Bowditch Middle School: Summer Reading List
All Language Arts students entering grades 6th through 8th are encouraged to read over the summer. This is one of the best ways to continue learning and avoid a summer slump. Plus, when students pick books they are interested in, it's fun! These reading lists are not mandatory but are suggested reading in preparation for ELA classes next year,
The following grade-appropriate titles are recommended by Bowditch teachers. Besides this list, check out Common Sense Media or Scholastic Book Lists for suggestions and guidance in helping your student select books.
For Students Entering 6th Grade:
The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
For Students entering 7th grade:
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Miracle Worker by william Gibson
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Loser by Jerry Spinelli
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
Something to Declare by Julia Alvarez
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Godless by Pete Hautman
For Students Entering 8th Grade:
Exodus by Julia Bertagna
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
China Boy by Gus Lee
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Shakespeare Bats Clean Up by Ron Koertege
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
When I was Puerto Rican by Esmerelda Santiago
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier
Not a Happy Camper by Mindy Schneider
City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende