Rising 7th Graders Summer Reading List
Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza believed her life would be wonderful forever. She would always live on her family's ranch in Mexico. She
would always have fancy dresses and a beautiful home filled with servants. Papa and Abuelita would always be with her.
But a sudden tragedy shatters her world and Esperanza and Mama flee to California, where they settle in a camp for
Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression,
and lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick, and a strike for better working conditions threatens to
uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama's life and her
own depend on it.
Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls
A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn. Little
Ann had the brains, and Billy had the will to make them into the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were
coming to them, but sadness waited too. Where the Red Fern Grows is an exciting tale of love and adventure you'll
never forget.
Night, by Elie Wiesel
Night is a quick read physically, but it stays with you mentally a long time. It’s the true story of a young Jewish teenager
in Transylvania who is taken from his home in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp. What is so haunting about the
story is how the events unfold, one little piece at a time, such that the people who are experiencing it don’t really grasp
the grim reality of what is happening to them until it is too late. No one imagines the true horror of Hitler’s war, and so
Eli and his family, friends and neighbors go along with their forced departure from home, the long walks, the train rides
and eventual placement in the camp thinking, this isn’t so bad, I can live with this, it will all be over soon. But it just gets
worse and worse.
The House of the Scorpion King, by Nancy Farmer
Matt, a clone, lives in Opium, a futuristic country carved out between the U.S. and Mexico specifically for the world's
drug lords. Clones are despised but Matt has special status because he is the clone of El Patron, the ruling drug lord. As
Matt begins to understand who he is he refuses to accept his fate and the injustices he uncovers around him.
Rumble fish, by S.E. Hinton
Rusty-James is the number-one tough guy among the junior high kids who hang out and shoot pool at Benny's, and he
enjoys keeping up his reputation. What he wants most of all is to be just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. But
by his own admission, Rusty-James isn't a particularly smart person, and he relies more on his fists than his brains. Up until
now he's gotten along all right because whenever he gets into something he can't handle, the Motorcycle Boy bails him
out. But Rusty-James' lack of direction, his longing for the days of the street gangs and his blind drive to be like his
brother eat away at his world until all come apart in an explosive chain of events.
Summer Reading Activities
Please select among the following activities when you are done reading your novel of choice:
1) Book Jacket - design a creative cover for your book which may include some or all of the following:
biographical information about the author, a summary of the book, illustrations, and/or critical praise from the
authorities in the book’s subject area.
2) Interview With A Character - formulate questions & answer them as the character you select that
relate to the following 4 areas: A) Write 3 questions related to the history of the character, such as “Where
were you born?” B) Write 3 questions related to the plot. C) Write 3 questions about what the character you
have chosen will do when the book ends. D) Finally, ask the question to share 1 secret with you. After each
question, write the character’s answer in 1st person (“I”). Allow yourself to write freely in his/her
voice.
3) Letter to the Author - write a 1-2 page letter to the author either typed or NEATLY written.
Remember to begin with a sentence identifying yourself and what book you are writing about. Example: “I am
a seventh grader at Esperanza Middle School, and I recently finished reading your book, Esperanza Rising.
4) Story Board - create a comic strip of the book being sure to include at least 6 illustrations and
captions (words to explain your pictures) depicting the beginning, middle, and end of the novel. http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/Rg/84/Rg84qx8YmnDGl3Sg_jMGOw/Baldi­Summer­Reading­Activities.pdf