Lexile Range 750 - 950
(Prepared by the ISU Literacy Committee)
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The
more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
~ Dr. Seuss
This summer reading list is created to inspire you to read. Students
are required to read two books from the selection of titles listed
below. These books represent a broad spectrum of choices,
including award winners and international authors. Come back to
class in August prepared to complete an assignment based on the
books you have chosen to read from the list. Happy Reading!
Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
Meggy Swann, is newly come to London with her only friend, a
goose named Louise. Meggy's mother was glad to be rid of her; her
father, who sent for her, doesn't want her after all. Meggy is
appalled by London, dirty and noisy, full of rogues and thieves, and
difficult to get around in—not that getting around is ever easy for
someone who walks with the help of two sticks. Just as her
alchemist father pursues his Great Work of transforming base metal
into gold, Meggy finds herself pursuing her own transformation.
Earthy and colorful, Elizabethan London has its dark side, but it also
has gifts in store for Meggy Swann.
LP: risk-taker, open-minded
Bifocal by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters
A student arrested on suspicions of terrorism. A high school torn
apart by racism. Two boys from two different sets of circumstances
forced to choose sides. The story is told from two different points of
view. Haroon is a serious student devoted to his family. His
grandparents emigrated from Afghanistan. Jay is a football star
devoted to his team. He is white. One day their high school is put on
lockdown, and the police arrest a Muslim student on suspicion of
terrorist affiliations. He might be guilty. Or is he singled out because
of his race?
LP: caring, open-minded
Blue Sword by Robin McKinley series)
Harry Crewe is an orphan girl who comes to live in Damar, the desert
country shared by the Homelanders and the secretive, magical
Hillfolk. Her life is quiet and ordinary-until the night she is kidnapped
by Corlath, the Hillfolk King, who takes her deep into the desert. She
does not know the Hillfolk language; she does not know why she has
been chosen. But Corlath does. Harry is to be trained in the arts of
war until she is a match for any of his men. Does she have the
courage to accept her true fate?
LP: risk-taker, open-minded
The Boy on the Lion Throne: The Childhood of the 14th Dalai Lama
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
From humble beginnings to world leader, a new biography focuses
on the childhood of the Dalai Lama, as his country remains at the
center of the world stage. On a quiet winter morning in 1937,
several men on horseback rode into the tiny Tibetan village of
Taktser. Disguised as peasants, the high lamas were on a secret
mission--soon they would identify 3-year-old Lhamo Thondup as the
14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. With a foreword by the Dalai
Lama himself, this dramatic narrative follows his remarkable
childhood, illuminating the story of Tibet and introducing a
remarkable world figure to a new generation.
LP: communicator, open-minded
Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
A Young Pioneer is a reliable comrade and always acts according to
conscience. A Young Pioneer has a right to criticize shortcomings.
But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day
Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He
breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally
damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway. And worst of all, his
father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night.
This moving story of a ten-year-old boy's world shattering is
masterful in its simplicity, powerful in its message, and
heartbreaking in its plausibility.
LP: reflective, thinker
Crossing to Paradise by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Gatty is a field girl on a manor. She has never seen busy London or
the bright Channel, the snowy Alps of France or the boats in the
Venetian sea. She has not sung in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or
prayed at the manger in Bethlehem -- or been kidnapped, or
abandoned, or kissed, or heartbroken. But all these things will
change. As Gatty journeys with Lady Gwyneth and a prickly new
family of pilgrims across Europe to the Holy Land, Kevin CrossleyHolland reveals a medieval world as rich and compelling as the
world of today it foresees -- and, in Gatty, a character readers will
never forget.
LP: risk-taker, open-minded
The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh
It's 1347 and fifteen-year-old Will, an orphan boy, lives at Crowfield
Abbey. Sent into the forest to gather wood, he rescues instead, a
creature from a trap - a hob, who shares with Will a terrible secret.
Somewhere in the forest behind the abbey where he lives, is a
grave. And buried deep in the snow is an angel. But how can an
angel die?
LP: caring, inquirer
The Dancer Who Flew by Linda Maybardu
Few ballet dancers have held the world’s attention like Rudolf
Nureyev. Naturally talented and technically brilliant, Nureyev had a
charisma that knocked the dancing world on its heels. This stunning
book is a very personal glimpse of a unique artist through the eyes
of a fellow dancer and friend.
