June 2007

Dear Seventh and Eighth Grade Students and Families,

The summer reading for next year's seventh grade Humanities classes is a collection of classic short stories entitled America Street, edited by Anne Mazer. This book can be ordered online or at any bookstore. The ISBN number is 0-89255-191-7. All incoming seventh graders are required to read the following stories in this anthology:

• The Wrong Lunch Line, by Nicholasa Mohr
• Thank You, M'AM, by Langston Hughes
• The No-Guitar Blues, by Gary Soto
• The All-American Slurp, by Lensey Namioka

The summer reading for next year's eighth grade Humanities classes is a collection of classic short stories entitled Coming of Age in America, edited by Mary Frosch. This book can be ordered online or at any bookstore. The ISBN number is 1-56584-147-6. All incoming eighth graders are required to read the following stories in this anthology:

• The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas, by Reginald McKnight
• What Means Switch by Gish Jen
• The Jacket, by Gary Soto
• This Boy's Life, by Tobias Wolff
• A Bag of Oranges, by Spiro Athanas

You will need to purchase a bound, marble covered, 100-page notebook which will serve as your reading response journal for your summer reading and for the 2007-2008 school year.

In addition, we are asking you to read two additional books from the 7-8 Summer Reading List (see below). As you read each of your two books, please write a response to the following questions in your reading response journal after every three chapters.

1.) Write about two or three events that you find most interesting or significant in terms of plot, character development or theme development.

2.) Write about something new or fascinating that you discovered about a main character or event.

3.) Write three questions about this reading. Write questions that ask why, how, to what extent or explain, as opposed to questions that generate a one or two word response. These should be good discussion questions.

7-8 SUMMER READING LIST 2007-2008

Noteworthy Titles

Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. The March sisters come of age in Concord during the Civil War.

Arrington, Frances. Prairie Whispers. Only Colleen knows her baby sister died at birth. While seeking help for her mother, Colleen switches her sister for the living baby of a mother she finds dying in a covered wagon on the prairie.

Buck, Pearl. The Good Earth. Wang Lung, an impoverished peasant in China in the 1920s, struggles to become a prosperous landowner. His wife, O-Lan helps him every step of the way. This novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1932.

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. A young soldier comes of age under the stress of Civil War combat.

English, Karen. Francie. While waiting to move north, spunky Francie navigates the segregated society of rural "Jim Crow-era" Alabama, helping an African-American boy accused of assault to escape.

Frasier, Charles. Cold Mountain. An excellent book about an ex-Confederate soldier walking home to the mountains of North Carolina after the Civil War.

Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World. Troy, a 300-plus-pound-17-year-old high school laughing-stock, narrates his encounter with Curt, the legendary teen guitarist who is homeless, sick and addicted to prescription drugs. This unlikely duo form a punk-rock band, and a fast friendship in this quirky, intelligent and deeply moving tale set in New York City.

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. 16 year-old Bobby tells his story in alternating chapters of Now and Then, after the birth of his daughter, Feather. Bobby's life changes drastically as a high school artist and an affectionate father. The moving story never becomes sentimental. The First Part Last received the 2004 Printz Award for best Young Adult book.

Levitin, Sonia. Journey to America. Lisa, her sisters, and her mother leave everything behind and flee from Germany to Switzerland during World War II. There they must wait for Papa to send for them from America.

Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy. Under Apartheid, a young man comes of age in this auto- biographical account.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Land of Hope. A novel about a fifteen year old Jewish immigrant arriving in New York City in 1902 who almost abandons her dream of getting an education when she is forced to work in a sweatshop.

Salzman, Mark. True Notebooks. In late 1990s, Mark Salzman visited his friend Duane Noriyuki's writing class in Central Juvenile Hall, a correctional center in Los Angeles for juvenile offenders. Soon he found himself becoming the teacher, friend, mentor and Northern Light to more than a dozen teenage inmates (most of them on trial for murder). In this work of nonfiction, Salzman intersperses his soul-searching story with the actual, often heart-wrenching and surprising writings of his students from their True Notebooks.

Smith, Betty. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. A rich narrative of three generations in a poor but proud American family offering an unsentimental portrait of urban life at the beginning of the century.

Spinelli, Jerry. Milkweed. Set during WWII, within the Warsaw Ghetto, this is the story of a little orphaned boy, who does not remember his parents, does not really know his name and does not know whether he is a Gypsy or a Jew. He finally settles on being Misha who is good at stealing food and supplies for himself and for others in the Ghetto and because his small size, he could even crawl through a hole in the Wall to get in and out of the Ghetto. This story, told through Misha's innocent voice and with plenty of actions, shows the horror of the Jewish Holocaust and the nobility of human spirit.

