The 2012/2013 Entering Sixth Gra de Core Summer Reading Book is:

(ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO READ ONE OF THESE BOOKS)

Any of the following JACK GANTOS books:

Jack Henry Series Jack Adrift Jack on Tracks Heads or Tails Jacks New Power Jacks Black Book Joey Pigza Series Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key Joey Pigza Loses Control What Would Joey Pigza Do? I am Not Joey Pigza Dead End in Norvelt

All students are required to read the 6th Grade Core Summer Reading Book as well as one other book on the following list.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her. Wonder by R.J. Palacio Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunts and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student. Icefall by Matthew Kirby Princess Solveig and her siblings are trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen fjord, along with her best friend and an army of restless soldiers, all awaiting news of the king's victory in battle, but as they wait for winter's end and the allencompassing ice to break, acts of treachery make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst. Something to Hold by Katherine Noe In the early 1960s, Kitty is one of only two white children in her class on Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon, where her father is a government forester, and although past injustices and pain are still very much alive there, she eventually finds friendships and opportunities to make a difference. The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis Deza Malone, the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, accompanies her mother and older brother on a trip to find her father, an African American man who left to find work after the Great Depression hit. They end up in a Hooverville outside of Flint, Michigan, and her brother attempts to be a performer while Deza and her mother search for a home. Black Radishes by Susan Meyer Gustave, having been forced to move from Paris to the countryside after his parents decided it was not safe for Jews to live in the city during World War II, meets a Catholic girl named Nicole, whose family is part of the French Resistance, and together they devise a plan to rescue his friend and family members from the Nazi occupied territory. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Marty finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, and tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a meanspirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share special occasions when they get together with relatives or neighbors.

The Great Molasses Flood: Boston 1919 by Deborah Kops Chronicles the events surrounding the Great Molasses Flood, during which a large storage tank burst in a Boston neighborhood in 1919 and caused a deadly wave of molasses to flood the streets. Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman Presents the story of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and the major persons and events that contributed to the year-long struggle for equal rights on Montgomery's city buses. Case Closed? by Susan Hughes Examines how developments in modern science, such as DNA analysis and spectroscopy, have helped to reopen archaeological mysteries about ancient cities, Egypt's first female pharaoh, a missing expedition to find the Northwest Passage, and more, with illustrations, maps, and photographs. Oh, Rats! by Albert Marrin Describes rat behavior and survival skills and aspects of their relationship with humans, including disease, rats as food, rats as pests, and the training of rats as rescuers. Six-Million Paperclips by Peter W. Schroeder & Dagmar SchoederHildebrand

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.

In rural Whitwell, Tennessee, the community middle school decided to teach diversity by focusing on the Holocaust. To help them grasp the numbers of people who died, they collected 11 million paper clips, which they placed in a memorial made from a German World War II railcar.

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf by Jennifer Holm Ginny makes a to do list for her seventh grade year, which includes landing a role in the school play, trying to make friends, ignoring her horoscope, and going to see her grandpa Joe in Florida; but she always seems to come up short in accomplishing any of it. Neil Armstrong is My Uncle by Nan Marino Ten-year-old Tamara Ann Simpson thinks she has finally found a chance to prove Muscle Man McGinty is a liar when he brags he can beat anyone in the neighborhood at kickball, but as she awaits McGinty's downfall, she begins to understand his motives for lying. Buttermilk Hill by Ruth White Ten-year-old Piper's worries about fitting in with her dad's new family and about her mother's dating ring true as she tries to build her own sense of family amid the rancor and change Pie by Sarah Weeks Alice's Aunt Polly passes away and entrusts the recipe for her worldfamous pie crust to her cat, which she leaves in Alice's care, and as everyone, including Alice, tries to discover the secret ingredients, Alice learns some important lessons about faith, love, and family. The Watsons go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. Nory Ryans Song by Patricia Reilly Giff When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelveyear-old Nory Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.
Rick Riordan (any title)

Saffys Angel by Hillary McKay (series) Meet the Cassons, an artistic and eccentric family, whose ups and downs are charmingly told in the four books of this series. Saffys Angel, the first in the series, tells of Saffron Cassons quest to find her real parents once she finds out that unlike her brother and sisters, she is adopted. Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce Twelve-year-old Liam, who looks like he is thirty and is tired of being treated like he is older than he actually is, decides he is going to pose as the adult chaperone on the first spaceship to take civilians into space, but when he ends up in outer space with a group of kids and no adult supervision, he must think fast to make things right. 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. Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation by Matt Myklusch Twelve-year-old Jack, freed from a dismal orphanage, makes his way to the elusive and impossible Imagine Nation, where a mentor saves him from dissection and trains him to use his superpower, despite the virus he carries that makes him a threat. Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud Halli Sveinsson, a mischievous young man who does not fit in with his peers and siblings, plays a trick on Ragnor that goes too far, forcing him to embark on a hero's quest in which he will face highway robbers, monsters, an intriguing girl, and truths about his family and the legends he grew up with.

