Rectory Summer Reading 2023

Elementary School (Grades K-4)

Summer is here, and we encourage our elementary children to continue exploring and investigating the world around them. What better way is there to learn something new than to sit down in a cozy spot with a great book! During the summer of 2023, children are expected to read at least two books: the required book(s) for their grade and a book of their choice. In addition, the children may choose to participate in our ES version of the Rectory School Summer Reading Challenge, which can be found HERE.

For Students Entering Grades K-1

SUMMER READING FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE K-1:

Read (or have someone read aloud to you) Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner. Fill out the Grade K-1 Reader Response Form for Over and Under, and know that K-1 students may dictate their responses to their parents. This book will connect to our Fall Science Theme of The Five Senses. Children will bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.
Choose ONE of these books: The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi OR The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires. Fill out the Grade K-1 Reader Response Form , and know that K-1 students may dictate their responses to their parents. Children will bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.

For Students Entering Grades 2-3

SUMMER READING FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 2:

Read (or have someone read aloud to you) Violet Mackerel’s Natural Habitat by Anna Branford. This realistic fiction book will lead us into our fall science study of Habitats. Fill out the Grade 2 Reader Response Form and bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.
Select and read one other chapter book of your choice, in the fiction genre. Fill out the Grade 2 Reader Response Form and bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.

For Students Entering Grade 4

SUMMER READING FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 4:

Read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Fill out the Grade 4 Reader Response Form and bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.
Students can choose ONE of the following: Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary OR The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. Fill out the Grade 4 Reader Response Form and bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school with you in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.
The third required book this summer is a book of your choice. Fill out the Grade 4 Reader Response Form and bring the completed Reader Response Form back to school with you in September. Reader Response Forms are due no later than September 15, 2023.

ES BOOK REVIEW FORMS & RESOURCES

For fun, we ask the children to surround themselves with both picture books and chapter books during the summer months. The intent is for our children to always have a book nearby that they are engaged with and interested in. We have recommended some reading lists and resources that are developmentally appropriate for elementary children. We hope that you spend some time browsing through the links below with your child and find books that are suited to your child's interests and reading levels!

Happy Reading!

ES BOOK REVIEW FORMS & RESOURCES

Grade K-1 Reader Response Over & Under 2023 (PDF)

Grade K-1 Reader Response Form Choice 2023 (PDF)

Grade 2 Violet Reader Response Form 2023 (PDF)

Grade 2 Fiction Reader Response Form 2023 (PDF)

Grade 4 Reader Response Form 2023 (PDF)

ES Summer Project READ Challenge 2023 (Google Doc)

ES Summer Project READ Challenge 2023 (PDF)

Additional Summer Reading Resources

CBC Favorites Award List 2023

CBC K-2 Children’s Choice List 2023

CBC 3-5 Children’s Choice List 2023

CT Summer Read List 2023

Reading Rockets Summer Reading Resources

Middle School (Grades 5-9)

Summer is a perfect time to dive into a good book. As a part of Rectory READS (Reading for Exploration, Acquisition, Discovery, and Success), we encourage our middle school students to investigate new topics and ideas reflecting the world around them.

During the summer of 2023, Rectory students are expected to read at least two (2) books: one (1) title from the list below for the grade you will enter in the fall of 2023 and one (1) title of a student’s choosing. Upon return in the fall, Rectory faculty will lead book circles for the titles below. For the book of choice, students will be expected to complete a reader response form included in the resources section below or a creative project (drawing, painting, diorama, video, etc.) with a short oral presentation given to the librarian.

We also offer a Rectory READS Summer Challenge Card included in the resources section below. This is a fantastic opportunity to read beyond what is required and get a surprise upon our return in the fall!

For Students Entering Grades 5-7

Summer Reading for Students Entering Grades 5-7

All students are required to read two books this summer and to complete the reader response form in the resources section below or a creative project to be turned in and discussed with the librarian.

Rectory READS Reader Response Form or creative project due by September 8, 2023.

One should be a book from the list below.
The other book should be a book of your choice, though it can be from the list below.

Fantasy Dystopian Fiction: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

“By winning the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the faces of an impending rebellion” (Follett Titlepeek, 2009).

Verse Fiction: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

“Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian community is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the beloved family members who were left behind and forges a new sense of identity shaped by friends and changing perspectives" (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2019).

Sports Fiction: Strike Zone by Mike Lupica

“Twelve-year-old Nick Garcia dreams of winning MVP of his summer baseball league, of finding a cure for his sister, of meeting his hero, Yankee pitcher Michael Arroyo, and of no longer living in fear of the government and ICE agents” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2019).

