Summer Reading List for Incoming Eighth Graders
In eighth grade, you will be studying US History, focusing on the American
Colonization period through the Civil War Era. What better way to explore history
than through the eyes of the people/characters who lived it!
We will begin the year with the historical fiction genre. Please choose at least one
title from the list below to read at your leisure this summer.
If you are unable to read this summer, you will have the first two weeks of school to
complete the reading, but we hope that, like us, you are so excited to have the
summer to dive into a good book!
Be prepared to discuss the story’s theme and do a character analysis after the
second week of school.
We have several copies from the first list for you to borrow – first come, first served.
We also compiled an additional list for you to browse at your local library,
bookstore, or online. If you find another compelling historical fiction title, set in the
U.S. between 1763-1877, feel free to read it! We look forward to hearing about
your selection!
Whatever title you choose, be sure it is worthy of your reading level. It should be
“Just Right” to “Challenging,” not lower than what you are capable of reading. We’ve
included some Grade Level Equivalent (GLE’s) and Lexile scores to help you choose.
How to interpret a GLE and Lexile score:
GLE: is the readability of a book. A book with a 6.7 means the book is targeted for a
typical 6th grader in the 7th month of school.
Lexile: refers to the difficulty of a text. Lexile.com states: A Lexile text measure is
based on the semantic and syntactic elements of a text. Many other factors affect the
relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests
of the reader, and the design of the actual book.
In other words, a book could have a relatively low Lexile score, but not be marketed
to young adults. A “just right” book at 7th grade is about an 830 Lexile; for 8th grade,
it’s about 880. That said, many adult books will have a Lexile under 1000. (The Da
Vinci Code is 850, while Jane Eyre is 490, and Beowulf is 550.)
TITLES YOU MAY BORROW FROM CMS:
(See Mrs. Prior in Room 205 before Friday, June 13, 2014)
TITLE / AUTHOR
Finishing Becca
Ann Rinaldi
A Ride into Morning
Ann Rinaldi
Cast Two Shadows
Ann Rinaldi
Across Five Aprils
Irene Hunt
Johnny Tremain
Esther Forbes
Streams to the
River, River to the
Sea
Scott O’Dell
INFO from AMAZON.com
Age Range: 12 - 14 years
Grade Level: 7 and up (GLE 6.9 // Lexile 620)
Series: Great Episodes
Paperback: 384 pages
An independent-minded young maid tells the story of social-climber Peggy
Shippen and how she influenced Benedict Arnold’s betrayal of the Patriot forces.
Revolutionary Philadelphia is brought to life as Becca seeks to find her “missing
pieces” while exploring the complicated issues of the war between the
impoverished independence men and the decadent British Tories. “This tale of
treachery comes alive under [Rinaldi’s] pen.”--Kirkus Reviews
Age Range: 10 - 14 years
Grade Level: 4 – 8 (GLE 4.6 // Lexile 690)
Series: Great Episodes
Paperback: 368 pages
The Revolutionary War is raging. General Wayne's soldiers are freezing,
underpaid, and resentful. Whispers of mutiny abound.
A stone's throw from the restless camp, Tempe Wick wages her own battle for
survival. Despite her efforts, she fears she won't be able to feed her family, care for
her ailing mother, or maintain her farm for long.
As the whispers get louder, the soldiers get bolder. Mutiny is imminent. And
Tempe faces a gut-wrenching decision: Should she join the revolt?
Ann Rinaldi's dramatic story is based on the legend of America's Tempe Wick.
Age Range: 12 - 14 years
Grade Level: 7 and up (GLE 7.9 // Lexile 610)
Series: Great Episodes
Paperback: 304 pages
In South Carolina in 1780, fourteen-year-old Caroline sees the Revolutionary War
take a terrible toll on her family and friends, and comes to understand the true
nature of war.
Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
(GLE 5.5 // Lexile 1100)
The Newbery Award winning author of Up a Road Slowly presents the
unforgettable story of Jethro Creighton—a brave boy who comes of age during the
turbulent years of the Civil War.
Age Range: 9 - 12 years
Grade Level: 4 – 7 (GLE 5.3 // Lexile 840)
Paperback: 320 pages
The Year: 1773. The place: Boston. Johnny Tremain is fourteen and
apprenticed to a silversmith. He is gifted and lords his skills over the other
apprentices, until one day his hand is horribly burned by molten silver.
Johnny’s dreams of silversmithing are over. A depressed Johnny finds work
as a dispatch rider for the Committee of Public Safety, a job that brings him
in touch with Boston patriots—and the excitement that will lead to the Tea
Party and the Battle of Lexington.
