Brooklyn Prospect 2016 Summer Reading Guide for Rising 7th Graders

Dear Rising 7th Graders, We are looking forward to starting 7th grade with you in September 2016! Below is your Summer Reading Guide. These books have been selected by your librarian and your teachers and include a variety of subjects. We have a limited number of copies of these titles in our school library (so you can check them out for the summer), and they are also available at the Brooklyn Public Library and local bookstores.

You must read INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN, by Thanhha Lai. After you have finished reading the book, complete the text assignment. You will need to bring a printed or handwritten copy of your assignment to school on Wednesday, September 7th, and give it to your ELA teacher(s).

You must read at least two of the other suggested books below (your choice). After you have finished reading these books, complete a Google form for each book here.

Happy Summer & Happy Reading! Ms. Gallager, Librarian & The 7th Grade Team

REQUIRED BOOK: INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN By Thanhha Lai F&P W * 800L Inside Out and Back Again is a New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award. Inspired by the author's childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming­of­age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's­eye view of family and immigration. Book trailer “The Inside Story: Thanhha Lai”

SUGGESTED FICTION BOOKS: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CRAZY HORSE By Joseph Marshall 620L Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy—though you wouldn’t guess it by his name: his father is part white and part Lakota, and his mother is Lakota. When he embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more and more about his Lakota heritage—in particular, the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota and American history. Celebrated author Joseph Marshall III juxtaposes the contemporary story of Jimmy with an insider’s perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse (1840–1877). The book follows the heroic deeds of the Lakota leader who took up arms against the US federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Author website

THE FINAL FOUR By Paul Volponi 870L March Madness is in full swing, and there are only four teams let in the NCAA basketball championship. The heavily favored Michigan Spartans and the underdog Troy Trojans meet in the first game in the semi­finals, and it's there that the fates of Malcolm, Roko, Crispin, and M.J. intertwine. As the last moments tick down on the game clock, you'll learn how each player went from being a kid who loves to shoot hoops to a powerful force in one of the most important games of the year. Which team will leave the Superdome victorious? In the end it will come down to who has the most skill, the most drive, and the most heart. Read an excerpt of the book!

THE APOTHECARY By Maile Meloy F&P W * 740L A dose of magic could save the world...Fourteen­year­old Janie Scott is new to London and she's finding it dull, dreary and cold ­ until she meets Benjamin Burrows who dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father, the mysterious apothecary, is kidnapped he entrusts Janie and Benjamin with his sacred book, full of ancient spells and magical potions. Now the two new friends must uncover the book's secrets in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies ­ Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. If you like The Apothecary, check out the second and third books in the trilogy, The Apprentices and The After­Room! Book trailer

THE WESTING GAME By Ellen Raskin F&P V * 740L A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game­loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be dead…but that won’t stop him from playing one last game! The Westing Game manuscript

A WISH AFTER MIDNIGHT By Zetta Elliott Genna is a fifteen­year­old girl who wants out of her tough Brooklyn neighborhood. But she gets more than she bargained for when a wish gone awry transports her back in time. Facing the perilous realities of Civil War–era Brooklyn, Genna must use all her wits to survive. In the tradition of Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, A Wish After Midnight is the affecting and inspiring tale of a fearless young woman’s fight to hold on to her individuality and her humanity in two different worlds. Find out more about Genna’s journey in the sequel A Door at the Crossroads! Author’s website

FEVER 1793 By Laurie Halse Anderson F&P Z * 580L 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. Author’s website

THE SEVENTH MOST IMPORTANT THING By Shelley Pearsall 760L It was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it’s the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service...working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can’t believe it—is he really supposed to rummage through people’s trash? But it isn’t long before Arthur realizes there’s more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the “trash” he’s collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine… Author’s website Documentary about James Hampton

BLUE BIRDS By Caroline Starr Rose 700L Alis and her parents make the long journey from England to settle the New World. But it doesn't go as planned and Alis, her parents, and the others of their small community soon find themselves at odds with the Roanoke tribe. As tensions rise between the settlers and the Native peoples, twelve­year­old Alis forms an impossible friendship with a Roanoke named Kimi. Despite language barriers, the two become as close as sisters, risking their lives for one another until Alis makes a decision that will change her life forever. Author’s website

THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 580L Nine­year­old Ada has never left her one­room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother? Author interview

