Continuing our series of recommended summer reading, today we are pleased to present our picks for grades 6 – 8.
Compiling this list was a bit trickier than for grades PreK-5, since reading ability and interest can vary significantly during the middle school years. We selected books we felt were classics and “modern classics” that would be most interesting to children in grades 6 – 8. These books are highly likely to be found in your local library, or you may already own them. If you would like to add a specific book to your child’s personal library, we’ve included links directly to Amazon, for your convenience.
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We’ve also included a resource links including teacher’s guides, study notes and quizzes to help you pull together a literature unit for each book selection.
Check back next Monday for our recommendations for High School.
Summer Reading List Grades 6 – 8
The Name of This Book is SecretDescription: In enormous lettering the first page warns: “Do not read beyond this page!” The reason? The book contains a secret so nefarious as to be dangerous even to innocent page-turners daring enough to venture forth. The first few chapters present a tricky little exercise in metafiction in which the story about a secret is revealed as being itself too secret to tell, a ploy sure to tickle more puzzlesome readers. But then the intrusive narrator, who is equal parts snarky and delightful, strikes a deal and deigns to tell the story with fake names in Your Hometown, as long as you agree to “forget everything you read as soon as you read it.” Then follows a not terribly shocking story wherein two intrepid kids uncover a mysterious society bent on immortality, which gets them in and out of all manner of trouble. While some may be disappointed that there is no mind-bending secret at the bottom of it all as promised, most junior Da Vinci Coders will likely be having too much fun to notice. Book Report Form (Adobe Reader Required) |
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Pandora Gets JealousDescription: 13-year-old Pandora Atheneus Andromaeche Helena (or Pandy, for short) has no idea what she’ll bring for her school project. By accident she discovers a simple box, said to contain something so terrifying and horrible that no one must ever, ever touch it for fear of inflicting all of mankind with the wrath of the Gods and Goddesses. This, of course, makes the box the perfect thing for Pandora to bring for her school project. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite the way she was hoping, and the box accidentally gets opened, unleashing all kinds of evil and misery into the world. Hauled before Zeus, Hera and the rest of immortals, Pandy’s given the task of collecting all the evils within a year’s time. Teacher’s Guide (Adobe Reader Required) |
The PenderwicksDescription: This enjoyable tale of four sisters, a new friend, and his snooty mother is rollicking fun. The girls’ father is a gentle, widowed botany professor who gives his daughters free reign but is always there to support or comfort them. Rosalind, 12, has become the mother figure. Skye, 11, is fierce and hot-tempered. Jane, 10, is a budding writer of mysteries who has the disconcerting habit of narrating aloud whatever is occurring around her. Batty, four, is an endearingly shy, loving child who always wears butterfly wings. The family dog, Hound, is her protector. The tale begins as the Penderwicks embark on a summer holiday in the Berkshire Mountains, at a cottage on the grounds of a posh mansion owned by the terribly snobbish Mrs. Tifton. Her son, Jeffrey, is a brilliant pianist, but her heart is set on him attending a military academy like her beloved father. The action involves Rosalind’s unrequited love for the 18-year-old gardener, Skye’s enmity and then friendship with Jeffrey, Jane’s improvement in her melodramatic writing style, and Batty’s encounter with an angry bull whom she rather hopefully calls “nice horsie.” Problems are solved and lessons learned in this wonderful, humorous book that features characters whom readers will immediately love, as well as a superb writing style. Teacher’s Guide (Adobe Reader Required) Book Report Form (Adobe Reader Required) |
