Summer Reading 2015
Incoming Third Grade
BOOK COVER Assignment - Make your own book cover to share with your class!
Read a good book and create a new cover for it. The book cover should
introduce a new reader to your book. Bring the cover to class on the first day of
school, and be ready to share with your classmates. (See attached directions for
further guidance.)
Summer Letter Assignment - Write a letter to your third grade teachers. You may
print the letter or type it on the computer. In your letter, tell your teachers about
yourself. You should mail the letter to the school at:
Your Return
Address
Denver Jewish Day School
Third Grade Teachers
2450 S. Wabash Street
Denver, CO 80231
Have a fabulous summer!
Love,
Mrs. Plous and Mrs. McDermid
P.S. Here are some ways to enjoy reading: 1) Listen to a book being read
aloud; 2) Take turns reading to a friend or parent; 3) Read the book by yourself
and tell someone about your favorite parts; 4) Record yourself reading the
book or parts of the book a second time. Listen to the tape or audio file; 5)
Make a list of the books you have read. Use a code to indicate how you felt
about each book; 6) Visit the library and explore the section with information
books. Select those that interest you.
Third Grade Summer Reading Suggestions
• Poppy series by Avi
The exciting adventures of Poppy and Rye (deer mice) and their friends in Dimwood Forest.
• Ivy and Bean Series by Annie Burrows
The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn't be friends. But when Bean
plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide quick Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that
sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Vibrant characters
and lots of humor make this a charming and addictive introduction to Ivy and Bean.
• Henry Huggins series by Beverly Cleary
Nothing ever happens to Henry -- or so he thinks, until he brings home a bedraggled dog,
named Ribsy -- then adventure really starts.
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Twelve-year-old Artemis is a millionaire, a genius, and -- above all -- a criminal mastermind. But
Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEP
recon unit.
• Dessert First by Hallie Durand
It's not always easy being eight. Dessert Schneider finds that out first hand, when her new
teacher, Mrs. Howdy Doody, comes into class in her white snowball slippers and urges all her
new third graders to learn to march to the beat of their own drummers. For Dessert, that means
figuring out her own personal coat of arms, trying to convince her family to eat dessert before
dinner, and doing her best to stay out of trouble. If only there weren't so many temptations!
• The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
A young girl comes to terms with the effect that her and her friends' teasing has had on a shy
classmate.
• The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Gris Grimly
A creepy tale of adventure, piracy, and heroism.
• Melonhead by Katy Kelly
Silly pranks, sweaty feet, and troublesome tree climbing may not be your idea of story fodder,
but they're just the right fuel to get this tale going. Ten-year old Adam Melon is a self-proclaimed
expert on famous inventors and the intricacies of toilet paper. When his science teacher
announces that every kid in the class will be competing in Challenge America!, an inventing fair,
he figures he and his best friend Sam are a shoo-in for first prize. Now they just need to come up
with an idea for something explosively cool, without making his mom nervous.
• A Family of Poems by Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy presents a collection of poems from around the world that had meaning for
her family.
• Rules by Cynthia Lord
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a
brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. But the summer Catherine
meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her
own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
• 11 Birthdays By Wendy Mass
It's Amanda's 11th birthday and she is super excited---after all, 11 is so different from 10. But from
the start, everything goes wrong. The worst part of it all is that she and her best friend, Leo, with
whom she's shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven't
shared together. When Amanda turns in for the night, glad to have her birthday behind her, she
wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating iself. What is going
on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell..
• Hammerin’ Hank: The Life of Hank Greenberg by Yona Zeldis McDonough
An illustrated biography of Hank Greenberg, the first Jewish American to become a celebrity in
major league baseball.
• The Spirit Animals series by Brandon Mull
Spirit Animals is set in the world of Erdas, where children go through a coming-of-age ritual to
determine if they have a “spirit animal,” which represents a bond between human and beast
that bestows each with great power. The story centers on four children from different cultures
who undergo the ritual and discover they have been chosen for a greater destiny.
• My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish By Mo O’Hara
When Tom's big brother decides to become an Evil Scientist, his first experiment involves dunking
Frankie the goldfish into toxic green gunk. Tom knows that there is only one thing to do: Zap the
fish with a battery and bring him back to life! But there's something weird about the new Frankie.
He's now a BIG FAT ZOMBIE GOLDFISH with hypnotic powers . . . and he's out for revenge!
