8th Grade Summer Reading

BOOK TITLE	AUTHOR	READING LEVEL

1. Johnny Tremain	Esther Forbes	8.1
2. Red Scarf Girl	Jiang	6.5
3. Anne of Green Gables	LM Montgomery	7.6
4. Taking Care of Terrific	Lois Lowry	7.4
5. The Incredible Journey	Sheila Burnford	8.5
6. Little Women	Louisa May Alcott	8.6
7. Little Men	Louisa May Alcott	8.6
8. The Battle of Shiloh	Zachary Kent	7.3
9. Tuesdays With Morrie	Mitch Albom	8.2
10. The Third Eye	Lois Duncan	7.2
11. Kidnapped	Robert Louis Stevenson	7.8
12. The Black Arrow	Robert Louis Stevenson	8.9
13. Gulliver's Travels	Jonathan Switf	10.0
14. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow	Washington Irving	9.2
14. Where the Red Fern Grows	Wilson Rawls	5.0
14. Maniac Magee	Jerry Spinelli	6.1
15. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (series)	Mildred Taylor	7.1
16. Bud, Not Buddy	Christopher Curtis	5.0
17. Olive's Ocean	Kevin Henkes	4.7
18. Ida B: and Her Plans...	Katherine Hannigan	5.3
19. Indigo's Star	Hillary McKay	4.9
20. I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This	Jacqueline Woodson	5.0
21. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey	Margaret Peterson Haddix	5.5
22. Five People You Meet in Heaven	Mitch Albom	4.7
23. A Week in the Woods	Andrew Clements	5.5
24. Joy Luck Club	Amy Tan	8.9
25. Somewhere in the Darkness	Walter Dean Myers	7.0
26. Freedom's Children	Ellen Levine	8.8
27. Pharmacy in the Forest	Fred Powledge	8.0
28. Not Without My Daughter	Betty Mahmoody
29. My Dog Skip	Willie Morris	7.0
30. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten	Robert Fulghum	5.7
31. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (and other titles in this series)	Lemony Snicket	6.4+
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants	Ann Brashares	4.7
33. Redwall	Brian Jacques	7.6
34. Hatchet (and other Paulsen titles)	Gary Paulsen	5.5+
35. Midnight for Charlie Bone	Jenny Nimmo	4.8
35. Among the Hidden	Margaret Peterson Haddix	4.8
36. The Heartsongs Series	Mattie Stepanek
37. Kissing Tennessee (short stories)		5.6
38. 13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being 13 (short stories)		5.0
39. Athletic Shorts (short stories)		7.4

Each author has a specific writing style that distinguishes him or her from other writers.

Think about the text of your chosen novel, how the author used language, provided detail,

and presented the story. Identify what you like or didn't like and think about the author's

use of words or phrases. Now write an essay that analyzes the chosen author's writing style.

Major and minor characters have a strong impact on the events in a novel. Strong characters

often affect the reader as well. Think about your novel and a character you found most

memorable. Now explain in detail what made this character fascinating. Use specific

Often young adult literature addresses sensitive and complex issues. Reflect upon the novel

you read and the issue(s) raised in the text. Determine whether the author effectively dealt with that

topic and how the novel affected you as a reader. In an essay, explain why you believe the author

produced a novel young adults can identify. Include some of the text of the novel to explain

Think back to novels you have read in the Summer Reading Program. Which was your favorite or least

favorite? Explain the elements that either made, or did not make your novel one that you prefer.

Without retelling the book, explain why this is, or is not a good book to read. Then, write a

recommendation for this novel. In your essay, provide passages from the book to support your position.

Some novels are written purely for entertainment. Reflect upon the elements that made your novel

entertaining. Now write an essay that includes specific examples from your novel that strengthen your viewpoint.

Science fiction novels capture the imagination. Such books contain elements that are not yet

possible, or are unlikely to happen. Consider the scientific principle(s) incorporated into this novel.

In your essay, explain whether you feel the author made or did not make the impossible