RHYME SCHEMER By K. A. Holt 520L Kevin has a bad attitude. He's the one who laughs when you trip and fall. In fact, he may have been the one who tripped you in the first place. He has a real knack for rubbing people the wrong way—and he's even figured out a secret way to do it with poems. But what happens when the tables are turned and he is the one getting picked on? Rhyme Schemer is a touching and hilarious middle­grade novel in verse about one seventh grader's journey from bully­er to bully­ee, as he learns about friendship, family, and the influence that words can have on people's lives. Author’s website

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE By Agatha Christie 570L The world’s best­selling mystery! Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…

GUYS READ: The Sports Pages Stories by Jon Scieszka, Gordon Korman, Chris Rylander, Dan Gutman, Anne Ursu, Tim Green, Joseph Bruchac, and Jacqueline Woodson 840L A lineman with something to prove A vendetta against a baseball legend The rise of a real­life NHL all­star The luckiest grapefruit in sports history Open up The Sports Pages, the third volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading, and you're in for all of this and more. From fiction to nonfiction, from baseball to mixed martial arts and everything in between, these are ten stories about the rush of victory and the crush of defeat on and off the field. Guysread.com

MONSTER By Walter Dean Myers F&P Z * 670L Sixteen­year­old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout. As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. Walter Dean Myers discusses Monster

YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS By Meg Medina 670L One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck­up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away? Author’s website

KAMPUNG BOY By Lat Kampung Boy is a favorite of millions of readers in Southeast Asia. With masterful economy worthy of Charles Schultz, Lat recounts the life of Mat, a Muslim boy growing up in rural Malaysia in the 1950s: his adventures and mischief­making, fishing trips, religious study, and work on his family's rubber plantation. Meanwhile, the traditional way of life in his village (or kampung) is steadily disappearing, with tin mines and factory jobs gradually replacing family farms and rubber small­holders. When Mat himself leaves for boarding school, he can only hope that his familiar kampung will still be there

when he returns. Kampung Boy is hilarious and affectionate, with brilliant, super­expressive artwork that opens a window into a world that has now nearly vanished. Author interview

GOODBYE STRANGER By Rebecca Stead 560L Bridge is an accident survivor who’s wondering why she’s still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost­boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody’s games—or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade? This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl—as a friend? On Valentine’s Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight? Each memorable character navigates the challenges of love and change in this captivating novel. Author’s website

SUGGESTED NONFICTION BOOKS: A GAME FOR SWALLOWS: To Die, to Leave, to Return By Zeina Abirached 680L When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon had been going on for six years, so it's just a normal part of life for her and her parents and little brother. East Beirut is for Christians, and West Beirut is for Muslims. When Zeina's parents don't return from a visit to the other half of the city, and the bombing grows ever closer, the neighbors in her apartment house create a world indoors for Zeina and her brother, where they can share cooking lessons and games and gossip. Author interview

WITCH HUNT: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials By Marc Aronson F&P Z * 1180L In a plain meetinghouse a woman stands before her judges. The accusers, girls and young women, are fervent and overexcited.As the trial proceeds the girls begin to wail, tear their clothing, and scream that the woman is hurting them. Are they acting or are they really tormented by an unseen evil? Whatever the cause, the nightmare has begun: The witch trials will eventually claim twenty­five lives, shatter the community, and forever shape the American social conscience.

GUINEA PIG SCIENTISTS Bold Self­Experimenters in Science and Medicine By Mel Boring & Leslie Dendy F&P Z * 1100L Who are these "guinea pig scientists"? Searching for clues to some of science's and medicine's bigger (and sometimes stranger) questions, they are all the men and women who devoted their lives to help find the answers. Spanning from the 1770s to the present­and uncovering the science behind digestion, the spread of yellow fever, the development of the first heart catheter, and more­their ten stories are at once scientifically detailed and fascinatingly personal.

CHASING LINCOLN’S KILLER By James Swanson 980L "This story is true. All the characters are real and were alive during the great manhunt of April 1865. Their words are authentic and come from original sources: letters, manuscripts, trial transcripts, newspapers, government reports, pamphlets, books and other documents. What happened in Washington, D.C., that spring, and in the swamps and rivers, forests and fields of Maryland and Virginia during the next twelve days, is far too incredible to have been made up." So begins this fast­paced thriller that tells the story of the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth and gives a day­by­day account of the wild chase to find this killer and his accomplices. Author video

