2016-2017 8th grade Required Reading Packet
1. Required Summer Reading Selection: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
The image is of an ABRIDGED version which I HIGHLY recommend! I found it on
Amazon for $7.95, corresponding to the following ISBN numbers: ISBN-10:
1463536119 or ISBN-13: 978-1463536114. The printing is pretty awful, but the
information is good. I suggest that you WAIT until after July 4th to read this book, as
there will be projects and tests over it at the beginning of the year.
2. You must also choose two books from the following list: This is a short list of excellent books that are
not on the high school reading list at FWAFA. You are certainly encouraged to read more than two choices
from this list for your own edification.
Ten Boom, Corrie, The Hiding Place
This is a wonderful and inspiring true story chosen to appeal to everyone who was inspired by studying
Anne Frank, and the Holocaust. Corrie Ten Boom is honored on the wall entitled “Righteous among
Nations” at the Dallas Holocaust Museum.
From the publisher:
Holland is under Nazi control...
Thousands of Jewish refugees...
One extraordinary family.
An old watchmaker in Holland. His two daughters, Corrie and Betsie. Simple, ordinary people. Yet these
three unlikely heroes became the center of a major underground operation: To hide Jewish refugees from
the occupying Germans. These kindly, law abiding people broke every rule in the book to save the lives of
the men, women and children being hunted by the Nazis. Their home became a hiding place, but the cost
of their bravery was betrayal and in the dreaded Ravensbruck concentration camp, they had to create
another hiding place for those around them.
Cather, Willa, My Antonia
My Antonia recounts the same time period as the Little House on the Prairie series, but is written at a
higher level.
From the publisher:
Widely recognized as Willa Cather’s greatest novel, My Antonia is a soulful and rich portrait of a pioneer
woman’s simple yet heroic life. The spirited daughter of Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia must adapt to a
hard existence on the desolate prairies of the Midwest. Enduring childhood poverty, teenage seduction, and
family tragedy, she eventually becomes a wife and mother on a Nebraska farm. A fictional record of how
women helped forge the communities that formed a nation, My Ántonia is also a hauntingly eloquent
celebration of the strength, courage, and spirit of America’s early pioneers.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, The Hound of the Baskervilles
If you have been “dying” to read a Sherlock Holmes novel, here is your chance!
From the publisher:
Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound which is
said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically
dismisses the theory as nonsense. Claiming to be immersed in another case, he sends Watson to Devon to
protect the Baskerville heir and to observe the suspects at close hand.
Smith, Betty, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The “tree” is a metaphor for the young woman in this coming of age novel. This publication was selected
as one of the “Books of the Century” by the New York Public Library. Originally published in 1943, there
are seemingly infinite used copies available.
From the publisher:
A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900's, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old
Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the
Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often
drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put
food on the table and clothes on her childrens' backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and
planning ahead.
When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better,
cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother
behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading
oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.
Stevenson, Robert Louis, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This is a great thriller. If you are easily frightened or grossed-out, this choice would not be for you.
From the publisher: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde dramatically brings to life a science-fiction
case study of the nature of good and evil and the duality that can exist within one person. Resonant with
psychological perception and ethical insight, the book has literary roots in Dostoevsky’s “The Double” and
Crime and Punishment.
Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver’s Travels
I just think everyone should be able to use the word Lilliputian in daily conversation. This is an adventure
story, but also a fabulous satire.
From the publisher: Considered the greatest satire ever written in English, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels chronicles the fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, principally to four marvelous realms: Lilliput,
where the people are six inches tall; Brobdingnag, a land inhabited by giants; Laputa, a wondrous flying
island; and a country where the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses, are served by savage humanoid
creatures called Yahoos.
Beneath the surface of this enchanting fantasy lurks a devastating critique of human malevolence, stupidity,
greed, vanity, and short-sightedness. A brilliant combination of adventure, humor, and philosophy,
Gulliver’s Travels is one of literature’s most durable masterpieces.
Summaries taken from Barnes and Noble: www.bn.com
2016-2017 8th Grade turnitin.com Instructions
All FWAFA middle school students will submit their summer reading reports on turnitin.com. The class information has not
changed from last summer. If you remember your 7th grade password, you are all set. If you are new to FWAFA, or you need
to create a new account for whatever reason, simply go to turnitin.com and follow the instructions using the information
below.
ALL students will be enrolled in Mrs. Maddoux’s class, regardless of their actual teacher. This allows us to keep the class
passwords consistent.
8th graders
Class Name:
FWAFA21
Enrollment password: FWAFA21
Class ID 10020734
Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
Summer 2016 Reading Report Form
This TYPED form must be submitted for EACH summer reading book to
turnitin.com by midnight, the night prior to the first day of school.
Name______________________
Date___________________
Book Title_________________________________________________________
Author__________________
Category/Genre___________________
You will be allowed to use this form as starting point for in-class writing assignments
over your summer reading. Use complete sentences and make note of page numbers for
future reference.
Setting: time/place/historical context
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Point of View (1st person, 3rd person limited, or 3rd person omniscient):
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Characters - at least 3: name/physical description/role in the story line:
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Plot (be sure to include the ending of the book!):
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Climax (high point of action):
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Theme (universal meaning of the work/author’s meaning):
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Two significant quotes (include page numbers):
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Your opinion of the work:
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