SALEM SCHOOL DISTRICT

SALEM SCHOOL DISTRICT

SUGGESTED READING LIST

ENTERING THIRD OR FOURTH GRADE - 2008

Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s):

Summer fun is just beginning for your family. As you begin to plan your child’s summer activities, we hope that you will continue to make reading a part of the fun. The Salem School District believes summer reading is a valuable experience for all students and an important extension of our educational programs. Reading is one of the most important factors in academic success, a skill that is basic to all areas of the curriculum - a skill that improves with practice. Summer reading is intended to be an enjoyable experience. While helping to keep students connected to learning during the summer vacation, it supports our objective that each student becomes a life-long reader and learner.

Below you will find some suggestions of books that we hope your child may enjoy. These books are available at Salem’s Kelley Library. Please note that these titles are only suggestions. There are many other wonderful books to be discovered by your child and you. Many of the suggested authors have written other books in addition to the book titles listed.

This summer, Kelley Library will once again be offering a summer reading program. Local bookstores may also have programs to support summer reading. We urge you to take advantage of these opportunities to maintain and enhance your child’s reading skills.

Wishing you a wonderful summer,

Diane Reynolds

Director of Literacy

Picture Books

Cronin, Doreen Diary of a Spider This is the diary ... of a spider. Actually, he's a lot like you. He goes to gym class and has Grandparents Day at school. But he also spins sticky webs, climbs walls, and takes wind-catching lessons. Through his diary we learn about spiders, friendship, and other important life lessons.

Martin, Bill Knots on a Counting Rope A blind Navajo boy begs his grandfather to tell him again the stories of his life. Though the boy must always live in the dark he has the strength of blue horses (which gave him his name) and is learning quickly and well. Each knot on the rope counts one of the stories Grandfather tells his grandson so that he can one day tell his own story.

Polacco, Patricia Thank You, Mr. Falker Trisha could paint and draw beautifully, but when she looked at words on a page, all she could see was a jumble. It took a very special teacher to recognize little Trisha's dyslexia: Mr. Falker, who encouraged her to overcome her reading disability.

Scieszka, Jon Math Curse A student falls victim to the Math Curse when her teacher, Mrs. Fibonacci, tells the class that "You can think of almost everything as a math problem." Suddenly everything, from deciding what time to wake up to how twenty-four birthday cupcakes can be split among twenty-five people, becomes a problem.

Steptoe, John Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters Mufaro has two beautiful daughters. Nyasha is kind and considerate, but Manyara is selfish and spoiled. When the king decides to choose a bride from among "The most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land," both girls travel to the capital city. But only one can be chosen to marry the king. This is an African “Cinderella” tale from Zimbabwe.

Fiction

Avi The End of the Beginning : Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant) Avon the Snail is a reader, so he knows that everyone leaves on a journey to find adventure. Avon has never had an adventure. And adventure, he has heard, is the key to a happy life. So with his new friend Edward the ant, Avon sets out on a journey to find the excitement his life has been missing.

Clements, Andrew Jake Drake Class Clown Fourth grader, Jake, looks back to second grade and his student teacher who would never, ever smile. When he cracks up the class during a spelling bee and he sees a hint of a smile on his teacher’s face, Jake has a new mission in life: to be so funny that even Miss Bruce will laugh! But when things get out of hand, Jake finds himself in big trouble.

Greene, Stephanie Owen Foote: Mighty Scientist Third grade best friends Owen and Joseph struggle to come up with a great science fair project that they will both enjoy doing. Owen hopes to impress a popular fourth-grade science teacher and he believes he has the perfect idea. When their project, a lizard named Chuck, doesn’t cooperate, the friends have to change their plans two days before the fair.

Haddix, Margaret Dexter the Tough Dexter's first assignment at his new school is to write an essay, and he describes beating up another boy before class. His teacher sends him in search of more details for his story. Dexter learns that the boy in the bathroom is named Robin, who is as unhappy at school as he is. When Dexter begins to share his worries, he begins to understand that the first day of school may not have happened quite the way he remembered it.