LP: communicator, principled
Dark Life by Kat Falls (series)
A thrilling futuristic adventure set deep undersea, Dark Life follows
the settlers of the world's first subsea settlement as they defend
their homesteads against a brazen band of outlaws. Set in an
apocalyptic future where rising oceans have swallowed up entire
regions and people live packed like sardines on the dry land left,
DARK LIFE is the harrowing tale of underwater pioneers who have
carved out a life for themselves in the harsh deep-sea environment,
farming the seafloor in exchange for the land deed.
LP: risk-taker, thinker
Flour Babies by Anne Fine
When the annual school science fair comes round, Mr Cartwright's
class don't get to work on the Soap Factory, the Maggot Farm or the
Exploding Custard Tins. To their intense disgust they get the Flour
Babies - sweet little six-pound bags of flour that must be cared for at
all times.
LP: caring
girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is
terrifying. Remember. Survive. Run.
LP: risk-taker, thinker
The Girl Who Soared over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by
Catherynne Valente (series)
September misses Fairyland and her friends Ell, the Wyverary, and
the boy Saturday. She longs to leave the routines of home, and
embark on a new adventure. Little does she know that this time, she
will be spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and
find herself faced with saving Fairyland from a moon-Yeti with great
and mysterious powers.
LP: risk-taker
Messenger by Lois Lowry
Trouble is brewing in Village. Once a utopian community that
welcomed strangers, Village will soon be cut off to all outsiders. As
one of the few able to traverse the forbidding Forest, Matty must
deliver the message of Village’s closing and try to convince Seer’s
daughter Kira to return with him before it’s too late. But Forest is
now hostile to Matty, too, and he must risk everything to fight his
way through it.
LP: risk-taker, communicator
Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes
Italy, 1944: Florence is occupied by Nazi forces. The Italian resistance
movement has not given up hope, though — and neither have
thirteen-year- old Paolo and his sister, Costanza. As their mother is
pressured into harboring escaping POWs, Paolo and Costanza each
find a part to play in opposing the German forces. Both are
desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings — with
only a bicycle to help them — do against a whole army?
LP: risk-taker, thinker
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Author and filmmaker Ransom Riggs mixes vintage photographs
with fiction to create a fantasy story both unique and mesmerizing.
Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children is a story that pits truth
versus fiction, and leads a young boy to a mysterious island off the
coast of Wales to find out if the stories of his childhood are real.
LP: open-minded, inquirer
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from
El Patron, lord of a country called Opium. Can a boy who was bred to
guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can
he ever be free?
LP: thinker; inquirer
How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science
Denial by Darryl Cuningham
Is hydro-fracking safe? Is climate change real? Did the moon landing
actually happen? How about evolution: fact or fiction? Awardwinning author-illustrator Darryl Cunningham looks at these and
other hot-button science topics and presents a fact-based, visual
assessment of current thinking and research on eight different
issues everybody’s arguing about. His lively storytelling approach
incorporates comics, photographs, and diagrams to create
substantive but easily accessible reportage. Cunningham’s
distinctive illustrative style shows how information is manipulated
by all sides; his easy-to-follow narratives allow readers to draw their
own fact-based conclusions.
LP: inquirer
I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (series)
In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left
their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil
Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who
look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have
extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting
next to you now. The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The
Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in
England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John
Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.
LP: risk-taker, caring
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (trilogy)
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember
is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories
are also gone. "Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade."
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a
limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's
ever made it through alive. "Everything is going to change." Then a
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller
Annie Sullivan was little more than a half-blind orphan with a fiery
tongue when she arrived at Ivy Green in 1887. Desperate for work,
she'd taken on a seemingly impossible job -- teaching a child who
was deaf, blind, and as ferocious as any wild animal. But Helen Keller
needed more than a teacher. She needed someone daring enough
to work a miracle. And if anyone was a match for Helen, it was the
girl they used to call Miss Spitfire. For Annie, reaching Helen's mind
meant losing teeth as raging fists flew. It meant standing up when
everyone else had given up. It meant shedding tears at the
frustrations and at the triumphs.
LP: caring, principled
My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald
Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem solver. After the
local homecoming queen shows up at her family’s struggling
drugstore with a beauty disaster that Lucy helps to fix, Lucy has a
long line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat
mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the
pharmacy. If only she could find a way to make the pharmacy the
center of town again—a place where people want to spend time,
like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate
the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s
family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader?
