6th grade Summer Reading Suggestions

New & Noteworthy

Jefferson’s Sons: A Founding Father’s Secret Children by Kimberly Bradley

A fictionalized look at the last twenty years of Thomas Jefferson's

life at Monticello through the eyes of three of his slaves, two of

whom were his sons by his slave, Sally Hemings.

Outlaw by Stephen Davies

The children of Britain's ambassador to Burkina Faso, fifteen-year-

old Jake, who loves technology and adventure, and thirteen-year-old

Kas, a budding social activist, are abducted and spend time in the

Sahara desert with Yakuuba Sor, who some call a terrorist but others

consider a modern-day Robin Hood.

Titanic Sinks! By Barry Denenberg

Retells the events surrounding the sinking of the RMS "Titanic,"

describing the ship's construction and launch, and featuring

authentic photographs and illustrations from the period.

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming

Traces the life of female aviator Amelia Earhart from

her childhood to her final flight, discusses the extensive

search for her and her missing plane, and includes

photographs, maps, handwritten notes by Amelia, and

sidebars.           

             Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Sixteen-year-old Gwyneth Shepherd unexpectedly

travels through time to the eighteenth century, and she

must find out why her mother lied about her date of

birth to hide her ability, research her history, and work

with Gideon, another time traveler.

Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

Twelve-year-old Marlee develops a strong friendship with Liz, the

new girl in school, but when Liz suddenly stops attending school

and Marlee hears a rumor that her friend is actually an African

American girl passing herself off as white, the two young girls must

decide whether their friendship is worth taking on integration and

the dangers it could bring to their families.

The Only Ones by Aaron Starmer

After leading a solitary existence on an island, thirteen-year-old

Martin discovers a village filled with children who live without

adults after their families and friends disappeared one afternoon,

but after meeting a mysterious boy who can talk to animals

Martin thinks he can find a way to reunite the children with their

families.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Hazel and Jack are best friends until an accident with a magical

mirror and a run-in with a villainous queen find Hazel on her own,

entering an enchanted wood in the hopes of saving Jack's life.

                       

  

Classics

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The classic story of four sisters in nineteenth century

New England, living with their mother under modest

circumstances while their father serves in the Union

forces during the Civil War. (Little Men, Jo’s Boys)

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

After injuring his hand, a silversmith's

apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for

the Sons of Liberty in the days before the

American Revolution.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

An English boy, Jim Hawkins, must find a buried pirate treasure before

Long John Silver and then try to escape and return home safely.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

A nineteenth century science fiction tale of an electric

submarine, its eccentric captain, Nemo, and the undersea

world, which anticipated many of the scientific achievements

of the twentieth century.

The Hobbit or There & Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

The adventures of the well-to-do hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who

lived happily in his comfortable home until a wandering wizard

granted his wish

 The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes is asked to investigate the tale of

a hound that haunts the lonely moors around the Baskervilles'

ancestral home.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewall

A horse tells the story of his life in nineteenth-century England, and

his treatment under many different masters, from a kind country

squire to all kinds of drivers when he was let out for hire.

Realistic Fiction

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient

fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that

will allow her to speak for the first time.

Ethan Suspended by Pamela Ehrenberg

After a school suspension and his parents'

separation, Ethan is sent to live with his grandparents in

Washington, D.C., which is worlds apart from his home in

a Philadelphia suburb.

Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica

Eighth-grade star quarterback Nate Brodie's family is feeling the stress

of the troubled economy, and Nate is frantic because his best friend Abby

is going blind, so when he gets a chance to win a million dollars if he

can complete a pass during the halftime of a New England Patriot's

game, he is nearly overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.

  Rules by Cynthia Lord

Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine

longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by

a friendship with an young paraplegic.

Bystander by James Preller

Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers there are consequences

to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new

school hurts people, but although school officials are

aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a

solution.           

A Horse of Her Own by Annie Wedekind

At summer camp Jane feels like an outsider among the

cliquish rich girls who board their horses at Sunny Acres farm,

and when the horse she has been riding is sold to another

camper, she feels even worse until her teacher asks her to help

train a beautiful but skittish new horse, and the experience

brings out the best in her.

