Upper School Summer Reading 2018
English English Department Suggested Summer Reading Philosophy: The mission of La Jolla Country Day School is to prepare students for a lifetime of intellectual exploration, personal growth and social responsibility. To support this philosophy, the Upper School English Department will now offer a range of books at each grade level for students and their families to read voluntarily and independently over the summer months. We encourage students and families to look at these offerings as opportunities for students to understand themselves and their humanity, the cross-cultural humanity of others, and the connections between life and literature. We have gathered titles that balance the contemporary and the classic in an effort to suggest books that extend literacy competence over the summer break. Throughout the school year, students may be able to use the knowledge from these books on assignments, demonstrating a personal interest in reading as a worthwhile and rewarding experience.
[Please note: students in AP Literature and Composition and AP Language and Composition have required summer reading books listed at the end of these suggested titles.]
Entering Ninth Grade
● All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque (1929) ● Brown Girl, Brownstones, Paule Marshall (1959) ● The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger (1951) ● The Circle, Dave Eggers (2013) ● Dracula, Bram Stoker (1897) ● Mona in the Promised Land, Gish Jen (1996) ● Night, Elie Wiesel (1956) ● The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd (2003)
Entering 10th Grade
● The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (1988) ● Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1953) ● The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1993) ● How to Make an American Quilt, Whitney Otto (1990) ● The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway (1952) ● Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson (1985) ● Sonnets to Orpheus, Rainer Maria Rilke (1922) ● The Sound of Waves, Yukio Mishima (1954)
Entering 11th Grade
● American Son, Brian Ascalon Roley (2001) ● Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates (2015) ● The Color Purple, Alice Walker (1982) ● A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain (1889) ● Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance (2016) ● One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey (1962) ● A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989) ● Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See (2005) ● Storyteller, Leslie Marmon Silko (1981) ● Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor (1952)
Entering 12th Grade
● Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013) ● The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro (2015) ● The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy (1997) ● House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende (1982) ● Kindred, Octavia Butler (2004) ● Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin (1984) ● The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (2008) ● Red Azalea, Anchee Min (1993) ● Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse (1981)
AP Literature and Composition Required Reading
1. A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines (1993) 2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey (1962)
AP Language and Composition Required Reading
1. Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005) 2. Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott (1994)
Math The US Math Department encourages students to explore mathematics outside the classroom and textbook. With that goal in mind, the department suggests the following books for students and families to see mathematics through another lens. ● The Joy of X by Steven Strogatz ● Mindset by Carol Dweck ● Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner, Steven D. Levitt ● Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell ● How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff ● How Not to be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg ● The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets by Simon Singh
Science Science is all around us: while listening to the news, when we choose food at a restaurant, and certainly at the beach! The LJCDS Science Department encourages students to see the science connections in their daily lives. Science also provides a window into experiences we don’t see every day: the origins of our universe and of our own bodies, the workings of our brains, and the landscapes of the deep sea. With these two lenses in mind, the Science Department faculty offers the following suggestions of optional readings through which students can explore and develop their scientific interests. We hope that families will choose to read and share the wonders of the natural world together.
Note: Neuroscience (H) has a required reading listed below.
● 2018 Best American Science and Nature Writing edited by Sam Kean ● The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Recommended by Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Strong, who says “Don’t miss this compelling, page-turning story of the woman whose cells spawned a medical research revolution--all without her or her family’s knowledge.” ● The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan ● Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman Recommended by Dr. Fine, who says “this is a great book about how our food choices affect the panet”. The author is a lead New York Times food writer and cookbook author. ● Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks Recommended by Mr. Lineback, who says “An autobiographical account of Oliver Sacks' childhood. His parents were physicians, and his extended family included many scientists and engineers. He had a colorful and educational childhood, one that will educate the reader as well.” ● The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean ● Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie by Barbara Goldsmith ● The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists are Unraveling the Mysteries of our Favorite Crustacean by Trevor Corson. Recommended by Mr. Uyeda, who says “A page turning tale of nature, science, and the sea told from the lens of personal interest. Everything you never knew about lobsters and the people who bring them to our table. “ ● Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier ● Welcome to Your Brain by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang ● The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks ● Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson Recommended by Mr. Doerge, who says “great storytelling about what was happening during the Big Bang, about gravity, black holes, dark matter and dark energy, and the frontiers of our scientific understanding. Interesting and full of wonder.” ● A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson ● Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel ● The Human the Orchid and the Octopus: Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World by Jacques Cousteau ● Icefall: Adventures at the Wild Edges of Our Dangerous, Changing Planet by John All Recommended by Dr. Fine, who says “John All is a scientist who fell down into a crevasse and almost died. He recorded a series of videos as he climbed nearly 7 stories out of the crevasse with a dislocated shoulder, and the videos went viral. This book is about his fall and the climate secrets that are locked in the glacial ice that John All almost died trying to unearth.” ● Drawdown edited by Paul Hawken ● The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
Neuroscience (H): required ● Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina
History Summer reading in the history department is reserved for our Advanced Placement courses. These readings serve in the early years to expose students to the more complex and challenging texts that they will encounter and to ease the transition to their first college-level course. For the upperclassmen, summer readings encourage students to begin contemplating the themes that they will be discussing in the early weeks of the course and to make connections between the content they’ll be learning in class and the world around them.