Taylor, Mildred, K. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Racial conflict during the Great Depression, as seen through the eyes of a ten year old African-American girl. This is the first book of the trilogy.

General Fiction

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennet is intelligent, generous, sensible, incapable of jealousy or any other major sin, but when provoked she can be exceptionally sharp and witty. The encounters and relationship between her and Mr. Darcy, a very rich and seemingly rude young man, have fascinated readers of almost two centuries.

Barry, Lynda. The Good Times are Killing Me. Nationally syndicated cartoonist Lynda Barry's novel about a young girl growing up in the 1960s. The 41 short chapters are at once time moving, quirky, honest, funny, intricate, and heartbreaking.

Baur, Joan. Hope Was Here. Sixteen-year-old Hope and her aunt move to a small town in Wisconsin to join the "short order dance" of life at the Welcome Stairways Diner. In the course of just a few months, Hope encounters issues as diverse as her customers: corruption in politics, a new love, serious illness and the meaning of family.

Block, Francesca Lia. I was a Teenage Fairy. Once upon a time, in the bubble-gum-snapping, glitter polish-wearing, lip-gloss-applying San Fernando Valley, a gentle girl of 16 named Barbie met a feisty fairy named Mab when she was very little. Barbie's modeling career and problem parents are the source of her grief and only in Mab can she find solace.

Bulgakov, Mikhail. Heart of a Dog. This early surreal novella from Mikhail Bulgakov is a kind of Frankenstein story. A stray dog gains a human intelligence after a prominent Moscow professor transplants human glands into the unfortunate canine's body. A witty and satirical examination of human nature gone bad.

Carmi, Danielle. (translated from Hebrew by Yael Lotan) Samir and Yonatan. Samir, a Palestinian boy, enters an Israeli hospital for surgery. The initial fear and antagonism that he feels is mitigated by his bond with Yonatan, an Israeli. The relationship of the children in the ward grows as they face their own physical and emotional trials.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. The story about a cruel, corrupt trader in the Congo raises profound questions about the compromises people sometimes make with evil. Adventurous, compelling, exotic and suspenseful, this is a vivid picture of the moral deterioration of characters' souls.

Crew, Linda. Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined. In 1903, 16-year-old Eva Mae became part of a small, all-women religious cult that followed a charismatic leader, Joshua. This intense and tragic true historical event is recreated by Linda Crew in a most masterful way.

Desai Hidier, Tanuja. Born Confused. Dimple Lala, the insightful 17-year-old narrator of this story of an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), tells about her life as a New Jersey Indian-American school girl who, as a perpetual outsider, is always trying to find herself.

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Pip's life is changed by a strange circumstance. He grows to adulthood expecting a great inheritance and marriage with his childhood sweetheart -- but neither expectation is fulfilled.

Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Young sailor Edmond Dantes, unjustly accused of aiding the exiled Napoleon, is sentenced to life imprisonment. After 14 years, Dantes makes a daring escape and uncovers a vast treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Adopting the persona of the Count of Monte Cristo, Dantes comes back home to seek revenge. Full of excitement and suspense, this is one to read on summer nights.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway's triumphant yet tragic story of an old Cuban fisherman and his relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream combines the simplicity of a fable, the significance of a parable and the drama of an epic. This short novel was awarded the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Kinsella, W.P. Shoeless Joe. Read this classic story of dreams and baseball! It will enchant you!
Kindl, Patricia. Owl in Love. Humorously and tenderly depicted, Owl Tycho's joy and angst of being a "were-owl" (a shape-shifter) who falls in love with her science teacher, guarantees a light but satisfying read.

Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn. Imagine being beaten for learning to read, shackled and whipped for learning a few letters of the alphabet. Now, imagine a man brave enough to risk torture in order to teach others how to read; his name is Nightjohn. This is his story.

Potak, Chaim. The Chosen. (and others). This odyssey of two young men journeying from adolescence to manhood is set in Brooklyn during the 1940's.

Theroux, Paul. The Mosquito Coast. (and others) Fourteen-year-old Charlie Fox records his family's experiences pursuing his disgruntled father's utopian dream in the Honduran wilderness.
Fantasy

Almond, David. Kit's Wilderness. In an old coal-mining town, thirteen-year-old Kit meets a boy who invites him to play the game of "Death" and discovers the stories and ghosts of his child-ancestors.

Bach, Richard. Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in the joy of flight and the power of dreams.

Beagle, Peter. The Last Unicorn. A funny/sad story in which an enchanting unicorn -- joined on her journey by a bungling magician, a pure-at-heart wench, and a butterfly -- leaves her idyllic forest in search of others of her kind.

Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Mists of Avalon. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective world views. Young and old alike will enjoy this magical Arthurian reinvention.

Bradshaw, Giuliano. Beyond the North Wind. The Greek God Apollo sends a talented young magician from his home in ancient Greece to the land of the Arimaspians to conquer the one-eyed giants and save the griffins -- in a book filled with magic, heroism and myth.

Brooks, Terry. Shannara. (series). This is the richly detailed epic fantasy about three scientists who strive to save their Four Lands.

Dickinson, Peter. The Rope Maker. Tilja is a young woman whose families have been protecting the forest with a magic ritual for nearly 20 generations from the greedy barbaric empire to the south. When the magic starts to fade, Tilja and her family set out on a quest to find the powerful magician who can renew the magic spell. Adventure and imagination fill this page-turning fantasy.

Eddings, David. Pawn of Prophecy. This is the beginning volume in a fantasy series set against a history of 7,000 years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men -- of strange lands and events -- and a prophecy that must be fulfilled.

Hearn, Lian. Across the Nightingale Floor. Drawing on elements and the tradition of Samurai stories, Lian Hearn presents an intriguing and blood-pumping, exciting tale of The Tribe (Ninja-like assassins with super-human/natural powers,) The Hidden (a peaceful religious group whose members are being massacred,) and the Clan (warlords and their networks.) This is the first title in the Tales of Otori trilogy.

Hilton, James. Lost Horizon. Four people are brought against their will to the mysterious land of Shangri-La, a place where no one grows old.

McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsinger. Pursuing her dream to be a Harper of Pern, Menolly studies under the Masterharper learning that more is required than a facility with music and a clever way with words.

McKinley, Robin. The Hero and the Crown: The Blue Sword. Seeking her birthright, Aerin, daughter of a Damarian king, becomes the legendary female warrior whose blue sword is wielded years later by Harry Crewe, a young woman destined to be another female warrior.

Springer, Nancy. I Am Morgan Le Fay. The arch-villain in the Arthurian legend, Morgan le Fay, gets to tell her own story from a magically gifted little girl to the embittered grown woman whose struggle against Fate (her namesake) seems always turns back to haunt her.

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. A satire revealing human foibles through Gulliver's adventures in fantastic lands, this classic continues to endure.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Ring (series). Starting with The Hobbit, the journey through Middle Earth, told with poetic language and vivid description of creatures and landscapes, this classic series (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King) has enjoyed the highest acclaim in the realm of fantasy writings in our century.

White, T.H. The Once and Future King. The magnificent legend of King Arthur is retold as a novel for modern readers. Arthur's anguish over war, the love story of Guinevere and Lancelot, and the evil Mordred comprise the story of Camelot. Also: The Book of Merlyn.

Science Fiction
Anthony, Piers. Split Infinity. Welcome to the astonishing parallel worlds of Phaze and Proton, where magic and science maintain an uneasy truce. For all those who loved the Xanth series, this is the first book in The Apprentice Adept series.

Asimov, Isaac. Fantastic Voyage. Four men and one woman, reduced to a microscopic fraction of their original size, board a miniaturized submarine and travel through the bloodstream of a brilliant scientist to save his life - and the world.

Bell, Hilari. A Matter of Profit. In this sci-fi mystery, Ahvren, the son of Saiden, investigates the rumored rebel force against the Emperor of The T'Chin Empire, a confederation of 40 planets. Along the way Ahvren learns much about himself, the larger picture of the T'Chins, and the secrets to maintaining the delicate balance amongst various species.

Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. A twelve-year-old boy experiences the events of a strange and wonderful summer.

Clarke, Arthur C. 2001: A Space Odyssey. After a signal is discovered on the moon, astronauts set out to trace its source, only to have their plans endangered by a computer gone berserk.

Crichton, Michael. The Andromeda Strain. In a race to find out why people are dying in a small western town and whether Los Angeles will be next, Crichton is at his best.

Finney, Jack. Time and Again. For mystery and romance, science fiction and nostalgia, this novel is a must-read!! One night, Si Morley steps out of his twentieth-century Upper West Side apartment - right into the winter of 1882.

O'Brien, Robert C. Z is for Zachariah. Seemingly the only person left alive after the holocaust of a war, Anne Burden is relieved to see a man arrive into her valley -- until she realizes that he is a tyrant and she must somehow escape.

Orwell, George. 1984. This is Orwell's chilling, prophetic vision of a totalitarian "future."

Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. Filled with humor, the story tells of Earth's ultimate end while a bunch of assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature.