2 Pent Road East Hartford, CT 06118

Summer Reading 2019

Over the summer, students are asked to log all of the books they read and track them using the attached guide (see packet). Before coming back in the fall, students must complete the outlined book report, described below. The assignment follows the CT Governor’s 2019 Summer Reading Challenge “A Universe of Stories” outlined on the Connecticut official website. You can find out more about Governor Lamont’s official challenge by going to http://tinyurl.com/ctreads2019 Task 1: Read as many books from the lists provided. There’s no prize for most amount of books read, no pizza party, no sticker, or candy, just read because you want to. The books on these lists are fun, engaging, and about things that matter. Task 2: Write them down on your Summer Reading Journal. Task 3: On a 3x5 card or piece of paper about that size (post it note, or similar), rate each book out of 5 stars and create a short “You should read this book next…” sales pitch for a future reader. Save all of these in a Ziploc bag and bring them in on the first day. Model: You should read this book next because it’s a fun read. The characters are really relatable. Especially Atalanta. She just wants to fit in. She never had a home or a family, and so when her dad shows up out of the blue and says she should come home, she just believes him and tries to change everything about herself for him. She learns though, he just wants to use her so he can get money. She shows him. You might like this book if you like books with girls kicking butt. 4/5 stars. Task 4: Pick ONE (1) book from all of the books you read this summer and create a detailed book review. THIS MUST BE TYPED – SAVE THIS SOMEWHERE LIKE GOOGLE DRIVE OR WHERE YOU CAN ACCESS IT LATER.

Outline it like this: Title Write it out Author Write it out Genre Write it out Character Descriptions (Main) Pick 2 characters and describe how they develop over the course of the book. Focus on how they start in the beginning of the book and how they end up. Storyline Describe what your thoughts are on the storyline. Tell your reader what happens, but also what you think about each major event. Is it good? Is it believable? Do you like it? Use evidence from the story. Art: Create a piece of art (original photography is allowed) that captures a key scene from the text. Write a short artist’s statement that accompanies the piece below it. The artist’s statement should be formatted like this:

HOW: What is your artistic process? How did you decide on this piece? How does it connect to your novel / scene?

WHAT: What exactly does it depict? Be descriptive. WHY: Why did you select this scene? What does this art say about you? What does it say about the book? The scene? What symbols are present? What did you include from the novel? Why did you design it this way.

(150 words maximum) Learn more about artist’s statements here: http://tinyurl.com/writeaboutart19

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The Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge

A Message to Parents and Students

The State of Connecticut sponsors the Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge because reading is the most important skill. Research shows that reading is crucial to a child’s

brain development and intellectual stimulation. And that’s just the beginning:

Reading is a gateway skill. It opens the door to all other learning.

Reading is the processing of information. It requires the student to develop a capacity for conceptual thinking — an ability to think about the nature and significance of things.

Reading builds language skills. By becoming more familiar with language through reading, students build a rich vocabulary and an ability to express themselves clearly and creatively.

Reading builds better thinking strategies. Analyzing words, sentences, themes and meaning; concentrating, conceptualizing and visualizing — all these elements of reading are strategies to expand a student’s ability to think.

Reading is active and disciplined. Students learn to choose what they read and when they read, and they learn to discipline themselves to concentrate on the written word.

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What YOU Can Do to Encourage Reading

Use the library.

Make sure everyone in your family has a library card. Help children learn how to use the library’s resources: card catalogs, computer systems, best-seller sections, etc. Visit regularly — as often as you go to the grocery store.

Read every day.

Make it a habit to set aside time each day for everyone to read—books, magazines, newspapers, letters. You can even begin by reading television listings, then discussing what you will watch together and why.

Talk about what you’re reading.

Children need to see adults reading frequently. They also need to know the benefits of reading. Talk to your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, even young neighbors about what you’re reading. Tell them how much you have enjoyed it, what you have learned, and how you have been inspired.

Ask about summer reading materials.

Schools and libraries often provide summer reading lists that highlight excellent books which are readily available, popular and consistent with grade-level reading skills. Call your school or library for information.

Make reading materials part of your home.

Buy books at bookstores and tag sales. Borrow books from the library and from friends. Subscribe to newspapers and magazines. Then read, read, read!

To learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge, ask your teacher, principal, or school or public librarian,

or contact the Connecticut State Department of Education: 860-713-6751 or www.ct.gov/sde.

