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Suggested Summer Reading List, 6-8th Grade

Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery.

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech.

Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up considerably during the summer while learning about romance, homesickness, death, and her cousin's search for his biological father.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman.

In 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.

Bat 6 by Virginia Wolff.

In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one 6th grade girls recount the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's bigotry comes to the surface.

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.

The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

Jesse learns to cope with life because of his friend, Leslie.

The Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn.

When 14-year-old Christy Miller goes to spend the summer at her wealthy aunt and uncle's beach house in Newport, California, she realizes that it could be the best vacation of her life.

Downriver by Will Hobbs.

Fifteen-year-old Jessie and the other rebellious teenage members of a wilderness survival school team abandon their adult leader, hijack his boats, and try to run the dangerous white water at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.

Eleven-year-old Harriet, who is a spy, plans to be a writer, and keeps a secret notebook filled with thoughts and notes on her schoolmates and people she observes on her after school spy route. However, her classmates find out and read her notebook, retaliate, and she learns that writing is not to use against your friends.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

Thirteen-year-old Brian is the sole survivor of a plane crash, with only the clothes he has on and a hatchet to help him shape a life for himself in the wilderness.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Whisked away from his comfortable hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a very dangerous dragon.

Max the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.

Fourteen-year-old Max helps a younger girl escape from her abusive stepfather by running away with her to the distant town of Chivalry, Montana, searching for her real father.

The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse.

After rescuing an adolescent girl from the sea, researchers learn she has been raised by dolphins and attempt to rehabilitate her to the human world.

Number the Stars by Lowis Lowry.

In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Odder Than Ever by Bruce Coville.

A collection of nine short stories featuring a ghost, a goblin, a giant, and other unusual creatures.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.

In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society.

Redwall series by Brian Jacques.

Magical, mystical, and the stuff of legends, these are stunning tales of good battling evil.

Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barth DeClements.

Helen fears that lack of improvement in her reading may leave her stuck in the sixth grade forever, until a good teacher recognizes her reading problem.

Summer of my German Soldier by Betty Green.

Sheltering an escaped prisoner of war is the beginning of shattering experiences for a young girl in Arkansas.

Small Steps by Peg Kehret.

The author describes her battle against polio when she was thirteen and her efforts to overcome its debilitating effects.

There's a Girl in My Hammerlockby Jerry Spinelli.

Thirteen-year-old Maisie joins her school's formerly all-male wrestling team and tries to last through the season.

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume.

Resettled in the "Bomb City" with her mother and brother, Davey Wexler recovers from the shock of her father's death during a holdup of his 7-Eleven store in Atlantic City.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.

Woodsong by Gary Paulsen.

For a rugged outdoor man and his family, life in northern Minnesota is a wild experience involving wolves, deer, and the sled dogs that make their way of life possible. Includes an account of the author's first Iditarod, a dogsled race across Alaska.

Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic.

The diary of a thirteen-year-old girl living in Sarajevo, begun just before her eleventh birthday when there was still peace in her homeland.