Summer Reading Suggestions2014

Selected by: Marie Parker – North School ● Jean Sand – Matthew Thornton School Leslie Schilling – South School

PICTURE BOOKS (EVERYBODY BOOKS)

Bean, Jonathan. Building Our House (2013)A young girl narrates her family's move from the city to the country, where they have bought a piece of land and live in a trailer while they build a house from the ground up, with help from relatives and friends.

Becker, Aaron. Journey (2013)A young girl, having escaped from her loneliness through a door she drew on her bedroom wall, is captured by an evil emperor and must find a way to escape.

Brown, Peter. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild (2013)Bored with city life and the proper behavior it requires, Mr. Tiger has a wild idea that leads him to discover his true nature.

Daywalt, Drew. The Day the Crayons Quit (2013)When Duncan arrives at school one morning, he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them.

Holub, Joan. Little Red Writing (2013)Once upon a time, in pencil school, a brave little red pencil sets out to write an exciting story with nouns and adverbs and everything--but first she has to face the ravenous pencil sharpener, the Wolf 3000.

LaRochelle, David. How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans (2013)A young girl must face her least favorite food when a mean gang of green beans kidnaps her parents.

Leathers, Philippa. The Black Rabbit (2013)Rabbit is unsure what to do when he notices a black rabbit following him.

Ludwig, Trudy. The Invisible Boy (2013)Brian has always felt invisible at school, but when a new student, Justin, arrives, everything changes.

Pizzoli, Greg. The Watermelon Seed (2013)After swallowing a watermelon seed, a crocodile imagines a scary outcome.

Shea, Bob. Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great (2013)Envy turns to admiration and finally to friendship for Goat and Unicorn.

Londonderry School District 268C Mammoth Road

Londonderry, NH 03053

Snicket, Lemony. The Dark (2013)Laszlo is afraid of the dark which lives in the same big, creaky house as him, until one night the dark pays him a visit.

Sullivan, Mary. Ball (2013)While searching for someone to play ball with him, a dog dreams of fantastical adventures he could have with his ball.

Willems, Mo. I’m a Frog! (2013)Piggie introduces his reluctant friend, Gerald the elephant, to the wonderful world of pretend.

YOUNGER READERS

Bruel, Nick. Bad Kitty School Daze (2013)When Kitty's owners have finally had enough of her bad behavior, it's time to ship her off to obedience school.

Haas, Jessie. Bramble and Maggie: Give and Take (2013)Bramble the horse is starting life with her new person, Maggie. When Maggie wants to go for a ride, Bramble is hesitant because she feels that neither she nor Maggie should be boss all the time. There should be some give-and-take. Maggie agrees, and a carrot seals the deal.

Henkes, Kevin. The Year of Billy Miller (2013)Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and learned many important lessons.

Myracle, Lauren. Penguin Problems (2013)Seven-year-old Ty gets into mischief and big-hearted schemes while navigating second grade and becoming a big brother.

Osborne, Mary Pope. Hurry Up Houdini! (Magic Tree House series) (2013)Join Jack and Annie as they as they meet one of the world's most famous illusionists, Harry Houdini.

OLDER READERS

Davies, Jacqueline. The Candy Smash (2013)Jessie wants to create a newspaper for Valentine's Day and publish some of her brother's poems even though Evan wants to keeps his poems private. [realistic]

DiCamillo, Kate. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (2013)

Londonderry School District 268C Mammoth Road

Londonderry, NH 03053

A girl named Flora and a squirrel named Ulysses, whose life was saved by Flora after he was involved in an incident with a vacuum cleaner, team up to use Ulysses' superpowers to conquer villains and protect the weak. [fantasy]

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Gingersnap (2013)When her brother Rob, a Navy cook, goes missing in action during World War II, Jayna, desperate for family, leaves upstate New York and their cranky landlady, accompanied by a turtle and a ghost, to seek their grandmother, who Rob believes may live in Brooklyn. [historical fiction]

Herlong, M.H. Buddy (2012)Twelve-year-old Li'l T and his family face great losses caused by Hurricane Katrina, including leaving Buddy, their very special, three-legged dog, behind when they must evacuate. [historical fiction]

Hunter, Erin. Thunder Rising (2013)The cats from the mountains completed their journey and have settled in the forest at the end of the sun trail. But tensions have reached a breaking point--and a young cat named Thunder is caught helplessly in the middle. [fantasy]