           

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

While longing to return to life in New York City, thirteen-year-old Penny

helps her mother and grandmother run a cupcake bakery in Hog's Hollow,

tries to avoid the beastly popular girls, to be a good friend to quirky Tally,

and to catch the eye of enigmatic Marcus.           

  No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is

sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the

school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes

wrapped up in the production and begins to suggest

changes that improve not only the play but his life as

well.

Historical Fiction

We Were Heroes: Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins by Walter Dean Myers

A seventeen-year-old soldier from central

Virginia records his experiences in a journal as

his regiment takes part in the D-Day invasion of

Normandy and subsequent battles to liberate

France.

Water Street by Patricia Reilly Giff

In the shadow of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, eighth-graders

and new neighbors Bird Mallon and Thomas Neary make some decisions

about what they want to do with their lives.

Uprising by Margaret Haddix

In 1927, at the urging of twenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs. Livingston

reluctantly recalls her experiences at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory,

including miserable working conditions that led to a strike, then the fire

that took the lives of her two best friends, when Harriet, the boss's

daughter, was only five years old. Includes historical notes.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence

An English boy during World War I comes to believe that the

battles he enacts with his toy soldiers control the war his father

is fighting on the front. 

Esperanza Rising by Pam Ryan

Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of

wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps

of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh

circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the

Great Depression.

Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

Tomikazu Nakaji's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a

local bully, until life with his Japanese family in Hawaii changes

drastically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

A street child, known to himself only as Stopthief, finds

community when he is taken in by a band of orphans in Warsaw

ghetto, which helps him weather the horrors of the Nazi regime.

Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan

In 1913 Russia, twelve-year-old Katya eagerly anticipates leaving

her St. Petersburg home, though not her older cousin Misha, to

join her mother, a lady in waiting in the household of Tsar

Nicholas II, but the ensuing years bring world war, revolution,

and undreamed of changes to her life.

The Samurai’s Tale by Erik Haugaard

In turbulent sixteenth-century Japan, orphaned Taro is taken in by

a general serving the great warlord Takeda Shingen and grows up

to become a samurai fighting for the enemies of his dead family.

Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marine of the World War Two by Joseph Bruchac

After being taught in a boarding school run by whites

that            Navajo            is a useless language, Ned Begay and

other            Navajo            men are recruited by the Marines to

become            Code            Talkers, sending messages

during            World            War            II in their native tongue.           

  

Mystery & Adventure

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

Suspicious and uneasy about the atmosphere at her new

boarding school, fourteen-year-old Kit slowly realizes why she

and the other three students at the school were selected.

Love Among the Walnuts by Jean Ferris

Born and raised in isolation in a wealthy, eccentric family, Sandy

is shocked when he, his parents, and their servants become

victims of a vicious plot by his greedy uncles to incapacitate

them and take their money.

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

Still mourning the death of their mother, three brothers go with

their father on an extended sailing trip off the Florida Keys and

have a harrowing adventure at sea.

The Young Man and The Sea by Rodman Philbrick

After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Skiff Beaman decides that

it is up to him to earn money to take care of himself and his father,

so he undertakes a dangerous trip alone out on the ocean off the

coast of Maine to try to catch a hugh bluefin tuna.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The mysterious death of an eccentric

millionaire brings together an unlikely

assortment of heirs who must uncover the

circumstances of his death before they can

claim their inheritance.

           

Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith

Twins, Grace and Marty, along with a mysterious uncle, are

dropped into the middle of the Congolese jungle in search of

their missing photojournalist parents. (Tentacles)

Fantasy

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father,

who repairs and binds books for a living, can

"read" fictional characters to life when one of

those characters abducts them and tries to

force him into service. (Inkspell, Inkdeath)

Tunnels by Roderick Gordon

(Deeper, Closer, Freefall, Spiral)

When Will Burrows and his friend Chester embark on a quest to find

Will's archaeologist father, who has inexplicably disappeared, they are

led to a labyrinthine world underneath London, full of sinister

inhabitants with evil intentions toward "Topsoilers" like Will and his

father.           

