August 16, 2010

Databases 2010 - 2011

ABC-CLIO
History, humanities and social studies resource that includes these databases: American History, World Geography, World History: Ancient and Modern.

BrainPop—NEW!
An educational website with hundreds of short Flash-based movies for students in grades K-12 covering the subjects of mathematics, technology, health, science, social studies, arts and music, and English.

Discovery Education (formerly United Streaming
Provides educational and informational video streaming for teachers or students on a wide variety of topics. Sign in, then register to create your own account.

EasyBib—see also NoodleBib
A free automatic bibliographic and citation maker.
No user name or password required.

JSTOR
Provides searchable electronic archives of over 1,000 leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences and sciences.

Literary Reference Center
Includes more than 10,000 plot summaries, synopses, and work overviews; 75,000 articles of literary criticism; 130,000 author biographies; full text of more than 300 literary journals; 500,000 book reviews; 25,000 classic and contemporary poems; over 11,000 classic and contemporary short stories; full text of more than 7,500 classic novels; over 3,000 author interviews; and over 1,000 images of literary figures.

NoodleBib—see also EasyBib
Will help you organize your research notes and correctly cite your sources. Sign in with the user name and password below, then register to create your own account.

Science Reference Center—NEW!
Contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other sources. Topics covered include: biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife.

Teen Health and Wellness Center—NEW!
Thousands of resources for teens on topics relevant to them, and written for them – like sexuality, dating, stress, alcohol/drugs, eating disorders, even acne. Special features include: Cast Your Vote, a poll on how you and other teens act and feel about a variety of topics, with links to articles; HOTLINES (Get Help Now), easy-to-find access to a variety of national hotlines (Suicide, AIDS, Alcohol/Drugs, Eating Disorders, etc.); Ask Dr. Jan, a place to ask a question and get an answer from a licensed psychologist; Personal Story, a teen story written about a particular situation, like cyberbullying, with the option of confidentially sharing your own story, and many others.

Click here for a list of user names and passwords to use if you are off-campus:
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May 17, 2010

Summer Reading--5th Grade

Required:
The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
The Janitor's Boy by Andrew Clements

And read TWO choice novels as well:

Artemis Fowl—Colfer
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.

Catherine, Called Birdy—Cushman
The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

Cay, The—Taylor
When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, an adolescent white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old black man are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

Charley Skedaddle—Beatty
During the Civil War, a twelve-year-old Bowery Boy from New York City joins the Union Army as a drummer, deserts during a battle in Virginia, and encounters a hostile old mountain woman.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead—Avi
An action-packed historical narrative that follows the frantic flight of a 13-year-old peasant boy across 14th-century England. After being declared a "wolf's head" by his manor's corrupt steward for a crime he didn't commit (meaning that anyone can kill him like a common animal--and collect a reward), this timid boy has to flee a tiny village that's the only world he's ever known. (This is the first book in a trilogy.)

Danny, the Champion of the World—Dahl
Danny feels very lucky. He adores his life with his father, living in a gypsy caravan, listening to his stories, tending their gas station, puttering around the workshop, and occasionally taking off to fly home-built gas balloons and kites. His father has raised him on his own, ever since Danny's mother died when he was four months old. Life is peaceful and wonderful...until he turns 9 and discovers his father's one vice. Soon Danny finds himself the mastermind behind the most incredible plot ever attempted against nasty Victor Hazell, a wealthy landowner with a bad attitude. Can they pull it off?

Dare to Dream: 25 Extraordinary Lives—Humphrey
A collection of biographical sketches of famous 20th-century individuals, from Albert Einstein to Sammy Sosa. Although the group is eclectic, the individuals all have one thing in common: they became successful in the face of adversity and therefore are great candidates to become heroes for today's youth.

Door in the Dragon’s Throat, The—Peretti
An American archeologist and his two children seek God's protection and guidance as they journey to the Near East, in search of a buried biblical treasure which local residents believe is cursed.

Field of the Dogs, The—Paterson
Josh, who has just moved to Vermont with his mother, stepfather, and new baby brother, must deal with the bullying of a neighbor boy and discovers that his dog, whom he hears talking with other dogs, is also facing a bully of his own.

Frindle—Clements
What if one day you decided to stop calling a word like pen "pen" and started calling it something else--like "frindle"? When Nicholas Allen does just that, and encourages all of his friends to start using the new word, his experiment turns the town upside down.

Harriet the Spy—Fitzhugh
When Harriet's classmates find her diary and read what she has written about them, they decide to make life miserable for her.

Harry Potter series—Rowling (any book in the series)
The Harry Potter books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hatchet—Paulsen
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

Holes—Sachar
As further evidence of his family’s bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

Ida B—Hannigan
In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family’s apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school.

Incredible Journey, The—Burnford
A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young Labrador retriever travel together 250 miles through the Canadian wilderness to find their family.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life—Mass
Just before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink receives a keyless locked box--set aside by his father before his death five years earlier--that purportedly contains the meaning of life.

Joey Pigza Loses Control—Gantos
Joey, who is still taking medication to keep him from getting too wired, goes to spend the summer with the hard-drinking father he has never known and tries to help the baseball team he coaches win the championship.

Kid in the Red Jacket, The—Parks
When ten-year-old Howard has to move with his family to a distant state, he is forced to live on a street named Chester Pewe, adjust to a new school, and get used to being shadowed by the little girl in a nearby house.

Lightning Thief, The—Riordan
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The—Lewis (or any book in the series)
Four English school children find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

Lou Gehrig, Boy of the Sandlots—Van Riper
A biography focusing on the childhood of one of the greatest professional baseball players, who is remembered for playing 2,130 consecutive games in 14 seasons with the New York Yankees. (In the Childhood of Famous Americans series.)

Made You Look—Roberts
When his parents surprise Jason with a vacation to California, he's excited to get a chance to try out for his favorite game show. Jason's willing to do just about anything to be on the show, but isn't putting up with his family while camping cross-country above and beyond the call of duty?

Missing May—Rylant
After the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go on living.

Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade—DeClements
Jenny knows one thing for sure: Elsie Edwards is a fat thief who steals people's lunch money to buy candy. So when the book club money disappears, why is the whole class punished? Nothing's fair! But soon Jenny realizes some things aren't fair for Elsie, either. Elsie is on a strict diet, but when she starts losing weight, her mother won't buy her new clothes. Instead, she plans to send Elsie to boarding school. Suddenly, everyone wants to help Elsie. Nothing's fair in fifth grade, but sometimes things can get better.

Perloo the Bold—Avi
Perloo, a peaceful scholar who has been chosen to succeed Jolaine as leader of the furry underground people called the Montmers, finds himself in danger when Jolaine dies and her evil son seizes control of the burrow.

Rules—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 a young paraplegic.

Scat—Hiassen
Nick and his friend Marta decide to investigate when a mysterious fire starts near a Florida wildlife preserve and an unpopular teacher goes missing.

Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, The—Birney
Eben McAllister searches his small town to see if he can find anything comparable to the real Seven Wonders of the World.

Shades of Gray—Reeder
At the end of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Will, having lost all his immediate family, reluctantly leaves his city home to live in the Virginia countryside with his aunt and the uncle he considers a traitor because he refused to take part in the war.

Sign of the Beaver, The—Speare
Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills.

S.O.R Losers—Avi
Each member of the South Orange River seventh-grade soccer team has qualities of excellence, but not on the soccer field.

Summer of the Monkeys—Rawls
The last thing a fourteen-year-old boy expects to find along an old Ozark river bottom is a tree full of monkeys. Jay Berry Lee's grandpa had an explanation, of course--as he did for most things. The monkeys had escaped from a traveling circus, and there was a handsome reward in store for anyone who could catch them. Grandpa said there wasn't any animal that couldn't be caught somehow, and Jay Berry started out believing him. But by the end of the "summer of the monkeys," Jay Berry Lee had learned a lot more than he ever bargained for--and not just about monkeys.

Surviving the Applewhites—Tolan
Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.

Tail of Emily Windsnap, The—Kessler
After finally convincing her mother that she should take swimming lessons, twelve-year-old Emily discovers a terrible and wonderful secret about herself that opens up a whole new world.

Tiger Rising, The—DiCamillo
Rob, who passes the time in his rural Florida community by wood carving, is drawn by his spunky but angry friend Sistine into a plan to free a caged tiger.

Year of the Dog, The—Lin
Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese-American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog--those of making best friends and finding oneself--to her own life.

May 13, 2010

Summer Reading--6th Grade

Required:

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Crash by Jerry Spinelli

And read TWO choice novels as well:

Among the Hidden—Haddix
Government regulations limit families to two children each, so Luke, an illegal third-born, must live his life in secret, hidden in his family's farmhouse. Then he joins Jen, another "shadow child," for a chance to come out into the light.

Artemis Fowl—Colfer
Twelve-year-old Artemis is a millionaire, a genius--and a criminal mastermind. When Artemis kidnaps a fairy, he must go up against his nemesis, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit of the Fairy Police.

Big Field, The—Lupica
The author of the #1 "New York Times" bestseller "Heat" returns to America's favorite pastime of baseball and delivers a feel-good story that shows how love of the game is a common language fathers and sons speak.

Cast Two Shadows—Rinaldi
In South Carolina in 1780, 14-year-old Caroline sees the Revolutionary War take a terrible toll on her family and friends. Soon, she comes to understand the true nature of war. Includes a reader’s guide.

Chasing Redbird—Creech
The Newbery Medal-winning author of "Walk Two Moons" tells a story of love, loss, and understanding that will warm readers hearts everywhere. When 13-year-old Zinny Taylor discovers an overgrown path in the woods, she sets out to make it her own special place.

City of Ember—DuPrau
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Now, 200 years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city.

Contender, The—Lipsyte

A Harlem high school dropout escapes from a gang of punks into a boxing gym, where he learns that being a contender is hard and often discouraging work, but that you don't know anything until you try.

Coraline—Gaiman
When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wits and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

Don’t You Know There’s a War On?—Avi

World War II is on everyone's mind and in every headline, and Howie Crispers has a hunch that his school principal is a spy. With a little snooping around, Howie finds out something even more alarming. Principal Lomister may not be a spy, but he is plotting to get rid of Howie's favorite teacher. Howie's dad is fighting Nazis overseas, and his mom is working hard to support the war effort, so Miss Gossim is the only person Howie can depend on. With the help of his friends, and a plan worthy of radio show superhero Captain Midnight, Howie intends to save Miss Gossim!

Elijah of Buxton—Curtis
Eleven-year-old Elijah lives in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves near the American border. He's the first child in town to be born free, and he ought to be famous just for that. Unfortunately, all that most people see is a "fra-gile" boy who's scared of snakes and talks too much. But everything changes when a former slave steals money from Elijah's friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Now it's up to Elijah to track down the thief--and his dangerous journey just might make a hero out of him, if only he can find the courage to get back home.

Fever, 1793—Anderson

In 1793 the Cook Coffeehouse outside of Philadelphia is a haven for those fleeing from the fever sweeping across the mosquito-infested city. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook loses her childhood playmate to the fever and struggles to keep her family and its business alive.

Flush—Hiaasen
Noah’s dad is sure that the owner of a casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor. Now Noah is determined to succeed where his dad had failed, and will sink the crooked casino and prove the boat owner is dumping illegally.

Ghost Canoe—Hobbs
When a ship is found wrecked on a deserted beach of the Pacific Northwest there are no survivors. Nathan and his Makah friend Lighthouse George hunt for clues to the unexplained footprints on the desolate beach, theft at the trading post, glimpses of a wild hairy man, a skeleton, and a ghostly canoe that may hold the secret to ancient treasure, mystery, and murder.

Haunting in Williamsburg, A—Kassem
At first Jayne thought she was dreaming. Staying in colonial Williamsberg in a house one owned by her ancestors, She was used to seeing peple dressed in old-fashion costumes, but not in the middle of the night, not standing at the foot of her bed... The troubled stranger is Sally Custis, a young girl who once lived in the house. Sally is haunted by a terrible wrong she had done over 200 years ago and she begs Jayne to help her set it right.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The—Adams
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers.

Homesick: My Own Story—Fritz
Jean Fritz was born in China and lived there until 1927, when she was twelve. Young Jean had spent her entire life in China, but her parents' memories of home and letters from relatives in Pennsylvania made her feel that she was American—and homesick for a place she'd never seen.

Honus and Me—Gutman
When young Joe Stoshack finds the most valuable baseball card in the world, a Honus Wagner T-206, in a pile of garbage, he thinks he's struck it rich. It turns out the card is worth more than money. It's his ticket to a time-travel adventure to a historic world series game, with one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived.

Hoops—Meyers
A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player who, after being forced to quit because of a point shaving scandal, hopes to prevent other young athletes from repeating his mistake.

Island, The—Paulsen
Every day, 15-year-old Wil Neuton gets up, brushes his teeth, leaves the house, and rows away from shore. He's discovered the island, a place where he can go to be alone and learn to know nature--and himself. Wil's only mission is to let go of the outside world. But the outside world refuses to let go of him. His family regards him as a puzzle. The town bully is determined to challenge him. And suddenly, even reporters know his name. He can confront them all, or he can embrace his solitude forever. Just one thing is certain now: Wil Neuton will no longer be relying on anybody but himself.

Island of the Aunts—Ibbotson
Kidnapped by three kind but eccentric women who live on an uncharted island, Minette and Fabio realize that they actually prefer their new lives and enjoy participating in the elderly sisters' efforts to rescue creatures in distress.

Knots in My Yo-Yo String—Spinelli
From the Washington Times: A master of those embarrassing, gloppy, painful, and suddenly wonderful things that happen on the razor's edge between childhood and full-fledged adolescence, Newbery medalist Jerry Spinelli has penned his early autobiography with all the warmth, humor, and drama of his best-selling fiction. From first memories through high school, including first kiss, first punch, first trip to the principal's office, and first humiliating sports experience, this is not merely an account of a highly unusual childhood. Rather, like Spinelli's fiction, its appeal lies in the accessibility and universality of his life.

Long Way From Chicago, A—Peck
Set during the years 1929-1942, and told in eight engaging episodes, this fresh and funny novel recounts a boy and his sister's annual summer trips to rural Illinois to visit their eccentric grandmother. Grandma Dowdel, a remarkable larger-than-life character, continually astounds her "city-slicker" grandchildren with her nonconformist behavior and her gutsy, take-charge attitude.

Merchant of Death, The (Pendragon series, book 1)—MacHale
A new epic adventure begins with Bobby Pendragon, a seemingly normal and somewhat reluctant 14-year-old boy who is swept into an amazing five-year quest. Catapulted into the middle of an immense, inter-dimensional conflict, Bobby takes a journey of danger and discovery.

Midnight for Charlie Bone—Nimmo

This first book in Nimmo's Red King quintet introduces Charlie Bone, who has inherited the magical powers of the Red King, passed down through generations. His aunts are delighted and enroll him in Bloor's Academy for gifted children. Charlie soon realizes some of his classmates have equally mysterious powers.

Moves Make the Man, The—Brooks
Jerome Foxworthy - the Jayfox to his friends - likes to think he can handle anything. He handled growing up without a father. He handled being the first black kid in school. And he sure can handle a basketball. Then Jerome meets Bix Rivers--mysterious and moody, but a great athlete. So Jerome decides to teach Bix his game. He can tell that Bix has the talent. All he's got to do is learn the right moves...

My Name is America: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot, Boston, Massachusetts, 1774, The—Denenberg
William, a twelve-year-old orphan, writes of his experiences in pre-Revolutionary War Boston where he joins the cause of the patriots who are opposed to the British rule.

Never Mind: A Twin Novel—Avi
Edward and Meg are like night and day. How could such different people be twins? Well, they are, but they don't have to like it -- or each other. For seventh grade, brainy Meg is attending ultra-competitive Fischer, while freewheeling Edward goes to an alternative school downtown. But it's just when they're finally out of each other's shadows that the trouble begins. Meg's aspirations for popularity and a boyfriend combine with Edward's devious planning and lack of singing ability to set off a showdown the likes of which twindom has never before seen.

Nothing But the Truth—Avi
In this thought-provoking examination of freedom, patriotism, and respect, ninth-grader, Philip Malloy, is kept from joining the track team by his failing grades in English class. Convinced that the teacher just doesn't like him, Philip concocts a plan to get transferred out of her class. Breaking the school's policy of silence during the national anthem, he hums along, and ends up in a crisis at the center of the nation's attention.

Pendragon series, see The Merchant of Death—MacHale

Phoenix Rising—Hesse
Thirteen-year-old Nyle learns about relationships and death when 15-year-old Ezra, who was exposed to radiation leaked from a nearby nuclear plant, comes to stay at her grandmother's Vermont farmhouse.

Pictures of Hollis Woods—Giff
Hollis Woods has been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. She even runs away from the Regans, the one family who offers her a home. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they'll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won't let anyone separate them. She's escaped the system before; this time, she plans to take Josie with her. Yet behind all her plans, Hollis longs for her life with the Regans, fixing each moment of her time with them in pictures she'll never forget.

Puzzling World of Winston Breen, The—Berlin
Winston Breen says the only thing better than discovering a puzzle is stumping someone else with it. But when his sister uncovers mysterious strips of wood with words and letters on them, even Winston himself is stumped. Soon the whole family, and some friends, are caught up in the mystery and off on a scavenger hunt that just may lead to a ring worth thousands of dollars!

Running Out of Time—Peterson
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.

Schooled—Korman
Capricorn Cap Anderson has been homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. When Rain is injured in a fall, Cap is forced to attend the local middle school. Although he knows a lot about Zen Buddhism, nothing has prepared him for the politics of public school.

Scorpions—Myers
These days, everyone seems to be getting on Jamal's case. The kids at school keep bugging him, his teachers won't leave him alone, and the principal's always giving him a hard time. Even his mama yells at him, upset because Jamal's brother is in the slammer. The only one he can count on anymore is his best friend Tito. Now Crazy Mack wants Jamal to take over as leader of the Scorpions and run crack. Jamal doesn't want anything to do with the gang, but he doesn't have a choice - it's the only way to get the money for Randy's appeal. And as long as he's got Tito on his side, Jamal knows everything will be okay...

Sixth Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me—Papademetriou
Excited to be starting sixth grade, Allie Kimball soon realized it's time to define herself before she gets lost in the sixth-grade jungle in this funny and poignant novel.

Skellig—Almond
While moving into a new house, ten-year-old Michael discovers a strange creature in the garage and confides in his new friend Mina about it. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, changing Michael's world forever.

Something Upstairs—Avi
When 12-year-old Kenny Huldorf moves to Providence, Rhode Island, he soon discovers that his attic bedroom is haunted by the ghost of a teenage slave named Caleb. Before long, Caleb summons Kenny back in time, where Kenny finds himself entangled in Caleb's murder and deeply troubled by the century-old injustice. Ultimately, it is up to Kenny to solve Caleb's murder or remain forever trapped in history.

Thank you, Jackie Robinson—Cohen
After Sam's father died, he became so wrapped up in the Brooklyn Dodgers that he could describe every game they'd played in the past four years. Nobody was very interested, until Sam met Davy. They came from different races, religions, and generations. But it didn't take long before they had a friendship that went well beyond baseball.

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, The—Avi

Manned by an angry, motley crew at the mercy of a ruthless captain, the "Seahawk" reeks of despair and mutiny. But from her seemingly powerless position, the lone passenger, 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle, dares to become the center of a deadly voyage.

Upstairs Room, The—Reiss
When the German army occupied Holland, Annie de Leeuw was eight years old. Because she was Jewish, the occupation put her in grave danger - she knew that to stay alive she would have to hide. Fortunately, a Gentile family, the Oostervelds, offered to help. For two years they hid Annie and her sister, Sini, in the cramped upstairs room of their farmhouse. Most people thought the war wouldn't last long. But for Annie and Sini--separated from their family and confined to one tiny room--the war seemed to go on forever.


Summer Reading--7th Grade

Required:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit

Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The—Twain
Meet the boy who can find trouble without even looking. At school, at home, in church and outdoors, if there's mischief afoot, Tom Sawyer will be in the thick of it!

