Good Shepherd Episcopal School Summer Reading 2015
Entering 5th Grade
Summer is a time for students to relax, rejuvenate… and read. Summer reading is valuable and
has implications for educational as well as personal development. Reading for pleasure has
been positively linked with:
 Reading attainment and writing ability
 Text comprehension and grammar
 Breadth of vocabulary
 Leaving readers with a greater insight into human nature and decision making
The following summer reading list has been compiled to provide your student with a variety of
high interest, quality titles.
Required Reading: 3 Books
Choose 1:
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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Choose 1:
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Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Peter and the Starcatcher by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
The Friskative Dog by Susan Straight
All Middle School Read (required):
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Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn (for Teens), by John C. Maxwell
Other Suggested Popular Books and Series:
Fiction:
O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins
Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Palacio, R.J. Wonder
Paterson, Katherine. The Bridge to Terabithia
Mull, Brandon. Fablehaven
Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl
Sachar, Louis. Holes
Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Mind
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me
Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl
DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn Dixie
Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts
Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out and Back Again
Mass, Wendy. 11 Birthdays
Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Petersen Got his Name
Scieszka, Jon. Knucklehead
Non-Fiction:
Nelson, Kadir. We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Byrd, Robert. Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
Hoose, Phillip M. Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
Hopkinson, Deborah. Titanic: Voices from the Disaster
Brimner, Larry Dane. Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and
Eugene ‘Bull” Connor
O’Connell, Caitlin. The Elephant Scientist
Schanzer, Rosalyn. Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem
The Bluebonnet Challenge:
The Texas Library Association nominates 20 books each year for the prestigious Bluebonnet
Award. Students in grades 3-6 are invited to participate in the voting by reading five of the
nominated books, writing a very short summary for each book read, and then voting on their
favorite in January. Summer is the perfect time to get a jumpstart on the Bluebonnet Book
Challenge. It is completely optional, but encouraged. See the attached list of the 2015-2016
Nominees. The GSES library will have the Bluebonnet Books available for checkout over the
summer.