  

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

(Enna Burning, River Secrets)

Princess Anidori, on her way to marry a prince she has never

met, is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and

must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her

true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Teenaged Kezi is to be sacrificed to the Hyte god because of a rash

promise made by her father, but young Olus, Akkan god of the

winds, falls in love with her and together they try to change her

fate through a series of quests.

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller

Life becomes more interesting for Ananka Fishbein when, at

the age of twelve, she discovers an underground room in the

park across from her New York City apartment and meets a

mysterious girl called Kiki Strike who claims that she, too,

wants to explore the subterranean world. (Kiki Strike: The

Empress’s Tomb)

Princess Academy           

 By Shannon Hale           

While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the

other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers

unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

A sister and brother, along with thousands of young people, have

been kidnapped and either thrown in prison or turned up missing

after accusations of witchcraft were made against them, and the

ruling regime will do anything in order to suppress life and liberty,

music and books. (The Gift, The Fire)

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

. (The Burning Bridge, The Icebound Land, Oakleaf Bearers, The

Sorcerer in the North, The Siege of Macindaw, etc.)

When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he

becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger

Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger

           

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The Arctic Incident, The Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony, The Time

Paradox, The Atlantic Complex)

When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by

capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back

with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. (

Science Fiction

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

A scientist invents a time machine and uses it to travel into

the future, where he discovers the childlike Eloi and the

hideous underground Morlocks.

The Ear, The Eye and The Arm by Nancy Farmer

Zimbabwe, 2194: General Matsika's three children disappear. Their

parents call in Africa's most unusual detectives: the Ear, the Eye, and

the Arm.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas

becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in

his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society

in which he lives. (Gathering Blue, The Messenger)

             

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle

Meg Murry, her brother Charles, and their friend Calvin,

embark on a journey through space and time, assisted by

three otherworldly women, to find Meg's father, a physicist

who disappeared while experimenting with time travel. (A

Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, An

Acceptable Time)

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a

wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to

search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures

reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface.

(Skybreaker, Starclimber)

Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer

Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes

her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the

moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and

volcanic eruptions. (The Dead and Gone, This World We

Live In)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the

middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the

community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

(The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure)

Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

Fifteen-year-old Daniel has followed in his parents'

footsteps as the Alien Hunter, exterminating beings on

The List of Alien Outlaws on Terra Firma, but when he

faces his first of the top ten outlaws, the very

existence of Earth and another planet are at stake.

(Watch the Skies, Demons and Druids, Game Over)

Running out of Time by Margaret Haddix

When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-

year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under

unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie

to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

           

                         

  

Non-Fiction

Chew on This: Everything you don’t want to know about Fast Food by Eric Schlosser

A look at fast food, what's in it, how it's made, and what it

does to our bodies.

Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures from the Archives of the Anne Frank House by Menno Metselaar & Ruud Van Der Rol

A photographic introduction to the life and experiences of

Anne Frank, who along with her family and others lived in

hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex from July 1942

until their capture in August 1944.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

The author tells the story of her painful childhood in China

where she lived until the age of fourteen with her father,

stepmother, and siblings, all of whom considered her bad

luck because her mother died shortly after giving birth to

her.

The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul Janeczko

A collection of true spy stories from throughout the history of the

United States, discussing personalities, missions, traitors,

technological advances, and more.

Chasing Lincoln’ s Killer by James L. Swanson

Recounts the twelve-day pursuit and capture of John

Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington

D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, with a discussion of

Abraham Lincoln as a father, husband, and friend

that examines the impact of his death on those close

to him.

The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr by Judith St. George

Highlights similar aspects of the lives of Alexander Hamilton and

Aaron Burr, and examines how the two war heroes and founding

fathers ended up in a duel that cost one of them his life.           

  

Get Real by Mara Rockliff

Provides information designed to help young people become more

conscientious about their purchases, discussing sweatshops,

advertising, fast food, and other topics, and offers ideas and

resources for being a more educated consumer.

Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford

Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday looks back on her early years in this fictional

memoir written in verse.

Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum

Recounts the freedom ride of John Lewis and Jim Zwerg into the South

in 1961 as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine

Recounts the true stories of ten scientists and medical researchers that

have endured extreme hardship and discomfort in order to test new

discoveries and inventions in the fields of medicine and science.