Assignment:

Students are required to write a letter for each of the three books they read over the summer. The letters to your teacher should contain:

1. A brief description of the book, including information about the:

• Setting — where it takes place, time in history (minimum of 1 paragraph),
• Main characters — use appearance and personality traits (minimum of 1 paragraph).
  
• Conflicts the main character faces — tell how he/she solves these conflicts.  Remember, conflicts are struggles confronting the character; they may be character versus character, character versus nature, and character versus him/herself (minimum of 3 paragraphs).

2. Questions — What were some questions you had while you were reading?  Did you still have questions when you finished the book?

3. Connections — Make at least 2 connections. For example text to self, text to text, or text to world.

4. Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not?

5. Vocabulary — Create a list of words (10 minimum) that you did not know.

Required Reading:

Old Yeller  by Fred Gibson
At first, Travis couldn't stand the sight of Old Yeller. The stray dog was ugly, and a thieving rascal, too. But he sure was clever, and a smart dog could be a big help on the wild Texas frontier, especially with Papa away on a long cattle drive up to Abilene. Strong and courageous, Old Yeller proved that he could protect Travis's family from any sort of danger. But can Travis do the same for Old Yeller?

Choose at least two others from the titles below:

A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Maas
Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the loss of something important to her.
On the web!: http://www.wendymass.com/

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of their father.
On the web!: http://www.pammunozryan.com/

Brian's Winter (sequel to Hatchet) by Gary Paulsen
Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.
On the web!: http://www.garypaulsen.com

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
Jess Aarons gains the strength to cope with unexpected tragedy by going to a secret kingdom in the woods invented by Leslie Burke, a newcomer to his rural Virginia community.
On the web!: http://www.terabithia.com/

City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever!
On the web!: http://www.jeanneduprau.com/

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
On the web!: http://www.pammunozryan.com/

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
A photograph of a missing girl on a milk carton leads Janie on a search for her real identity.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends 54 days in the wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.
On the web!: http://www.garypaulsen.com

Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan
In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B. spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard... until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.
On the web!: http://www.scottodell.com/

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
While running away from home and an unwanted marriage, a thirteen-year-old Eskimo girl becomes lost on the North Slope of Alaska and is befriended by a wolf pack.
On the web!: http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
On the web!: http://books.narnia.com/

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
On the web!: http://www.percyjacksonbooks.com/

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth-century New England.

Lyddie by Katherine Patterson
Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his friends.
On the web!: http://www.jerryspinelli.com/

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
In nineteenth-century England, a young orphan runs away from a workhouse, is captured by a gang of thieves, and finally escapes.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
In a series of poems, 15-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin
I walked on the moon. This is my journey. But it didn't begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 1, 1969. It began the day I was born. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible.
On the web!: http://www.buzzaldrin.com/

Rickshaw Girl by Mitalie Perkins
In her Bangladesh village, ten-year-old Naimi excels at painting designs called alpanas, but to help her impoverished family financially she would have to be a boy--or disguise herself as one.
On the web!: http://www.mitaliperkins.com/

Secret Garden by Francis Burnett
Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers a sick cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell
When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, twelve-year-old Jamie begins to reconsider the army world that she has grown up in.
On the web!: http://www.francesdowell.com/

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads them to a pirate's fortune.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a mean stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents anyone from ever growing older.
On the web!: http://www.ipl.org/div/askauthor/babbitt.html

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Sal's mother has left without explanation and not returned. Now she is traveling across the country with her grandparents following the route her mother took. Along the way her kind and fun-loving grandparents ask her to tell them a story. She shares a long tale about herself and her best friend whose mother has also left her family.
On the web!: http://www.sharoncreech.com

The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
On the web!: http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com/

Where I'd Like to Be by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Twelve-year old Maddie is a foster child who can't stop looking for a home. When Maddie shows a new girl her beloved scrapbook, she doesn't anticipate this one gesture will challenge her very idea of what home, and family, are all about.
On the web!: http://www.francesdowell.com/

Email readingsummer@chelseaschools.com 
if you have questions about the books or the assignments.

These books can be checked out from:

The Chelsea Public Library
Hours: Mon & Tue 9am-9pm
Wed & Thur 9am-8pm
Fri 9am-5pm & Sat 9am-12noon
 
The Williams School Library
Monday-Thursday
12noon-3pm
July 7th - Aug 7th

...Or purchased at Barnes & Noble, Saugus.