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THE COLLEGE CRUSADE SUMMER READING LIST
ENTERING 7th GRADE IN THE FALL 2008
Listed below are some suggested books you can read. You may read any book that you would like as long as it is a chapter book, age appropriate, and one that you have not read before. Remember these books are only a suggestion.
Before We Were Free by Julia Alverez
Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tio Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
This clever fantasy centers on Milo, a bored 10 year old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock; Milo drives through the tollbooth’s gates and begins a memorable journey.
The Cat Ate My Gym Suit by Paula Danziger
When an unconventional English teacher who helped her conquer many of her feelings of insecurity is fired, a junior high school student uses her new found courage to campaign for her teachers reinstatement.
Tangled Threads: A Hmong Girl’s Story
After ten years in a refugee camp in Thailand, 13 year old Mai Yang travels to Providence, Rhode Island , where her Americanized cousins introduce her to pizza and shopping while her grandmother and her new friends keeps her connected to her
Hmong heritage
.
The Biography of Mohammed Ali by Walter Dean Meyers
A biography of one of the world’s greatest boxers chronicles his childhood, his rise as a champion, his politics and his battle against Parkinson’s disease.
The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
The pushcarts have declared war! New York City’s streets are clogged with huge, rude trucks that park where they want, hold up traffic and bulldoze into anything that is in their way. The pushcart peddlers are determined to get rid of them and the trucks are as determined to get rid of the pushcarts. The pushcarts have come up with a brilliant strategy. Armed with a secret weapon, they win the battle, but can they win the war against the corrupt mayor?
The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake
Thirteen year -old Maleeka is uncomfortable with her dark skin until she meets a teacher with an unusual birthmark and learns a lesson about loving herself.
<TURN THE PAGE OVER>
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Although Opal lives in Friendly Corners Trailer Park she has no friends. She and her preacher father recently moved there for his new job. On an errand to the grocery store Opal finds a stray dog that she names for the store Winn Dixie. Winn Dixie charms his way into everyone’s heart
The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
A black family buys a house in Ohio where a century earlier, Dies Drear and 2 slaves he had been hiding were murdered.
Something Upstairs by Avi
When he moves from Los Angeles to Providence, Rhode Island, Kenny discovers that his new house is haunted by the spirit of a Black slave boy who asks Kenny to return with him to the early nineteenth century and prevent his murder by slave traders.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Set during the Great depression this is a story of a privileged young Mexican girl who must immigrate to the United States and work as a maid after her father dies. A very inspirational story.
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: the Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
In August 1914, Ernst Shackleton set out from London with 27 men in an attempt to become the first team of explorers to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other. Five months later their ship, the Endurance, became trapped in an ice pack. This is an extraordinary true adventure story about how the men survived.
The Color of My Words by Joseph Lynn
When life gets hard for Ana Rosa, living in a small village in the Dominican Republic, she can depend on her older brother to make her feel better until life changing events occur on her 13th birthday
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Learning disabled Max and his friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his mind, combine forces to make a powerful team.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
In 1942, 11year old Phillip Enright lives with his parents on the Dutch island of Curaco, but when the war moves too close for comfort, his mother decides to travel with him back to the safety of Virginia. When their boat is torpedoed, however, Phillip is blinded and finds himself adrift on a life raft with an old black man and a cat.
THE COLLEGE CRUSADE SUMMER READING LIST
ENTERING 8th GRADE IN THE FALL 2007
Listed below are some suggested books you can read. You may read any book that you would like as long as it is a chapter book, age appropriate, and one that you have not read before. Remember these books are only a suggestion.
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they have no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man. But now Mr. Pignati is dead and for John and Lorraine the only way they can find peace is to write down their friends’ story and his terrible secret.
Numbering All the Bones by Ann Rinaldi
While most slaves are being freed now that the Civil War has ended, Eulinda’a younger brother has been sold after being falsely accused of stealing and her older brother has run away, leaving thirteen year old Eulinda alone in a household headed by a cruel mistress and a master that will not acknowledge that Eulinda is his daughter.
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The story takes place in Texas in 1869. While his father is away on a cattle drive, 15 year old Tommy takes over managing the family farm. Tommy gets irritated when his younger brother adopts a dog that he names Yeller. Soon Tommy becomes as fond of the dog as everyone else in his family as Yeller is an excellent watchdog. While fighting off a mad wolf, Yeller becomes infected with rabies. At first Yeller seems unaffected but then he starts to behave viciously and Tommy has to shoot the dog.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
Kenny narrates this story about his middle class family African American family and their 1963 trip from Michigan to Alabama. The purpose of the trip is two fold—to visit their grandmother and to get Kenny’s older brother away from the tough crowd he is running with. Sadly racism rears its ugly head as the family travels through the south.
Hoops by Walter Dean Meyers
A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player who after being forced to quit because of point shaving, hopes to prevent other young athletes form repeating his mistake.
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abraham
Much like her idol Sherlock Holmes, 8th grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her intellect to solve a murder case in her home town of Echo falls.
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Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Twelve year old Paul lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erick, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
This book is about a group of teenagers who plan to kidnap Mr. Griffin, their strict English teacher. They bring Mr. Griffin to a cemetery and want him to beg them to let him go. Mr. Griffin won’t beg and they leave him there only to come back and find him dead.
Red Kayak by Pricilla Cummings
Living near the water on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, thirteen year old Brady and his best friends JT and Digger become entangled in a tragedy which tests their friendship and their ideas about right and wrong
Notes From the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, 16 year old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love and forgiveness.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The final book of the Harry Potter series to be released on July 21.
Heat by Mike Lupica
Pitching prodigy Michael Aroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only 12 years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
So Yesterday by Scott Westerfield
Hunter Braque, a New York City teenager who is paid by corporations to spot what is “cool” combines his analytical skills with his girlfriend Jen’s creative talents to find a missing person and thwart a conspiracy directed at the heart of consumer culture.
House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 142 year old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Parrot in the Oven by Victor Martinez
Manny Hernandez’z dad is always calling him el perico or “the parrot” from a Mexican saying about a parrot who complains how hot it is in the shade while he is sitting in the oven and doesn’t know it. Manny wants to be smarter than the parrot and he struggles with the awkwardness of adolescence as he searches for acceptance and becomes a “vato firme” a stand up guy.
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