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Reto de Lectura de Verano del Gobernador

Un Mensaje para los Padres y Estudiantes

El Estado de Connecticut patrocina el Reto de Lectura de Verano del Gobernador porque la lectura es la destreza más importante. Los estudios demuestran que la lectura es un elemento crucial en el desarrollo y

estímulo intelectual del cerebro en los niños. Y eso es solo el principio:

La lectura es una destreza de entrada. Abre las puertas al aprendizaje.

La lectura es parte del procesamiento de información. Requiere que el estudiante desarrolle capacidad de pensamiento conceptual-la habilidad para pensar sobre la naturaleza y el significado de las cosas.

La lectura fortalece las destrezas del lenguaje. Al familiarizarse más con el lenguaje, por medio de la lectura, los estudiantes enriquecen su vocabulario y la capacidad de expresarse claramente y con creatividad.

La lectura desarrolla mejores estrategias de razonamiento. Analizar palabras, oraciones, temas y significados; concentrarse, conceptualizar y visualizar — todos estos elementos de lectura son estrategias que expanden la capacidad de pensamiento del estudiante.

La lectura es activa y disciplinada. Los estudiantes aprenden a elegir lo que leen y cuando lo leen, y aprenden a disciplinarse para concentrarse en la palabra escrita.

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Qué puede usted hacer para incentivar la lectura.

Utilice la Biblioteca.

Asegúrese de que todos en la familia posean una tarjeta de la biblioteca pública. Enseñe a los niños a utilizar los recursos de la biblioteca: ficheros, sistemas de computadora, las secciones de títulos de mejor venta o más aclamados, etc. Visite regularmente la biblioteca– tan a menudo como usted va al supermercado.

Lea todos los días.

Cree el hábito de dedicar tiempo cada día para que todos en su hogar lean -libros, revistas, periódicos, cartas. Usted puede empezar leyendo los listados de programación televisiva, para luego discutir los programas que ustedes observarán y por qué.

Hable sobre lo que estan leyendo.

Los niños necesitan ver a los adultos leyendo con frecuencia. Ellos también necesitan saber los beneficios derivados de la lectura. Hable con sus niños, nietos, sobrinas, sobrinos, inclusive con su vecinos jóvenes, acerca de lo que usted esta leyendo. Dígales cuánto ha disfrutado usted de la lectura, lo que ha aprendido, y cómo ha sido inspirado(a).

Pregunte por materiales de lectura de verano.

Las escuelas y las bibliotecas a menudo proporcionan listas de lecturas de verano que destacan excelentes libros, fácilmente disponibles, populares y consistentes con las destrezas de lectura para cada nivel de grado. Llame a su escuela o biblioteca para mas información.

Haga que los materials de lectura sean parte de su hogar.

Compre libros en librerías y en ventas de rebaja. Pida prestado libros de la biblioteca y de amigos. Subscríbase a periódicos y revistas. ¡Entonces, lea, lea, y lea!

Para indagar más sobre el Programa de Reto de Lectura de Verano,

pida información a su maestro(a), principal, escuela y/o bibliotecario(a),

o comuníquese con el Departamento de Educación del Estado de Connecticut:

860-713-6751 o visite la página del web www.ct.gov/sde

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-playing, movie-obsessed geek until beautiful, friendly, and impossible to ignore Camilla Carter starts him wondering if he has been watching all the wrong movies. | ALA | Lexile: 740 What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy Teenagers Rosa and Eddie, trainees in a top-secret space exploration and research program, must thwart the aliens' Earth-destroying mission by stealing their spacecraft and traveling extra-dimensionally to an alternate Earth. | Lexile: 650 The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager and

the galaxy's most deadly weapon, who masquerades as Sidonia, a senator's daughter, and becomes a hostage of the galactic court. | ALA | Lexile: 810 Exo by Fonda Lee Donovan Reyes is a loyal member of an alien security force on Earth, but after a routine search and seizure goes bad, Donovan finds himself a captive of the human revolutionary group, Sapience, terrorists who seem to prefer war to alien rule. | ALA | Lexile: 810 Across the Universe by Beth Revis Teenaged Amy, a cryogenically frozen passenger on the spaceship Godspeed, wakes up to discover that someone may have tried to murder her. | ALA | Lexile: 720