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea It is the beginning of fifth grade, and Mr. Terupt is a brand new teacher. He has his hands full with seven distinctive voices in his class. Only Mr. Terupt seems able to reach his students, and things are beginning to look up for each of them until a fateful winter day when an accident occurs that will change everything and everyone. Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper Eleven-year-old Melody is one of the smartest people around, but nobody knows it. Melody has cerebral palsy and can't talk, can't walk, can't write. When she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever, at last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

Half-Minute Horrors by multiple authors An anthology of very short, scary stories by an assortment of authors and illustrators including Chris Raschka, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman, Jack Gantos, and Lane Smith. Science Fair by Dave Barry The president of Kprshtskan is plotting to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School in Maryland in order to take over the United States government, but when Toby Harbinger, an ordinary student, makes up his mind finally to win the fair, the terrorists' plans go awry. School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari Twelve-year-olds Madeleine, Theo, and Lulu, and thirteen-year-old Garrison, are sent to a remote Massachusetts school to overcome their phobias, but tragedy strikes and the quartet must work together with no adult assistance to face their fears. Guys Read: Funny Business by multiple authors A collection of humorous stories featuring a teenaged mummy, a homicidal turkey, and the world's largest pool of chocolate milk. As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough My Mother is Running for President! by Donna Gephart Preparing for spelling bees, having a secret admirer, and waiting for her chest size to catch up with her enormous feet are pressure enough, but twelve-year-old Vanessa must also deal with loneliness and very real fears as her mother, Florida's governor, runs for President of the United States. The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander Sixth-graders Mac and Vince operate a business charging schoolmates for protection from bullies and for help to negotiate conflicts peacefully, with amazing challenges and results. 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. The View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts Rob's family is pre-occupied with his sisters upcoming wedding. Rob stays out of their way, up in his favorite spot, his cherry tree where he sees old Mrs. Calloway get murdered. No one likes the old woman, and everyone seems to think it was an accident. But Rob knows it wasn't and hell prove it too.

The Stonekeeper (Amulet series) by Kazu Kibuishi After moving to their ancestral home, Emily and Navin's mother is kidnapped by a tentacled creature in the basement that leads the children on a deadly chase into the magical world below their home. Smile by Raina Telgemeier The author relates, in graphic form, her experiences after she injured her two front teeth and had to have surgeries and wear embarrassing braces and headgear, all while also dealing with the trials and tribulations of middle school. The Lost Key by Melinda Thielbar (Math Manga series) Joy, Sam, and their friends from the kung fu school use their knowledge of mathematics and whole numbers to discover who stole the keys to the school and used them to steal all the kung fu equipment.

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs Twelve-year-old Teddy's life is somewhat unconventional, as he lives on a theme park/zoo where both of his parents work. When the park's mascot, Henry the Hippo, goes belly up, Teddy suspects foul play. It turns out the list of suspects who might have wanted him dead is long. The search for Henry's killer heats up as Teddy starts to fear for his own life! Pish Posh by Ellen Potter Eleven-year-old Clara Frankofile sits in her parents' elegant New York City restaurant, Pish Posh, and passes judgment on each customer as a Somebody or a Nobody, but her all-seeing eyes fail to observe the mysterious events occurring right under her nose.

Lost and Found by Shaun Tan Collects three stories by Shaun Tan that explore how people lose and find what matters most to them, as a girl finds a bright spot in a dark world, a boy leads a strange, lost being home, and a group of peaceful creatures loses its home to cruel invaders. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon This wordless graphic novel depicts an enduring friendship between a dog and his robot. Dog wants a friend, so he orders and constructs a mail-order robot. The two are the best of friends until a rust-inducing trip to the beach. After that fateful visit, dog and robot are able to see what true friendship it.

Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman Eddie Ball has the chance of a lifetime: to win a million dollars by sinking a foul shot during halftime at the NBA finals, but someone really wants Eddie to shoot an air ball on the big day and will do anything to sabotage the million dollar shot. Stumptown Kid by Carol Gorman In a small Iowa town in 1952, eleven-year-old Charlie Nebraska, whose father died in the Korean War, learns the meaning of both racism and heroism when he befriends Luther Peale, a young man who once played for the old Negro Baseball League. Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven Although everyone credits him and his superstitions for the Sluggers first winning streak in 108 baseball seasons, eleven-year-old Danny Gurkin believes that his discovery of a secret from the team's past may be the real reason behind the ball club's success. Travel Team by Mike Lupica Danny Walker is crushed when he doesn't make the seventh grade basketball team because he is too short; he suspects that the real reason has something to do with a feud between his father and the father of the team's best player. Then Danny's father announces that he is starting his own youth team, but unexpected setbacks sideline his dad and the team. Madcat by Kathy Mackel Fast-pitch softball catcher MadCat Campione's love for the sport is strained when her team competes on a national level and her best pal Jess puts the game before her friends.