LP: caring, risk-taker
Middleworld by J & P Voelkel (series)
Harry Potter meets Indiana Jones meets Clash of the Titans! Fasten
your seat belts for a heart-stopping ride of suspense and terror, set
against a background of haunted temples, family secrets, ritual
sacrifice, and adolescent angst, as a pampered, pizza-eating Boston
teenager fights to survive in the teeming jungle and save the
modern world from the Ancient Maya Lords of Death. It transports
the reader to a world in which the Maya deities still have power and
influence, where time and space are in flux, but where even a
fourteen-year-old from the outside can become aware, and find
wisdom and love, if he can but open his eyes to the magic around
him.
LP: caring, knowledgeable
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
A homeless girl is taken in as an apprentice by a hot-tempered
midwife, and eventually, in spite of obstacles and hardships, gains a
place in the world. A humorous and insightful novel filled with
fascinating details of village life in medieval England.
LP: risk-taker, thinker
Nobody’s Princess by Esther M. Friesner
She is beautiful, she is a princess, and Aphrodite is her favorite
goddess, but something in Helen of Sparta just itches for more out
of life. Not one to count on the gods—or her looks—to take care of
her, Helen sets out to get what she wants with steely determination
and a sassy attitude. That same attitude makes Helen a few
enemies—such as the self-proclaimed "son of Zeus" Theseus—but it
also intrigues, charms, and amuses those who become her friends,
from the famed huntress Atalanta to the young priestess who is the
Oracle of Delphi.
LP: inquirer, risk-taker
The Once and Future King by T.H.White
Once upon a time, a young boy called “Wart” was tutored by a
magician named Merlyn in preparation for a future he couldn’t
possibly imagine. A future in which he would ally himself with the
greatest knights, love a legendary queen and unite a country
dedicated to chivalrous values. A future that would see him crowned
and known for all time as Arthur, King of the Britons.
LP: inquirer, knowledgeable
Paperboy by Vince Vawter
An 11-year-old boy living in Memphis in 1959 throws the meanest
fastball in town, but talking is a whole different ball game. He can
barely say a word without stuttering, not even his own name. So
when he takes over his best friend's paper route for the month of
July, he knows he'll be forced to communicate with the different
customers.
The paper route poses challenges, but it's a run-in with the
neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, that stirs up real trouble-and puts the boy's life, as well as that of his family's devoted
housekeeper, in danger.
LP: risk-taker, communicator
Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
Now, for those of you who know anything about blind children, you
are aware that they make the very best thieves. As you can well
imagine, blind children have incredible senses of smell, and they can
tell what lies behind a locked door—be it fine cloth, gold, or peanut
brittle—at fifty paces. Moreover, their fingers are so small and
nimble that they can slip right through keyholes, and their ears so
keen that they can hear the faint clicks and clacks of every moving
part inside even the most complicated lock. Of course, the age of
great thievery has long since passed; today there are few childthieves left, blind or otherwise. At one time, however, the world was
simply thick with them. This is the story of the greatest thief who
ever lived. His name, as you’ve probably guessed, is Peter Nimble.
LP: thinker, risk-taker
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have
quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the
king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future
princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose
his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set
up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend
and learn how to become a princess. Miri soon finds herself
confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition
among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and
win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek
out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the
girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to
save herself and her classmates.
LP: principled
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
The story of a remarkable boy called Yann Margoza; Tetu the dwarf,
his friend and mentor; Sido, unloved daughter of a foolish Marquis;
and Count Kalliovski, Grand Master of a secret society, who has half
the aristocracy in thrall to him, and wants Yann dead. Yann is
spirited away to London but three years later, when Paris is gripped
by the bloody horrors of the Revolution, he returns, charged with
two missions: to find out Kalliovski's darkest deeds and to save Sido
from the guillotine. With a tangle of secrets, a thread of magic and a
touch of humour, the follies of the aristocracy and the sufferings of
ordinary people are unfolded as their lives move relentlessly
towards the tragic and horrific days of the Terror.
LP: open-minded, inquirer
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang
Ji-li's deeply moving story should be on the shelf of every person's
library. Her courage in the face of adversity and her steadfast loyalty
to her family are truly inspirational for young and old alike.
LP: principled, risk-taker
Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony
The year is 2041. Sixteen-year-old Molly McClure has lived a
relatively quiet life on an isolated farming island, but when her
family fears the worst may have happened to her grandparents in
the US, Molly must brave the dangerous, chaotic world left after
global economic collapse. One of massive oil shortages, rampant
crime, and abandoned cities. Molly is relieved to find her
grandparents alive in their Portland suburb, but they are financially
ruined and practically starving. What should have been a quick trip
turns into a full-fledged rescue mission. And when Molly witnesses
something the local crime bosses wishes she hadn't, Molly's only
way home may be to beat them at their own game. Luckily, there's a
handsome stranger who's willing to help.
LP: principled, caring
The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
Jack was 11 when berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him.
Now in 793 AD, Jack and his little sister Lucy are enslaved by Olaf
One-Brow, and his fierce young shipmate Thorgil. Alongside the
crow "Bold Heart", they learn to "Just say no to pillaging."
LP: thinker, risk-taker
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Tree-ear, an orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’
village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated
with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master
potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own
someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is
elated–until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of
digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own
ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself–even if it
means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work
in the hope of a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the
royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.
LP: risk-taker, principled
Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur by Jane Yolen
The newly crowned King Arthur has yet to win the support of the
people. Merlin must do something before the king is betrayed, or
murdered, or--worst of all--gets married. So Merlin creates a trick: a
sword magically placed into a slab of rock that only Arthur can
withdraw. Then he lets it be known that whosoever removes the
blade will rule all of England, and invites any man who would dare,
to try to pull out the sword.
LP: inquirer, risk-taker
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Welcome to the magical underworld of Venice, Italy. Here, hidden
canals and crumbling rooftops shelter runaways and children with
incredible secrets.... After escaping from their cruel aunt and uncle,
orphans Prosper and Bo meet a mysterious boy who calls himself
the "Thief Lord." Clever and charming, the Thief Lord leads a band of
street children who enjoy making mischief. But the Thief Lord also
has a dark secret. And suddenly Proper and Bo find themselves on a
fantastical journey to a forgotten place. What they discover there
will change the course of their destiny.
LP: risk-taker, thinker
Thief of Hearts by Laurence Yep (series)
Stacy Palmer almost never thinks about being Chinese American. As
far as she's concerned, she's just like everyone else. Then Hong
Ch'un comes to Stacy's school from China. Stacy and Hong Ch'un
don't exactly get along, but when Hong Ch'un is accused of stealing
and runs away, Stacy vows she must try to find her. With her family's
help, Stacy searches the tiny back streets of San Francisco's
Chinatown. There, she gets a glimpse of what it was like for her
Chinese mother, growing up in a different culture. And for the first
time in her life she realizes her true heritage-and finally understands
what it means to be Chinese American.
LP: reflective, open-minded
The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer (series)
Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar
Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping
hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer
have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an
experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the
children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off
with the machine — and Peter and Kate's only chance of getting
home. Soon Gideon, Peter, and Kate are swept into a journey
through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they
hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.
LP: communicator, caring
Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce
Alianne is the teenage daughter of the famed Alanna, the Lioness of
Tortall. Aly is bold and brave like her mother, but she has no wish to
become a knight. Instead she longs to follow in her father's
footsteps as a spy, an ambition her parents vehemently oppose.
After a furious argument Aly runs away, with disastrous
consequences. Captured and sold as a slave in the Copper Isles, she
discovers that this whole nightmare has not come about by chance the Trickster God, Kyprioth, has plans for her...
LP: risk-taker
Ungifted by Gordon Korman
The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis.
So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school,
he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of
the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to
the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for
gifted and talented students. It wasn't exactly what Donovan had
intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone
like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are
above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the
students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not
be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an
ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably
dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing comefrom-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might
be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.
LP: knowledgeable, thinker
The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (trilogy)
Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an
unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the
medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set
him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his
medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than
ever before. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own
strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.
Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind,
part of an underground society of magical people who live among
us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the
White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game - a
magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight
to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.
LP: risk-taker, inquirer
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
I have been in love with Titus Oates for quite a while now--which is
ridiculous, since he's been dead for ninety years. But look at it this
way. In ninety years I'll be dead, too, and the age difference won't
matter. Sym is not your average teenage girl. She is obsessed with
the Antarctic and the brave, romantic figure of Captain Oates from
Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole. In fact, Oates is the
secret confidant to whom she spills all her hopes and fears. But
Sym's uncle Victor is even more obsessed--and when he takes her on
a dream trip into the bleak Antarctic wilderness, it turns into a
nightmarish struggle for survival that will challenge everything she
knows and loves.
LP: risk-taker, thinker
Find other titles at www.tumblebookcloud.com
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