Dear Rising Sixth Graders,
Over the summer, please read at least ​
ONE ​
novel from the list below and ​
ONE ​
novel of your choice and
complete the attached assignment.
-- Mr. Welch
The Wikkeling ​
by Steven Arntson
In the enormous city of the Addition, all children are SAFE, SECURE, and SUPERVISED, and are watched by cameras even while they sleep. Henrietta is unlikable at her competitive school until she meets Gary and Rose. They all share something in common: headaches with an unknown cause. Then, late one night, Henrietta makes a startling discovery when she finds a wounded cat in the attic above her bedroom. Soon after, a series of strange occurrences follow, including the appearance of a threatening creature with long, waxy fingers, who calls itself the Wikkeling. With the help of an ancient Bestiary, will Henrietta and her friends solve these mysteries before the Wikkeling finally catches them? Fahrenheit 451 ​
by Ray Bradbury
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television. When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life Ender’s Game ​
by Orson Scott Card (series)
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier­training program but didn't make the cut­­young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is. The White Mountains ​
by John Christopher (series)
Will Parker never dreamed he would be the one to rebel against the Tripods. With the approach of his thirteenth birthday, he expected to attend his Capping ceremony as planned and to become connected to the Tripods—huge three­legged machines—that now control all of Earth. But after an encounter with a strange homeless man called Beanpole, Will sets out for the White Mountains, where people are said to be free from the control of the Tripods. But even with the help of Beanpole and his friends, the journey is long and hard. And with the Tripods hunting for anyone who tries to break free, Will must reach the White Mountains fast. But the longer he’s away from his home, the more the Tripods look for him…and no one can hide from the monstrous machines forever. City of Ember ​
by Jeanne DuPrau (series)
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! The House of the Scorpion ​
by Nancy Farmer
Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium­­a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster­­except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself. As Matt struggles to understand his existence, he is threatened by a sinister cast of characters, including El Patrón's power­hungry family, and he is surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards. Escape is the only chance Matt has to survive. But escape from the Alacrán Estate is no guarantee of freedom, because Matt is marked by his difference in ways he doesn't even suspect. The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm​
by Nancy Farmer
The year is 2174. The place is Zimbabwe, Africa. Three adventurous children escape their parents' heavily guarded mansion to explore the dangerous world outside. They soon learn how dangerous it really is. Tendai, the oldest boy, is their leader, although he worries about being brave enough. Rita, his sister, is an expert at starting fights. Kuda, his little brother, is willing to try anything. They are quickly enslaved in a plastic mine ruled by the terrifying She Elephant and her army of vlei people. Vlei people have been living in the dump so long they look like piles of trash. The children flee them to find new perils. They are pursued by the Ear, the Eye and the Arm, detectives hired by the children's parents, who always seem to arrive too late. The worst danger of all lies at the top of the Mile High MacIlwaine, a hotel so tall that it sways like a tree in the wind. For up there are not merely humans, but spirits whose aim is to devour the souls of Zimbabwe. The Always War ​
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
For as long as Tessa can remember, her country has been at war. When local golden boy Gideon Thrall is awarded a medal for courage, it’s a rare bright spot for everyone in Tessa’s town—until Gideon refuses the award, claims he was a coward, and runs away. Tessa is bewildered, and she can’t help but follow Gideon to find out the truth. But Tessa is in for more than she bargained for. Before she knows it, she has stowed away on a rogue airplane and is headed for enemy territory. But all that pales when she discovers a shocking truth that rocks the foundation of everything she’s ever believed—a truth that will change the world. Is Tessa strong enough to bring it into the light? Found ​
by Margaret Peterson Haddix (series)
One night a plane appeared out of nowhere, the only passengers aboard: thirty­six babies. As soon as they were taken off the plane, it vanished. Now, thirteen years later, two of those children are receiving sinister messages, and they begin to investigate their past. Their quest to discover where they really came from leads them to a conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future—and will take them hurtling through time. The Golden Compass ​
by Philip Pullman (series)
Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jodan College, with her daemon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle—a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more­than­mortal battle. The Time of Darkness ​
by H.M. Hoover
(*NOTE: this book is out of print, but can still be found on Amazon … I like it, so I made it an option.) Eleven­year­old Amy lives in a decaying underground city. Ignored by her mother and under surveillance by authorities because she can read​
, Amy reluctantly finds herself befriending Axel­a strange boy who claims to have come from a mythical place called ...​
Outside​
. Is Axel crazy? Amy knows there is no such place as Outside. But what if there were? What would it be like? Curious, Amy convinces Axel to escape. What she hopes to find is something Axel remembers called ​
freedom​
. But what she discovers is beyond her wildest dreams. Assignment​
|​
Setting and Dystopian Novels Next year in English, we will be looking at the relationship between the individual and their society. As such, we will
pay close attention to the literary element of ​
setting​
. In dystopian novels (think: ​
Hunger Games​
,​
Divergent​
, etc.)
setting is particularly important. These books feature imagined worlds with unique rules and characteristics and
where everything is unpleasant or bad. Our task as a reader is to pay attention and discover how and why the world
went so wrong. As you read, please take ​
specific ​
notes in the boxes. These notes will help you prepare to write a
short essay when we return to school in September.
WHERE DOES THE NOVEL TAKE PLACE?
DESCRIBE THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Where do the characters live?​
Describe the physical space of the novel.
How do people live?​
Describe the daily lives of the characters. Describe any rules that the characters must observe.
What important objects, tools, or things do characters use or possess?
WHEN DOES THE NOVEL TAKE PLACE?
What is the time period in which the action occurs? ​
(century? decade? year?)
Over how long does the novel take place? ​
(hours? days? years?)
Atmosphere (Mood) is the dominant emotion/feeling that pervades a story.
How would you describe the atmosphere in the novel?
What descriptive details does the author use to create the atmosphere?
Name: _________________________________________________________________________________________
Summer Reading Assignment ​
| Identifying Elements of Fiction
For your summer reading book of choice, please complete the following questions related to the elements of fiction.
Title: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Author: ________________________________________________________________________________________
NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW
Who is telling the story? What is the narrative perspective (first­person? third­person? limited? omniscient?)
SETTING
Where, when, and (under) what circumstances? ​
Describe the setting in a well­written paragraph. PLOT ​
What happens in the story? What is the design of the narrative?
INTRODUCTION
What is the situation at the beginning of the novel?
CONFLICT What is the main character up against? Person vs. _______ ? Is the conflict internal, external, or both?
CLIMAX What is the point in the novel in which the conflict reaches its greatest intensity and begins to be resolved?
RESOLUTION How does the story end? How is the conflict solved? CHARACTER
Describe the main character in the your novel. How does the character change over the course of the novel? What does
he or she learn about him or herself or the society? Describe the main character in a well­written paragraph.
THEME Write down two potential themes expressed in your novel.