PLEASE READ ENTIRE DOCUMENT FOR MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL READING
June 15, 2015
Dear middle school students and parents,
Summer is almost here! It’s time for sunshine, beaches, fireflies...and summer
reading! As we have done for many years, the middle school English and Humanities
teachers have selected summer reading books required for students entering grades 5-8.
These books will form the foundations of our English discussions in the first few days of
school and will introduce themes that will be addressed throughout the year. While
students are not required to annotate their texts or write any sort of book review, they
should read the required summer reading book attentively and be ready to discuss it in
the fall.
This year, for the first time, we are happy to be able to provide copies of the
required summer reading books to all students. We are also including some guiding
questions that students can consider as they read (enclosed.) We hope the students enjoy
their summer reading books, and we encourage parents to read along with their children,
too!
Of course, the fun doesn’t have to stop with the required reading books; MS
Librarian, Angie Ungaro, has put together a terrific list of recommended summer reading
to keep you entertained on lazy afternoons, long flights, late nights in the bunk, or
wherever you find yourself this summer! Happy reading!
In friendship,
Kathleen, Mike, and Amanda (5)
Sarah, Ticia, and Erin (6)
Rachel and Jeremy (7)
Guiding Questions for Middle School Summer Reading
Rising fifth graders: You will read Jerry Spinelli’s ​
Crash​
, a novel about
bullying--from the bully’s point of view. Crash Coogan loves football, winning, expensive
sneakers, and tormenting his classmate Penn Webb, but he starts to realize there are
more important things in life.
As you read, ask yourself: How do the people in Crash’s life affect his
development throughout the story? What does this book have to say about
friendship? How does Quakerism tie to this story? What can you learn about
Quakerism from reading this book?
Rising sixth graders: You will read Lois Lowry’s famous novel, T
​he Giver​
. Jonas
lives in a peaceful and happy community, but when he learns disturbing truths about his
friends and family, he must make a drastic choice….​
The Giver i​
s an example of dystopian
fiction, in which a writer presents a dark and troubling version of our world.
As you read, ask yourself: Which aspects of Jonas’ community are
appealing? Which ones are upsetting? Would you want to live there?
Rising seventh graders: You will read S. E. Hinton’s classic coming-of-age novel,
The Outsiders​
. Ponyboy and Johnny are two “greasers” who never seem to get a break.
When they get caught up in a gang-related killing they didn’t see coming, they run away
and learn that their lives will never be the same again…
As you read, ask yourself: Who are the outsiders in this story and who
are the insiders? Who determines what “in” or “out” even means?
Rising eighth graders: You will read Betty Smith’s A
​Tree Grows in Brooklyn,​a
beloved American classic about a young girl growing up at the turn of the century. Set in
a squalid Williamsburg that is very different from the hipster haven it is today, the story
of Francie Nolan is one of love and survival.
As you read, ask yourself: In what ways is Francie’s experience unique
to the setting of this novel, and in what ways is her story universal?
June 3, 2015
Dear upper school students and parents,
Summer is almost here! It’s time for sunshine, beaches, fireflies...and summer
reading! As we have done for many years, the upper school English teachers have
selected summer reading books required for students entering grades 9-12. These books
will form the foundations of our English discussions in the first few days of school and
will introduce themes that will be addressed throughout the year. Students are expected
to read attentively, annotate their texts, and be ready to discuss them in the fall.
Once again, all students and faculty in the Upper School will participate in One
Book/One BFS, a reading project that brings the entire Upper School community together
around the discussion of a single text. These discussions will be facilitated by student
volunteers, to be selected in the fall. One Book/One BFS allows us to interact across ages,
subjects, and experiences to share in an intellectual investigation that brings us closer to
an understanding of one another’s values and perspectives. As a community of learners,
we can all gain from hearing one another’s responses to a work of literature.
This year, for the first time, we are happy to be able to provide copies of all
required summer reading books to all students. We are also including some guiding
questions that students can consider as they read (enclosed.) We hope the students enjoy
their summer reading books, and we encourage parents to read along, too!
Of course, the fun doesn’t have to stop with the required reading books; US
Librarian, Larry Williams, has put together a terrific list of recommended summer
reading to keep you entertained on lazy afternoons, long flights, late nights in the bunk,
or wherever you find yourself this summer. Happy reading!
In friendship,
Sidney Bridges, Liz Heck, Megan Schumacher,
Brian Chu, and Rachel Mazor
Upper School English Faculty
Guiding Questions for Upper School Summer Reading
One Book/One BFS (all students grades 9-12): ​
In addition to the summer reading text
assigned at each grade level (listed below), all Upper School students, faculty, and staff
will read Yoko Ogawa’s short novel, ​
The Housekeeper and the Professor,​an enchanting
account of a brilliant professor struggling with memory loss, an astute young woman who
is hired to care for him, and her rambunctious son.
As you read, ask yourself: What does it mean to live in the present?
How can people build relationships in the absence of memory?
Rising ninth graders: ​
Along with T
​he Housekeeper and the Professor,​y​
ou will
read Chaim Potok’s ​
The Chosen​
, the story of two young men in 1940s Brooklyn who form
a friendship despite differences in their religion and family backgrounds.
As you read, ask yourself:​
How do Danny and Reuven each make
​
decisions about the future, and what roles do family, tradition, historical
context, and personal preference play in the choices each boy makes? What
does it mean to be “chosen”?
Rising tenth graders: ​
Along with T
​he Housekeeper and the Professor,​y​
ou will
read Tim O’Brien’s ​
The Things They Carried,​a harrowing collection of stories of soldiers
in the Vietnam War.
As you read, ask yourself:​
What does war do to a person’s mind,
​
heart, and soul? What are the things soldiers carry with them, and what
must they leave behind? What might students in a Quaker school learn from
reading about acts of war? What makes a story “true”?
Rising eleventh graders: ​
Along with T
​he Housekeeper and the Professor,​y​
ou
will read Franz Kafka’s ​
The Sons​
. This collection of short stories, including the famous
“Metamorphosis,” introduces struggles between fathers and sons that are at turns
touching, troubling, and surreal.
As you read, ask yourself:​
What are the obligations between parents
​
and children? What happens when family members fail to meet those
obligations? What is the role of metaphor in describing real relationships
between parents and children?
Rising twelfth graders: ​
Along with ​
The Housekeeper and the Professor,​y​
ou will
read George Orwell’s genre-defining dystopian vision of “the future,” ​
1984. ​
(Please note:
you should read the so-called “Afterword” for ​
1984​
--it is actually part of the novel!)
As you read, ask yourself:​
How does Orwell’s vision of the future
​
compare to our present? How does Big Brother redefine language to control
the population?