• Timmy Failure by Stephan Pastis
Take Timmy Failure — the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in
town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large polar
bear named Total. Throw in the Failure mobile — Timmy’s mom’s Segway — and what you have
is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won’t have to
stress out about the bills anymore. Of course, Timmy’s plan does not include the four-foot-tall
female whose name shall not be uttered. And it doesn’t include Rollo Tookus, who is so obsessed
with getting into "Stanfurd" that he can’t carry out a no-brainer spy mission. From the offbeat
creator of Pearls Before Swine comes an endearingly bumbling hero in a caper whose peerless
hilarity is accompanied by a whodunit twist. With perfectly paced visual humor, Stephan Pastis
gets you snorting with laughter, then slyly carries the joke a beat further — or sweetens it with an
unexpected poignant moment — making this a comics-inspired story (the first in a new series)
that truly stands apart from the pack.
• The Dragons Are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Peter Sís
A collection of poems about these mythical creatures
• Big Nate in the Zone By: Lincoln Peirce
The sixth Big Nate book in the New York Times bestselling series by Lincoln Peirce! The latest
illustrated novel from Lincoln Peirce is a laugh-out-loud must-read starring the one and only
cartooning genius, king of detention, and Cheez Doodle connoisseur, Nate Wright. Nate’s not
having the best of luck . . . in fact; he’s not having ANY luck. But with a little boost thanks to
Chad’s lucky foot, suddenly good luck is everywhere Nate turns! Nate’s in the zone! But how
long will it last?
• Clementine Book Series by: Sara Pennypacker
Clementine is having not so good of a week.
On Monday she's sent to the principal's office for cutting off Margaret's hair.
Tuesday, Margaret's mother is mad at her.
Wednesday, she's sent to the principal again.
Thursday, Margaret stops speaking to her.
Friday starts with yucky eggs and gets worse.
And by Saturday, even her mother is mad at her.
Okay, fine. Clementine is having a DISASTROUS week.
• The Garden Behind the Moon by Howard Pyle
David is curious about what is on the other side of the moon, so he determines to find out with
the help of the Moon-Angel. He discovers a magical garden, does battle with a giant, and
returns lost treasures to Earth.
• The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) by Ellen Raskin.
This tried and true favorite by award-winning author Ellen Raskin is one most adults will remember
reading as a child and one that kids today will love as well. Recently re-released by Puffin, the
story of the bumbling Mrs. Carillon and her search for her lost husband Leon (or is it Noel?), and
all of the adventures along the way, is still as entertaining as ever. Filled with puzzles, puns, wordplay, exploding soup factories, riots, and mind-bending text-as-picture illustrations by Raskin
herself, the story is a delightful read with one giant mystery (and lots of tiny ones) to solve.
• A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy
Kids love collecting the entire alphabet and super editions! With over 8 million copies in print, the
A to Z Mysteries® have been hooking chapter book readers on mysteries and reading for years.
• The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz.
This is a classic fairy tale with a modern message about knowing when to be tough and when to
negotiate. Not long after Flory was born, her wings were damaged when a bat mistook her for a
moth. Now she is forced to live as a day fairy in a human garden, getting the occasional ride
from the idiotic and always-hungry squirrel. As she grows older, she discovers that not every
creature in the garden will bend to her will, and sometimes you have to give more than you get-a great lesson for blossoming egos.
It's Disgusting and We Ate It!: True Food Facts from Around the World and Throughout
History by James Solheim illustrated by Eric Brace
An unusual culinary tour featuring squirrel pie, roasted spiders, and garbage stew.
•
• Goddess Girls by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
The Goddess Girls at Mount Olympus Academy—Athena, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis—
give ancient Greek myths present-day personality! This deluxe box set includes the first four
volumes of the popular series, along with a coordinating charm bracelet, and is ideal for new
and old fans alike.
• Hank Zipzer series, including Niagara Falls, or Does It? by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
For Hank, fourth grade does not start out on the right foot. First of all, he gets called to the
principal's office on the very first day of school. Then the first assignment his teacher gives him is
to write five paragraphs on "What You Did This Summer." Hank is terrified; writing one good
sentence is hard for him, so how in the world is he going to write five whole paragraphs? Hank
comes up with a plan: instead of writing what he did on vacation, he'll show what he did.
• Who is?
• Who was?
• Where is?
Book Series about all different famous people and places. Some titles include Where is Mount
Rushmore? Who is Jane Goodall? Who is Wayne Gretzky?
• Geronimo Stilton series
Who Is Geronimo Stilton?
That's me! I run a newspaper, but my true passion is writing tales of adventure. Here on Mouse
Island, my books are all best-sellers! What's that? You've never read one? Well, my books are full
of fun. They are whisker-licking good stories, and that's a promise!