St. Louis School Summer Reading 2017 Students entering 7th Grade Directions : You must read TWO of the books on the attached list. Choose two of the books that most interest you. You have two response assignments: For the First Book : Y
ou will submit your writing online. On the SLS website, find the icon for 7th grade reading. Follow the direc塀�ons to enter your name and the 塀�tle of the book. You will then write a paragraph on your reac塀�on to the book – thoughts, ques塀�ons, or emo塀�ons – any aspect of the book that you would like to write about. Lastly, submit your piece so I can read it! This assignment should be submi∀�ed prior to the first day of school. For the Second Book : You will create a double­entry journal. Take a notebook and draw a ver塀�cal line down the center of the each page – four or five pages should be enough. Then choose six quota塀�ons from the book, two from the beginning chapters, two from the middle chapters, and two towards the end. ● The le壀� column (QUOTES) is used to copy the quota塀�ons from the book. The quota塀�on does not have to be character dialogue. It should simply be something that you find important or meaningful. When you write the quota塀�on, use quota塀�on marks, and write down the page number in parenthesis a壀�er the quote. ● The right column (NOTES) is where you explain why you chose this par塀�cular passage and how it made you think or feel. It can include a personal reac塀�on, ques塀�ons, remarks, thoughts, or predic塀�ons. You will only write a few lines – three or four sentences at most for each response. You may format your journal if you wish on the computer. 1. Open a W
ord Document. 2. Type a heading on the upper le壀� hand side of the page. Make sure your paper is typed in 1
2 font Times New Roman. 3. Beginning on the next line, go to your toolbar and select “T able ” and then “I nsert Table ” You will need t wo columns and s ix rows . 4. The first column you will l abel QUOTES and the second column you will l abel NOTES . Your double­entry journal is due Friday of the first full week of school. Happy reading! Enjoy your summer! Incoming Seventh Grade Reading List Jules Verne. Around the World in 80 days. Fiction. ● One ill-fated evening at the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions £20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just eighty days - and he is determined not to lose. Travelling by train, steamship, sailing boat, sledge and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks and the dogged Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard. This book has a lot of old-fashioned words. It’s a great read, but you should be con³dent with some tricky vocabulary words sprinkled throughout this book. This is an on-grade level read. Marcus Zusack. Book Thief. Fiction. ● It’s just a small story really, about a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish ³st-³ghter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .Set during World War II in Germany, this is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. This is an on-grade level read. Margarita Engle. Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck. Non-Fiction. ● Engle’s beautifully written poetic narrative tells an untold story in Latin American history and describes the enslavement of the native peoples of the Caribbean by the Spanish along with the mixing of Spanish and native blood that now forms the vast majority of Latin America. Told from several points of view, the story captures the rhythm and sounds from a time long ago and encourages readers to explore Latino culture on their own. This is a beautiful book, but be aware that a ‘poetic narrative’ means that it is written entirely in poems! This is an on-grade level read. Esther Forbes. Johnny Tremain. Fiction. ● Johnny Tremain, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught up in the danger and excitement of 1775 Boston, just before the Revolutionary War. But even more gripping than living through the drama of Revolutionary Boston is the important discovery Johnny makes about the father he never knew. This is an on-grade level read. Yann Martel. The Life of Pi. Fiction. ● The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel ³nds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. This an on-grade level book. Laura Amy Schlitz. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Fiction. ● Step back to medieval 1255 England and meet 22 villagers, inspired by the Munich-Nuremberg manuscript, an illuminated poem from thirteenth-century Germany. Hugo, the lord’s nephew, proves his manhood by hunting a wild boar. Sharp-tongued Nelly supports her family by selling live eels. Peasant Mogg gets a clever lesson in how to save a cow from a greedy landlord. Barbary slings mud on noble Jack. Alice is the singing shepherdess. This is an on-grade level read. Polly Shulman. Grimm Legacy. Fiction ● Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual location, a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret basement room lies the Grimm Collection. That’s where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales: seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White’s stepmother’s sinister mirror that talks in riddles. When the magical objects start to disappear, Elizabeth embarks on a dangerous quest to catch the thief before she can be accused of the crime—or be captured by the thief. This is an on-grade level read. ●
Richard Adams. Watership Down. Fiction. A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for more than forty years, Richard Adams's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their ⁄ight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society. This is a great book for students who are ready for a little more advanced level of literature. ●
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J.R.R. Tolkien. Hobbit. Fiction. The hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magni³cent. This is a great book for students who are ready for a little more advanced level of literature. H.G. Wells. Time Machine. Fiction The Time Machine is the Time Traveler’s astonishing ³rsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—this is the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science ³ction. With a speculative leap that still ³res the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well. Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine enthrall readers young and old. This is a great story for students ready for a little more advanced level of literature. Jack London. Call of the Wild. Fiction. Buck (half St. Bernard, half Shepard) is a dog born to luxury and raised in a sheltered Californian home. But then he is kidnapped and sold to be a sled dog in the harsh and frozen Yukon Territory. Passed from master to master, Buck embarks on an extraordinary journey, proving his unbreakable spirit. This is a book that is good for students who are ready for a little more advanced level of literature due to a mature theme (Buck the dog gets hurt in some scenes).. Jeanne Wakatsui Houston. Farewell to Manzanar. Non-Fiction. Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and sent to live at Manzanar internment camp--with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. This is the true story of one spirited Japanese-American family's attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention--and of an American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States. This is a great book for students who need easier vocabulary and a shorter read. Will Hobbs. Take Me to the River. Fiction. Fourteen-year-old Dylan Sands comes from North Carolina to Big Bend National Park, on the Texas/Mexico border, to paddle the Rio Grande River. His companion is a local river rat and cousin Rio. As the two are packing their boats for ten days in the canyons, six Black Hawk helicopters appear overhead and race across the river into Mexico. This is a great book for students who need easier vocabulary and a shorter read. Linda Sue Park. A Long Walk to Water. Non-Fiction Two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985, have their lives intersect in an astonishing and moving way. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, they are both survivors. This is for students who need easier vocabulary and a shorter read.