GRADE 6 SUMMER READING LIST
Summer 2006

Grade 6 Summer Reading

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman Published 2000 by Hyperion Books Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production and begins to suggest changes that improve not only the play but his life as well.

For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Published 2003 by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: "A teenager transforms from a schoolgirl to a spy in this true story of heroism in wartime. Suzanne David's everyday life is suddenly shattered in 1940 when a bomb drops on the main square of her hometown, the city of Cherbourg, France, killing a pregnant neighbor right in front of her. Until then the war had seemed far away, not something that would touch her or her teenage friends. Now Suzanne's family is kicked out onto the street as German soldiers take over their house as a barracks. Suzanne clings to the one thing she really loves--singing. Her voice is so amazing that she is training to become an opera singer. As Suzanne travels around for rehearsals, cosume fittings, or lessons, she learns more about what the Nazis are doing and about the people who are "disappearing." Her travels are noticed by someone else, an organizer of the French Resistance. Soon Suzanne is a secret courier, a spy fighting for France and risking her own life for freedom.

Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach Published 2005 by Henry Holt & Company Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: In this fast-paced novel--a Junior Library Guild Selection--Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full of historical insights and discoveries, as a young girl tries to uncover the connections between a missing diamond, a mysterious neighbor, and a link to Shakespeare.

Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac Published 2005 by Dial Books Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: Bruchac brings to life for young adults the stories of some of the unsung heroes of World War II--the young Navajo men who were a crucial part of the American effort in sending and receiving messages that used their native language. Young Adult.

Stravaganza: City of Stars by Mary Hoffman Published 2003 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: In this follow-up to "City of Masks," the life of young Georgia takes a sudden turn when she buys a tiny figurine of a winged horse and suddenly finds herself swept up into the world of the "Stravagante."

Eagle Strike: An Alex Rider Adventure by Anthony Horowitz Published 2004 by Philomel Books Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: Teen spy Alex Rider survives a bullfight, a high-speed bicycle chase through Amsterdam, and even being the target in a human video-game, only to face his most disturbing challenge yet: when the best of intentions are driven by insanity, how do you reason with a madman?

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Published 1996 by Villard Books Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog   REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 11/06/1995 After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature. Krakauer, a contributing editor to Outside and Men's Journal, retraces McCandless's ill-fated antagonism toward his father, Walt, an eminent aerospace engineer. Krakauer also draws parallels to his own reckless youthful exploit in 1977 when he climbed Devils Thumb, a mountain on the Alaska-British Columbia border, partly as a symbolic act of rebellion against his autocratic father. In a moving narrative, Krakauer probes the mystery of McCandless's death, which he attributes to logistical blunders and to accidental poisoning from eating toxic seed pods.

The Adventures of Blue Avenger by Norma Howe Published 1999 by Henry Holt & Company Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: These are big questions to discuss in a young-adult novel, but they are only a small part of what Norma Howe tackles in "The Adventures of Blue Avenger. How did a normal sixteen-year-old boy become the hero of his own comic strip, fall in love with a girl named Omaha Nebraska Brown, and invent a recipe for perfect dripless lemon meringue pie? What does this have to do with the sixteenth-century heretic Giordano Bruno? How can we end the plague of handgun violence in America? A thought-provoking combination of humor, philosophy, and romance," The Adventures of Blue Avenger has something for every teenage reader (and even for a few smart adults).

Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins Published 2005 by Greenwillow Books Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: From the 2006 Newbery Medal winner comes "Criss Cross," a remarkable novel about finding first love...or at least searching for it.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story about Brain Science by John Fleischman Published 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: The true story of Phineas Cage, a man who lived through a horrible accident that left him with a hole in his brain in 1848. Photos.

Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick Published 2002 by Grosset & Dunlap Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: Philbrick brings to life the tale of how, in 1820, the "Essex" was rammed by an enraged sperm whale and sunk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Only eight of the men survived after months in a leaky lifeboat. The book includes maps, diagrams, and an 8-page photo insert.

John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth by Elizabeth Partridge Published 2005 by Viking Books Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: Partridge chronicles the emotional highs and paralyzing lows John Lennon transformed into brilliant, evocative songs. With photos spanning his entire life, this is the unforgettable biography of one of rock's biggest legends.

Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories about Women Who Made a Difference by Penny Colman Published 2006 by Henry Holt & Company Hardcover, English. Find this book in our catalog Jacket Notes: Award-winning author Penny Colman offers a compelling collection of true stories about eight women in the 20th century who were bold enough to confront obstacles and take risks in the pursuit of their goals. High school & older.