Mrs. Kerin’s 5th Grade
Summer Reading Assignment
Reading is an important part of school and should also be continued throughout the summer. To ensure all students are completing some reading during the months we are off they will be responsible for choosing two books to read from the attached list. While they read they are also expected to keep a response journal to hand into their teacher at the beginning of the school year. The books recommended meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for 4th and 5th graders. The list also comprises a wide range of genres and styles.
Response Journal Criteria:
• You must have at least five journal entries for each book you read.
• Each journal entry should consist of at least two paragraphs. *Remember a paragraph has at
least five sentences*
• Your journals should reflect your thoughts as you read and as the story progresses and the
plot unfolds. You should not complete all ten journal entries in the beginning or the end of the
book; spread them out throughout the story.
• A journal entry may consist of one, two, or more of the following:
• Connections you have to the story’s events or characters
• Opinions or reactions to the story’s plot or characters – please use details or quotes
from the story to defend yourself. Avoid general statements such as the book is good
or bad, explain why you feel this way and use details from the story to help you. • Questions you may have or things you are unclear about
• Predictions
*DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE BOOK YOU ARE READING*
It is important that your response journal contains thoughtful reflection. This assignment will count as a grade for your first trimester report card. You will be graded based upon how well you meet the criteria listed above and how much time, effort, and attention went into your journal entries.
Summer Reading List
The Best School Year Ever
By Barbara Robinson
The Worst Kids in the History of the World!
When anything goes wrong at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, from the hexing of Bus Six to the mysterious disappearance of the kindergarten gerbil, it's sure to have a Herdman behind it. The Herdmans are more than famous -- they're outlaws. They smoke cigars, lie, and set fire to things, and that's only when they bother to come to school!
Then a school project forces the students to think of compliments for all their classmates -- including the Herdmans. Is it possible that behind their outrageous pranks there may be something good about this crazy clan after all?
The Kindness Club
By Courtney Sheinmel
Chloe Silver has always been good at looking on the bright side. Even though her parents got divorced and she's moved to a new town, she knows that she will make great friends at her new school. So when she is assigned a science project with offbeat Lucy Tanaka and nerdy Theo Barnes, they have fun creating an experiment that tests out the laws of science through different acts of kindness . . . officially forming The Kindness Club.
But when she is also asked join the cool girls' exclusive It Girls club, Chloe feels completely torn between the It Girls and The Kindness Club. Faced with the possibility of upsetting all her new friends, Chloe's capacity for kindness is put to the test. Sometimes mistakes yield the best discoveries, and there is one hypothesis that can always be proven correct: Kindness is the coolest.
The View From Saturday
By E.L. Konigsburg
Did Mrs. Olinsky choose the four members of the sixth grade Academic Bowl Team, or did they choose her--and one another? Four stories-within-in-a-story, interspersed with the ongoing narrative of the team's triumphant march to the state championship, introduce each member of the team in his own her own voice, and bring the dynamics of the group into focus.
Superhero Pets
By Joanne Mattern
Animal heroes can come in all shapes and sizes, from a tiny kitten to a huge gorilla. They can be pets like cats and dogs or wild animals like seals and dolphins.
Inside this collection, readers will meet more than 50 animal heroes, from the cat who dialed 911 to save his owner's life to the dolphin who rescued a surfer from an attacking shark. Kids will discover the disabled dog who rescued his entire family from a deadly fire, the pet pig who went to get help when his owner had a heart attack, and many other courageous animals.
Strider
by Beverly Cleary
Strider is a novel by children's author Beverly Cleary, and illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky. It is the sequel to Cleary's Newbery Medal winning novel Dear Mr. Henshaw. Strider takes place two years after the end of Dear Mr. Henshaw, and Leigh Botts has grown a lot. At age 14, he writes in his diary about his experiences with his parents' divorce, starting high school, his friend Barry, a red-haired girl named Geneva, and a dog named Strider, who he and Barry find abandoned on a beach.
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
When fourth grader Leigh Botts asks Mr. Henshaw to write to him personally, he gets more than he bargained for. Mr. Henshaw's letters are full of questions, and Leigh is getting tired of answering them. But as he continues his correspondence with his favorite author, he not only gets plenty of tips on writing, but he also finds a wise and thoughtful friend to whom he can tell his troubles.
Holes
by Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune, which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish boys' juvenile detention center in the Texas desert. As punishment, the boys here must each dig a hole every day, five feet deep and five feet across. Ultimately, Stanley "digs up the truth" -- and through his experience, finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself. HOLES is a wildly inventive, darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment -- and redemption.
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao Lord
Shirley Temple Wong sails from China to America with a heart full of dreams. Her new home is Brooklyn, New York. America is indeed a land full of wonders, but Shirley doesn't know any English, so it's hard to make friends. Then a miracle -- baseball -- happens. It is 1947, and Jackie Robinson, star of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is everyone's hero. Jackie Robinson is proving that a black man, the grandson of a slave, can make a difference in America. And for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
Matilda Wormwood started reading books at the age of four, but her crooked father and bingo-playing mother regard book reading as a waste of time -- and much prefer watching TV. In fact, they take no notice of their genius daughter at all! Only Miss Honey, Matilda's lovely and gentle teacher, recognizes her special gifts. Yet Miss Honey has problems of her own: Her aunt is the tyrannical Miss Trunchbull, an evil headmistress who bullies children and parents alike -- and has taken Miss Honey's house and money. Can Matilda use her extraordinary talents to seek revenge -- and make all of the wrong-doing grown-ups pay?
House of Robots
by James Patterson
In this new highly-illustrated series from James Patterson, an extraordinary robot signs up for an ordinary fifth grade class... and elementary school will never be the same! It was never easy for Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez to fit in, so he's dreading the day when his genius mom insists he bring her Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez to fit in, so he's dreading the day when his genius mom insists he bring her newest invention to school: a walking, talking robot he calls E--for "Error". Sammy's no stranger to robots--his house is full of a colorful cast of them. But this one not only thinks it's Sammy's brother... it's actually even nerdier than Sammy. Will E be Sammy's one-way ticket to Loserville? Or will he prove to the world that it's cool to be square? It's a roller-coaster ride for Sammy to discover the amazing secret E holds that could change family forever... if all goes well on the trial run!
Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstilskin
by Liesl Shurtliff
In a magic kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship--and a cheeky sense of humor--he just might triumph in the end.
Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile
by Marcia Wells
Not many sixth-graders work undercover for the NYPD, but Edmund Xavier Lonnrot, code name Eddie Red, is not just any sixth-grader. A “near-death ice cream experience” lands him as a material witness in the police station with his dad, where the NYPD first discovers Eddie's photographic memory and uncanny sketch-artist abilities. Things get dangerous when Eddie is recruited to help track down the infamous Picasso Gang that’s casing NYC's famous Museum Mile.
Serifina’s Promise
by Ann E. Burg
Serafina made a secret promise to go to school and learn to read so she can become a doctor with her best friend, Julie Marie. But following her dream isn't easy- endless chores, little money and stomach-rumbling hunger all test her resolve. When an earthquake hits and separates Serafina from friends and family, she encounters her biggest test of all. Serafina made a secret promise.
A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans
by Laurence Yep and Joanne Ryder
Fans of How to Train Your Dragon will love this whimsical tale, the first in a series, by a Newbery Honor winner, featuring charming illustrations and pet "training tips" in each chapter. Crusty dragon Miss Drake has a new pet human, precocious Winnie. Oddly enough, Winnie seems to think Miss Drake is her pet--a ridiculous notion! Unknown to most of its inhabitants, the City by the Bay is home to many mysterious and fantastic creatures, hidden beneath the parks, among the clouds, and even in plain sight. And Winnie wants to draw every new creature she encounters: the good, the bad, and the ugly. But Winnie’s sketchbook is not what it seems. Somehow, her sketchlings have been set loose on the city streets! It will take Winnie and Miss Drake’s combined efforts to put an end to the mayhem . . . before it’s too late.
El Deafo
by Cece Bell
A 2015 Newbery Honor Book - Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful--and very awkward--hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear--sometimes things she shouldn’t--but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.” And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she’s longed for.