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre A savvy young criminal with antisocial behavior is recruited to attend the Honors space program and joins a team on a sentient spaceship destined for the far reaches of the galaxy only to discover dangerous secrets hidden among the stars. | Nutmeg 2020 | Lexile: 720 Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner Following a stray football to the other side of a wall where there is a secret, Standish Treadwell discovers astonishing truths about a moon landing that the overseeing Motherland, a ruthless regime, is determined to hide. | ALA | Lexile: 690 Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray Teenaged soldier Noemi and an enemy robot, Abel, who is programmed to obey her commands, set out on an interstellar quest to save her home planet, Earth colony Genesis. | Nutmeg 2020 | Lexile: 830 Dangerous by Shannon Hale When aspiring astronaut Maisie Danger Brown, who was born without a right hand, and the other space camp students get the opportunity to do something amazing in space, Maisie must prove how dangerous she can be and how far she is willing to go to protect everything she has ever loved. | ILA | Lexile: 680 Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Told in separate voices, eighteen-year-old Tyler Jones, top graduate of Aurora Academy, and a group of misfits and troublemakers embark on their first mission with Auri, a stowaway from the distant past. | Lexile: 800 Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff The planet Kerenza is attacked, and Kady and Ezra find themselves on a space fleet fleeing the enemy, while their ship's artificial intelligence system and a deadly plague may be the end of them all. | ALA, Nutmeg 2019 | Lexile: 780 Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil Sixteen-year-old Sam Kinnison is perfectly happy as a game

FICTION

A Universe of Stories! ~ Grades 7-8 S u m m e r R e a d i n g L i s t *

Suggested space-themed summer reading titles compiled for the Connecticut State Department of Education by Linda Williams, Connecticut State Library

April 2019

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper Lupe, Flapjack, and Elirio customize their car into a low rider for the Universal Car Competition to win the cash prize that will enable them to buy their own garage. | ALA | Lexile: 430 The Far Side of the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11's Third Man by Alex Irvine This graphic retelling of the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission follows astronaut

Michael Collins, commander of the lunar orbiter, to the far side of the moon.| ALA | Lexile: 920

Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet by Buzz Aldrin The Apollo 11 astronaut invites curious youngsters to evaluate Mars as a potential planet for human colonization, describing what Mars residents might experience while traveling to and living on the Red Planet. | NSTA | Lexile: 900 Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond by Martin Jenkins Presents a brief history of space exploration, covering such topics as the first human missions, life on the International Space Station, and settling on Mars. | NSTA To the Moon!: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship by Jeffrey Kluger Recounts the first crewed spaceship to travel to the Moon, describing how the Cold War and the tragedy of Apollo 1 shaped the Apollo 8 mission and offering facts about living in a spaceship. | NCTM, NSTA | Lexile: 1180 The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch The story of the two robot vehicles, Spirit and Opportunity, that were sent to explore Mars, lasting far past their projected lives

S u m m e r R e a d i n g L i s t *

NONFICTION

GRAPHIC NOVEL of 3 months and sending back invaluable images of the environmentally hostile planet. | ALA, NCTE, NSTA | Lexile: 950 Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon by Suzanne Slade Told in free verse, the story of the American effort to land the first man on the moon comes to life. | NSTA | Lexile: 940 Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh Culled from direct quotes from the people behind the scenes, NASA transcripts, national archives and NASA photos, the whole story of Apollo 11 and the first moon landing emerges. | ALA, NCTE, NSTA | Lexile: 1060

Space Dumplins by Craig Thomp-son For Violet Marlocke, family is the most im-portant thing in the whole galaxy. So when her father goes missing while on a hazardous job, she can't just sit around and do nothing. To get him back, Violet throws caution to the stars and sets out with a group of misfit friends on a quest to find him. But space is big and dangerous, and she soon discovers that her dad has been swallowed by a giant, planet-eating whale. With her father's life on the line, nothing is going to stop Violet from trying to rescue him and keep her family to-gether. | ALA | Lexile: 390

BIOGRAPHY

Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo The inspiring memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. | ALA | Lexile: 960 Endurance: My Year in Space and How I Got There (Young Readers Edition) by Scott Kelly Adapted from the memoir of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly,

who spent a record-breaking year in space. | NSTA | Lexile: 1070 Chasing Space (Young Readers Edition) by Leland Melvin A memoir by the former NASA astronaut and NFL wide receiver traces his personal journey from the gridiron to the stars, ex-amining the intersecting roles of commu-nity, perseverance, and grace that create opportunities for success. | NSTA | Lexile: 1020 Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space by Tam O'Shaughnessy A biography of the famous astronaut draw-

ing on personal and family photographs from her childhood, school days, college, life in the astronaut corps, and afterward. | NSTA | Lexile: 870

