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Sixth Grade Summer Reading List Assignments
The Cay
You will take a test on this book on the first day of school. I strongly suggest you read
this novel toward the end of the summer so it is fresh in your mind. Begin reviewing it a
couple days before school starts.
Number the Stars
You will complete a written book report for this book which will be due on the first day
of school. The report may be typed, and this is the format you will use:
First Paragraph
Include title of the book, author’s name, and identify the type of book--fiction, fantasy,
historical fiction, nonfiction. This is a brief paragraph (3 sentences).
Second Paragraph
This is a summary of the book. Your summary should be approximately six sentences
and should include the following:
 where the story begins
 the main characters
 the problem or situation.
 what steps the main character takes to resolve the problem or situation
 how the problem or situation is resolved
 what happens at the end
Do not include details or dialogue in your summary.
Third Paragraph
Identify the main character. Provide two important personality traits (these are qualities
that you observe in him/her). Support your personality traits with specific examples from
the book. These specific examples should support your observations.
Fourth Paragraph
Name two minor characters from the book. Explain their relationship to the main
character. Give two personality traits for these characters. Support your personality traits
with specific examples from the book. These specific examples should support your
observations.
Fifth Paragraph
Identify the major type of conflict in the story.
1. Man vs. Nature
2. Man vs. Man
3. Man vs. People or Group
4. Man vs. Society
Explain why you chose that conflict.
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Sixth Paragraph
Give reasons to recommend or not to recommend this book to someone else. Be specific
with your reasons.
Book of your choice
You will present an oral report for this book. You will also prepare a visual component
for the report. This will be due on the first day of school. It can be on 11x14 poster
board or 12x18 art paper. Please do not use anything larger. The visual component must
include the title of the book, the author, and both pictures and written information related
to the story. The pictures can be drawn by hand or created on a computer. It should look
creative and professional. The oral report should include a summary of the book and
mention the main characters, the plot, the climax, and the resolution. You should also tell
your audience whether or not you would recommend the book, and state your reasons.
The following books are required reading for 6th grade:
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Phillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has
always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it firsthand–until the freighter
he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.
When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle of the sea. Besides Stew
Cat, his only companion is an old West Indian, Timothy. Phillip remembers his
mother’s warning about black people: “They are different, and they live differently.”
But by the time the castaways arrive on a small island, Phillip’s head injury has made
him blind and dependent on Timothy.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life
before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food
shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark
are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the
family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.
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Choose one additional book from the list below for your oral/visual
report:
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a
settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in
his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass.
But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has
been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a
dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the
unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled—a life from which he’ll always be
free, if he can find the courage to get back home.
Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her
widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making
plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the
fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning
Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with
her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must
learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian
wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his
mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.
Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan
Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other,
with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book
down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces—life, really—attempt to derail her and
her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with
the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who
believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don't), the
resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph...and Ida B. Applewood takes the
hand that is extended and starts to grow up.
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Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is
kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira
for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a
Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her
why people stop them on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of
viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes
desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to
remind them all that there is always something glittering -- kira-kira -- in the future.
One Small Step by P.B. Kerr
It's 1969 and thirteen-year-old Scott MacLeod is doing all of the normal activities that
boys do and just happens to fly airplanes with his air force flight instructor father. When
Scott manages to successfully crash-land a plane, he catches the sys of NASA, who
recruits him for a top-secret space program that will send a test flight to the Moon before
the first lunar landing. The craft was originally supposed to be piloted by chimps, but
when one of them is taken off the mission, they call on Scott to take his place.Soon Scott
finds himself in the midst of grueling training for this mission and quickly realizes the
chimps are much more clever and competent than their human counterparts give them
credit for. But things are not quite adding up at the training facility. Could NASA be
hiding a secret from the boy aviator and his crew of chimps?
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. She's spent
years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep
your pants on in public"---in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors.
But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, 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?
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True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
In 1832, Charlotte Doyle, a thirteen-year-old school girl, is returning to her family in
America from her school in England. Charlotte's voyage takes place on the Seahawk, a
seedy ship headed by a murderously cruel captain and sailed by a mutinous crew.
Charlotte gets caught up in the bitter feud between captain and crew, which eventually
leads to her being found guilty of a murder.
White Fang by Jack London
Part wolf and part dog, orphaned White Fang relies on his instincts as well as his inborn
strength and courage to survive in the Yukon wilderness despite both animal and human
predators but eventually comes to make his peace with man.
(All summaries taken from barnesandnoble.com)