Alex Rider: Stormbreaker—Horowitz
They told him his uncle died in a car accident. Fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing prepares him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6--Britain's top secret intelligence agency. Recruited to find his uncle's killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

And Then There Were None—Christie
Ten strangers, each with a dark secret, are gathered together on an isolated island by a mysterious host. One by one, they die--and before the weekend is out, there will be none.

Behind the Bedroom Wall—Williams
It's 1942. Thirteen-year-old Korinna Rehme is an active member of her local Jungmadel, a Nazi youth group, along with many of her friends. She believes that Hitler is helping Germany by instituting a program to deal with what he calls the "Jewish problem," a program that she witnesses as her Jewish neighbors are attacked and taken from their homes. Korinna's parents, however, are members of a secret underground group providing a means of escape to the Jews of their city. Korinna is shocked to discover that they are hiding a refugee family behind the wall of her bedroom. But as she comes to know the family, her sympathies begin to turn.

Big Field, The—Lupica
When fourteen-year-old baseball player Hutch feels threatened by the arrival of a new teammate named Darryl, he tries to work through his insecurities about both Darryl and his remote and silent father, who was once a great ballplayer too.

Blind Side, The—Lewis
The Blind Side tells the inspirational story of Michael Oher, a homeless black teen taken under the wing of the Touhys, a wealthy white Memphis family. Oher's size and speed on the football field bring him accolades. But learning the game's strategy and making it as a student take the help of his new family, coaches, and tutor.

Chosen by a Horse—Roberts
A lonely woman who's had a difficult life agrees to take care of a skeletal racehorse rescued by the SPCA. Susan Richards already owns three horses, but it is with Lay Me Down that she forges a special, healing relationship that alters her life.

Compound, The—Bodeen
Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy. No amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, only his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day. As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary, and their sanity, Eli can't help but wonder if he'd rather take his chances outside. Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe--really?

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam—Kadohata
Cracker is one of the United States Army's most valuable weapons: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant, and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war, wrong. When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to "her" before "she's" going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they "have" to be a team if they want to get home alive.

Dark Is Rising, The—Cooper
On his 11th birthday, Will Stanton discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, destined to seek the six magical Signs of Light that will enable the Old Ones to triumph over the evil forces of the Dark.

Eleven Birthdays—Mass
It's Amanda's 11th birthday and she is super excited---after all, 11 is so different from 10. But from the start, everything goes wrong. The worst part of it all is that she and her best friend, Leo, with whom she's shared every birthday, are on the outs and this will be the first birthday they haven't shared together. When Amanda turns in for the night, glad to have her birthday behind her, she wakes up happy for a new day. Or is it? Her birthday seems to be repeating iself. What is going on?! And how can she fix it? Only time, friendship, and a little luck will tell.

Elsewhere—Zevin
Elsewhere is where 15-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth.

Face on the Milk Carton, The—Cooney
No one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar--a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey--she felt overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl; it was herself. How could it possibly be true?

Fairest—Levine
Aza's singing is the fairest in all the land, and the most unusual. She can "throw" her voice so it seems to come from anywhere. But singing is only one of the two qualities prized in the Kingdom of Ayortha. Aza doesn't possess the other: beauty. Not even close. She's hidden in the shadows in her parents' inn, but when she becomes lady-in-waiting to the new queen, she has to step into the light, especially when the queen demands a dangerous favor. A magic mirror, a charming prince, a jealous queen, palace intrigue, and an injured king twine into a maze that Aza must penetrate to save herself and her beloved kingdom.

Fallen Angels—Myers
A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is even there at all.

First Test—Pierce
Ten-year-old Keladry of Mindalen, daughter of nobles, serves as a page but must prove herself to the males around her if she is ever to fulfill her dream of becoming a knight. The only one who can stop her is Lord Wyldon, training master of pages and squires.

Graveyard Book, The—Gaiman
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack--who has already killed Bod's family...

Having Our Say—Delany
Warm, feisty, and intelligent, the Delany sisters speak their mind in a book that is at once a vital historical record and a moving portrait of two remarkable women who continued to love, laugh, and embrace life after over a hundred years of living side by side.

Hoot—Hiaasen
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site in this Newbery Honor book and the first children's book by "New York Times" bestselling author Hiaasen.

Last Shot—Feinstein
Steven Thomas is one of two lucky winners of the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association's contest for aspiring journalists. His prize? A trip to New Orleans and a coveted press pass for the Final Four. It's a basketball junkie's dream come true! But the games going on behind the scenes between the coaches, the players, the media, the money-men, and the fans turn out to be even more fiercely competitive than those on the court. Steven and his fellow winner, Susan Carol Anderson, are nosing around the Superdome and overhear what sounds like a threat to throw the championship game. Now they have just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of MSU's star players . . . and why.

Lightning Thief, The—Riordan
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods

Magician’s Elephant, The—DiCamillo
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.

Make Lemonade—Wolff
When she answers a babysitting ad, 14-year-old LaVaughn meets Jolly, a 17-year-old single mother with two kids by different fathers. As she helps Jolly make lemonade out of the lemons her life has given her, LaVaughn learns some lessons about making choices in this multiple award-winning and groundbreaking novel.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment—Patterson
Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the "flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time...

Milkweed—Spinelli
He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He's a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He's a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He's a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He's a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody.

Monster—Myers
Young, black, 16-year-old Steve Harmon, an amateur filmmaker, is on trial for the murder of a Harlem drugstore owner. Steve copes by writing a movie script based on his trial. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred until he can no longer tell who he is or what the truth is.

Olive’s Ocean—Henkes
Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends, but they weren't. Weeks after a tragic accident, all that is left are eerie connections between the two girls, former classmates who both kept the same secret without knowing it. Now, even while on vacation at the ocean, Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. Things only get more complicated when Martha begins to like Jimmy Manning, a neighbor boy she used to despise. What is going on? Can life for Martha be the same ever again?

One Fat Summer—Lipsyte
Overweight Bobby Marks hates the summertime because he can't hide under heavy clothing. Then he gets a job grooming the grounds of Dr. Kahn's estate, and it isn't long before he finds out how terrifying and exhilarating, how dangerous and wonderful, one fat summer can be.

Pirates!—Rees
Nancy Kington, daughter of a rich merchant, suddenly orphaned when her father dies, is sent to live on her family's plantation in Jamaica. Disgusted by the treatment of the slaves and her brother's willingness to marry her off, she and one of the slaves, Minerva, run away and join a band of pirates. For both girls the pirate life is their only chance for freedom in a society where both are treated like property, rather than individuals. Together they go in search of adventure, love, and a new life that breaks all restrictions of gender, race, and position.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry—Taylor
Facing a year of night riders and burnings, Cassie and her family continue their struggle to keep their land and hold onto what rightfully belongs to them, despite the difficult battles they must continue to endure.

