut image, and the adoration of millions. What he doesn’t have is family.
Then one day 12-year-old smartaleck Molly Parker confronts him in a parking-lot and claims to be his daughter - the only daughter of Jen Parker, Josh’s college sweetheart and the still the only girl he’s ever loved.
Trouble is, Jen Parker died last year, and now Molly has tracked down the father she never knew, the one her mother never wanted her to know about.
How will Molly’s father, Celtics superstar, Josh Cameron react? Read Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica
Murderers, Mob Bosses, and Convicts.. are your average neighbors when you live on Alcatraz. Moose Flanagan and his family just moved to the infamous island. He soon found that all of the kids were very clever. He has a hard time fitting in at school because he tries not to get caught up with the schemes of the other kids until…
His Sister is Targeted. All Moose wants to do is protect is sister, Natalie, live up to his parents’ expectations, and stay out of trouble.
But on Alcatraz, trouble is never far away… How will Moose survive? Al Capone Does My Shirts By: Gennifer Choldenko
It's been two years since Lucky Trimble's mother died. Since then, Lucky has made the best of things living with her French guardian, Brigitte. Even though Lucky, who aspires to be a scientist like Charles Darwin, tries hard to order her life like the insect specimens she collects, she's always a little worried. What if Brigitte --- her absent father's first wife, who planned to come to California just long enough to put Lucky in foster care --- ends up returning to her beloved France, leaving Lucky behind?
Maybe the answer to Lucky's problems lies with the mysterious "Higher Power" she often overhears members of various 12-step programs talking about. But what is Lucky's Higher Power and where she can go to find it? After she reaches rock bottom, she discovers Brigitte's passport on top of her suitcase ready for a return to France.
As Lucky works to find her Higher Power and finally recover from her mother's death, she interacts with many of her neighbors in tiny Hard Pan, California, which has 43 residents and only three paying jobs. Her eccentric friends include Short Sammy, knot expert (and future president) Lincoln Clinton Carter Kennedy, and little Miles, who is desperate for attention and obsessed with the book Are You My Mother?
Hard Pan may be a bit isolated and more than a little impoverished. What does this little town have to offer Brigitte, who is used to first-class restaurants, museums, and really good cheese? Read The Higher power of Lucky by Susan Patron to find out!
