SLS Library: Summer Reading 2025: Required Reading

Required Reading

Welcome to St. Luke's!

All incoming fifth graders should read at least three books independently this summer.

JUNE: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction.

JULY: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction. We recommend choosing one from the list of books below, all of which connect to your curriculum in 5th grade:

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost
Hoot by Carl Hiassen
Wonder by R.J. Palacio

AUGUST: Please read The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman. When you return to school in September, you will be asked to discuss and write about this book.

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman
ISBN: 9780316539548

Publication Date: 2021-08-31

You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present? Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane -- that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow. Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas -- and so does the Silver Arrow -- and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime . . . and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.

Welcome to 6th Grade!

All incoming sixth graders should read at least three books independently this summer.

JUNE: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction.

JULY: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction. We recommend choosing one from the list of books below, all of which connect to your curriculum in 6th grade:

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm
Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact by Jennifer Swanson
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar

AUGUST: Read or re-read The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. When you return to school in September, you will be asked to discuss and write about this book.

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford; Carl Burger (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780440413240

Publication Date: 1997-01-22

An inquisitive Labrador retriever, friendly bull terrier, and courageous Siamese cat set out through the Canadian wilderness to find their owner in this truly "incredible" adventure. Instinct tells them that the way home lies to the west and together the three house pets face hunger, the natural elements, and wild forest animals as they make their way home to the family they love. This beloved classic that inspired the movie Homeward Bound has captured the hearts of generations of readers. The lengths to which these three animals will go for each other and for their owner make for a thrilling and thoroughly unforgettable tale.

Welcome to 7th Grade!

All incoming seventh graders should read at least three books independently this summer.

JUNE: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction.

JULY: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction. We recommend choosing one from the list of books below, all of which connect to your curriculum in 7th:

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Collier and Christopher Collier
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare
I Survived: The American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

AUGUST: Read or re-read The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm - or - read the sequel, The Third Mushroom by Jennifer L. Holm. When you return to school in September, you will be asked to discuss and write about this book.

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
ISBN: 9780375871146

Publication Date: 2016-04-05

Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer. Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far? Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He's bossy. He's cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie's grandfather, a scientist who's always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this gawky teenager really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth? With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility.
The Third Mushroom by Jennifer L. Holm
ISBN: 9781524719838

Publication Date: 2020-03-03

Ellie's grandpa Melvin is a world-renowned scientist . . . in the body of a fourteen-year-old boy. His feet stink, and he eats everything in the refrigerator--and Ellie is so happy to have him around. Grandpa may not exactly fit in at middle school, but he certainly keeps things interesting. When he and Ellie team up for the county science fair, no one realizes just how groundbreaking their experiment will be. The formula for eternal youth may be within their reach! And when Ellie's cat, Jonas Salk, gets sick, the stakes become even higher. But is the key to eternal life really the key to happiness? Sometimes even the most careful experiments yield unexpected--and wonderful--results.

Welcome to 8th Grade!

All incoming eighth graders should read at least three books independently this summer.

JUNE: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction.

JULY: At least one grade-appropriate book of your choice, fiction or nonfiction. We recommend choosing one from the list of books below, all of which connect to your curriculum in 8th grade:

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Jr. Edition by William Kamkwamba (Author), Bryan Mealer (Author), Anna Hymas (Illustrator)

AUGUST: Read or re-read The Schwa Was Here by Neal Schusterman. When you return to school in September, you will be asked to discuss and write about this book.

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman
ISBN: 9780142405772

Publication Date: 2006-03-02

They say his clothes blend into the background, no matter where he stands. They say a lot of things about the Schwa, but one thing's for sure- no one ever noticed him. Except me. My name is Antsy Bonano, and I was the one who realized the Schwa was "functionally invisible" and used him to make some big bucks. But I was also the one who caused him more grief than a friend should. So if you all just shut up and listen, I'll tell you everything there is to know about the Schwa, from how he got his name, to what really happened with his mom. I'll spill everything. Unless, of course, "the Schwa Effect" wipes him out of my brain before I'm done....