Print Length: 211 pages
GLE 6.2 // Lexile 740
Once again O'Dell turns to the Native American for his subject, and in this
novel he brings to life the mysterious Shoshone girl Sacagawea, interpreter
and guide for Lewis and Clark. Told from Sacagawea's point of view, this is
an honest, unsparing account of Indian life and the approaching whites.
From the beginning, Sacagawea is calm and practical but fiercely
independent; these attributes enable her to survive the succession of
traumas that will prepare her for Lewis and Clark. Forced into marriage with
a French trader, she is then hired with her husband by Lewis and Clark for
her knowledge of the Shoshone language and lands. Sacagawea's
narration of their trek often becomes unbearably agonizing as both she and
her infant son are nearly killed several times. But her journey to the great
sea is not only physical. It is a spiritual journey as well, as she matures in
wisdom and in her love for William Clark. Finally, having been offered the
white world and Clark's love, she turns away, back to her Shoshone life.
This is as quiet and intriguing a re-creation as Sacagawea herself.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Other possible titles for you to look for at your local library or
bookstore:
TITLE
April Morning
Howard Fast
The Fighting Ground
Avi
Fever 1793
Laurie Halse Anderson
GLE 7.8 // Lexile Measure: 1050
Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
When you read this novel about April 19, 1775, you will see the British
redcoats marching in a solid column through your town. Your hands
will be sweating and you will shake a little as you grip your musket
because never have you shot with the aim of killing a man. But you will
shoot, and shoot again and again while your shoulder aches from your
musket's kick and the tight, disciplined red column bleeds and wavers
and breaks and you begin to shout at the top of your lungs because
you are there, at the birth of freedom—you're a veteran of the Battle of
Lexington, and you've helped whip the King's best soldiers...
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 5 – 7 (GLE 6.4 // Lexile 580)
Lexile Measure: 580L
Paperback: 160 pages
April 3, 1778 He may be just thirteen, but Jonathan knows he's ready
to go to the war against the British. He can handle a gun. He yearns to
battle for glory, just like his brother and cousin.So when Jonathan
hears the tavern bell toll, calling men to fight, he runs to join them. He
doesn't realize that in just twenty-four hours, his life will be forever
altered -- by the war, by his fellow soldiers, and by the terrible choices
he must make.
Age Range: 10 - 14 years
Grade Level: 5 – 9 (GLE 7.6)
Lexile Measure: 580
Paperback: 272 pages
During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee
shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her
days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into
the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.
Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and
turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's
insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon
discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn
quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
North By Night: Story of
the Underground
Railroad
Katherine Ayers
Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 – 7 (GLE 4.8 // Lexile 750)
Paperback: 192 pages
It's 1851 and Lucy Spencer's family is keeping a secret. Their Ohio
home is a station on the Underground Railroad, the network of people
and places that helps fugitive slaves escape to freedom in Canada.
Lucy believes in what she and her family do to help the fugitives, even
if it means putting herself in danger.
So Lucy doesn't hesitate when she is asked to stay with the Widow
Aurelia Mercer and help her with a family of runaway slaves hiding in
her attic. And she learns so much from her experience--about growing
up, love, and standing on her own. But what will Lucy do when she is
asked to make the ultimate sacrifice and leave all she loves behind?
Stonewall's Gold
Paperback: 240 pages
Robert Mrazek
Stonewall's Gold is an adventure story for readers of all ages in the
classic tradition of Treasure Island and The Red Badge of Courage.
Combining a fascinating and gripping narrative with a portrait of life in
the Civil War-era South, it is also the moving story of a boy on the
edge of manhood, taking on difficult challenges that force him to
confront the world for the first time.
GLE 6.9 // Lexile 890
The year of 1864 is a difficult time to be living in the Appalachian
Mountains of Virginia. The Civil War is drawing to a close and, under
the orders of General Sheridan, Union troops have laid waste to the
countryside. Against this bleak backdrop, Jamie Lockhart’s mother
takes on a boarder to help her eke out a living until her husband
returns from the war.
Soon, someone begins desecrating local soldier's graves, and Jamie,
an intrepid fifteen-year-old, discovers that their boarder is the culprit.
Confronted, the boarder assaults Jamie's mother; defending her,
Jamie kills him. In his personal effects Jamie discovers the item he
was looking for in the graveyard, a cryptic map to Stonewall's gold.
Thus begins Jamie's quest.
Killer Angels
Michael Shaara
Paperback: 355 pages
GLE 8.4 // Lexile 610
In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation’s history,
two armies fought for two conflicting dreams. One dreamed of
freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets
were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises.
There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania
fields. Bright futures, untested innocence, and pristine beauty were
also the casualties of war. Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize–winning
masterpiece is unique, sweeping, unforgettable—the dramatic story of
the battleground for America’s destiny.