Grades 10-12: AP World History ● Read Chapters 5-7 from Panorama: A History of Humankind by Dunn & Mitchell, 1st edition. ● Take bullet point notes on these questions from each chapter: Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 , and Chapter 7. Grade 12: AP United States Government & Politics ● A More Perfect Constitution by Larry J. Sabato. Grade 12: AP Psychology ● The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
World Language The purpose of the Upper School World Language summer reading is to help students maintain their hard-won linguistic skills. The readings provide a smoother transition to advanced courses as it minimizes the time needed to reteach material students have forgotten over the summer. They also serve as a launching platform for the year. All summer readings are discussed at at length at the beginning of the school year.
Spanish Spanish Intensive Honors: required reading: Don Juan Tenorio, by Jose Zorrilla. (Santillana Publisher, 2009, ISBN: 978-84-9713077-6).There is an assignment associated with this reading. Please click this link to download the reading comprehension questions. The exercises at the end of the book are not required. We will spend the first two weeks of school working on this novel. A project and an oral presentation will culminate our studies of Don Juan.
Spanish AP Language and Culture: required reading: Lazarillo De Tormes (author anonymous, Santillana publisher, 2008, ISBN: 9788497130639). There is an assignment associated with this reading.Please click this link to download the reading comprehension questions. The exercises at the end of the book are not required. We will spend the first two weeks of school working on this novel. A project will culminate our studies of Lazarillo.
Spanish AP Literature and Culture: required work: Students need to complete this packet with a variety of reading, writing, audio and visual activities. This material will be reviewed in class.
French French II: suggested reading: Un Été Pas Comme les Autres by Huguette Zahler. Story material that immerses students in the ambiance of everyday French life through the exciting adventures of Jenny and her French pen pal. No comprehension questions associated with this reading.
French III: suggested reading: Le Mystère des Faux Billets by Huguette Zahler. An exciting detective story that highlights many aspects of French culture including school, housing, urban and rural communities, Paris, Brittany, food, family, community, travels and vacation among other themes. Maintaining contact with the language through a written source is key to avoid forgetting all the material learned throughout the school year. No comprehension questions associated with this reading.
French Intensive honors: required reading: Le vol de la Joconde by Huguette Zahler Read the novel and complete this reading comprehension questionnaire.
French AP Language and Culture: required reading: Un Papillon dans la Cité by Gisèle Pineau. Read the novel and complete these activities Book plot is discussed at the beginning of the school year and themes are revisited throughout the school year.
French Literature Honors: required reading: Les Brumes de Montfaucon by Anne Pouget. Read the novel and complete these activities Book plot is discussed at the beginning of the school year and themes are revisited throughout the school year.
Mandarin AP Chinese: required reading: Tales and Traditions by Yun Xiao p.s It takes time to ship the book to you so please order it early! Read the novel and complete these activities. We will spend the first two weeks of school working with this material.
Mandarin III Honors: required reading: I Really Want to Find Her by Peking University Press, 2007. Read or listen to the story and complete the exercises in the back of the book. When we return to school over the summer, the story will be discussed and the first quiz is based on how much you comprehend the story. The book can be downloaded to your kindle or the paperback comes with a CD. If you would like to work on your listening skill, it is a great tool to help you improve the skill.
Mandarin IV Honors: required reading: How far Away is the Sun by Weijia Huang. p.s It takes time to ship the book to you so please order it early! Read the novel and complete these activities. We will spend the first two weeks of school working with this material.