*Many of the listed books were selected as exemplary books by one or more of the following organizations: the American Library Association (ALA), the International Literacy Association (ILA), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Sci-ence Teachers Association (NSTA), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) or the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY). Other awards as noted.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson When their owner dies at the start of the Revolution, Isabel and her younger sister are sold to Loyalists in New York, where Isabel is offered the chance to spy for the Patriots. | Lexile: 780

City of Orphans by Avi In 1893 New York, thirteen-year-old Maks, a newsboy, teams up with Willa, a homeless girl, to clear his older sister, Emma, from charges that she stole from the brand new Waldorf Hotel, where she works. Includes historical notes. | Lexile: 570

Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi While practicing for their next baseball game, thirteen-year-old friends Rabi, Miguel, and Joe discover that the nefarious activities of the Delbe, Iowa, meatpacking plant have caused cows to turn into zombies. | Lexile: 650

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom. | Lexile: 1070

Eva by Peter Dickinson After a terrible accident, a young girl wakes up to discover that she has been given the body of a chimpanzee. | Lexile: 1010

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman While traveling to each corner of the country to build a whirligig in memory of the girl whose death he caused, sixteen-year-old Brian finds forgiveness and atonement. | Lexile: 760

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler

wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own. | Lexile: 820

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen When the difficult star of the reality television show "Expedition Survival" disappears while filming an episode in the Florida Everglades using animals from the wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Crane's family, Wahoo and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna's gun-happy father. | Lexile: 800

Standing Against the Wind by Traci L. Jones As she tries to escape her poor Chicago neighborhood by winning a scholarship to a

prestigious boarding school, shy and studious eighth-grader Patrice discovers that she has more options in life than she previously realized. | Lexile: 780

Hey, Kiddo* by Jarrett Krosoczka The powerful, unforgettable graphic memoir from Jarrett Krosoczka, about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, a missing father, and two unforgettably opinionated grandparents. | ALA | Lexile: 510

The Giver by Lois Lowry Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. | Lexile: 760

Far Far Away* by Tom McNeal When Jeremy Johnson Johnson's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate, Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown. | ALA, Nutmeg 2017 | Lexile: 790

S u m m e r R e a d i n g New Favorites & Classics For Grades 7 &8

April 2019

READ NUTMEG AWARD NOMINEES!

Find the Middle School Nutmeg list at: http://nutmegaward.org

FAVORITES & CLASSICS

*New to the list in 2019

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life. | Lexile: 670

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life. | Lexile: 1000

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce. | Lexile: 1020

The River Between Us by Richard Peck During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois. | Lexile: 740

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett Tiffany, a young witch-to-be in the land of Discworld, teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland. | Lexile: 680

Counting by 7s* by Holly Goldberg Sloan Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident. | ALA, NCTE, Nutmeg | Lexile: 770

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of

FAVORITE SERIES

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Young Wizards by Diane Duane The Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer The Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris The News Crew by Walter Dean Myers

nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever. | Lexile: 590

Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples When eleven-year old Shabanu, the daughter of a nomad in the Cholistan Desert of present-day Pakistan, is pledged in marriage to an older man whose money will bring prestige to the family, she must either accept the decision, as is the custom, or risk the consequences of defying her father's wishes. | Lexile: 970

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor A black family living in the South during the 1930s are faced with prejudice and discrimination which their children don't understand. | Lexile: 920

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return. | Lexile: 1000

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Eldest of three sisters in a land where it is considered to be a misfortune, Sophie is resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of the greatly feared wizard Howl. | Lexile: 800

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Death tells the story of a young German girl, Liesel, whose book-stealing and story-telling talents during World War II help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors. | Lexile: 730

Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott The Tillermans by Cynthia Voigt Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

S u m m e r R e a d i n g New Favorites & Classics For Grades 7 &8

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2034, a comet is due to hit the Earth within the hour. Denise, who's sixteen years old and autistic, must try to find her missing sister and also help her neglectful, undependable mother safely aboard a spaceship. | ALA | Lexile: 640 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad In 2019, teens Mia, Antoine, and Midori are selected by lottery to join experienced astronauts on a NASA mission to

the once top-secret moon base, DARLAH 2, while in a Florida nursing home, a former astronaut struggles to warn someone of the terrible danger there. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson After the suicide of his boyfriend, Henry deals with depression and family issues, all while wondering if he was really abducted and told he has 144 days to decide whether or not the world is worth saving. | ALA, Nutmeg 2018 | Lexile: 800 Unearthed by Amie Kaufman & Meagen Spooner Scholar Jules Addison and scavenger Amelia