Hahn. Mary Downing Time for Andrew: a Ghost Story In this time travel fantasy, eleven-year-old Drew goes to spend the summer with his great-aunt in the family's old house. By removing a bag of marbles from beneath an attic floorboard Drew opens a door to a time eighty years in the past and trades places with his great-great-uncle who is dying of diphtheria.

Jacobson, Jennifer Winnie at her Best Winnie's best friend Zoe is a champion speller, and her other best friend Vanessa is a terrific actress. The fourth-grader wants to be the best at something, and she hopes it will be art. While Winnie works on her drawing, she is assigned to be a "reading buddy" to a difficult kindergarten boy. When this little boy needs her the most, Winnie finds out that she is the best at something.

McDonald, Megan Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker Judy Moody's pesky seven-year-old brother is angry that his jawbreaker candy doesn't live up to its name. Stink writes a letter of complaint to the manufacturer and receives a 10-pound box of the candies in response. Will his campaign to acquire more free stuff cost him a friendship?

Osborne, Mary Pope One-Eyed Giant (Tales from the Odyssey) When Odysseus must leave his home to fight in the Trojan War, he never imagines that he will be away from his family for so many years. Now, at long last, he is leading his men home across the seas. But many dangers await them -- and none is more terrifying than Polyphemus, the one-eyed giant.

Pennypacker, Sara Clementine Third-grader Clementine feels lucky that spectacular ideas are continually "sproinging up" in her brain, but her best friend, parents, teacher, and principal don't see things in quite the same way. Clementine finds herself in the principal's office again and again, trying to explain why her good intentions don't always work out the way she hopes.

Shreve, Susan The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates Driving home from the beach on Labor Day, Joshua receives some shocking news from his mother: he must repeat third grade. How will he ever face his friends as they move on and he stays behind? With the help of an understanding teacher, Joshua faces some difficult challenges, including becoming a better reader.

Fiction – Series

Baglio, Ben Animal Ark At Animal Ark, a veterinary clinic, Mandy Hope helps her parents treat animals of all shapes and sizes. Even outside the clinic, Mandy can't resist helping any animal in need.

Danziger, Paula Amber Brown This series deals with the real life (and often very funny) problems and challenges of fourth-grader Amber Brown.

Kline, Suzy Horrible Harry This funny series is about friends, school adventures, and a creative boy named Harry. He is a third grader who plays pranks and gets into mischief but can still end up a good friend.

McDonald, Megan Judy Moody Meet Judy Moody, a third grader with plenty of attitude. She has moods to fit every occasion and special faces she makes to go with them. But Judy is also very creative, too, and when something catches her interest she gives it her all.

Osborne, Mary Pope Magic Tree House Jack and his sister Annie are just two regular kids. That is, until they discover a mysterious tree house packed with all sorts of books. As Jack and Annie soon find out, this is a magical tree house and the books have the power to transport them to any place in history or the future.

Nonfiction

Arnosky, Jim Field Trips: bug hunting, animal tracking, bird watching, shore walking with Jim Arnosky Each chapter of this field guide focuses on one wildlife field trip in which the reader can discover, investigate, identify, and learn about the various plants and animals that live in the wild.

Boroson, Melinda 86 Years: Legend of the Boston Red Sox Rhyming text describes the wins of the Boston Red Sox from the early 1900s to the 2004 season which ended in the team winning the World Series.

St. George, Judith So You Want to be President? "There are good things about being President and there are bad things about being President." So begins a funny history of facts and trivia about our first forty-seven presidents.

Silverstein, Shel A Light in the Attic From the woes of homework to finding the best way to get out of doing the dishes, this collection of poems is sure to keep you laughing.

Smith, David If the World were a Village: a book about the World’s People If you imagine "the whole population of the world as a village of just 100 people," each person represents sixty-two million people from the real world. Data on such topics as nationalities, languages, ages, religions, and education are represented as global village.