Summer Reading (Grades 6-8)

Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she’s in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the “cool” girls in the class, and even talking about changing her name to something more “American.” Does Amina need to start changing too? Or hiding who she is to fit in? While Amina grapples with these questions, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized. Amina’s Voice brings to life the joys and challenges of a young Pakistani American and highlights the many ways in which one girl’s voice can help bring a diverse community together to love and support each other.
Extension Activities

The scene: New York City. The dazzling lights cast shadows that grow ever darker as the glitzy prosperity of the Roaring Twenties screeches to a halt. Enter a cast of familiar characters: a young girl, Samantha White, returning after being sent away by her cruel stepmother, the Queen of the Follies, years earlier; her father, the King of Wall Street, who survives the stock market crash only to suffer a strange and sudden death; seven street urchins, brave protectors for a girl as pure as snow; and a mysterious stock ticker that holds the stepmother in its thrall, churning out ticker tape imprinted with the wicked words “Another . . . More Beautiful . . . KILL.” In a moody, cinematic new telling of a beloved fairy tale, extraordinary graphic novelist Matt Phelan captures the essence of classic film noir on the page—and draws a striking distinction between good and evil.
Extension Activities

When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. Bestselling author Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected – and making the extraordinary come true.
Extension Activities

Follow Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter into the fantasy world of Narnia where they encounter a witch, a lion, and many exciting adventures. The book is from The Chronicles of Narnia series, which your students will love reading from start to finish.
Study Guide and Activities

Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a young, heartbreakingly naive orphan known as Misha. Readers will love Misha the dreamer and his wonderfully poetic observations of the world around him, his instinct to befriend a Jewish girl and her family, his impulse to steal food for a local orphanage and his friends in the ghetto, and his ability to delight in small things - even surrounded by the horror of the Holocaust.
Study Guide and Activities

Jean Fritz wrote a compelling story about her youth in the China of the mid 1920's, a period of great turmoil. Jean's own family suffers the loss of her younger sister, as well as other hardships. Eventually, the family resettles in the United States, a country that Jean has only heard about.
Study Guide and Activities

Born on June 12, 1929, Anne Frank was a Jewish girl in her teens when she was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust. She and her family, along with four others, spent 25 months during World War II in an annex of rooms above her father's office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her diary, saved during the war by one of the family's helpers, Miep Gies, was first published in 1947.
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This collectible boxed set chronicles the oh-so-fabulous life of Nikki Maxwell as she navigates the halls of middle school, mean girls, BFF drama, and first crushes. From the first not-so-fabulous adventure, to the interactive How to Dork Your Diary, to the latest pet-sitting catastrophe, these books are filled with dorktastic fun!
Extension Activities

Include more protein in your diet - add worms! How to Eat Fried Worms has been grossing out children and adults since 1973. This is the story of Billy, a ten-year-old who takes a bet that he will eat 15 worms in 15 days - all for $50. The good part is the variety of ways Billy's friends cook up and dress up the worms.
Study Guide and Activities