High School English/Language Arts Summer Reading 2016
Parents and students,
In grades 9-12, SMPCS students will be assigned independent, self-selected reading outside of English
class. Summer is a great time to get a head start on outside reading. Your teacher and/or school may
even offer incentives or special recognition for the reading you complete over the summer, so don’t
miss the opportunity to start the 2016-2017 school year off right! Refer to your school’s website to find
more information about summer reading incentives.
The lists on the following pages contain titles for consideration when choosing self-selected reading; the
titles are aligned to the content of our instructional units.* The suggested titles were selected based on
their literary merit and/or interest level from a variety of sources, including: the SMCPS approved novel
and trade book list, the CCSS suggested reading/Gates Foundation instructional units, the American
Library Association, and Good Reads. The titles that are not on the SMCPS approved for instruction list
may contain mature content, so be sure to review your child’s selections to help him/her make the best
choice.
TIPS FOR SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD WITH SUMMER READING
#1: Let your child choose his/her own books and abandon them when they are just not working.
 Interest in reading material enhances comprehension; therefore, students with high interest in a
topic will be more engaged and committed to reading, even if the reading level is challenging.
 Conversely, students with little interest in a topic may demonstrate low comprehension of material
that should be at an independent reading level for them.
#2: Preview the books that interest you by reading reviews on websites such as Amazon or Good
Reads and make your selections accordingly.
#3: Help your child set goals and read with him/her or form reading discussion groups with peers.
 Students who get together with friends and discuss a book are more likely to be excited about
reading. Book clubs can be rather informal and allow students to carry on a conversation about
anything related to the book they are reading.
 Ask your child nonthreatening questions about the reading by initially posing general questions that
do not create tension or feelings of resistance: “Can you give me one or two items from the chapter
that seem important?" "What section of the reading do you have questions about?" "What item in
the reading surprised you?" "What topics in the chapter can you apply to your own experience?"
 Reading motivation is linked to setting goals and working toward those goals in an active, sustained
manner, so help your child set and monitor his/her reading goals. Check in often throughout the
summer.
And don’t miss the summer reading program at the public library, which starts June 13. You can find
more information at www.stmalib.org.
Works Cited
Reed, Deborah. (2005). “Motivating Students to Read/Issue and Practices.” SEDL Letter, XVII, Number 1.
*Students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses have separate reading lists. Please refer to the
SMCPS website or the flyer your child received at the end of the year.
KEY:
(+) ON SMCPS APPROVED NOVEL LIST
(*) HIGHER INTEREST, MORE ACCESSIBLE TEXTS
High School English/Language Arts Summer Reading 2016
Grade 12
UNIT 1
The Mercy Seller by Brenda Rickman Vantrease*
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown*
The Chosen by Chaim Potok*
Year of Wonders by Gwendolyn Brooks*
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini*
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory*
The Rapture of Canaan by S. Reynolds*
Child of the Dark Prophecy by T.A. Barron
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert
Pirsig
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to
Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs
Blankets by Craig Thompson
The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
UNIT 2
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
Roma by Steven Saylor
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
I Capture the Castle by Dodi Smith
Fool by Christopher Moore
The Madness of Love by Katherine Davies
The Dead Father’s Club by Matt Haig
Brave New Girl by Louisa Luna
The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips
Wise Children by Angela Carter
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
Ophelia by Lisa Klein
Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay
Tempestuous by Kim Askew
KEY:
(+) ON SMCPS APPROVED NOVEL LIST
UNIT 3
Dracula by Bram Stoker+
A Passage to India by E.M. Forester+
The House Gun by Nadine Gordimer
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith+
Emma by Jane Austen+
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo+
The Count of Monte Cristo by Andre Dumas+
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells+
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen+
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë+
The Adventure of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll+
The Sunken Bell by Gerhart Hauptmann
A Great and Terrible Beauty by L. Bray*
Rose Daughter by Rebecca McKinley*
Master Harold…and the boys by Athol Fugard*
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchhausen by
Rudolf Erich Raspe
The Decay of Lying by Oscar Wilde
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by
Deborah Heiligman
The Sufferings of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Von
Goethe
UNIT 4
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt+
The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch*
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark
Haddon*
The House at Riverton by Katherine Morton*
In My Hands by R. Opdyke*
The Cage by R. Minsky Sender*
I Have Lived a Thousand Years by L. Britton-Jackson*
Summer of the Big Bachi by N. Hirahara*
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
(*) HIGHER INTEREST, MORE ACCESSIBLE TEXTS