St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s C.V. Starr Library & Learning Center Summer Reading Suggestions 2016 Entering Grade 2

Here is a list of books for you to enjoy over the summer months. Many of these books can be found at your local public library. Students should try to read every day and are asked to read at least five recreational reading books of their own choice during the summer months. You may also refer to this list throughout the year. Have a wonderful summer and happy reading! 2016 Children’s Literary Award Winners Awarded by the American Library Association the 2016 children’s book awards include:

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award (★winner and ★honor) (★winner) Pura Belpré Illustrator Award (★winner and ★honor) Randolph (★winner and ★honor) Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (★winner and ★honor) Schneider Family Book Award (★winner and ★honor) (★winner and ★honor). Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal (★winner and ★honor)

★The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore – Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Relates the story of the National Memorial African Bookstore, founded in Harlem by Louis Michaux in 1939, as seen from the perspective of Louis Michaux Jr., who met famous men like Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X while helping there.

★Don’t Throw It to Mo! – David A. Adler Mo is the youngest kid on the Robins football team. The kids on the rival team tease him for being a 'butterfingers' who's too tiny to catch the ball. But Mo's coach has a plan up his sleeve to turn Mo's little size into a big win for the Robins.

★The Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music – Margarita Engle Follows a young Cuban girl in the 1930s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums. Includes note about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, who inspired the story, and Anacaona, the all-girl dance band she formed with her sisters.

★Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah – Laurie Ann Thompson Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age 13 to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing 400 miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability.

★Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear – Lindasy Mattick A woman tells her young son the true story of how his great-great-grandfather, Captain Harry Colebourn, rescued and learned to love a bear cub in 1914 as he was on his way to take care of soldiers' horses during World War I, and the bear became the inspiration for A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.

★★Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras – Duncan Tonatiuh Funny Bones tells the story of how the amusing calaveras-skeletons came to be created by the Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada.

★★Last Stop on Market Street – Matt de la Peña A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

★Mango, Abuela, and Me – Meg Medina When a little girl’s far-away grandmother comes to stay, love and patience transcend language in a tender story written by acclaimed author Meg Medina.

★My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata – R. C. Rivera-Ashford Tata Gus teaches his grandson Aaron how to use natural healing remedies, and in the process helps the members of his family and his neighbors.

★★Trombone Shorty – Troy Andrews Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.

★★Waiting – Kevin Henkes Five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. What will happen? Will patience win in the end? Or someday will the friends stop waiting and do something unexpected?

Suggested Titles and Authors to Look for: Early Readers Spring and summer releases are noted with an asterisk (*) preceding the title.

Tales of Amanda Pig – Van Leeuwen Amanda Pig, her brother Oliver, and their parents share a busy day, working and playing together from breakfast to bedtime.

Amelia Bedelia – Peggy Parish Meet Amelia Bedelia, the unflappable maid who does everything literally.

Bradford Street Buddies: Backyard Camp-Out – Jerdine Nolen While preparing for a backyard campout, Jada and Jamal Perkins join their friends Josh Cornish and Carlita Garcia in a search for Mrs. Mason's lost cat, Daisy.

Bramble and Maggie – Jessie Haas Bramble the horse gets bored giving riding lessons, but regains her enthusiasm when she goes to live with a girl named Maggie.

Commander Toad in Space – Jane Yolan The intrepid crew of the space ship "Star Warts" lands on a water-covered planet inhabited by Deep Wader, a horrible hungry monster.

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa – Erica Silverman Cowgirl Kate and her horse Cocoa, who is always hungry, count cows, share a story, and help each other fall asleep.

Dodsworth in Tokyo – Tim Egan Readers will love the slapstick humor and the odd-couple friendship between Dodsworth and the duck.

2 Books written by Dr. Seuss Nonsensical romp through a gallery of imaginary creatures reinforces a variety of rhyming letter combinations.

Elephant Joe, Brave Firefighter! – David Wojtowycz At summer camp, Elephant Joe and Zebra Pete become firefighters to rescue Dragon from a tree and put out a birthday cake fire.

Frogs (Scholastic Reader #4) – Nic Bishop Now even the youngest readers can join Sibert Medal-winning photographer and biologist Nic Bishop as he takes a closer look at the world's most amazing animals.

Henry and Mudge – Cynthia Rylant Henry, feeling lonely on a street without any other children, finds companionship and love in a big dog named Mudge.

Misty (Stanley & Me) – Christine Dencer Sophie has to make an important delivery to her best friend Stanley. There is just one problem: Stanley has a dog. And Sophie is afraid of dogs.

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover – Cece Bell Rabbit and Robot disagree about everything on Rabbit’s “To Do” list at their sleepover, including Robot’s insistence for pizza toppings of nuts, bolts, and screws.

My Happy Life – Rose Lagercrantz A sweet, funny illustrated chapter book about a young girl with a lot of optimism—even if sometimes life makes it hard to be happy.

Suggested Titles and Authors to Look for: Independent Readers Akimbo and the Elephants – Alexander McCall Smith Ten-year-old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is eager to help him whenever he can—even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations.

Anna Hibiscus – Atinuke Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. She lives with her whole family and there is always somebody to laugh or play with. But more than anything else in the world, Anna Hibiscus would love to see snow.

*Chicken Squad: Into the Wild: Yet Another Misadventure – Doreen Cronin The Chicken Squad is back for their third (mis)adventure, and this time they’re facing off with whatever’s hiding in a mystery box in the backyard.

*Digby O'Day Up, Up, and Away – Shirley Hughes The sky’s the limit in the third Digby O’Day adventure from the talented mother-daughter pair of author Shirley Hughes and illustrator Clara Vulliamy.

Dory Fantasmagory – Abby Hanion Dory, the youngest in her family, is a girl with a very active imagination, and she spends the summer playing with her imaginary friend, pretending to be a dog, battling monsters, and generally driving her family nuts.

3 Freddie Ramos Takes Off (Zapato Power) – Jacqueline Jules Freddie finds a mysterious package outside his apartment containing sneakers that allow him to run faster than a train, and inspire him to perform heroic deeds.

George Brown Class Clown – Nancy Krulik George cannot wait to go on his first camping trip with the Beaver Scouts, but once in the wilderness his magical super burp returns, awakening animals including, perhaps, the Ferocious Furry Frog.

Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up – Melissa Thomson Keena Ford chronicles her many mishaps as she begins second grade.

Lulu and the Dog From the Sea – Hilary McKay Lulu and her cousin think their vacation house is the most perfect place ever until they find a trouble-prone, stray dog living on the beach.

The Life of Ty: Penguin Problems – Lauren Myracle Seven-year-old Ty gets into mischief and big-hearted schemes while navigating second grade and becoming a big brother.

Magic Bone: Follow That Furball – Nancy Krulik Sparky is off to Rome! Will he be able to outsmart the cunning Italian cat that has stolen his bone, or will he have to stay in Rome forever?

Mouse Scouts – Sarah Dillard To earn their Sow It and Grow It badge, Violet, Tigerlilly, and the other Mouse Scouts plant a vegetable garden.

Mostly Monty – Johanna Hurwitz Because he suffers from asthma, Monty is nervous about starting school but he soon learns to cope with his illness and use his special talents to make friends.

My Father’s Dragon – Ruth Stiles Gannet A young boy determines to rescue a poor baby dragon that is being used by a group of lazy wild animals to ferry them across the river on Wild Island.

My Life in Pictures – Deborah Zemke When budding artist Bea Garcia's best friend moves to Australia and a loud, rambunctious boy moves into her old house, Bea must learn to make new friends.

The Oodlethunks: Oona Finds an Egg – Adele Griffin Oona finds a giant egg and brings it back to West Wog to care for it, and see what hatches--but others in the cave want to claim her egg, particularly the nasty kid Bruce Brute, and when the baby stegosaurus hatches it will have to choose who it wants to live with.

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree – Ellen Potter Piper's older brother leaves Peek-A-Book Island and Piper refuses to take off his old earmuffs, no matter what! Things are going from bad to worse... until she discovers The Fairy Tree.

The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde – Shannon Hale and Dean Hale It’s a case of monstrous cuteness as the Princess in Black encounters her biggest challenge yet: a field overrun by adorable bunnies.

4 Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything – Lenore Look After Ruby Lu’s deaf cousin, Flying Duck, and her parents come from China to live with her, Ruby finds life challenging as she adjusts to her new family.

Sports fiction written by Jake Maddox His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing.

Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker – Megan MacDonald Stink Moody discovers that he can get free samples by writing letters to candy companies and plans a surprise for his best friend’s birthday.

Story of Diva and Flea – Mo Willems In the bustling city of Paris, a small yet brave dog, Diva, and an adventurous cat named Flea become two unlikely friends.

Stowaway! (Puppy Pirate series) – Erin Soderberg Wally sniffs out a band of puppy pirates and wants to join in the adventure and fun.

Toy Dance Party – Emily Jenkins Six stories relate further adventures of three best friends, who happen to be toys, as they encounter a fearsome (possible) shark, enjoy a dance party, and deal with rejection by the girl who is growing up.

The Year of Billy Miller – Kevin Henkes Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year, he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents, and learned many important lessons.

Suggested Titles and Authors to Look for: Popular Series

 Early Reader  Independent Reading

Family and Friends Theme  Busybody Nora (Riverside Kids series) – Joanna Hurwitz Relates the adventures of an inquisitive little girl who lives in a large apartment building in New York with her parents and little brother Teddy.

