This is a small list of suggested books for your child to read. You may want to try another book by one of the authors listed below as well.

Summer Reading List for 3^rd Grade Students

Babbit, Natalie. KneeKnock Rise. Villagers in Instep think that KneeKnock Rise has mysterious properties. They think a fearsome creature lives at the top of the hill and is the source of strange sounds on stormy nights.

Bryan, Ashley. Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum. Five stories based on African American traditional folk tales that feature cleaver and foolish people and animals.

Catling, Patrick Skene. The Chocolate Touch. Everything John touches turns to chocolate.

Cleary, Beverly. Dear Mr. Henshaw. Leigh Botts, the new boy in town, shares his feelings about his parents and their divorce with his favorite author.

Christopher, Matt. Challenge at Second Base. A mysterious note keeps Stan from quitting the team.

Cooper, Floyd. Coming Home. A biography of the Langston Hughes, an African-American poet.

Dahl, Roald. The BFG. The story of Sophie and the Big Ugly Giant that she befriends and helps to overcome eating "real human beans".

DeGross, Monalisa. Donavan’s Word Jar. What do you do when your word jar is full?

Duffey, Betsy. Hey, New Kid! Jeremy reinvents himself to impress his classmates.

Fritz, Jean. What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? A short biography of the inventor, printer and statesman who is an important part of the history of the United States.

Howe, James. Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery. Is Bunnicula really a vegetarian vampire bunny?

King-Smith, Derek. Ace, The Very Important Pig. Farmer Tubb’s pig becomes famous.

Krull, Kathleen. Wilma Unlimited. The story of the running ace who overcame polio to win three gold medals in track.

Lansky, Kathryn. The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple. Twelve year-old Mem presents a diary account of the trip she and her family made on the Mayflower in 1620 and their first year in the new world. Any other books in the Dear America series.

Lester, Julius. John Henry. A Caldecott Honor Book provides the retelling of the African-American tale about a man with great strength and outstanding skills in the art of mountain digging.

Manitonquat. The Children of the Morning Light. Tales from the Wampanoag Indians Tribe that explore how the world came to be, the meaning of porpoises and dolphins, and a special story about children.

McCully, Emily Arnold. Mirette on the High Wire. Mirette, a spirited young girl, help the famous Bellini overcome his fear of walking the high wire. Set in 19th Century Paris.

Mead, Alice. Crossing the Starlight Bridge. Rayanne’s people have always lived on an island in Maine and when she has to leave the island she is sure her life will be miserable.

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. A Japanese-American boy learns to play baseball when he and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during World War II, and his ability to play helps him after the war is over.

Naylor, Phyllis R. Shiloh. When Marty finds a lost and mistreated beagle in the hills behind his house he tries to hide it from his family and the dog’s real owner.

Osborne, Mary Pope. Hour of the Olympics. Jack and Annie travel back in time to retrieve a lost story in ancient Greece, where they are spectators to the Olympic games. Also other titles in the Magic Tree House series.

Pooey, Sarah. Jump the World: Stories, Poems and Things to Make and Do from Around the World. International stories, activities, recipes and poetry.

Seabrooke, Brenda. Jerry on the Line. Playing soccer and being a "latchkey" kid are the two most important things in Jerry’s life until he meets Sherita and is force to make some difficult decisions.

Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. A most popular book of poems that will delight children and adults as well. A good book for the entire family to share.

Smith, Roland. Sea Otter Rescue. The story of the effort made to rescue the sea otters after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

Spinelli, Jerry. The Bathwater Gang. It’s war between boys and girls until Grandma steps in.

Walsh, Jill Paton. The Green Book Refugees flee the Earth for a new planet.

Wright, Betty Ren. Nothing But Trouble. Strange things happen on grouchy Aunt Bert’s farm.

Yep, Laurence. The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung. A diary format chronicles the life of an immigrant boy from China in the Gold Rush era in California. Also other titles in the My Name is America series.

DiCamillo, Kate.   The Tale of Despereaux: Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread.  The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.

