Summer Reading 2006

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05/12//2006
S. M. Smoller e-mail

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Higgins Middle School
Home of the Higgins Hawks Peabody, Massachusetts

Summer Reading 2006 for students entering Grade 6 in September, 2006.

The Peabody K-12 Summer Reading Program is intended to:
- Support the educational growth and development of the child
- Help the child become a lifelong learner
- Bridge learning gaps of the summer break
- Foster choice
- Encourage appreciation of literature
- Enhance learning by offering a variety of works

All incoming sixth grade students are required to read Al Capone Does My Shirts by G. Choldenko and take a test on Monday, September 11, 2006. Students must read a second book from the choices listed below and complete one assessment choice. Students should take notes on his or her reading.
A study guide will be available online via the district's website, at the Peabody Institute Library and at the main office of the Higgins Middle School.

The Higgins PTO/Library will sell summer reading selections at the Grade 5 Parent Orientation at Higgins Middle School on May 18, 2006. Summer reading book purchases made through the Higgins Library/PTO earns the school twenty percent of each sale. The profits are earmarked for purchasing library resources. Summer reading books may be checked out through the Peabody Institute Library and are available from local booksellers.

All students entering grade six must read:

All incoming sixth grade students will take a test on Monday, September 11, 2006. The test grade will count as the first English grade of the first quarter.
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Al Capone Does My Shirts (2004)

AL CAPONE DOES BY SHIRTS
by Gennifer Choldenko

Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz in 1935 so his father can work as a prison guard and his younger, autistic sister, Natalie, can attend a special school in San Francisco. It is a time when the federal prison is home to notorious criminals like gangster Al Capone. Moose finds little to be happy about on Alcatraz. He never sees his dad, who is always working; and Natalie's condition-- her tantrums and constant needs--demand all his mother's attention. Things look up for Moose when he befriends the irresistible Piper, the warden's daughter, who has a knack for getting Moose into embarrassing but harmless trouble. With its unique setting and well-developed characters, this warm, engaging coming-of-age story has plenty of appeal, and Choldenko offers some fascinating historical background on Alcatraz Island in an afterword. Children's Books of the Year 2005; Newbery Honor Award; Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2005 $7.00
STUDY GUIDE | VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

In addition to Al Capone Does My Shirts, students must select one or more of the books listed below and complete one assessment option:

CHASING VERMEER by Blue Balliet
"Dear Friend: I would like your help in identifying a crime that is now centuries old." Sixth-grade classmates Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay are drawn into the mystery: a claim that some of the works attributed to Johannes Vermeer were not, in fact, painted by that seventeenth-century Dutch artist. Their investigation--fueled by the enigmatic behavior of their favorite teacher, a shared interest in unexplained phenomena, and a few mystical experiences of their own--uncovers a series of coincidences and connections that, like the pentomino set (a puzzle-like math tool) Calder carries in his pocket, fit together in often-unexpected patterns. And when Vermeer's A Lady Writing disappears while in transit from the National Gallery to the Art Institute of Chicago, Petra and Calder end up hunting for the missing painting right in their own neighborhood. Edgar Allan Poe Award 2005.
$7.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Chasing Vermeer (2004)

A SINGLE SHARD by Linda Sue Park
A homeless boy in a 12th-century Korean village makes himself surprisingly useful to a master potter. Tree-ear has been living with Crane-man under a bridge, scavenging for food and comfort until one day he watches Min, the potter, becoming so fascinated he later creeps back to look at the finished pots. Surprised in the act, one of the pots is broken and Tree-ear must work to pay for the damage. The work is strenuous. Tree-ear aches and bleeds, but gradually he becomes accustomed to the work. Min allows him to continue to help in exchange for food from the master's kind wife. Obtaining a royal commission to make pots worthy of the palace is at the heart of the plot. Intrigues, danger, and the same strong focus on doing what is right turn a simple story into a compelling read. Important details of the times are folded into the narrative without being obtrusive. Newbery Award 2002. $6.50
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
A Single Shard (2001)

FLUSH by Carl Hiassen
What's a kid to do when his dad's thrown in jail for an unsuccessful act of ecoterrorism? Why, do it better, of course. Readers first meet Noah Underwood in the visiting room of the Florida Keys jail where his father proudly waits for justice to be done to the owner of the Coral Queen, the casino boat that regularly and illegally dumps raw sewage into the bay. Hiaasen surrounds Noah with his usual cast of supporting characters: a stoic little sister, a hard-drinking bleached-blonde bartender with a heart of gold, various thuggish lowlifes and a mysterious figure who appears from the jungle to save the day. Noah's determination and sense of right comes straight from the author's heart, and readers will cheer as he and his cohorts scuttle once and for all the activities of the Coral Queen.
Best Books for Young Adults 2006 $16.95
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Flush (2005)

BUD, NOT BUDDY by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father – the renowned bandleader, H. E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. Newbery Award 2000, Recommended author of the Massachusetts Frameworks $6.50
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Bud, Not Buddy (1999)

MY LOUISIANA SKY by Kimberly Willis Holt
Growing up in Saitter, Louisiana, in the 1950s, twelve-year-old Tiger Ann struggles with her feelings about her stern, but loving grandmother, her mentally slow parents and her good friend and neighbor, Jesse. Boston Globe Horn Book. $6.50
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
My Louisiana Sky (1998)

THE FIREWORK-MAKER’S DAUGHTER by Philip Pullman
In a country far to the east, Chulak and his talking white elephant, Hamlet, help Lila seek the Royal Sulphur from the sacred volcano so that she can become a master maker of fireworks like her father. Recommended author of the Massachusetts Frameworks $4.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
coming soon

THE WRECKERS by Iain Lawrence
There once was a village bred by evil. A community of people who prayed for shipwrecks and lured storm-tossed ships to founder upon the sharp rocks of their shore. The villagers fed and clothed themselves with the loot salvaged from the wreckage. Most never questioned their murderous way of life. Then upon the pirates' shore crashed The Isle of Sky. The youngest of its crew, fourteen-year-old John Spencer, survived the wreck. But, would he escape the wreckers? $ 6.00
These activities will help with the nautical terms in this book: High Seas Trilogy Vocabulary Activities #1 Vocabulary Activities #2
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Wreckers

THE BREADWINNER by Deborah Ellis
Since the Taliiban took over Afghanistan, eleven-year-old Parvana has rarely been outdoors. Barried from attending school, shopping at the market, or even playing in the streets of Kabul, the heroine is trapped inside her family's one-room home. That is until the Taliban hauls away her father and Parvana realizes that it's up to her to become the "breadwinner" and disguise herself as a boy to support her mother, two sisters and baby brother. $6.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Breadwinner (2001)

NINJAS, PIRANHAS AND GALILEO by Greg Smith
Poor Elias. Secretly in love with one of his best friends, Honoria, he is constantly reminded that she likes Shoehei, another seventh-grader at their Chicago mgnet school. Shohei can't see it - he's too busy writing anonymous e-mail love letters to Honoria for Eli. Both boys are pushed by their parent into the science fair, which Honoria hopes to win by turning her pet piranhas into vegetarians. When Elisa stumbles on the brilliant plan of reproducing one of his brother's award-winning experiments, Shohei begs to be his partner. The plan backfires and lands Elias in Student Court. Honoria's brilliant strategy for Eli's defense means a crisis of conscience for Shohei, who will have to admit that he has copied his experiment's results. $7.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (2003)

MABLE RILEY: A RELIABLE RECORD OF HUMDRUM, PERIL, AND ROMANCE by Marthe Jocelyn
In 1901, fourteen-year-old Mable Riley dreams of being a writer and having adventures while stuck in Perth County, Ontario, assisting her sister in teaching school and secretly becoming friends with a neighbor who holds scandalous opinions on women's rights. $14.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Mable Riley : A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance (2004)

INKHEART by Cornelia Funke
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father Mo, a bookbinder, can "read" fictional characters into life when an evil ruler named Capricorn, from from the novel "Inkheart" years earlier, tries to force Mo to release an immortal monster from the story.
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Inkheart (2003)

Students who choose not to complete a project assessment must read The Breadwinner and will receive a test on that book on Tuesday, September 12, 2006.
All projects should be turned in to the English teacher by Tuesday, September 12, 2006. This will count as the second English grade for the first quarter.

Assessment Options:
1. Book cover - should include 1.) A cover page; 2) Summary; 3) Meet the author; 4) Illustration or drawing
2. Poster - should include: 1.) Graphics and illustrations; 2.) Written summary
3. Cereal Box - should include: 1.) Graphics and illustrations; 2.) Author information; 3.) Written summary