Radcliffe join forces to unravel secrets of a long-extinct civilization, only to discover something that could spell the end of the human race. | Lexile: 960 Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. | ALA, Nutmeg 2010 | Lexile: 770 Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith Stranded aboard the lunar cruise ship Tennessee, Cager Messer and his best friend, Billy, both sixteen, are surrounded by insane robots while watching thirty simultaneous wars turn Earth into a toxic wasteland. | Lexile: 870 When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas Not long after Hank, Ana, and Milo Vasquez's father leaves, an alien named Luz arrives and uses them to satisfy his curiosity, then leaves them forever changed. | ALA

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum After a horrific accident brings loners Ryann and Alexandria together, Ryann learns that Alexandria's mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip to the edge of the solar system. Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson In the months before her one-way trip to Mars, Adri Ortiz is sent to Wichita to live with a elderly cousin and finds herself fixating on where she came from and the stories of two women who lived more than a hundred years earlier. | ALA | Lexile: 810 Landscape with Invisible Hand by M. T. Anderson An artistic youth stages creative romantic scenes as entertainment for the Earth's alien overlords to support his unemployed family, a situation that is compromised by an estrangement from his girlfriend. | ALA | Lexile:730 Red Rising by Pierce Brown A tale set in a bleak future society torn by class divisions follows the experiences of secret revolutionary Darrow, who after witnessing his wife's execution by an oppressive government joins a revolutionary cell and attempts to infiltrate an elite military academy. | Nutmeg 2018 | Lexile: 630 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke Two astronauts find their journey into space and their very lives jeopardized by the jealousy of an extraordinary computer named Hal.| Lexile: 1060 A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole Octavia is excited to study the plants and animals of Faloiv until she witnesses one of the planet's indigenous people being attacked and begins to question her own family history and the scientists she has always admired. | ALA Waste of Space by Gina Damico Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that's the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama--and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. | ILA | Lexile: 700

FICTION

A Universe of Stories! ~ Grades 9-12 S u m m e r R e a d i n g L i s t *

Suggested space-themed summer reading titles compiled for the Connecticut State Department of Education by Linda Williams, Connecticut State Library

April 2019

*Many of the listed books were selected as exemplary books by one or more of the following organizations: the American Library Association (ALA), the International Literacy Association (ILA), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Sci-ence Teachers Association (NSTA), ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound (OBFTCB), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) or the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY). Other awards as noted.

S u m m e r R e a d i n g L i s t *

American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race by Douglas Brinkley Draws on new primary source material and firsthand inter-views in a reassessment of the space program that examines the political, cultural, and scientific factors that launched NASA and the space race.

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly An account of the previously unheralded but pivotal contributions of NASA's African-American women mathematicians to America's space program describes how they were segregated from their white counterparts by Jim Crow laws in spite of their groundbreaking successes. | NCTM

Rocket Boys: A Memoir by Homer Hickam The author traces the boyhood enthusiasm for rockets that eventually led to a career at NASA, describing how he built model rockets in the family garage in West Virginia, inspired by the launch of the Soviet satellite "Sputnik" | ALA

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming by Mike Brown The astronomer who inadvertently triggered the "demotion" of Pluto in his effort to officially recognize the solar sys-tem's tenth planet describes the ensuing debates and public outcry while revealing the behind-the-scenes story of his discovery. | OBFTCB |

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach Describes the weirdness of space travel, answers questions about the long-term ef-fects of living in zero gravity on the human body, and explains how space simulations on Earth can provide a preview to life in space. | OBFTCB | Lexile: 1070 Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything by Martin W. Sandler Complemented by full-color photos includ-ing the iconic Earthrise image, a middle-

grade introduction to the historic Apollo 8 mission describes the mid-20th-century Space Race and the heroic achievements of NASA scientists and astronauts. | NCSS | Lexile: 1200

GRAPHIC NOVELS

The Martian by Andy Weir Stranded on Mars by a duststorm that compromised his space suit and forced his crew to leave him behind, astronaut Mark Watney struggles to survive in spite of minimal supplies and harsh environmental challenges that test his ingenuity in unique ways. | ALA | Lexile: 680 The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them. | ALA | Lexile: 690

