Seventh & Eighth Grade
Student Edition
2016-2017
September 1, 2016
Dear Imagine Parents/Guardians and Students,
We invite you to participate in the Ninth Annual Imagine Schools National Advanced Reading Challenge (ARC). This
initiative is designed to challenge students to choose high quality literature, to read as much and as often as they are able,
and to share their love for reading with peers and adults on their Imagine Schools Campus. The ARC fosters students
“acquiring and owning” their education by “developing academic and character habits to increase learning
opportunities” and “becoming independent, self-directed learners.” (pp. 20-21, Imagine Schools Academic Excellence
Framework).
Many students are capable of moving ahead academically with only limited direction and attention from teachers. What
they need is encouragement to take risks, to develop perseverance, and to venture out into the world of ideas and
knowledge. We also believe that one of the best ways to become a life-long learner is to develop a love of reading. Each
year we survey students about the challenge and this is what a few of them said:
The ARC got me used to reading and I also enjoy reading because I get to know more things for school.
We get to talk about what we read and how we feel about the book.
The Advanced Reading Challenge is open to Imagine Schools’ students in grades 3-12 who are at or above grade level in
reading, and who can assume responsibility for independent work beyond their class and homework assignments. The
ARC book list is comprised of high quality, classic and award winning books at or above grade level. The 25 books must
come from the grade level lists, however, there are two ways provided for students to personalize their selection.
Students can select up to three books that are not on the lists to read towards the challenge or students may read from
lists higher than their grade level, but not below their grade level. Books selected by students must have coordinator
approval.
Grade-level book lists have been updated to provide more choices to students. This year, we encourage students to select
books in a purposeful way, either through an author study, series completion or genre study. As was the case in past
years, by accepting this challenge students pledge to read each book and complete a reflection about their book in order to
certify their accomplishment. Imagine Schools will give a $50 Barnes and Noble Gift Card to each student who reads and
reports on the designated number of books (25 for grades 3-8 and 15 for grades 9-12) during the school year. These
students will be recognized nationally by Imagine Schools. Last year, close to 2,000 Imagine students participated in the
ARC, and 318 were given awards for completing the challenge.
We hope that by taking on this challenge, students will stretch themselves to accomplish more than they might have in an
ordinary year, enjoy some great new books, and model achievement and excellence for their friends and peers.
Sincerely,
Dr. Nancy Hall
Dr. Nancy Hall
Chief Academic Officer
Imagine Schools
Imagine Schools 2016-17
Advanced Reading Challenge
Grades 3-8
Congratulations on your decision to challenge yourself through reading! We hope that by taking on
this CHALLENGE, you will stretch yourself to accomplish more than you might have in an ordinary
year, enjoy some great new books, and model achievement and excellence for your friends and peers.
Your Role as a Student:
1. Sign the commitment form to read the designated number of books (25 for grades 3-8) not
previously read. These books must come from the Advanced Reading Challenge grade level list.
1. However, you may choose books from a list on a higher grade level. So, you may read
“up” on the lists but not down (you cannot choose books from a lower grade level list).
2. Also, you can choose two or three books you select on your own to count towards the
challenge. These books must be appropriate, challenging and approved by your
Advanced Reading Challenge Coordinator or classroom teacher.
3. In addition, you can listen to 2-3 books towards the challenge on tape or CD. Your local
library should have some of your ARC books in an audio version.
2. Prepare a reading portfolio in which a table of contents with a list of books read and all
corresponding projects are stored/showcased (*see attached table of contents)
3. Participate in school initiated activities (e.g., after school book club to present projects, etc.) as
designated by your school of attendance.
4. Submit all materials upon completion to your school’s Advanced Reading Coordinator.
Helpful Adults:
Advanced Reading Challenge Coordinator: This person will receive guidelines from the Imagine
Schools office and will help you with the expectations and materials needed to complete the reading
challenge. He/she may hold meetings to share information with you and your parents, answer
questions that you might have along the way, and will find ways to help you complete this
challenge.
Teachers: Your teachers should be able to help you get started, share information with your
parent/guardian, remind you of deadlines, and help you make contact with the Advanced Reading
Challenge coordinator throughout the school year.
Parent/Guardian: Your parent or guardian should talk with you about the expectations of the
Advanced Reading Challenge and support you by signing the reading contract, helping you find
books (at the public library if needed), and asking you about the books you are reading and
responses you are completing. Your parent/guardian may participate as an audience for your book
summaries, discussions, and project presentations at school or home.
