Westridge School 6th Grade Summer Reading List for 2020

Required Reading Besides all the great books you will choose to read on your own this summer, Project Mulberry will be a part of how we start our year. Below are some questions to get you thinking.

Please answer each of the following sets of questions. Be creative in how you answer them. You can make a fanfold book or a storyboard or another creative way to answer. You can write a poem or just use your most beautiful print or cursive to answer them, decorating the page when you are done. Be imaginative!

1. What is important about family heritage? What are the stories you want to keep about your family? What do you share and celebrate? 2. Why do you think the author has a conversation with her main character? 3. How are Patrick and Julia different? How are they similar? How does their friendship evolve (change)? 4. In the story, where do you see the cultural heritage of one person influencing or enriching someone else’s life? Quote a passage in the book that illustrates your example.

Independent Reading There is nothing better than having lots of time to read good books at the beach, in the park, in the quiet of your room or private corner. And the more we read the better we read…AND the better we write. Yep, it’s true!! Writers become good writers by reading what other writers write! (Whew! Say that quickly twenty times!)

Please tell me about two more books you read, this summer. I would like to get to know about you as a reader. What do you pick to read when it isn’t a school assignment? What are your favorite things to read?

1. Print off the template of the leaf that is attached. Trace two copies of it onto any color of paper and cut them out. (You may also design your own leaf shape to cut out, or you can decorate the white. Make sure they are about the same size as the one I provide.) 2. On one side of a leaf, print the title of one of your books. Don’t forget to underline or italicize the title of the book. Under the title, write the author’s name, and below that, write your name. 3. On the opposite side of your leaf, write a personal response to your book. Describe a short scene, share something you liked about the book, share something that surprised you, describe a favorite character, etc. Please do NOT write a book review. I do not want to read a summary, just your personal response to the book. 4. Now, do the same with one more book!

You may choose books from the attached list or find your own books that bring you joy and challenge as you read them. The goal is for you to expand your horizons to discover something new! And by all means, read as many books as you want…..the more, the merrier!!! (You may also make more leaves, if you wish!)

All summer reading assignments are DUE by Wednesday, August 26th (Convocation Day).

Enjoy!!!

See you in August… Ms. Kiphart

Here are some reading suggestions to get you started:

Classics: Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll Around the World in 80 Days, Jules Verne A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens Frankenstein, Mary Shelly The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Lord of the Rings orThe Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien Mark Twain’s Tales of Mystery, Mark Twain, Menton Matthews III

Contemporary (some old goodies, some new stars): Al Capone Shines my Shoes, Gennifer Choldenko Across Five Aprils, Irene Hunt Among the Orangutans, Evelyn Gallardo The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, Karen Cushman The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold, Cynthia Rylant The Black Pearl, Scott O’Dell Bloomability, Sharon Creech Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo Born to Fly, Michael Ferrari Boy, Roald Dahl Breaking Stalin’s Nose, Eugene Yelchin Bridge to Terebithia, Katherine Paterson Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis Callie’s Rules, Naomi Zucker Child of the Owl, Laurence Yep Cracker: the Best Dog in Vietnam, Cynthia Kadohota , Lynne Rae Perkins Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, Joyce Sidman , Jack Gantos Dewey: The Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World, Vicki Myron Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney Dragon, Jeff Stone Dragon’s Gate, Laurence Yep The Dreamer, Pam Muñoz Ryan Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, Russell Freedman Esperanza Rising, Pam Muñoz Ryan Everything on a Waffle, Polly Horvath The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Jacqueline Kelly Feathers, Jacqueline Woodson Fever Crumb, Philip Reeve Flawed Dogs: The Novel: the Shocking Raid on Westminster, Berke Breathed Freak the Mighty, Rodman Philbrick *From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg *, Lois Lowry Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, Laura Amy Schlitz Hatchet, Gary Paulsen Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson Heart of a Samurai, Margi Preus The Higher Power of Lucky, Susan Patron , Louis Sachar Hoot, Carl Hiaasen Inside-Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell , Kira-Kira, Cynthia Kadohata Lily’s Crossing, Patricia Reilly Giff Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Gary D. Schmidt A Long Way from Chicago, Richard Peck The Magician’s Elephant, Kate DiCamillo The Meanest Doll in the World, Ann M. Martin The Midwife’s Apprentice, Karen Cushman Millicent Min, Girl Genius, Lisa Yee , Cynthia Rylant Mockingbird, Kathryn Erskine , Clare Vanderpool Morning Girl, Michael Dorris My Life in Dog Years, Gary Paulsen My Life in Pink and Green, Lisa Greenwald My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George Newsgirl, Liza Kethum Ninth Ward, Jewel Parker Rhoads , Lois Lowry Olive’s Ocean, Kevin Henkes One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia Outlaw: the Legend of Robin Hood, Tony Lee Penny From Heaven, Jennifer L. Holm Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilly Giff Poppy, Avi Princess Academy, Shannon Hale Punished!, David Lubar The Rock and the River, Kekla Magoon Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor Rules, Cynthia Lord Savvy, Ingrid Law A Season of Gifts, Richard Peck Silverwing, Kenneth Oppel Sing Down the Moon, Scott O’Dell , Linda Sue Park , William H. Armstrong Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom, Margarita Engle Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbit Turtle in Paradise, Jennifer Holm The Underneath, Kathi Appelt , E. L. Konigsburg The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, Russell Freedman , Sharon Creech The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis , Ellen Raskin When My Name Was Keoko, Linda Sue Park , Rebecca Stead Whittington, Alan Armstrong Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare , Madeleine L’Engle , Richard Peck Yolanda’s Genius, Carol Fenner

Series (pretty much all fantasy/science fiction): Eragon Series, Christopher Paolini The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Pyrdain, Lloyd Alexander Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling His Dark Materials Trilogy, Philip Pullman The Kane Chronicles or Heroes of Mt. Olympus, Rick Riordan

WHEW!!! Didn’t find what you wanted? Take a stroll through Amazon.com; there’s a scroll bar at the bottom of each book you call up with more suggestions. You can also find some great biographies by searching “children’s biographies.” OR take a day trip downtown and visit the Los Angeles Public Library. Not only is it a way cool building, they are a tremendous resource. For that matter, the same is true for our library here in Pasadena. You can also look on line for the Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People and the Newberry Medal winners.