STOLEN INTO SLAVERY: The True Story of Solomon Northup By Judith Bloom Fradin F&P Y * 1060L Solomon Northup awoke in the middle of the night with his body trembling. Slowly, he realized that he was handcuffed in a dark room and his feet were chained to the floor. He managed to slip his hand into his pocket to look for his free papers that proved he was one of 400,000 free blacks in a nation where 2.5 million other African Americans were slaves. They were gone. This remarkable story follows Northup through his 12 years of bondage as a man kidnapped into slavery, enduring the hardships of slave life in Louisiana. But the tale also has a remarkable ending. Northup is rescued from his master's cotton plantation in the deep South by friends in New York. Movie trailer

BAD BOY: A Memoir By Walter Dean Myers 970L In a memoir that is gripping, funny, and ultimately unforgettable, author Walter Dean Myers travels back to his roots in the magical world of Harlem during the 1940s and 1950s. As a boy, Myers was quick­tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously—he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer. But while growing up in a poor family in Harlem, he came to realize fully the class and racial struggles that surrounded him. He began to doubt himself and the values that he had always relied on, attending high school less and less, turning to the streets and to his books for comfort. Reading saved him… Author interview on PBS Newshour

LEWIS & CLARK By Nick Bertozzi 620L In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark departed St. Louis, Missouri, for one of the greatest adventures this nation has ever known. Appointed and funded by President Jefferson himself, and led by a cadre of experts (including the famous Sacagawea), the expedition was considered a success almost before it had begun. From the start, the journey was plagued with illness, bad luck, Lewis’s chronic depression, and, to top it all, the shattering surprise of the towering Rocky Mountains and the continental divide. But despite crippling setbacks, overwhelming doubts, and the bare facts of geography itself, Lewis and Clark made it to the Pacific in 1806. Lewis and Clark documentary

BABE CONQUERS THE WORLD The Legendary Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias By Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace 930L Babe Didrikson Zaharias had one driving goal: to become the greatest athlete who ever lived. And she made good on that promise with a meteoric rise to famed basketball player, Olympic medalist, and top female golfer. But there was more to Babe than just sports. Noted novelists and sportswriters Rich and Sandra Wallace expose the many controversies surrounding this famous female athlete—her upbringing, personality, marriage, and even her early death.

SHACKLETON: Antarctic Odyssey By Nick Bertozzi Ernest Shackleton was one of the last great Antarctic explorers, and he led one of the most ambitious Antarctic expeditions ever undertaken. This is his story, and the story of the dozens of men who threw in their lot with him ­ many of whom nearly died in the unimaginably harsh conditions of the journey. It's an astonishing feat ­ and was unprecedented at the time ­ that all the men in the expedition survived. Shackleton's expedition marked the end of a period of romantic exploration of the Arctic and the Antarctic, and this is as much a graphic novel about the encroaching modern world as it is about travel. Shackleton documentary

ENCHANTED AIR: Two Cultures, Two WIngs, A Memoir By Margarita Engle 1120L Margarita is a girl from two worlds. Her heart lies in Cuba, her mother’s tropical island country, a place so lush with vibrant life that it seems like a fairy tale kingdom. But most of the time she lives in Los Angeles, lonely in the noisy city and dreaming of the summers when she can take a plane through the enchanted air to her beloved island. Words and images are her constant companions, friendly and comforting when the children at school are not. Then a revolution breaks out in Cuba. Margarita fears for her far­away family. When the hostility between Cuba and the United States erupts at the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Margarita’s worlds collide in the worst way possible. How can the two countries she loves hate each other so much?

THROW LIKE A GIRL: How to Dream Big & Believe in Yourself By Jennie Finch 850L The evidence is overwhelming: sports help girls grow into strong women. Both scientific studies and anecdotal evidence confirm that athletic girls not only grow up to be healthier; they learn teamwork, gain inner confidence, and grow into society's leaders. Sports help preteen and teenage girls make the right choices in a society that is sending them incredibly mixed messages about who they are supposed to be. Yet no one is speaking directly to these girls. Jennie fills the role of girlfriend, big sister, team captain, and mentor. A smart, credible, and accomplished voice from an athlete who is strong and feminine, fiercely competitive, and fashionably cool, Jennie is someone young women will listen to and take to heart. Jennie's message: Believe in yourself. Go for it, girls. Author’s website

CHEW ON THIS: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food By Eric Schlosser F&P V * 1110L Kids love fast food. And the fast food industry definitely loves kids. It couldn’t survive without them. Did you know that the biggest toy company in the world is McDonald’s? It’s true. In fact, one out of every three toys given to a child in the United States each year is from a fast food restaurant. Not only has fast food reached into the toy industry, it’s moving into our schools. One out of every five public schools in the United States now serves brand name fast food. But do kids know what they’re eating? Where do fast food hamburgers come from? And what makes those fries taste so good? Book trailer