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PEABODY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Congratulations 
  STARS of the MONTH

Higgins Middle School    
Home of the Higgins Hawks    Peabody, Massachusetts


Summer Reading 2006 for students entering Grade 7 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 a
- Foster choice
- Encourage appreciation of literature
- Enhance learning by offering a variety of works

The Higgins PTO/Library will sell summer reading selections at the Grade 6 Spring Concert  on May 30, 2006 and during Book Fair June 5-9.  Summer reading book purchases made through the Higgins PTO/Library earns the school twenty percent of each sale.  The profits are earmarked for purchasing library resources.  Summer reading books are also available through the Peabody Institute Library.

All incoming seventh grade students will be required to read the mandatory book, Seedfolks.  All students will select a second book from the optional book list below.  Students will participate in a book discussion group in September led by school and community members.  A study guide will be available for students to take notes on their reading at the Peabody Institute Library, online at cullenlibrary.org, and the main office at the Higgins Middle School.

 All students entering grade seven must read:

Pick from one of the following book discussion options. 
Assessment:   Students will participate in a book talk during the second week of school led by school and community members.  A written summary form will be provided to students to aid the discussion.  

     The Misfits by James Howe
Bobby is the fat one. Addie is very tall and very smart ("major liabilities if you were born into the world a girl"). Skeezie dresses like a hood, and Joe "acts more like a girl than a boy." Together, these four self-described misfits form the Gang of Five-five "because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be a part of." Addie, a seventh-grade rebel looking for a cause, hatches the idea of starting a third political party for the school elections, pushing a minority classmate to run for student council president. When her patronizing plan falls apart ("You got eyes that see no further than the color of my skin," says their African-American candidate before dropping out of the election), the Freedom Party transforms into the No-Name Party, and the plot jarringly changes focus. Having endured more than their share of epithets (among them: blubber, faggot, loser, nerdette), the Gang of Five all run for elected positions on a platform protesting name-calling in school, invoking the heavy-handed slogan, "Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit." $6.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Misfits (2001)

     The Greatest: Muhammad Ali  by Walter Dean Myers
An illustrated biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali that addresses his politics, his fight against Parkinson's disease, and boxing's dangers.  $5.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Greatest: Muhammad Ali (2001)

   Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard the luxury passenger airship Aurora when the ship encounters a battered hot air balloon with an unconscious man aboard. Before dying, the man claims to have seen beautiful creatures swarming in the air over an uncharted island. Not until a year later, when Matt meets the man's granddaughter, Kate de Vries, who boards the Aurora, does he learn that the man wasn't hallucinating. Pirates board, rob, and kill, and a fierce storm grounds the Aurora on the very island that Kate's grandfather spoke about--which proves to be the pirates' secret hideaway. $7.00
 Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Airborn (2004)

     Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix   
In a chilling and intelligent novel, Haddix envisions a near future where a totalitarian U.S. limits families to only two children. Luke, 12, the third boy in his farming family, has been hidden since birth, mostly in the attic, safe for the time being from the Population Police, who eradicate such "shadow children." Although he is protected, Luke is unhappy in his radical isolation, rereading a few books for entertainment and eating in a stairwell so he won't be seen through the windows. When Luke spies a child's face in the window of a newly constructed home, he realizes that he's found a comrade. Risking discovery, Luke sneaks over to the house and meets Jen, a spirited girl devoted to bringing the shadow children's plight center-stage, through a march on the White House. Luke is afraid to join her and later learns from Jen's father, a mole within the Population Police, that Jen and her compatriots were shot and killed, and that their murder was covered up. Jen's father also gets a fake identity card and a new life for Luke, who finally believes himself capable of acting to change the world. By presenting a world not too different from America right now, this book offers much for discussion. The seizing of farmlands, untenable food regulations, and other scenarios that have come to fruition in these pages will give readers a new appreciation for their own world after a visit to Luke's.  $6.00            
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Among the Hidden

    The Hero’s Trail: A Guide for Heroic Life by T.A. Barron
In this affecting book, Barron, perhaps best known for his magical series about Merlin, compares life to a journey, explores the way heroes inspire and guide us along the way, and shows how to make life "a walk on the hero's trail."In eloquent, engaging prose that often directly addresses the reader, Barron defines the qualities of a hero by drawing on diverse, well-chosen examples from both history and myth--from ordinary kids to the likes of Prometheus, Harriet Tubman, and Stephen Hawking. Each section begins with a quotation and includes an imaginary scenario in which Barron and a young hiker face and survive various challenges during a wilderness experience. Barron's personal anecdotes and commentary enhance and provide context for the individual profiles.  $15.00  
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Hero's Trail : A Guide for a Heroic Life (2002)

     First Test by Tamora Pierce                          
Kel is a precocious ten-year-old who lives in the mythical, medieval kingdom of Tortall. Her dream is to become a knight like her older brothers, so she is overjoyed when a proclamation from the King allows girls to train for knighthood. Her major obstacle to realizing her dream is Lord Wyldon, the training master of squires and pages who has been forced, against his beliefs, to accept females into his charge. Kel enters the program and excels through tenacious effort, despite mean-spirited hazing by some of her male classmates. Her sacrifices and perseverance are ultimately rewarded, and she learns many important lessons along the way. All pre-teens will see themselves in many of this well-known fantasy author's characters and identify with the complex relationships and competition portrayed. Many of these issues are similar to those experienced by young women today. $6.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
First Test (1999)

     Iqbal By Francesco D’Adamo       
This moving docu-novel, translated from the Italian, adds a new dimension to the recent biographies of Iqbal Masih, the brave young activist who brought global attention to the appalling facts of contemporary child labor. Told from the fictionalized viewpoint of Fatimah, a young Pakistani girl who toils alongside Iqbal in a carpet workshop and is inspired by him to rise up, the personal story is a close-up view of the power of Iqbal's cause and the anguish of his death. The harsh facts will rivet readers. Fatimah tells what it's like to be rented as a child to a cruel master, her small fingers valued for their flexibility in weaving. Foreign clients come to buy the carpets and barely notice her. Iqbal's artistry thrills the master, until Iqbal cuts his carpet, runs away, and shows Fatimah--and the world--the necessity of rebellion. $5.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Storia di Iqbal. English (2003)

     Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II by Joseph Bruchac 
Six-year-old Ned Begay leaves his Navajo home for boarding school, where he learns the English language and American ways. At 16, he enlists in the U.S. Marines during World War II and is trained as a code talker, using his native language to radio battlefield information and commands in a code that was kept secret until 1969. Rooted in his Navajo consciousness and traditions even in dealing with fear, loneliness, and the horrors of the battlefield, Ned tells of his experiences in Hawaii, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The book, addressed to Ned's grandchildren, ends with an author's note about the code talkers. $17.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Code Talker : A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two (2005)

     Letters from Wolfie by Patti Sherlock
A full-fledged civics lesson is embodied in this touching story of thirteen-year-old Mark, his beloved dog, Wolfie, and the effect of the Vietnam War on Mark's family in 1960's America. Mark's brother goes to Vietnam, and after Mark hears that dogs are being used to help protect the soldiers, he makes the uncomfortable decision to lend Wolfie to the Army. Unfortunately, once in the Army, dogs are classified as disposable "equipment,"and Mark must find a way to bring Wolfie safely back home. At the same time, Mark sees his family torn apart by conflicting views about the war. Stereotypes abound in the first part of the story, but Sherlock finds her voice as she leads readers through Mark's struggles on Wolfie's behalf. There isn't a happy ending for Wolfie, but real-life efforts similar to Mark's fictional ones finally yielded results in 2000, when the Military War Dog Resolution, which stopped the practice of euthanizing dogs at the end of their service, became law.  $17.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Letters from Wolfie (2004)

     Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm. $9.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Goose Girl (2003)

     Money, Money, Money: Where It Comes From and How To Save It 
                             by Eve Drobot
From the historic to the modern and around the globe, every aspect of money a student could need is covered in this unique, attractive volume that is rich with trivia, money references in mythology, color illustrations, diagrams, and terms. Chapter title pages are easily identifiable by their distinctive frames and include a brief summary of their content, which ranges from pirates and counterfeiters to how to protect yourself from identity theft, as well as the history of banks and banking such as the concept of interest, where money gets its value, credit, and the use of ATMs; the names of money from many countries and how it is manufactured and circulated; as well as advice on saving and spending.  $13.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Money, Money, Money : Where It Comes From, How to Save It, Spend It and Make It (2004)

    The Call of the Wild  by Jack London
The story of Buck, a part St. Bernard, part Scotch Shepherd, that is forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack. $4.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Call of the Wild                  

    Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Sixteen-year-old hereditary witch Stacey Brown has nightmares of her roommate being murdered and hopes that her magic will be enough to protect Drea--unlike the last person whose death Stacey dreamed. $9.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Blue is for Nightmares (2003)

     Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl has been home schooled until she enters Mica Area High School in Mica, Arizona, in the 10th grade. Everything about Stargirl is different: She plays her guitar and sings Happy Birthday to students during lunch, commits random acts of kindness, and does not mind remaining anonymous. The students do not know how to deal with her. They are curious and speculate about her. They ignore her, embrace her, shun her, and then accept some of her ideas. One student, Leo, becomes Stargirl's significant other. In assuming this role, he must come to terms with wanting her to be like everyone else and yet not wanting her to change and lose her special qualities. Leo is not mature enough to accept the shunning and some of the other negative consequences of his relationship with Stargirl. He walks away, experiencing an overwhelming sense of loss. He is able to come to terms with this only after many years. $7.00                    
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
Stargirl (2000)

     The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg           
Dumped at summer camp while her parents travel abroad, twelve-year-old Margaret Rose Kane opts out of activities by quoting Melville ("I prefer not to") and is quickly labeled "incorrigible." When her two doting, elderly uncles whisk her away from the hated camp, she blissfully anticipates helping to build and maintain "the towers," sculptures her uncles have constructed in their garden. But Margaret soon learns that yuppie neighbors want the 45-year-old towers demolished. Appalled, she and a network of warm, smart, slightly kooky adults hatch an ingenious plan to prevent the "cultural Armageddon."  This intelligently structured, humorously told, and richly observant story weaves two cliches of middle-grade fiction--the David-and-Goliath scenario and the bad summer camp experience--into a bracing, contemporary tall tale. Readers will root for Margaret's success, admire her determination, and applaud her abhorrence of conformity wherever she finds it. $6.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (2004) .

     With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for Women's Right to Vote
                          by Ann Bausum       
Chronicles the long history of the fight for women's voting rights, beginning in 1848, with a focus on the years between 1913 and 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, and includes profiles of notable women in the struggle.  $22.00
Click on the title below to see if the Peabody Institute Library has a copy on the shelf.
With Courage and Cloth : Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote (2004)