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The Star of KazonDescription: Abandoned as a baby, Annika is found and adopted by Ellie and Sigrid, cook and housemaid for three professors. Growing up in early-20th-century Vienna, she learns to cook and clean and is perfectly happy until a beautiful aristocrat appears and claims to be her mother, sweeping her off to a new life in a crumbling castle in northern Germany. Annika is determined to make the best of things, and it takes a while for her to realize that her new “family” has many secrets, most of them nasty. With the help of Ellie, Sigrid, the professors, and friends old and new, Annika escapes from a ghastly fate and learns to face the truth about her relatives. Winding like a braid through this story is a mystery involving a chest of worn costumes and junk jewelry left to Annika by an old woman she has befriended. This is a rich saga in the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett, full of stalwart friends, sly villains, a brave heroine, and good triumphing over evil. Annika’s determination to do the right thing is both laudable and utterly frustrating, especially when readers realize that her loyalty is misplaced. Almost every character is distinct, but the ones that stand out are the “regular folk,” individuals whose sense of decency propels them into amazing acts of courage. Vienna itself is colorfully portrayed, brimming with pastries, coffee, and dancing Lipizzaner horses. An intensely satisfying read. |
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Bud, Not BuddyThis is part of our collection of Pathways! We’ve included the link to the first part of the unit study. Parts 2 – 4 can be easily found after you click through. Pathway Description: Family, survival, and hope are the themes in “Bud, Not Buddy” by Christopher Paul Curtis. Set out on a journey with Bud Caldwell as he searches for his father and learns life lessons along the way. You will read the first five chapters of the book and answer thought-provoking questions. Be prepared to begin a journal for Bud, answering the way he would. You will construct a suitcase like Bud’s, research the 1930’s, write a list of rules for a “funner” life and much more. The writing process is the focus for Language Arts. You will learn all the steps for creating a thorough essay. The typing lesson this week will teach you the letter T and how to type a period(.). Quizzes, printables, writing resources and a video compliment the lessons. Click here to access this FREE Unit Study, plus more! |
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Because of Winn DixieDescription: Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly, happy dog, 10-year-old Opal learns 10 things about her long-gone mother from her preacher father. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes new friends among the somewhat unusual residents of her new hometown, Naomi, Florida. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to find her place in the world and let go of some of the sadness left by her mother’s abandonment seven years earlier. With her newly adopted, goofy pooch at her side, Opal explores her bittersweet world and learns to listen to other people’s lives. This warm and winning book hosts an unforgettable cast of characters, including a librarian who fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace, an ex-con pet-store clerk who plays sweet music to his animal charges, and the neighborhood “witch,” a nearly blind woman who sees with her heart. |
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HootDescription: Roy Eberhardt is the new kid–again. This time around it’s Trace Middle School in humid Coconut Grove, Florida. But it’s still the same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson pushing him around. But if it wasn’t for Dana Matherson mashing his face against the school bus window that one day, he might never have seen the tow-headed running boy. And if he had never seen the running boy, he might never have met tall, tough, bully-beating Beatrice. And if he had never met Beatrice, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. Apparently, bullies do serve a greater purpose in the scope of the universe. Because if it wasn’t for Dana Matherson… Unit Study Guide (Adobe Reader Required) Book Report Form (Adobe Reader Required) |
Those are our picks for Grades 6 – 8 Summer Reading. What’s yours? Let us know in the comments section below!
This post was written by Christina S., a homeschool mom loving life with her husband and two daughters. She lives with her family in Detroit and enjoying the summer weather!
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Some of my favorites:
Roland Smith Books – Jack’s Run, Zach’s Lies, etc.
A Boy at War – Harry Mazer
War Comes to Willy Freeman – James and Christopher Collier
Fever 1793 – Laurie Halse Anderson
I haven’t heard of those. I’ll have to check them out (since I have a rising 7th grader)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ReadingIsFundamental and Lesson Pathways, Lesson Pathways. Lesson Pathways said: We've put together a list of summer reading and free study guides for grades 6 – 8. Tell us your picks too! http://ow.ly/2d6QG [...]
Some of our favorites is: The Warriors Series and Seekers Series as well. My 8th grader loves these and can’t seem to get enough.
He also like The Confessions of Howard J. Fingerhut, ( a boy who starts his own business in lawn care)
Those sound great too!