 

Summer Reading Lists for 4^th Grade Students

Avi, Brian Floca. Poppy. Poppy the deer mouse urges her family to move near a field of corn big enough to feed them forever, but Mr. Ocas, a terrifying owl, has other ideas.

Babbit, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. The story of a young girl that meets up with the Tuck family and learns that they have discovered the secret of everlasting life.

Bruchac, Joseph. Native American Animal Stories. A collection of 24 Native American myths, taken from the stories of the Mohawk, Hopi, Yaqui, Haida, and other cultures, which demonstrate the power of animals in Native American tradition.

Delacre, Lulu. Golden Tales: Myths, Legends and Folktales from Latin America. Twelve classic tales of Latin America celebrate the literature, culture and history of thirteen counties including Mexico, Puerto Rico and Colombia.

Filipovic, Zlata. Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo. The personal diary of a young girl before, during and after the war in Bosnia

Fleishman, Sid. The Whipping Boy. A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they change places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer. Kidnapped and forced to play his fife while the slaves "dance", 13 year-old Jesse learns about the savagery of the slave trade.

Fritz, Jean. Homesick, My Own Story. The author remembers her childhood years in China during a very turbulent time.

Hackwell, John W. Desert of Ice: Life and Work in the Antarctica. Take a journey to Antarctica and join a team of scientist as they investigate this frozen land.

Hamilton, Virginia. Zeely. When Elizabeth meets Zeely she is sure that her dreams have come true. The tall and graceful Zeely looks just like the picture of a Watusi queen Elizabeth saw in a magazine.

Hesse, Karen. Music of Dolphins. After her rescue from the sea, scientists discover that she was raised by dolphins and try to rehabilitate her to the human world.

Howe, James. What Eric Knew. Who pushed Eric down the stairs and does the mysterious figure in the cemetery have anything to do with it?

Konigsburg, E.L. From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The adventures of two children who hide in the Metropolitan Museum of Art after running away from home.

Korman, Gordon. The Twinkie Squad. Trouble happens when the most eccentric 6th grader in the school joins the Twinkie Squad, a special counseling group for trouble students.

Lasky, Kathryn. Surtsey: The Newest Place on Earth. How an undersea volcano creates a new island which may contain clues as to the beginning of life on earth.

Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted. A hilarious fantasy about a young girl with a curse that forces her to obey every command.

Lyons, Mary E. Starting Home: The Story of Horace Pippin, Painter. The story of the African-American painter and how he fulfilled his dream.

Macaulay, David. The Way Things Work. An enormous, imaginative, and witty explanation of just about every everyday thing. A book that is fun and fascinating.

Medearis, Angela Shelf. The Singing Man. A West African folk tale about a young man dream to become a musician.

Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins. Gilly is abandoned as a preschooler and finds herself in a series of foster home. She stays in trouble until she goes to live with Maime Trotter, a woman with a heart big enough to reach the unhappy girl.

Rockwell, Thomas. How To Eat Fried Worms. Billy makes a bet with his friends that he can eat fifteen worms.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches provides an opportunity for Harry Potter to achieve his destiny. Also look for the sequel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A great read-aloud for the entire family.

Ruby, Lois. Steal Away Home. A skeleton discovered in an abandoned house in Kansas leads to a story of the Underground Railroad.

Say, Allen. El Chino. Presents the true story of a Chinese boy who grew up in the Southwestern United States who believed and lived by his father’s words that "in America, you can be anything you want to be." Bill Wong, a Chinese American, actually became a famous bullfighter in Spain.

Stevens, Carla. A Book of Your Own. The author tells how to start and keep a diary or journal. She also shares examples of diary entries from famous people.

Trimble, Stephen. The Village of Blue Stone. A look at the Anasazi and how they lived 900 years ago in the Pueblo known as Cliff Palace.

Turner, Ann. Grasshopper Summer. Twelve-year-old Sam thinks things are uncomfortable when he moves from his home in Kentucky to a sod house in the Dakota Territory—until the grasshoppers come.

You may also access the Pizza Hut Book It! Summer Reading program Parent suggestions site at the address below:

http://www.bookitprogram.com/parents/summer.asp