SLS Library: Summer Reading 2024 -- Middle School: Required Reading

Welcome to St. Luke's!

All incoming fifth graders should read at least three books independently this summer. In August, please read The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman, which will be discussed and referred to as we build community throughout the year. The other two (or more) books can be the student's choice.

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. In August, please read Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, which will be discussed and referred to in the fall. The other two (or more) books can be the student's choice.

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
ISBN: 9781250233899
Publication Date: 2023-03-28
Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . . Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"--people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood. You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experience as a wishtree is more important than ever.

Welcome to 7th Grade!

All incoming seventh graders should read at least three books independently this summer. In August, please read When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, which will be discussed and referred to in the fall. The other two (or more) books can be the student's choice.

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson (Illustrator); Omar Mohamed; Iman Geddy (Illustrator)
ISBN: 9780525553908
Publication Date: 2020-04-14
Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day.

Welcome to 8th Grade!

All incoming eighth graders should read at least three books independently this summer. In August, please read The Schwa was Here by Neal Schusterman, which will be discussed and referred to in the fall. The other two (or more) books can be the student's choice.

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....