Librarian/Media Specialist: Your school librarian or media specialist can help you find books in
your school library or identify books on the reading lists that are in the public library collection.
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesof leadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Imagine Schools 2016-17
Advanced Reading Challenge
Important Dates
Start
End
Your school will start whenever your
coordinator is ready. All students
participating in the challenge should return
their contract to the ARC Coordinator by the
first week of October at the latest. Begin
reading your first book!
Monday, May 1st: All student portfolios must be
turned in to your Advanced Reading Challenge
Coordinator by Monday, May 1st, 2017.
Suggested Pacing Guide
2016 - 2017
CongratulationsontakingtheAdvancedReadingChallenge!
Usethisscheduleasaguidelinetopaceyourreading&projectcompletion.Trytokeeponoraheadofschedule.
ALLtwenty-fivebooksandprojectsareduebeforeMay1,2017.Goodluck!
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesof leadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Imagine Schools 2015-16
Advanced Reading Challenge
Creative Responses to Literature (Grades 3-8)
After reading each book from the Imagine Schools Advance Reading Challenge list,
create a new entry in your Reading Portfolio Table of Contents (*see attached). Then
choose a way to present your understanding of the book you just read. Use the table
below and pages that follow for ideas. Include each finished product in your portfolio to
share with your class and school. If your finished product is not written, be sure to get a
picture or include notes from an oral presentation so that there is record of what you
have done for each book. Keep all finished products organized neatly in your portfolio.
Remember, the goal of this challenge is to enjoy some great new books and help your
friends to enjoy them too!
Oral
Kinesthetic
Written
Visual
Graphic
Technological
One-Person
Show
PuzzleStory
It’sAllinthe
Mail
Posting
Postcards
The“What”
Chart3-W’s
Glog
Tell–Along
Boards
TradingCards
Quotable
Quotations
Quilt
Mappingthe
Way
Prezior
PowerPoint
Presentation
ThePress
Conference
Cana
Character
ToMarket, To
Market
Artistic
Timelines
Recipefora
GoodBook
BookBlogEntry
BookClub
CultureKits
FastFactCards
Crayon
Conversations
ThePlotChart
Cartoon
Pointof
Decision
Rollingthe
Dice
Catchthe
News
StoryTree
Top TenList
ShortVideoclip
Summary
NowHearThis
TangramTales
Signed,Sealed
andDelivered
Caricature
Double
Bubble
BookCharacter
Avatar
Kinesthetic
Oral
Creative Responses to Literature Descriptions
1.
One-Person Show: Perform a monologue, pretending you are the main
character (or another significant character) in your book.
2.
Tell-Along Boards: Use puppets and art to create a Tell-Along Board to
later use during storytelling—to retell the most important parts of the
story or book you read.
3.
The Press Conference: Pretend you are the main character in your book
and hold a press conference to answer your classmates’ prepared
questions.
4.
Book Club: Participate in a book club discussion with other students
and/or teachers in your school who are reading the same book.
5.
Point of Decision: List important decisions made by book characters and
explain what happens in the story as a result of those decisions.
6.
Now Hear This: Write a 2 to 3-minute radio advertisement persuading
the public that they should buy and read this book.
1. PuzzleStory:Discussthestoryandthencreateapuzzleboard,includingpictures
andadiscussionofthestory.Thenpassontootherswhoreadthestory.
2. TradingCards: Createtradingcardsoffavoritefiguresinyourstory.Youmightuse
apatternfromapopularsportsteam.
3. CharacterCanorCase:Takeagalloncoffeecanorsmallsuitcaseanddecorateitto
representacharacterinyourbook.Insertstripsofevents,problems,orchallenges
charactersfacedand/orovercamethroughoutthestory.
4. CultureKits: Createakitcontainingitemsrepresentativeofotherculture
describedinthebookyouread.
5. RollingtheDice: Createscenesfromthebookonthesidesofoversizeddice.One
dicedepictsthebeginningofthebookandtheotherfocusesonthescenesatthe
endofthebook.