Seer of Shadows—Avi
Horace Carpetine does not believe in ghosts. Raised to believe in science and reason, Horace Carpetine passes off spirits as superstition. Then he becomes an apprentice photographer and discovers an eerie--and even dangerous--supernatural power in his very own photographs. When a wealthy lady orders a portrait to place by her daughter's gravesite, Horace's employer, Enoch Middleditch, schemes to sell her more pictures--by convincing her that her daughter's ghost has appeared in the ones he's already taken. It's Horace's job to create images of the girl. Yet Horace somehow captures the girl's spirit along with her likeness. And when the spirit escapes the photographs, Horace discovers he's released a ghost bent on a deadly revenge.

Silent to the Bone—Konigsburg
Connor is sure his best friend, Branwell, couldn't have hurt Branwell's baby half sister, Nikki. But Nikki lies in a coma, and Branwell is in a juvenile behavioral center, suspected of a horrible crime and unable to utter the words to tell what really happened. Connor is the only one who might be able to break through Branwell's wall of silence. But how can he prove Branwell didn't commit the unspeakable act of which he's accused when Branwell can't speak for himself?

Stargirl—Spinelli
From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl, Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal.

Sunrise Over Fallujah—Myers
Robin "Birdy" Perry, a new army recruit from Harlem, isn't quite sure why he joined the army, but he's sure where he's headed: Iraq. Birdy and the others in the Civilian Affairs Battalion are supposed to help secure and stabilize the country and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. Officially, the code name for their maneuvers is Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the young men and women in the CA unit have a simpler name for it: war.

Tangerine—Bloor
Paul Fisher plays soccer despite the thick glasses he wears because of a mysterious eye injury. When his family moves to Tangerine, Florida, strange things start to happen, but nothing is stranger than the secrets Paul finds out about his older brother, his new friends, and his own dangerous past.

Uglies, The—Westerfeld
In Tally's world, a 16th birthday brings an operation, transforming one from a repellent Ugly to an attractive Pretty. Turning Pretty is all Tally has ever wanted. Her friend Shay would rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally must make a terrible choice.

Underneath, The—Appelt
Abandoned and about to have kittens, a calico cat is befriended by a hound dog who urges her to raise her kittens underneath the porch of his owner's house, where they will be safe--as long as they stay in the Underneath. This harrowing yet sweet story won a Newbery Honor and was a National Book Award finalist.

Vanishing Act: Mystery at the US Open—Feinstein
Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson return in another fast-paced, action-packed sports mystery. The two teenage sports reporters have kept in touch after their wild time at the Final Four, and when Susan Carol manages to score a press pass to cover the first week of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament in New York, Stevie works out a way to be there as well. The behind-the-scenes action in the world of professional tennis is occasionally bewildering, but it turns downright inconceivable when a young Russian phenom, Natalia Makarova, disappears right before her second-round match. Everyone is looking for Natalia-including Stevie and Susan Carol. The rumors are growing wilder by the hour. But they don't even come close to the shocking truth.

Walk to Remember, A—Sparks
Every April, when the wind smells of both the sea and lilacs, Landon Carter remembers 1958, his last year at Beaufort High. Landon had dated a girl or two, and even once sworn that he'd been in love. Certainly the last person he thought he'd fall for was Jamie, the shy, almost ethereal daughter of the town's Baptist minister. Jamie, who was destined to show him the depths of the human heart-and the joy and pain of living.

With Every Drop of Blood—Collier
Johnny promised his father, wounded while fighting for the South, that he would take care of the family and not run off to fight. When there's a request to take his mules and wagon on a bold mission to supply the Rebel troops, Johnny can't resist. Then he's captured by Cush, a runaway slave. Johnny doesn't like taking orders from a black, but he has no choice. He's heading for prison camp wondering what will become of his family and himself.

Summer Reading--8th Grade

Animal Farm—Orwell
As ferociously fresh as it was more than a half century ago, this remarkable allegory of a downtrodden society of overworked, mistreated animals and their quest to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality is one of the most scathing satires ever published.

Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, The—Gaines
Ernest J. Gaines’s now-classic novel—written as an autobiography—spans one hundred years of Miss Jane’s remarkable life, from her childhood as a slave on a Louisiana plantation to the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. It is a story of courage and survival, history, bigotry, and hope—as seen through the eyes of a woman who lived through it all.

Born Naked—Mowat
Before the events of his classic Never Cry Wolf, the young Farley Mowat honed his naturalist skills through all manner of boyhood adventures. Born Naked tells of the same period of Mowat's idyllic youth as the brilliant Dog Who Wouldn't Be (in print over 35 years) but reveals the boy behind the dog.

Boys Will Be—Brooks
Celebrates the gawky, loud, graceless joy of being a boy and discusses a variety of topics qualifying as "boy stuff," including caps, sports, mothers, and friends who are a bad influence.

Cold Sassy Tree—Burns
On July 5, 1906, scandal breaks in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, when the proprietor of the general store, E. Rucker Blakeslee, elopes with Miss Love Simpson. He is barely three weeks a widower, and she is half his age and a Yankee to boot. As their marriage inspires a whirlwind of local gossip, fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a family scandal, and that's where his adventures begin.

Count of Monte Cristo, The—Dumas
This enduringly popular tale of love and revenge in the post-Napoleonic era follows Edmond Dantes as he prepares to captain his own ship and marry his beloved Mercedes. But on his wedding day, he is betrayed by spiteful enemies and arrested on trumped-up charges. Condemned to lifelong imprisonment, he befriends Faria, a priest and fellow inmate with an escape plan. When Faria dies, Edmond escapes alone. Free at last, and incredibly wealthy, Edmond enters society posing as the Count of Monte Cristo to reclaim his lost love and enact a terrible vengeance on his accusers.

Dances with Wolves—Blake
Lieutenant John Dunbar arrived at Fort Sedgewick anxious to be a good U.S. soldier. Instead, he found himself charmed by the Comanche people and, before he knew it, became one of them, loving an Indian woman and going by a new name, Dances with Wolves.

Day No Pigs Would Die, A—Peck
When he was twelve years old, Robert saved a neighbor's cow from choking and helped it deliver a set of twin bull calves. For this he was rewarded with a gift of a small piglet which he nurtured to adulthood and grew to love very much. Robert planned to keep the pig, the one and only possession that he could truly call his own, for a very long time and make a brood sow out of her. Unfortunately, the demands of an austere life which was the Shaker's lot, put an end to those plans, and in the process young Robert learned some terrible lessons about the realities of life. An emotional rollercoaster of a book that the reader will not soon forget.

Death Be Not Proud—Gunther
Johnny Gunther was only seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his illness, everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level-headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and, above all, his unfaltering patience through times of despair. This deeply moving book is a father's memoir of a brave, intelligent, and spirited boy.

Dragonflight—McCaffrey
To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise--and take back her stolen birthright.
But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. Then brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world.

