2017 Shepaug Summer Reading
Shepaug Valley School ~ Grades 6 - 8
Requirements (due the first day of school)
- Read at least one book from the choices shown below. You will write a response to this book during an advisory period at the beginning of the school year (30 points)
- Complete and submit a Governor's Reading Challenge Log (10 points)
- Visit your town's public library and check out a book of your choice. A student list will be kept at each library. Be sure your name gets checked off. If you live outside Region 12, please visit your own public library. Show your library card to Mrs. Temple during the first week of school (10 points)
For information about hours and to search your library's catalog:
Burnham Public Library (Bridgewater)
Gunn Memorial Library (Washington)
Minor Memorial (Roxbury)
Please note: Many of these titles are available as audiobooks through Overdrive. Audiobooks may be played in a browser on a computer, or the Overdrive app may be downloaded to a personal device. Students should use their student numbers to sign into Overdrive. Parents who would like their own account should contact Joan Temple, School Library Media Specialist, at templej@region-12.org to be assigned their own number.
Getting Started with the Overdrive App
Please contact the SVS Library for assistance. Email address: templej@region-12.org
FICTION
MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD, BK. 2: THE HAMMER OF THOR by Rick Riordan
Fantasy (audiobook available)
Discussion Leader: Mr. Byer
When the god of thunder's hammer goes missing, Magnus Chase and his friends are tasked with retrieving it before an onslaught of giants attacks the mortal world.
GORILLA DAWN by Gill Lewis
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Carnes
Imara, a child soldier, rescues a baby gorilla her captors hope to sell. Alternating chapters from the perspectives of Imara and the gorilla reveal a tense but moving story of corruption and conservation in the Congo.
WOLF HOLLOW by Lauren Wolk
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Ermini
Growing up in a rural Pennsylvania town in the aftermath of two world wars, 12-year-old Annabelle confronts a bullying newcomer and must defend a traumatized but gentle World War I veteran who is wrongly implicated in the bully's disappearance.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: ESCAPE TO AUSTRALIA by James Patterson
Humorous Fiction
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Barksdale
Underdog hero Rafe Khatchadorian ventures into the dangerous wilds of Australia after winning an art competition and encountering the hostility of an unwelcoming host family that forces him to bond to misfit new friends in order to survive.
THE BITTER SIDE OF SWEET by Tara Sullivan
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Weik
Frantically working to escape punishment by their overseers, Ivory Coast child slaves Amadou and Seydou befriend a slave newcomer whose constant attempts to escape compel the brothers to plan their own flight.
GHOST by Jason Reynolds
Realistic Fiction (audiobook available)
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Carignan
Aspiring to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school's track team, gifted runner Ghost finds his goal challenged by a tragic past with a violent father.
GEORGIA RULES by Nanci Turner Stevenson
Realistic Fiction
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Blum
Moving to a tiny Vermont town where everyone fondly remembers the father she never knew, Magnolia learns unexpected secrets after befriending a loud and wild family that does not follow the rules of social decorum.
AUGGIE & ME: THREE WONDER STORIES by R. J. Palacio
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Beilinson
Auggie was born with extreme facial abnormalities. IN this book, readers get to see this remarkable young man through the eyes of Julian, the bully; Christopher, Auggie s oldest friend; and Charlotte, Auggie's new friend at school.
INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Holst-Grubbe
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.
THE CHARMED CHILDREN OF ROOKSKILL CASTLE by Janet Fox
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Kelly
In 1940, during the Blitz, Kat Bateson is sent to a school in a Scottish castle that is said to be haunted by dark magic from the past, but when some of her classmates disappear, she wonders if the magic exists very much in the present.
MOO: A NOVEL by Sharon Creech
Discussion Leader: Ms. Dobrowolski
Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.
BOOKED by Kwame Alexander
Novel in verse, fiction
Discussion Leader: Mr. Scarola
Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.
NONFICTION
TEN DAYS A MADWOMAN: THE DARING LIFE AND TURBULENT TIMES OF THE ORIGINAL "GIRL" REPORTER by Deborah Noyes
Discussion Leader: Eleni Bookis
The compelling and true story of how one truly dedicated journalist admitted herself to an asylum to write a groundbreaking exposé.
CHASING SPACE: YOUNG READERS' EDITION by Leland Melvin
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Robbins
In this inspiring memoir, readers will learn about Leland Melvin’s remarkable life story, from being drafted by the Detroit Lions to bravely orbiting our planet in the International Space Station to writing songs with will.i.am, working with Serena Williams, and starring in top-rated television shows.
WE WILL NOT BE SILENT: THE WHITE ROSE STUDENT RESISTANCE MOVEMENT THAT DEFIED ADOLF HITLER by Russell Freedman
Discussion Leader: Mrs. Dougherty
A carefully researched portrait of Hans and Sophie Scholl describes how they questioned the beliefs of Austria's Hitler Youth and risked their freedom and lives to organize a resistance campaign with other students.
UNDEFEATED: JIM THORPE AND THE CARLISLE INDIAN SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM by Steve Sheinkin
Discussion Leader:
America's favorite sport and Native American history collide in this thrilling true story of the legendary Carlisle Indians football team and their rise from underdogs to champions.
Shepaug Valley School Library
Email: templej@region-12.org
Website: svslibrary.region-12.org
Location: 159 South Street, Washington, CT, United States
Phone: 869-868-6232
Facebook: facebook.com/svslibrary
Twitter: @svslibrary