Summer Reading List

Project 1: 2010-2011 Mark Twain Award Nominees – Students need to read at least four of the following books and write a one page book talk about which book they believe should receive the 2011 Mark Twain award and why. These book talks will be presented during the first week of school in August. Throughout the school year, students will have the opportunity to read additional nominees and submit their ballots in March of 2011.

Avi. Seer of Shadows

In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer’s apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

Barrows, Annie. The Magic Half

Eleven-year-old Miri Gill feels left out in her family, which has two sets of twins and her, until she travels back in time to 1935 and discovers Molly, her own lost twin, and brings her back to the present day.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Found

When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time.

Hobbs, Will. Go Big or Go Home

Fourteen-year-old Brady and his cousin Quinn love extreme sports, but nothing could prepare them for the aftermath of Brady's close encounter with a meteorite after it crashes into his Black Hills, South Dakota, bedroom.

Kehret, Peg. Stolen Children

Fourteen-year-old Amy's excitement over her first babysitting job ends when she and her three-year-old charge are kidnapped, but a daily video recording sent to little Kendra's parents allows Amy to send clues, in hopes of being rescued before the kidnappers decide they no longer need her.

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. School Spirit

Like her mother, a professional medium, Kat has been able to see dead people since turning thirteen, and although they would prefer to be normal, Kat and her best friend come to terms with their own talents while helping free the spirit of a girl trapped at their middle school.

Lupica, Mike. Safe at Home

Playing baseball was the one thing that made twelve-year-old Nick Crandall feel at home until he found acceptance with adoptive parents, but he faces a new struggle to fit in when he becomes the first seventh-grader ever to make the varsity baseball team.

Mills, Claudia. The Totally Made Up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish

While dealing with her parents' separation and her best friend's distance, Amanda is able to work out some of her anxiety through her fifth-grade project--writing a diary from the point of view of a ten-year-old girl whose brothers fight on opposite sides in the Civil War.

Nelson, N.A. Bringing the Boy Home

As two Takunami youths approach their thirteenth birthdays, Luka reaches the culmination of his mother's training for the tribe's manhood test while Tirio, raised in Miami, Florida, by his adoptive mother, feels called to begin preparations to prove himself during his upcoming visit to the Amazon rain forest where he was born.

Nuzum, K.A. The Leanin’ Dog

In wintry Colorado during the 1930s, eleven-year-old Dessa Dean mourns the death of her beloved mother, but the arrival of an injured dog and the friendship they form is just what they need to change their lives forever.

Stanley, Diane. The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Acadamy

Eighth-grader Franny and her friends investigate why most of the students at their exclusive boarding school are brilliant, beautiful, and perfectly behaved.


Feel free to leave comments with questions about this project, the titles of the books you are reading, and any recommendations you have for your classmates.