Dune—Herbert
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family -- and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

Fahrenheit 451—Bradbury
Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do.

Great Train Robbery, The—Crichton
Lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side in Victorian London--and Edward Pierce easily navigates both worlds. Rich, handsome, and ingenious, he charms the city's most prominent citizens even as he plots the crime of his century, the daring theft of a fortune in gold. But even Pierce could not predict the consequences of an extraordinary robbery that targets the pride of England's industrial era: the mighty steam locomotive.

Hiroshima—Hersey
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" ("The New York Times).
Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, John Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told. His account of what he discovered about them is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.

Let the Circle Be Unbroken—Taylor
Recounts one family’s struggle against prejudice and poverty as seen through the eyes and experiences of Cassie, the main character. The Logans battle the Great Depression, powerful, greedy, white landowners of rural Mississippi, segregation, and domestic tragedies that threaten to destroy the family at every turn. They maintain their dignity, pride, and faith, however, and keep the family together.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men—Lawrence
Ten-year-old Johnny eagerly plays at war with the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. He demolishes imaginary foes. But in 1914 Germany looms as the real enemy of Europe, and all too soon Johnny's father is swept up in the war to end all wars. He proudly enlists with his British countrymen to fight at the front in France. The war, though, is nothing like what any soldier or person at home expected.

Member of the Wedding—McCullers
Here is the story of the inimitable twelve-year-old Frankie, who is utterly, hopelessly bored with life until she hears about her older brother's wedding. Bolstered by lively conversations with her house servant, Berenice, and her six-year-old male cousin--not to mention her own unbridled imagination--Frankie takes on an overly active role in the wedding, hoping even to go, uninvited, on the honeymoon, so deep is her desire to be the member of something larger, more accepting than herself.

Monster—Myers
Young, black, 16-year-old Steve Harmon, an amateur filmmaker, is on trial for the murder of a Harlem drugstore owner. Steve copes by writing a movie script based on his trial. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred until he can no longer tell who he is or what the truth is.

Murder on the Orient Express—Christie
This classic detective novel tells the story of a murder committed in the middle of the night on a train traveling from the Far East to Europe. While the train is stuck in a snowdrift, the identities, motives and alibis of the passengers/suspects are investigated by the renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, traveling to England on business. As Poirot delves into the mystery of what happened that fateful night, the novel explores themes relating to the nature of justice, the power of family ties, and the inevitable triumph of logic.

Natural, The—Malamud
The novel introduces Roy Hobbs, an initially innocent young man, who strives to be "the best there ever was in the game" of baseball. As he attempts to reach that goal, his moral courage will be tested. Ultimately, this flawed hero will learn too late of the consequences of blind ambition.

October Sky—Hickham
Originally published as "Rocket Boys", this bestseller--based on a true story--follows a group of boys in a small West Virginia town in 1957 as they light up the skies with their flaming rockets and dreams of glory.

On Fortune’s Wheel—Voigt
Fourteen-year-old Birle, an innkeeper's daughter, falls in love with a thief trying to steal the one of the inn's boats, and opts to escape her upcoming marriage by running away with him. But the would-be thief is not what he seems.

Out of the Silent Planet—Lewis
Begins the adventures of the remarkable Dr. Ransom, who is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and his accomplice and taken via spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra.

Persepolis—Satrapi
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, "Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq.

Rebecca—DuMaurier
Rebecca has been dead for several months, but her sinister influence is still very much alive at Manderley, as Maxim de Winter's second wife soon comes to realize.

Second Bend in the River, The—Rinaldi
Rebecca Galloway is a busy pioneer girl in the Ohio Territory. Over the years, her friendship with Tecumseh, the respected Shawnee chief, grows into love. Rebecca must choose a future on her family homestead, or with the man she loves.

Shadow of the Lynx, The—Holt
Nora Tamsin was fascinated by the ruthless Charles Herrick, but she discovered that he deserved his name "The Lynx". His love for her was overwhelming and frightening. By the time she realized that his plan for her was part of his obsessive desire for revenge, it seemed too late to escape.

Silent Spring—Carson
Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work.

Song of the Buffalo Boy—Garland
Seventeen-year-old Loi's family promises to wed her to an older man. She flees to Ho Chi Minh City and, with her boyfriend, prepares to leave for America in search of her biological father.

To Dance with the White Dog—Kay
Sam Peek's children are worried. Since that "saddest day" when Cora, his beloved wife of fifty-seven good years, died, no one knows how he will survive. How can this elderly man live alone on his farm? How can he keep driving his dilapidated truck down to the fields to care for his few rows of pecan trees? And when Sam begins telling his children about a dog as white as the pure driven snow--that seems invisible to everyone but him--his children think that grief and old age have finally taken their toll.

Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A—Smith
Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive.

Warriors Don’t Cry—Beals
Melba Patillo Beals was one of nine black teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock, Arkansas's Central High School in 1957. For Melba and her friends it marked their transformation into reluctant warriors--on a battlefield that helped shape the civil rights movement.

When the Legends Die—Borland
Betrayed by both the white man and his own people, a Ute Indian tries to obliterate all trace of the heritage of his fathers.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town—Holt
Nothing ever happens in Toby's small Texas town. Nothing until his mother leaves home to be a country singer, and his friend goes off to fight in Vietnam. But he is about to get an even bigger jolt with the arrival of Zachary Beaver, the fattest boy in the world.

Whirligig—Fleischman
Brent Bishop longs to have the popular Brianna strolling around school on his arm. But when she rejects him at a classmate's party, Brent's hopes for popularity are instantly shattered. Devastated, he tries to destroy himself in a car crash... but instead kills an innocent girl named Lea. Instead of sending him to jail, Lea's parents challenge Brent to create four whirligigs modeled on a picture of Lea and position them at the four corners of the United States. Lea's mother hopes that the whirligig that used to delight Lea will be a fitting memorial for her precious daughter. She sends Brent off with an unlimited bus ticket, a few pieces of wood, and the tools to memorialize Lea.

White Fang—London
In the desolate, frozen wilds of northwest Canada, a wolf cub soon finds himself the sole survivor of the litter. Son of Kichea who is half-wolf, half-dog, and the aging wolf One Eye, he is thrust into a savage world where each day becomes a fight to stay alive.

Wizard of Earthsea, The—LeGuin
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes—Choi
It is 1945, and life has been turned upside-down for ten-year-old Sookan and her family. As the Japanese military occupy North Korea, police captain Narita does his best to destroy everything of value to Sookan's family, but he cannot break their spirit. The war ends, but new suppression starts, and Sookan's family knows their only hope is a dangerous escape to South Korea.

Summer Reading--Upper School

Required for all Upper School English classes. Please read the title(s) for the course you will be taking in the Fall.

ENGL 9 and ENGL 9H:
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
(ISBN: 0-061-09731-4)
Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.

ENGL 10 and ENGL 10H:
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
(ISBN: 0-375-83667-5)
Meet Ed Kennedy--underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he's hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That's when the first Ace arrives. That's when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .

ENGL 11 and ENGL 11H:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
(ISBN: 0-486-28061-6)
Hilariously picaresque, epic in scope, alive with the poetry and vigor of the American people, Mark Twain's story about a young boy and his journey down the Mississippi was the first great novel to speak in a truly American voice. Influencing subsequent generations of writers--from Sherwood Anderson to Twain's fellow Missourian, T.S. Eliot, from Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner to J.D. Salinger--Huckleberry Finn, like the river which flows through its pages, is one of the great sources which nourished and still nourishes the literature of America.

AP ENG 11 LANG & COMP (2 titles required):
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
(ISBN: 0-486-28499-9)
Written more than a century ago by Frederick Douglass, a former slave who went on to become a famous orator, U.S. minister, and a leader of his people, this masterpiece is one of the most eloquent indictments of slavery ever recorded. Douglass's shocking narrative takes the reader into the world of the South's antebellum plantations and reveals the daily terrors he suffered as a slave, shedding invaluable light on one of the most unjust periods in the history of America.

AND

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (ISBN: 0-486-28061-6)
Hilariously picaresque, epic in scope, alive with the poetry and vigor of the American people, Mark Twain's story about a young boy and his journey down the Mississippi was the first great novel to speak in a truly American voice. Influencing subsequent generations of writers--from Sherwood Anderson to Twain's fellow Missourian, T.S. Eliot, from Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner to J.D. Salinger--Huckleberry Finn, like the river which flows through its pages, is one of the great sources which nourished and still nourishes the literature of America.

ENGL 12 PERSUASION (Mr. Nealy)
: Please note that this class will no longer be offered next year. The course replacing this one is ENGL 12 SHAKESPEARE with Mr. Hickerson. The summer reading assignment is Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (ISBN: 0451526767).
Twelfth Night is the story of Orsino, a nobleman in the kingdom of Illyria. Following a shipwreck, Orsino employs Viola, who has disguised herself as a man named Cesario. Soon Viola falls in love with Orsino; however Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia who has fallen for Viola...believing her to be a man! Twelfth Night is a classic Shakespearean comedy of mistaken identities.

ENGL 12 MISFITS AND OUTLAWS (Mrs. Leary):
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
by Thomas C. Foster (ISBN: 006000942X)
What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface--a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character--and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain.

ENGL 12 CREATIVE WRITING (Dr. Mandyck):
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
by Anne Lamott (ISBN: 0-385-48001-6)
"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table, close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'" Anne Lamott, the author of many books of fiction and non-fiction, offers an inspiring book about writing as a way of finding truth.

ENGL 12 WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? (Mr. Brown):
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
(ISBN: 0316017922)
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, what made the Beatles the greatest rock band and more.

AP ENGL 12 (Mr. Stachura)--2 titles required:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
(ISBN: 0-15-602732-1)
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?

AND

Morality Play by Barry Unsworth (ISBN: 0-393-31560-6)
The time is the fourteenth century. The place is a small town in rural England, and the setting a snow-laden winter. A small troupe of actors accompanied by Nicholas Barber, a young renegade priest, prepares to play the drama of their lives. Breaking the longstanding tradition of only performing religious plays, the group's leader, Martin, wants them to enact the murder that is foremost in the townspeople's minds. A young boy has been found dead, and a mute-and-deaf girl has been arrested and stands to be hanged for the murder. As members of the troupe delve deeper into the circumstances of the murder, they find themselves entering a political and class feud that may undo them.


April 9, 2010

Database Trials

This is the time of year when we consider electronic resources for the upcoming school year. Please check out the offerings below and let me know what you think.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Learn360.com--Provides access to a web-based digital video library comprised of thousands of K-12 core-curriculum videos, video clips, newsreels, audio and video speeches, still images, and audio files. Users have the option of adding their own customized content to their Learn360 accounts.
User name: mmandyck@athensacademy.org
Password: guest.
http://www.learn360.com/default.aspx

Maps101.com--Includes K-12 instructional material suitable for World & U.S. History, Cultural and Physical Geography, Civics, & Economics with cross-curricular applications in Earth Science, and Language Arts, Math. Also includes more than 7,000 projectable maps, interactive maps, lesson plans, activities, World and U.S Atlases, educational games and more.
User name: misbo
Password: trial
http://www.maps101.com/Application/Index.aspx

EBSCO DATABASES:

Science Reference Center--A comprehensive research database that provides easy access to a multitude of full-text science-oriented content. Designed to meet every student's science research needs, Science Reference Center contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other sources.
Username: athens
Password: spartan
http://trial.ebscohost.com


GALE DATABASES--Click here for access to all: http://access.gale.com/indsch/

Literature Criticism Online--Imagine centuries of analysis, the scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals, delivered in an easy-to-use 24/7 online format that matches the exact look and feel of the print originals. The net result is tens of thousands of hard-to-find essays at your fingertips. For the English teachers among us, Lit Crit Online includes all of the content from the "brown books" that many of us used in graduate school, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, Dictionary of Literary Biography (although the DBL was blue...) and many others.

Gale Virtual Reference Library--A database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

Global Issues in Context--Offers international viewpoints on a broad spectrum of global issues, topics, and current events. Featured are hundreds of continuously updated issue and country portals that bring together a variety of specially selected, highly relevant sources for analysis of social, political, military, economic, environmental, health, and cultural issues. Each of these gateway pages includes an overview, unique "perspectives" articles written by local experts, reference, periodical, primary source and statistical information. Rich multimedia, including podcasts, video, and interactive graphs, enhance each portal.

UXL Online--A collection of curriculum-driven references appropriate for middle grades and high school as well as the general reader. Seventy-five titles (299 volumes) are available online. UXL favorites such as the Encyclopedia of Science, Chemical Elements, Grzimek's Student Animal Life Resource, and Checks and Balances join new titles including World Religions Reference Library, Middle East Conflict Reference Library, Elizabethan World Reference Library, Alternative Energy, Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances and many more.

DK Press Ebooks--These large-format guides to favorite non-fiction subjects are now available in eBook format. With brand-new covers and all the best science inside, they're sure to earn a prized spot in home libraries. Perfect for children fascinated by nature and natural sciences, features many of the latest discoveries in each field.

Teen Health and Wellness Resource Center--With comprehensive curricular support and self-help tools on topics including diseases, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, mental health and much more, the Teen Health & Wellness is an instant, online support network secondary students can always turn to. Developed as a resource for teens to find comfort and knowledge regarding their unique personal concerns, Rosen Teen Health & Wellness draws on Rosen's award-winning series, including "Coping," "Need to Know" and others. Thoroughly updated and revised for online use, all content is reviewed by leading professionals in medicine, mental health, nutrition, guidance, and career counseling. http://trials.gale.com/k12trial/go/?key=20330_295116


ABC-CLIO DATABASES. If the links below do not take you directly to the content, try a user name of mmandyck@athensacademy.org and password of rrfvluk.