NONFICTION

Laika by Nick Abadzis This is the journey of Laika, the abandoned puppy destined to become Earth's first space traveler. With the blending of fact and fiction, this story intertwines three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet space program and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika's health and life. | ALA | Lexile: 370 How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial by Darryl Cunning-ham Explores scientific controversies, including fracking, the moon landing, and evolution, examining the history of each and the facts that do or do not support claims made. | ALA Grease Monkey: A Tale of Growing Up in Orbit by Tim Eldred Mac Gimbensky is an eight hundred pound intelligent go-rilla and expert fighter mechanic on the flagship Fist of Earth, where, with the help of his cadet assistant Robin Plot-nik, he maintains the ships of the all-female Barbarian Squadron. | ALA

BIOGRAPHY

The Poet X* by Elizabeth Acevedo When Xiomara Batista, who pours all her frustrations and passion into poetry, is invited to join the school slam poetry club, she struggles with her mother's expectations and her need to be heard. | ALA, NBA | Lexile: 800

Children of Blood and Bone* by Tomi Adyemi Seventeen-year-old Zelie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi, but they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy. | ALA | Lexile:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school. | Lexile: 690

Feed by M. T. Anderson In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble. | Lexile: 770

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Set in the near future, America has become a puritanical theocracy and Offred tells her story as a Handmaid under the new social order. | Lexile: 750

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block After a devastating earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love in her hands and refusing to be defeated. | Lexile: 890

Kindred by Octavia Butler A young African-American woman is mysteriously transferred back in time leading to an irresistible curiosity about her family's past. | Lexile: 580

S u m m e r R e a d i n g New Favorites & Classics For Grades 9-12

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros A young girl living in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago ponders the advantages and disadvantages of her environment and evaluates her relationships with family and friends. | Lexile: 850

Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try

to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. | Lexile: 820

Picture Us in the Light* by Kelly Loy Gilbert Daniel, a Chinese-American teen, must grapple with his plans for the future, his feelings for his best friend Harry, and his discovery of a family secret that could shatter everything. | ALA | Lexile: 890

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life. | Lexile: 850

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. | Lexile: 1180

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents. | Lexile: 760

April 2019

NUTMEG AWARD HIGH SCHOOL NOMINEES

Find the High School Nutmeg list at: http://nutmegaward.org

FAVORITES & CLASSICS

*New to the list in 2019

March: Book One* by John Lewis Presents in graphic novel format the life of Georgia congressman John Lewis, focusing on is youth in rural Alabama, his meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement. | ALA | :Lexile: 760

Monster by Walter Dean Myers While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken. | Lexile: 670

The Astonishing Color of After* by Emily X. R. Pan After her mother's suicide, grief-stricken Leigh Sanders travels to Taiwan to stay with grandparents she never met, determined to find her mother who she believes turned into a bird. | | Lexile: 670

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Contains black-and-white comic strip images in which the author shares the story of her life in Tehran, Iran, where she lived from ages six to fourteen while the country came under control of the Islamic regime. | Lexile: 380

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant. | Lexile: 770

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Young Francie Nolan, having inherited both her father's romantic and her mother's practical nature, struggles to survive and thrive growing up in the slums of Brooklyn in the early twentieth century. | Lexile: 810

SERIES

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block Finishing School by Gail Carriger The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Maze Runner by James Dashner Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Buried Onions by Gary Soto When nineteen-year-old Eddie drops out of college, he struggles to find a place for himself as a Mexican American living in a violence-infested neighborhood of Fresno, California. | Lexile: 850

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm. | Lexile: 700

On the Come Up* by Angie Thomas Sixteen-year-old Bri hopes to become a great rapper, and after her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, must decide whether to sell out or face eviction with her widowed mother. | | Lexile: 550

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia The lives of Leticia, Dominique, and Trina are irrevocably intertwined through the course of one day in an urban high school after Leticia overhears Dominique's plans to beat up Trina and must decide whether or not to get involved. | Lexile: 600

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr Told from their own viewpoints, seventeen-year-old Jill, in grief over the loss of her father, and Mandy, nearly nineteen, are thrown together when Jill's mother agrees to adopt Mandy's unborn child but nothing turns out as they had anticipated. | Lexile: 710

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman Divergent by Veronica Roth The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater Shiver trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

S u m m e r R e a d i n g New Favorites & Classics For Grades 9-12