Summer Reading 2011: For Incoming 6th Graders at TCMS

Have a terrific summer!
Mrs. Maas
TCMS Librarian

Firegirl by Tony Abbott
Tom, a seventh grader, tells about the arrival of a new student, Jessica, a girl who was badly burned in a fire and is attending his school while she gets treatments at a local hospital. At first Tom is afraid of Jessica because of her terrible scars, but they quickly develop a friendship that changes Tom’s life.

Skellig by David Almond
Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage. . . . What is this thing beneath the spiderwebs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael’s world changes forever. . . .

Sounder by William Armstrong
Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young African-American boy learns to read and gains courage and understanding with the help of the devoted dog Sounder.

Super Human by Michael Carroll
Four thousand years ago the world’s first super human walked the earth. Possessing the strength of one hundred men, skin impervious to attack, and the ability to read minds, this immortal being used his power to conquer and enslave nations. Now plans are in motion that will transport this super human to the present, where he’ll usher in a new age of tyranny unlike anything the world has ever seen. Determined to stand against them, using powers they’ve only just begun to master, is a ragtag group of young heroes. For them this first test may be their greatest . . . and last.

Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old Zinnia, the quiet middle child in a large family, sets out to clear an overgrown path on her family’s farm. Determined to find out where the path leads, Zinnia begins a journey into her family’s mysterious past and searches for the meaning of so many things in her life.

Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings
First hailed as a hero for his dramatic water rescue of a little boy, thirteen-year-old Brady Parks soon makes a discovery that puts him at the heart of an enormous tragedy. Alone with his dark secret, Brady is ultimately forced to choose between loyalty to his lifelong friends and doing what he knows in his heart is right.

P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger and Ann Martin
Two girls who are best friends but now live in different towns experience 7th grade together and continue their friendship by writing letters. Lots of fun!!

The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
In India, a healer invites twelve-year-old Anand to join him on a dangerous journey to return a magical conch to its safe and rightful home, high in the Himalayan Mountains.

The Twenty-One Balloons by William DuBois
In this classic fantasy-adventure, Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly his balloon across the Pacific Ocean. Through a twist of fate, he discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants and incredible balloon inventions.

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
General Matsika’s children steal out of the house on a forbidden adventure–and disappear. In Zimbabwe, in the year 2194, the children’s parents call in Africa’s most unusual detectives–the Ear, the Eye and the Arm–who have powers far beyond those of other human beings. The children must avoid the evils of the past, the technology of the future, and a motley assortment of criminals in order to return home safely.

Football Genius by Tim Green
Troy, a sixth-grader with an unusual gift for predicting football plays before they occur, attempts to use his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he must first prove himself to the coach and players.

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn
When thirteen-year-old Ali spends the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family’s vacation home, she stumbles upon a secret that her mother and aunt have been hiding for over thirty years.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy’s attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. A mystery with humor!

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency,

The Misfits by James Howe
Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to represent all students who have ever been called names.

Schooled by Gordon Korman
Homeschooled on a commune by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched TV or tasted pizza. When his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the pranks of his classmates.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle’s estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones.

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the loss of something important to her.

Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller
This is Annie Sullivan’s story of challenge and determination as she tries to become the teacher of the child Helen Keller who is blind, deaf, and overindulged by her parents.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
In this classic horse story, Black Beauty tells about his life in 19th century England with both good and bad masters.

Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth
A compelling novel about a boy in contemporary India who is kidnapped and forced to work in a sweatshop.

I, Q (Book One: Independence Hall by Roland Smith
“Step-siblings Q (Quest) and Angela are thrust into the work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Israeli Mossad when Angela realizes she’s being followed, and Q learns the secret about Angela’s real mother–a former Secret Service agent who was supposedly killed by a terrorist group. But who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?”

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
In a series of journal entries, eleven-year-old Millie records the ups and downs of being a whiz kid. She struggles to learn to play volleyball, tutor her enemy, and make friends over the course of a tumultuous summer. A funny novel about a girl who is both exceptionally bright and sometimes completely clueless!