Entering Eighth Grade
Dear Eighth Graders,
Please read three books this summer: Tangerine and two more (one non-fiction, one fiction) from the list below. Following the list is your writing assignment.
Required Book:
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Paul has just moved to Tangerine County, Florida. He chronicles his adjustment to this bizarre new place, describing his triumph at soccer, making new friends, and tending a tangerine grove. He also unravels the truth about his disturbed, menacing older brother.
Recommended Books:
Fiction (read 1)
House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
"Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with--and protection from--Venice's "Thief Lord.""
Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox
Kidnapped by the crew of an Africa-bound ship, a thirteen-year-old boy discovers to his horror that he is on a slaver and his job is to play music for the exercise periods of the human cargo.
Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Albiom, Mitch
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
Stargirl, by Spinelli, Jerry
Leo Borlock follows the unspoken rule at Mica Area High School: don't stand out—under any circumstances! Then Stargirl arrives at Mica High and everything changes—for Leo and for the entire school. After 15 years of home schooling, Stargirl bursts into tenth grade in an explosion of color and a clatter of ukulele music, enchanting the Mica student body. But the delicate scales of popularity suddenly shift, and Stargirl is shunned for everything that makes her different. Somewhere in the midst of Stargirl's arrival and rise and fall, normal Leo Borlock has tumbled into love with her. In a celebration of nonconformity, Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity—and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
Non-Fiction (read 1)
Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High, by Beals, Patillo Melba
Melba Patillo Beals was one of nine black teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock, Arkansas's Central High School in 1957. For Melba and her friends it marked their transformation into reluctant warriors--on a battlefield that helped shape the civil rights movement. Warriors Don't Cry istheir riveting story.
The Great Escape, by Brickhill, Paul
The story of 76 American and British POWs in Nazi camps built underground railroads, forged passports, drew maps, faked weapons, and tailored elaborate German uniforms and clothes. In this fashion they executed the single largest escape from a Nazi prison camp during WWII.
Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series, by Asinof, Eliot
Any true baseball lover, who seeks the truth of the whole sordid affair of the Black Sox scandal, read this book. When it was published in 1965, Asinof blew the lid off the sanitized version which had been available to the public.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT
June 16, 2009
Dear Eighth Grader,
I hope you’re having a good summer and are reading lots of books you enjoy! After you finish a book, keep track of the title and author so you can share your choices with your classmates in September.
Over the next two months, all of your classmates will read Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Once you do, I’d like you to write me a letter. Please begin by telling me a bit about yourself in the first paragraph. The other paragraph(s) should be your personal response to the novel. Include in your letter your thoughts on the story and enough detail so I know you read it thoughtfully. Remember, this is not a summary of the plot. I want to know what you think about this book and why. This means you’ll give specific examples from the book to back up your thoughts.
Your letter should be no more than two typed pages; if handwriting it, please use blue or black pen. You can either email it to me at irene.reynolds@woosterschool.com or snail-mail it to me at this address by August 28th: Mrs. Irene Coussa Reynolds
Wooster School
91 Miry Brook Road
Danbury, CT 06810
Here are some suggestions for what you can include in your letter:
- Which character do you find most appealing? This may not be the main character of the story. Tell me why this character appeals to you. Do you relate to this character? Why? Would you want this character to be your friend? Give specific examples from the book to support your choice.
- Which issue(s) or themes in the story do you find most compelling? Explain why, using examples from the story and your life.
- Compose an open-ended question* on what you wondered about while reading the book or after you finished reading it. For example, what do you think the author is trying to say here? Or why does a character do or say something? Then answer your question. Remember to use specific examples from the book to support your response.
*An open-ended question is a thinking question. It can’t be answered with a “yes” or “no” response.
- Describe how you felt (saddened, hopeful, relieved, angry, etc.) while reading this
book. What events or characters made you feel this way? Remember to use
specific examples from the book to support your answer.
I look forward to meeting you in September! If you have any questions before then, please email me. Have a super summer!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Reynolds J
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