Daily Life Online--There's more to history and contemporary events than just the names of rulers and the rise of economic systems; Daily Life Online shows how fascinating and fun it is to explore how others lived and live their lives, and how their lives shaped ours. Daily Life Online's content is enhanced with new books, articles, images, maps, primary documents, and more.
http://dailylife.greenwood.com/default.aspx?token=51906541AF9D1337CC29E90B03574266&ws=WS_DLTH&as=default.aspx

Daily Life in America--Provides a vibrant glimpse into the things big and small that make up the day-to-day lives of normal folk throughout the prehistory and history of America. DLA supports courses in American history and literature and is an outstanding, cross-disciplinary resource for discovering the history of American food and cooking, celebrations, clothes, romance, work, religion, housing, and social customs.
http://dla.greenwood.com/default.aspx

Pop Culture Universe--Pop Culture Universe is an authoritative, yet irresistible, digital library of information on American and world popular culture, past and present—in a package as dynamic as the topic it covers. Built on hundreds of award-winning titles for all levels of researchers, PCU provides a safe haven for investigating topics that appeal to students—without the bias, advertising, suggestive content, or questionable authorship of commercial or fan sites.
http://pop.greenwood.com/Default.aspx?&token=51906541AF9D1337CC29E90B03574266&ws=WS_PCU&as=Default.aspx%3f

ABC-CLIO eBooks--Customize your digital collection with over 6,000 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and guides from ABC-CLIO, Greenwood Press, Libraries Unlimited, and Praeger.
http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/main.aspx?token=51906541AF9D1337CC29E90B03574266&webSiteCode=EBOOKS_PROD&returnToPage=/main.aspx&cchk=040912&casgettokents=120821

Reader's Advisor Online--Identify books you will enjoy reading—whether it is genre fiction, literary/mainstream fiction, or recreational nonfiction. More than a database, this sophisticated finding tool gives users multiple ways to browse and access titles in a friendly, conversational tone: genre, subgenre, reading interests, subjects/topics/themes, appeal features, character, location, author, title, and series title.
http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/

March 16, 2010

Celebrate Women's History Month in the Media Center

I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
-- Maya Angelou

Our theme for the 30th annual Women's History Month is: Phenomenal girls become phenomenal women! Come check out some books with strong female characters, test your knowledge of women's history, and enjoy photographs of the phenomenal young women of Athens Academy.

Some of the books we recommend:

Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte sets sail from England for America in 1813. She's supposed to be in the company of friends of her parents, but when they are delayed, the Seahawk departs without them and Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous crew. JUV FIC AVI

Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. When you are eleven going on twelve, the world is complicated enough without moving to a new town and making new friends like Margaret has to do. Margaret turns to God for some answers. JUV FIC BLUME

Brink, Carol Ryrie. Caddie Woodlawn. The adventures of an eleven-year-old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century. JUV FIC BRINK

Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider’s look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers, wives, and daughters as told by Jacob's one and only daughter, Dinah, who is just briefly mentioned in the Book of Genesis. FIC DIAMANT

Fenner, Carol. Yolonda's Genius. After moving from Chicago to Grand River, Michigan, fifth grader Yolonda, big and strong for her age, determines to prove that her younger brother is not a slow learner but a true musical genius. JUV FIC FENNER

Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy. Harriet is an independent young woman who is good at observing the details of other people's lives. She writes down everything in her diary. This is a humorous tale about what happens when the diary is discovered by someone else.
JUV FIC FITZHUGH

Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky. After inheriting her uncle’s homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.
YA FIC LARSON

Lauber, Patricia. Lost Star: The Story of Amelia Earhart. Amelia Earhart broke barriers for women while she broke men's flying records. This biography describes her fascinating life from childhood to her mysterious disappearance. B EARHART

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school’s rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.
YA FIC MURDOCK

O'Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Based on a true story, this is the story of Karana, 12, an Indian girl who in 1835 was left behind when her people moved from their Pacific Island. How Karana survived alone there for 18 years is a compelling tale of adventure and self-discovery. JUV FIC ODELL

Wrede, Patricia C. Dealing with Dragons. Cimorene finds being a princess so boring that she takes a job working for a dragon! JUV FIC WREDE

Zarr, Sara. Story of a Girl. In the three years since her father caught her in the back seat of a car with an older boy, sixteen-year-old Deanna’s life at home and school has been a nightmare, but while dreaming of escaping with her brother and his family, she discovers the power of forgiveness. YA FIC ZARR

Click here for the entire booklist:
Download file

February 23, 2010

Ted Dunagan's Advice for Writers

These writing rules are paraphrased from the talk Mr. Ted Dunagan gave at Athens Academy on February 19.

1. Write three pages a day. I learned this from Jack London. That was his rule--three pages a day, no matter what.

2. Write what you know, although sometimes you have to sprinkle in a little imagination to get the reader fired up and to keep the pages turning.

3. The Chapter Rule: "Grab" the reader at the beginning of each chapter, and "leave them hanging" at the end of each chapter.

4. The Painted Floor Syndrome: write yourself into a corner--a situation where there seems to be absolutely no way out. You'll be surprised at the solutions your imagination will come up with! If you can't paint your way back out, you can always go back and start over.

5. The Beginning and The End Rule: when you start a story, you have to know how it will begin and how it will end. The middle will take care of itself if you know both of these things.

6. Remember that you are not bound by time. What I mean by this is that you have probably had some experience where you looked back and wished, "Wow, I wish I had done that or said something else." Well, in writing you can go back and say the right thing, fix what was wrong, etc., because you are not bound by time.

None of what I have told you did I read in a book, they are just some of the things I learned and that worked for me. I hope some of them might work for you.

February 17, 2010

Guest Author Ted Dunagan to visit Athens Academy

2009 Georgia Author of the Year Ted Dunagan will visit Athens Academy on Friday, Feb. 19. Faye Gibbons says this about Dunagan's novel A Yellow Watermelon: "In A Yellow Watermelon, Ted Dunagan convincingly captures the South of the late nineteen forties. In a moving story, he shows through the experience of a boy how friendship can triumph over prejudice. Good reading!"

Mr. Dunagan was born in rural southwestern Alabama. He attended Georgia State University, and served for three years in the army as a member of the 101st Airborne Division and Special Forces Training Group. Dunagan is now retired after a career in the cosmetics and fragrance industry. He writes features and columns for The Monticello News in Monticello, Georgia, where he lives with his wife.

Mr. Dunagan will meet with Middle School Language Arts classes in the morning, and will be available to speak with students and faculty and to sign books from noon to 2:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Bertelsmann Foundation Building. He will address the Middle School assembly from 2:25 - 3:20. Anyone who is free at that time is welcome to join us!