Summer Reading List 2011
for Students Entering 4th Grade
This summer, students are expected to read at least three books they haven’t read before.
Choose one of the following novels with a multicultural theme:
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in
search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, Herman E. Calloway.
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
A riveting novel about family and identity, drawn from the warmth, wisdom, and love of Ryan's own Mexican and Oklahoman heritages.
The Thing about Georgie by Lisa Graff
Georgie's dwarfism causes problems, but he could always rely on his parents, his best friend, and classmate Jeanie the Meanie's
teasing, until a surprising announcement, a new boy in school, and a class project shake things up.
Choose one of the following classics:
The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty Birney
Eben McAllister's pa challenges him to find seven wonders in boring and predictable Sassafras Springs that rival the real Seven
Wonders of the World. Little does Eben know that what he'll discover will give him the adventure of a lifetime.
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Eleven-year-old Harriet keeps notes on her classmates and neighbors in a secret notebook, but when some of the students read the
notebook, they seek revenge.
The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
A gift of a toy castle, complete with silver knight, introduces William to an adventure involving magic and a personal quest.
Plus, one additional book of your choice from the attached list, or choose a book on your own.
Our summer reading list includes books that were recommended, not only by your teachers, but also by
Tower School students. Just like adults, your peers are often the best source for book recommendations.
Keep in mind, however, that every one of you is unique in terms of your reading level, interests, and maturity.
4th grade students recommend…
39 Clues (series)
Riordan, Rick &
others
Swallows and Amazons
(series)
Ransome, Arthur
Island of the Blue Dolphins
O’Dell, Scott
The Trolls
Horvath, Polly
Percy Jackson and the
Olympians (series)
Riordan, Rick
Guardians of Ga’Hoole
(series)
Lasky, Kathryn
At the reading of their grandmother's will, Dan and Amy Cahill
are given the choice of receiving a million dollars or uncovering
the 39 clues hidden around the world that will lead to the source
of the family's power, but by taking on the clues, they end up in a
dangerous race against their own family members.
Children "mess about in boats", camp and sail in England's Lake
District, experiencing realistic outdoor adventures with little adult
supervision. They get into trouble - and out of it - on their own.
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of
California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only
merely surviving through her enormous courage and selfreliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary
life.
Eccentric Aunt Sally comes from Canada to babysit the
Anderson children while their parents are on a trip to Paris and
every night the bedtime story adds another piece to a very
suspect family history.
The gods of Olympus are alive in the 21st Century. They still
fall in love with mortals and have children who might become
great heroes, but most of these children meet horrible fates at
the hands of monsters by the age of twelve. Only a few learn the
truth of their identity and make it to Half Blood Hill, a Long Island
summer camp dedicated to training young demigods.
Deep in the forest of Tyto, nestled into the arms of the fir trees,
the Barn Owls dwell. Soren is born into their tranquil kingdom.
But evil lurks in the owl world, evil that threatens to shatter Tyto's
peace and change the course of Soren's life forever.
The Last of the Really Great
Whangdoodles
Andrews, Julie
Chet Gecko (series)
Hale, Bruce
Bone (series)
Smith, Jeff
Jack Russell, Dog Detective
(series)
Cracker, the best dog in
Vietnam
Odgers, Darrel &
Sally
Kadohata,
Cynthia
Harry Potter (series)
Rowling, J.K.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of
NIMH
O’Brien, Robert
Hoot
Hiaasen, Carl
Where the Red Fern Grows
Rawls, Wilson
Love, Stargirl
Spinelli, Jerry
Septimus Heap (series)
Sage, Angie
Holes
Sachar, Louis
Misty of Chincoteague
Henry,
Margueritte
Rangers Apprentice (series)
Flanagan, John
Secret of the Sirens
Golding, Julia
The Alchemyst (trilogy)
Scott, Michael
With help from an eccentric professor who gives their
imaginations special intensive training, three children succeed
in locating the last of the great Whangdoodles and granting his
heart's desire.
Chet is a 4th grade detective and a comedian with attitude. He's
also a lizard! Chet loves two things in life: solving mysteries and
devouring dessert.
After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins - Fone
Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone - are separated and lost
in a vast, uncharted desert.
There's a kitnapper on the loose and he has cat-snatched an old
enemy! It could be a case for Jack Russell, Dog Detective
A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog.
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a
young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending
Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.
Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse
visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made
them wise and long lived.
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes
involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing
owls from a proposed construction site.
The tale of a boy and his best friends: two remarkable hunting
dogs who teach him about life, loyaty and trust against a wild
woodland backdrip where adventure waits just around the bend.
Still moping months after being dumped by her Arizona boyfriend
Leo, fifteen-year-old Stargirl, a home-schooled free spirit,
writes "the world's longest letter" to Leo, describing her new life
in Pennsylvania.
Pulled through a glass that brings him back in time, Septimus
Heap becomes the apprentice of an alchemist.
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they
attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent
to a brutal correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds
his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.
Paul and his sister Maureen's determination to own a pony from
the herd on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, is greatly increased
when the Phantom and her colt are among the ponies rounded
up for the yearly auction.
When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he
becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt,
and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
Upon moving to her aunt's seaside home in the British Isles,
Connie becomes part of a secret society that shelters mythical
creatures, and must use her ability to communicate with these
beings to protect them from evil and the incursions of humans.
While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San
Francisco, fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly
find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle
between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over
the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the
secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.