Saint John Academy Summer Reading
For Rising 1st Graders
Greetings, Parents and Students
The books, stories and poems have been carefully selected to foster an enjoyable and thoughtful reading experience. Enjoy this special time with your child. These assignments are meant to be enriching and meaningful.
Be sure to balance the assignments with lots of fun, enjoyable time outside with family and friends.
Best to you and your family,
Mrs. Karen Tessier
Assistant Headmaster
Saint John Academy
Core Elements of Summer Reading for Rising First Grade
Readings
- Required readings include Quiet by Tomie dePaola. Please note that the book Quiet does not come out in print edition until October. You may find the digital version on Nook or Kindle, or you may wait until October to buy the print edition. The images for parts of the book may also be found online in various places. In addition, please choose three stories to read aloud to your child from Book of Bible Stories by Tomie dePaola or three parables from The Miracles of Jesus by Tomie dePaola.
- From the reading list below, choose 5 books to be read silently or aloud with parents. Parents may choose to read some of the books to their child--at the parent's discretion.
Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland - Tomie dePaola
The Good Samaritan - Tomie dePaola
The Parables of Jesus - Tomie dePaola
My First Easter - Tomie dePaola
The Legend of the Poinsettia - Tomie dePaola
Mary, the Mother of Jesus - Tomie dePaola
Stone Soup - Marcia Brown
Beatrice’s Goat - Page McBrier
The Picnic - Ruth Brown
The Quiltmaker’s Gift - Jeff Brumbeau
Flower Garden - Eve Bunting
A House for Hermit Crab - Eric Carle
The Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss
Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
Too Much Noise - Ann McGovern
Snowmen at Night - Caralyn Buehner
The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Diary of a Worm - Doreen Cronin
Is Your Mama a Llama? - Deborah Guanino
Child’s Book of Prayers - Michael Hague
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Bill Martin
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus - Mo Willem
A Walk Through Our Church - Gertrud Mueller Nelson
Where Does God Live? - Holly Bea
Corduroy - Don Freeman
The Lord’s Prayer - Lois Rock
Giraffes Can’t Dance - Giles Andreae
The Lion and the Mouse - Gail Herman
Love You Forever - Robert Munsch
Make Way for the Ducklings - Robert McCloskey
I Like Bugs - Margaret Wise Brown
- Read all three poems aloud.
- Memorize at least one, reciting it at home (at the dinner table or some other spontaneous moment). This will also be recited at school.
"Now We Are Six" by A.A. Milne
"Rain" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"Fog" by Carl Sandburg
Aesop's Fables
- Choose three Aesop's Fables to read.
The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs
The Mice in Council
The Lion and the Mouse
The North Wind and the Sun
The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Boy and the Wolf
The Hare and the Tortoise
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
The Grasshopper and the Ants
We also recommend that you read (or retell) folktales to your child, such as Rumpelstiltskin by the Brothers Grimm and The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen.