2009 Summer Reading List for Students Entering 6th Grade

 

Read three books from this list and fill out graphic organizers. Choose one nonfiction and one fiction book. The third book can be your choice from the list below.

 

FICTION

 

The Art of Keeping Cool by Janet Taylor Lisle
     In 1942, Robert and his cousin Elliot uncover long-hidden family secrets while staying in their grandparents' Rhode Island town, where they also become involved with a German artist who is suspected of being a spy.

 

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
     Thirteen-year-old Bethany's parents have always been overprotective, but when they suddenly drop out of sight with no explanation, leaving her with an aunt she never knew existed, Bethany uncovers shocking secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.

 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
     Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war.

 

The Case of the Missing Marquess : an Enola Holmes Mystery by Nancy Springer

    Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.

 

 

 

NONFICTION

 

Blizzard! : The Storm That Changed America by Jim Murphy
     Presents a history, based on personal accounts and newspaper articles, of the massive snow storm that hit the Northeast in 1888, focusing on the events in New York City.

 

Hidden Worlds : Looking Through a Scientist's Microscope by Stephen P. Kramer
     Describes the work of Dennis Kunkel, a microscopist from Hawaii, and provides illustrations of microscopic worlds of plants, bugs, and mites.

 

Surviving Hitler : A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren
     A biography of Jack Mandelbaum, who survived Nazi concentration camps when he was a teenager.

 

The Tarantula In My Purse : And 172 Other Wild Pets by Jean Craighead George

    A collection of autobiographical stories about raising a houseful of children and wild pets including crows, skunks, and raccoons.