6. TangramTales:TangramsareancientChinesepuzzles.Storytellersusethepuzzle
pieces,calledtans,whentheytellstories.YoucancreateaTangramTaleinmany
ways:a)Useyourtanstocreateapuzzlethatlookslikeorrepresentsyour
character.b)useyourtangramstomakeapuzzlethatlooksliketheeventorplace
wherethemajorityofactiontakesplace.c)Useyourtanstomakeapuzzlethat
lookslikesomethingfromtheendingofyourbook.*Askyourteacheroranart
teacherforanexampleofatangramifyouneedhelp.
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesof leadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Written
Creative Responses to Literature Descriptions
1. It’sAllintheMail:Writeandaddresstwofriendlyletterstocharactersinyour
book.
2. QuotableQuotations: Identifyimportantquotationsmadebydifferentbook
characters,andexplainwhyeachquotationisimportantinthestory.
3. ToMarket,ToMarket:Asaliteraryagent,writealettertothepublishingcompany
designedtopersuadethemtopublishthisbook.
4. FastFactCards: ShareinformationfromnonfictionbooksbycreatingsetsofFast
FactCards.Createaminimumof10cards.
5. CatchtheNews: Createanewsreportthathighlightsyourstory’smaincharacters
andevents.
Visual
6. Signed,SealedandDelivered:Writealettertotheauthoraskingquestionsabout
thebookand/orwhatitisliketobeanauthor.
1. PostingPostcards: Pretendyouareacharacterfromyourbookandcreate
postcardstosendtotheirclassmates.
2. Quilt: Createpicturesofdifferentscenesandstitchthemtogethertomakeaquilt.
3. ArtisticTimelines: Studentsvisuallysequenceeventsandcreatetimelines.
4. CrayonConversations: Drawhighlightsfromyourbookasyouretellthestory.
5. StoryTree: Createastorytreelikeafamilytreehighlightingmainideasinthe
branchesandsupportingdetailsintheleaves.
6. Caricature: Createacaricaturethatemphasizesthemaincharacters’personality
withanappropriatebacckground.
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesof leadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Graphic
Creative Responses to Literature Descriptions
1. The“What”Chart(3W’s):Listinformationaboutatopicyou’reinterestedinunder
threeheadings.“WhatIknowalready.”“WhatIwanttoknow”and“WhatI’ve
learnedfromreading.”
2. MappingtheWay:Createmapsorplotroutesintheformofamap.Createakey
toclearlyshowthesymbolism.
3. RecipeforaGoodBook: Followarecipeformattoputthemainidea(dish)andthe
supportingideas(ingredients)onanindexcardanddecoratewiththetastydelight.
4. ThePlotChart(SWBS): IdentifyplotelementsandwritethemonaPlotChart.
5. TopTenList: CreateaTopTenListofthethingsyoulearnedfromthisbook.
Technological
6. DoubleBubble:CreateaThinkingMappingcomparingthebooktoanotherbook
youhaveread.
1. Glog:Createyourowninteractiveblogor“glog”atwww.glogster.com.Find
creativewaystoshareyourglog withothers.
2. PreziPresentation:CreateaPowerPointorPreziPresentationatprezi.com.with
informationaboutyourfavoritepartsofthebook,asummaryofthebook,and
otherinterestinginformation. BesuretopresentyournewcreationtoyourARC
cluborclassmates,familyorfriends!
3. BookBlogEntry:Createabookblogandcompleteanentryaboutabookyou’ve
readtowardstheARC.Includeasummaryofthebookandyourpersonalreaction
tothebookinyourentry.Youcancreateafreeblogatwww.blogger.com.Share
yourblogwithfriends,yourARCclub,oryourclass!
4. Cartoon:UsingatoollikeCreaza www.creaza.com orPiki Kidswww.pikikids.com
createacartoonversionofthebook.
5. ShortVideoClipSummary: UsingatoollikePowtoons atwww.powtoons.com or
Animoto atwww.animoto.com
6. BookCharacterAvatar:Createanavatarforabookcharacterusingatoolsuchas
http://avachara.com/avatar/
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesof leadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Imagine Schools
Advanced Reading Challenge (ARC) Rubric
4 = Advanced Mastery
3 = Mastery
2 = Nearing Mastery
1 = Emerging
Rating
Portfolio Criteria
Students who receive a rating of 1 or 2 in
a select area will revise their portfolio to
meet the expectations of that area.
Rating
Understanding
Projects display a
variety of creative
approaches. Student
utilizes a specific
project type a maximum
of three times.
Student
demonstrates a clear
knowledge of main
ideas and themes;
evident in all
projects.
Student selects texts
from the prescribed
booklists according to
rules of the ARC (or
receives approval for 23 choice books).
Student
demonstrates a deep
understanding of
themes, events, and
details in the text;
evident in all
projects.
Student interprets
symbols, phrases and
sentences to
understand meaning
of text; evident in all
projects.
Student analyzes text
to express
relationships between
actions, characters,
events or ideas;
evident in all
projects.
Parents, teachers or
ARC leaders may
provide guidance but
reading and project
completion must be
student’s own work.
Student includes a
completed cover page
with each title, type of
creative response, date
completed, and
confirmation signature.
Rating
Presentation
Student work
exemplifies an
effective editing
process. The project
is free from
grammatical or
spelling errors that
would hinder their
message.
Student graphics and
pictures support and
extend their
message.
Student effectively
presents portfolio
projects to peers,
parents, and
teachers.
Student work
depicts the sequence
of events, an
engaging visual
appearance, and
clear and organized
format.
Students explain their
thinking in their own
words – no plagiarized
excerpts from book
reviews or internet
articles.
Imagine Schools: Developing Character, Enriching Minds!
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesof leadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Imagine Schools 2016-17
Advanced Reading Challenge
Grades 3-8
Purpose: The goal of the Advanced Reading Challenge is to challenge students to read 25
books over the course of one school year and complete short projects to show what they have
understood from reading.
Student Responsibility: To challenge myself to achieve to the best of my ability, enjoy the
books I read, and encourage my peers to read good literature.
Student Commitment
I, _____________________________________, accept the Advanced Reading Challenge. I
commit to trying to read 25 books from the Advanced Reading Challenge book list. I
understand that these should be books that I have not previously read. I commit to sharing
the story with my teacher, class, parent/guardian, or school group in a creative way and
documenting all books I have read through preparing an ARC Portfolio.
____________________________
Student Signature
________________________
Date
____________________________
School
________________________
Grade
Parent/Guardian Commitment
I, _____________________________________, accept to support my child with the Advanced
Reading Challenge. I am committed to supporting my child in his/her endeavor to read the
determined number of books, complete the portfolio to highlight his/her accomplishments,
and share the books read with his/her class and school community. I will sign to confirm that
my child has read each book.
____________________________
Signature
________________________
Date
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchoolspartnerswith
parentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudentsforlivesofleadership,
accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Imagine Schools 2016-17
Advanced Reading Challenge
Portfolio Table of Contents Grades 3-8
Name ___________________________________ Grade_______ Teacher__________________
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
TitleofBook
Author
Genre
Typeofcreative
Response
Date
Adult’s
Initials
to
confirm
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchools
partnerswithparentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudents
forlivesofleadership,accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
GoalSetting
Set monthlygoalsforreading:
September:
October:
November:
December:
January:
February:
March:
April:
Imagine Schools
Advanced Reading Challenge
Get in the game: READ!
Advanced Reading Challenge Book List Grades 7& 8
Title
ADVENTURE
The White Darkness
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
The Story of My Life
Author
McCaughrean, Geraldine
Frank, Anne
Keller, Helen
Rosa Parks: My Story
Desert Exile: The Uprooting of the Japanese American Family
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom
BIGRAPHICAL
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution
Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L.
Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
Madame Curie: A Biography
Ghandi: A Manga Biography
The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Trotsky: A Graphic Biography
Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist
Death Be Not Proud
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith
Parks, Rosa with Jim Haskins
Uchid, Yoshiko
Lowery, Lynda Blackmon
Claudette Calvin: Twice Towards Justice
The Road From Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl
Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary
Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps
FANTASY
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Hoose, Phillip
Kherdian, David
Myers, Walter Dean
Warren, Andrea
The Warrior Heir
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Return of the King
The Two Towers
Journey to the Center of the Earth
FICTION
Tangerine
Things Fall Apart
Sense and Sensibility
National Velvet
The Shakespeare Stealer
Tiger Eyes
The Killer's Tears
The Bridge Over River Kwai
The Good Earth
The Alchemist
Chima, Cinda Williams
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Verne, Jules
Skin Deep
The Red Badge of Courage
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
Crane, E. M.
Crane, Stephen
Crutcher, Chris
Bober, Natalie S.
Brimmer, Larry Dane
Byrd, Robert
Curie, Eve
Ebine, Kazuki
Engle, Margarita
Freedman, Russell
Freedman, Russell
Geary, Rick
Greenburg, Jan & Jordan, Sandra
Gunther, John
Heiligmann, Deborah
Bradbury, Ray
Bloor, Edward
Achebe, Chinua
Austin, Jane
Bagnoid, Enid
Blackwood, Gary
Blume, Judy
Bondoux, Anne-Laure
Translated
by Y. Maudet
Boulle, Pierre
Buck, Pearl S.
Coehlo, Paulo
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partnerswithparentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudents
Page 1
forlivesofleadership,accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Advanced Reading Challenge Book List Grades 7& 8
Title
Author
Elijah of Buxton
Gym Candy
Great Expectations
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Count of Monte Cristo (Abridged)
City of Ember
Silas Marner
The House of the Scorpion
The Skin I'm In
The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Big Sky
A Raisin in the Sun
The Outsiders
Reaching Out
Kim
The Primrose Way
A Ring of Endless Light
Inherit the Wind
To Kill a Mockingbird
Through the Looking Glass
The Call of the Wild
White Fang, Unabridged
Gathering Blue
The Giver
The Princess and Curdie, Unabridged
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
A Corner of the Universe
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida
Summer of the Mariposas
Fallen Angels
Z is for Zachariah
Curtis, Christopher Paul
Deuker, Carl
Dickens, Charles
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan
Dumas, Alexandre
DuPrau, Jeanne
Eliot, George
Farmer, Nancy
Flake, Sharon G.
Green, Roger Lancelyn
Guthrie, A.B.
Hansberry, Lorraine
Hinton, S. E.
Jimenez, Fransisco
Kipling, Rudyard
Koller, Jackie
L’Engle, Madeleine
Lawrence, Jerome & Robert E. Lee
Lee, Harper
Lewis, Carroll
London, Jack
London, Jack
Lowry, Lois
Lowry, Lois
MacDonald, George
Manzano, Sonia
Martin, Ann M.
Martinez, Victor
McCall, Guadalupe Garcia
Myers, Walter Dean
O’Brien, Robert
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Learning Tree
Freak the Mighty
Bullyville
Orczy, Baroness
Parks, Gordon
Philbrick, Rodman
Prose, Francine
The Golden Compass
Criss Cross
Coot Club
Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees
The Yearling
Picture Me Gone
Cyrano de Bergerac
The Little Prince
Heidi (Unabridged)
Pullman, Philip
Rae Perkins, Lynne
Ransome, Arthur
Ransome, Arthur
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan
Rosoff, Meg
Rostand, Edmond
Saint-Exupery, Antoine
Spyri, Johanna
The Pearl
The Hobbit
Steinbeck, John
Tolkien, J R. R.
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchools
partnerswithparentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudents
Page 2
forlivesofleadership,accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Advanced Reading Challenge Book List Grades 7& 8
Title
Author
The Prince and the Pauper, Unabridged
Tom Sawyer
Paperboy
Around the World in 80 Days
The Kingdom by the Sea
Belle Prater's Boy
The Mouse That Roared
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms (Unabridged)
Our Town: A Play in Three Acts
Swiss Family Robinson (Unabridged)
Animal Farm
Twain, Mark
Twain, Mark
Vawter, Vince
Verne, Jules
Westall, Robert
White, Ruth
Wibberley, Leonard
Wiggins, Kate Douglass
Wilder, Thornton
Wyss, Johann
Orwell, George
American Born Chinese
Doll Bones
HISTORICAL FICTION
Little Men
Little Women
Charlotte Forten: A Black Teacher in the Civil War
Yang, Gene Luen
Black, Holly
Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi
Chotjewitz, David
Translated by Doris Orgel
Engle, Margarita
Hughes, Dean
Lester, Julius
O’Brien, Tim
Salisbury, Graham
Voorhoeve, Anne C. Translated by
Tammi Reichel
The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist
Soldier Boys
Day of Tears
The Things They Carried
Under the Blood-Red Sun
My Family for the War
LEGENDS AND MYTHS
The Mythology of North America
Mythology
The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
MEMOIR
Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
Through My Eyes
Alcott, Louisa May
Alcott, Louisa May
Burchard, Peter
Bierhorst, John
Hamilton, Edith
McKissack, Patricia
Barakat, Ibtisam
Bridges, Ruby
The Red Scarf Girl
Ji-Li Jiang
Snow Falling in Spring
MYSTERY
Moying, Li
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Locked in Time
The Twisted Window
More Two Minute Mysteries
Duncan, Lois
Duncan, Lois
Duncan, Lois
Sobol, Donald
Two Minute Mysteries
NON-FICTION
Tell Them We Remember: the Story of the Holocaust
Sir Walter Raleigh and the Quest of El Dorado
I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust
Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929
Sobol, Donald
Bachrach, Susan
Aronson, Marc
Bitton-Jackson, Livia
Blamenthal, Karen
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchools
partnerswithparentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudents
Page 3
forlivesofleadership,accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Advanced Reading Challenge Book List Grades 7& 8
Title
Author
Shakespeare: The World as Stage
Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past
Faces from the Past: Forgotten People of North America
Bryson, Bill
Campbell Bartoletti, Susan
Campbell Bartoletti, Susan
Deem, James M.
Deem, James M.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science
The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle
for Equal
The
War toRights
End All Wars: World War I
Fleishman, John
Freedman, Russell
All Creatures Great and Small
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster
Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance
The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible…on
Schindler's List
A Night to Remember
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction
The Building Of Manhattan
The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever
Epidemic of 1793
Blizzard! The Storm that Changed America
The Great Fire
Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting
The Book of Blood
The Elephant Scientist
Herriot, James
Hoose, Phillip
Hopkinson, Deborah
Levine, Ellen
Leyson, Leon
Puffins
Freedman, Russell
Lord, Walter
Macaulay, David
Mackay, Donald A.
Monk, Linda
Murphy, Jim
Murphy, Jim
Murphy, Jim
Murphy, Jim
Newquist, H.P.
O'Connell, Caitlin & Jackson,
Donna
Quinlan, Susan
The Case of the Monkeys That Fell from the Trees: And Other Mysteries
in Tropical Nature
The Case of the Mummified Pigs and Other Mysteries in Nature
Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the
Holocaust
Jackie's 9
Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates
Quinlan, Susan
Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem
Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous
Weapon
Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of H.L. Hunley
POETRY
Voices from the Fields
PLAY
The Miracle Worker
REALISTIC FICTION
Crossover
Speak
Schanzer, Rosalyn
Schapp, Jeremy
Sheinkin, Steve
Quinlan, Susan
Rappaport, Doreen
Robinson, Sharon
Rubalcaba, Jill & Peter Robertshaw
Walker, Sally M.
Atkin, S. Beth
Gibson, William
Alexander, Kwame
Anderson, Laurie Halse
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchools
partnerswithparentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudents
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forlivesofleadership,accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.
Advanced Reading Challenge Book List Grades 7& 8
Title
Author
Nothing But the Truth
The House on Mango Street
Avi
Cisneros, Sandra
The Oxbow Incident
Clark, Walter
Son of a Gun
Who am I without Him? Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in their
Lives
The Glory Field
Rascal
De Graaf, Anne
Flake, Sharon G.
After Tupac and D Foster
Feathers
SCIENCE FICTION
Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales
Ship Breaker
The Martian Chronicles
Enders Game
When the Tripods Came
2001: A Space Odyssey
Woodson, Jacqueline
Woodson, Jacqueline
Myers, Walter Dean
North, Sterling
Asimov, Isaac
Bacigalupi, Paolo
Bradbury, Ray
Card, Orsen Scott
Christopher, John
Clarke, Arthur
AR Readability (ATOS formula): Measures the textual difficulty of a whole book, not just a single passage.
Interest Level: LG=Lower Grades (K-3), MG=Middle Grades (4-8), UG=Upper Grades (9-12): Maturity level
of a book's content, ideas, and themes based on publisher's recommendations about the content.
All classic books should be read in an unabridged form unless otherwise noted.
Books that are highlighted have been added to the ARC list during the 2016 - 2017 School Year.
ImagineSchoolsMissionStatement:Asanationalfamilyofnonprofitpubliccharterschoolcampuses,ImagineSchools
partnerswithparentsandguardiansintheeducationoftheirchildrenbyprovidinghighqualityschoolsthatpreparestudents
Page 5
forlivesofleadership,accomplishment,andexemplarycharacter.