 EllRay Jakes Is Not a Chicken – Sally Warner Eight-year-old EllRay’s father has promised a family trip to Disneyland if EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, but not defending himself against Jared, the class bully, proves to be a real challenge.

 Gus and Grandpa – Cynthia Rylant A perfect team develops a close, loving relationship as they aid each other with everyday tasks.

 Horrible Harry and the Purple People – Suzy Kline Horrible Harry, the class clown of Room 2B, returns to the spotlight with the Purple People, mysterious beings that only he can see.

5  Judy Moody – Megan McDonald Third grader Judy Moody is in a first day of school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece the “Me” collage.

 Leroy Ninker Saddles Up: Tales from Deckawoo Drive – Kate DiCamillo Leroy Ninker has a hat, a lasso, and boots. What he doesn't have is a horse, until he meets Maybelline, that is, and then it's love at first sight.

 Monsters Don’t Scuba Dive (Bailey School Kids series) – Debbie Dadey The Bailey School kids go to camp to investigate a camp director who looks like a werewolf and a swimming teacher who just might be the Loch Ness monster.

 Pinky and Rex – James Howe Rex and her best friend Pinky, each the proud possessor of 27 stuffed animals or dinosaurs, find their visit to the museum and its gift shop complicated by Pinky’s little sister Amanda.

Fantasy and Science Fiction  The Magic Tree House – Mary Pope Osborne Eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old sister, Annie, find a magic tree house filled with books that could transport them to the places described in the books.

 The Hidden Stairs and The Magic Carpet (Secrets of Droon series) – Tony Abbott Underneath the steps leading down to the basement is a hidden storage space that leads Eric, Julie, and Neal down into the mysterious land of Droon.

Historical Fiction  American Girls Collection – Pleasant Company (Various Authors)

 The Little House series – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mystery  A to Z Mystery – Ron Roy This series features three smart kids who solve crimes and mysteries.

 Box Car Children – Gertrude Chandler Warner Four orphaned children run away and live in a boxcar, until their grandfather finds them.

 Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds – David A. Adler The Cam Jansen books are perfect for young readers who are making the transition to chapter books.

 Encyclopedia Brown – Donald Sobol Detective stories about 10-year-old Leroy (nicknamed Encyclopedia) Brown.

 Can Do, Jennie Archer – Ellen Conford Attempting to win a can-collecting contest, the winner of which will direct a class movie, Jenny risks losing her best friend.

6  Geronimo Stilton – Geronimo Stilton Geronimo is a nervous, mild-mannered mouse who would like nothing better than to live a quiet life, but he keeps getting involved in far-away adventures.

 Jigsaw Jones Mystery – James Preller Missing hamsters, lost coins, and haunted houses––Jigsaw Jones solves the case!

 Nate the Great – Marjorie Weinman Sharmant Nate the Great, boy detective and pancake lover, is on a case; who stole Annie's painting of her dog, Fang?

Nonfiction

 DK Readers – Published by Dorling Kindersley

 Junior Field Guides on a topic of interest, by publishers such as Peterson, Audubon, Golden, The Nature Study Guild, or Simon & Schuster.

 Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists & Composers series – Mike Venezia

 I Can Be a Veterinarian, Teacher, Etc. – Published by Children’s Press

 The Magic School Bus chapter book series – Joanna Cole

 Rookie Read-About Science series – Allan Fowler

 Science level readers by author Seymour Simon

2016 Young People’s Poet Laureate ’s Poetry Picks Each month, the Young People’s Poet Laureate, Jacqueline Woodson recommends a book of poetry for children. Selections include classics of children’s literature, adult collections that are well-suited to children, as well as newly published books.

For more info: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/children/

Suggested Magazines Chickadee Features colorful photos and stories emphasizing funny, unusual and true information about animals and people.

National Geographic Kids Focuses on geography, adventure, wildlife and science issues.

Ranger Rick For children interested in learning about wildlife.

Spider Spider features engaging stories, poems, nonfiction, humor, activities and puzzles. Ages 6-9.

7 Just For Fun: NYC Summer Reading Programs New York Public Library Summer Reading (http://www.nypl.org/events/summer/reading-challenge)

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/summer-reading/_/N-rs9)

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge (http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2016)

Suggested Libraries and Children’s Bookstores

C. V. Starr Library & Learning Center Bank Street Bookstore 5th Floor 2780 Broadway (corner of West 107th Street) St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s New York, NY 10025 Librarian: Angela Perna 212-678-1654 [email protected] Books of Wonder New York Public Library 18 West 18th Street www.nypl.org New York, NY 10011 212-989-3270

Bibliography compiled and arranged by Angela Perna, Librarian, St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s. Annotations are courtesy of Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2016 , and the New York Public Library’s Cataloging-in-Publication notes. Updated 05/2016.

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