Kelley, Marty. Fame, Fortune and the Bran Muffins of Doom (2013)Geeky Simon is determined to gain everlasting fame and glory by winning the school talent show. [humorous]

Korman, Gordon. The Hypnotists (2013)Twelve-year-old Jackson Opus is descended from two powerful hypnotist bloodlines, but he has just begun to realize that he can control other peoples' actions with sometimes frightening results--especially when the head of the Sentia Institute plans to use Jackson for his own benefit. [realistic]

Pileggi, Leah. Prisoner 88 (2013)A fictional story based on a real incident as reported in a newspaper in Idaho Territory in 1885. In 1885, ten-year-old Jake is sent to prison for killing a man who threatened his father, and struggles to survive the harsh realities of prison life in the Idaho Territory. [historical fiction]

Watson, Jude. Nowhere to Run (39 Clues series) (2013)When the serum of the 39 Clues goes missing, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, do whatever it takes to retrieve it. [mystery]

Balliet, Blue. Hold Fast (2013)On a cold winter day in Chicago, Early's father disappeared, and now she, her mother and her brother have been forced to flee their apartment and join the ranks of the homeless--and it is up to Early to hold her family together and solve the mystery surrounding her father. [mystery]

Black, Holly. Doll Bones (2013)Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed acting out imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll believed to have been made from the ashes of a dead girl. [adventure]

Londonderry School District 268C Mammoth Road

Londonderry, NH 03053

NON-FICTION

Bober, Natalie. Papa is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost (2013)When Robert Frost was a child, his family thought he would grow up to be a baseball player. Instead, he became a poet. His life on a farm in New Hampshire inspired him to write "poetry that talked," and today he is famous for his vivid descriptions of the rural life he loved so much. There was a time, though, when Frost had to struggle to get his poetry published. Told from the point of view of Lesley, Robert Frost's oldest daughter, this is the story of how a lover of language found his voice.

Brown, Don. Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution (2013)Presents an illustrated account of how bookseller Henry Knox moved 59 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston during the Revolutionary War, helping Americans to make a pivotal victory.

Cate, Annette. Look Up!: Birdwatching in Your Own Backyard (2013)You don't have to own binoculars and know a bunch of fancy Latin names to watch birds! No matter where you live, they're in your neighborhood -- just look up.

Floca, Brian. Locomotive (2013)Details what the first passengers experienced as they traveled West on the transcontinental railroad in the summer of 1869.

Krull, Kathleen. What Was the March on Washington? (2013)Text and illustrations look at the August 1963 March on Washington to demand equal rights for African-Americans.

Lassieur, Allison. Can You Survive the Titanic? (2013)Readers can choose how the story ends in three different adventures about the night the "Titanic" sank.

Llanas, Sheila Griffin. The Underground Railroad: A History Perspectives Book (2014)This book relays the factual details of the Underground Railroad during slavery in the United States. Readers learn about the key historical event from the perspectives of a slave, a slave owner, and a conductor on the railroad.

Quinlan, Julia J. Maserati (2014)Explores the history of Maserati automobiles and the start of the company, and offers details and facts about some of the different models.

Smith, Charles R. Brick by Brick (2013)Looks at the people who built the White House, including several slaves, who were able to buy their freedom after learning a trade through this work.

Londonderry School District 268C Mammoth Road

Londonderry, NH 03053

POETRY

MacLachlan, Patricia. Cat Talk (2013)In this collection of children's poems, a variety of cats describe themselves and their relationships to other animals and to their humans.

Prelutsky, Jack. Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems (2012)A collection of poems describing imaginary creatures such as Bluffaloes, Swapitis, and Stardines.

Salas, Laura Purdie. Fuzzy-Fast Blur: Poems About Pets (2009)A collection of pet-themed poetry for children that includes full-color photographs of dogs, cats, birds, snakes, fish, hamsters, and others.

Singer, Marilyn. Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems (2013)A collection of poems in which characters from familiar tales relate their side of the story.

Singer, Marilyn. Rutherford B, Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents (2013)A collection of children's poems about the presidents of the United States.

VanDerwater, Amy Ludwig. Forest Has a Song: Poems (2013)An illustrated collection of poems about forests and nature.

“Giving Wings to Children’s Dreams”

Londonderry School District 268C Mammoth Road

Londonderry, NH 03053