Fantasy, Adventure, and Science Fiction: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

“As the only four children to pass the series of tests provided, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are asked to go on a secret mission as undercover agents at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and quickly realize they will have to use their collective wit to get their important task complete” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2007).

Historical Fiction: Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

“In Dakota Territory in the 1880s, half-Chinese Hanna and her white father face racism and resistance to change as they try to make a home for themselves" (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2020).

Graphic Novel Memoir: A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

“In this feel-good coming-of-age memoir, the best-selling author and Caldecott Medalist shares his life-changing middle school trip to Europe during which he experiences a series of firsts, including first love” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2022).

Fantasy Fiction: Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth by Lisa Nicol

“Perched high on the snowy slopes of the Mabombo Ranges lies The Grandest Hotel on Earth. It's wilder than the African savanna, more fantastical than Disneyland and more magical than Shangri-la. So when ordinary eleven-year-old Vincent meets the hotel's young Florence he sets off on a path leading into his most wondrous dreams” (Goodreads, 2019).

Mystery, Adventure, and Classic Fiction: Holes by Louis Sachar

“As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 1999).

Realistic Fiction/Classic: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

“Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old girl talks over her problems with her own private God” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 1970).

Science Fiction and Classic: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

“Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government, in a re-release of the classic story” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 1962).

Historical Fiction: The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz

“Follows the fortunes of a German immigrant family through nine generations, beginning in 1845, as they experience American life and play baseball” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2009).

Dystopian and Adventure Fiction: 96 Miles by J.L. Esplin

“During a massive blackout in rural Nevada, two brothers struggle to survive without their self-reliance-obsessed dad and without enough water cross the desert for help.” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2019). The author “J. L. Esplin grew up with a Secret Service agent father, who was intent on raising self-reliant kids, prepared for any emergency, especially natural disaster” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2019).

Realistic Fiction: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

“A young girl bargaining for the health of her grandmother discovers both her family's past and the strength of her own voice" (Kirkus Reviews, 2019).

Realistic Fiction: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

“Hiding the truth about her inability to read from a highly motivated new teacher, Ally eventually discovers that her dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of and gains new confidence as she finds alternative ways to learn” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2014).

Realistic Fiction: Posted by John David Anderson

"When online bullying crosses over into real life, Eric and his friends do their best to stay out of the cloud of meanness, but it’s a big one" (Kirkus Reviews, 2017).

For Students Entering Grades 8-9

Summer Reading for Students Entering Grades 8-9

All students are required to read two books this summer and to complete the reader response form in the resources section below or a creative project to be turned in and discussed with the librarian.

Rectory READS Reader Response Form or creative project due by September 8, 2023.

One should be a book from the list below.
The other book should be a book of your choice, though it can be from the list below.

Realistic Fiction: Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon

“Reinventing herself at a privileged white suburban high school to get by in the face of escalating racial tensions, a first-generation American-LatinX teen is forced to take a stand when she discovers that her absent father cannot legally return home” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2020).

Historical Fiction: Coming up Cuban by Sonia Manzano

"Four children from very different backgrounds...learn to find a place for themselves in a world forever changed after Fidel Castro's rise to power" (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2022).

Non-Fiction: Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown

“Describes the devastating events of September 1894, when two forest fires converged on the town of Hinckley, Minnesota, and surrounding communities, trapping more than two thousand people and ultimately costing more than four hundred lives” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2006).

Graphic Novel, Memoir, and Non-Fiction: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven R. Scott

“A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei's (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.” (Kirkus Review, 2019)

Memoir and Non-Fiction: Choosing to Run by Des Linden: “This inspirational memoir from the two-time Olympian and Boston Marathon winner traces her unique path to the top of professional running and how she built her own personal business model and brand” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2023).

Classic Fiction: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Its humor lies in its honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain” (Google Books, 2020).

Realistic Fiction: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

“Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends. Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents and his family that he has never asked before” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2012).

Manga Fiction: Haikyu! #1 by Haruichi Furudate

“Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else? After losing his first and last volleyball match against Tobio Kageyama, "the King of the Court," Shoyo Hinata swears to become his rival after graduating middle school. But what happens when the guy he wants to defeat ends up being his teammate?!" (Back Cover, 2016)

Dystopian and Science Fiction: Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

“Kurt Vonnegut’s first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines. Paul’s rebellion is vintage Vonnegut—wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 1999).

Historical Fiction: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

“Racing to freedom with thousands of other refugees as Russian forces close in on their homes in East Prussia, Joana, Emilia, and Florian meet aboard the doomed Wilhelm Gustloff and are forced to trust each other in order to survive" (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2015).

Autobiography and Non-Fiction: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

“The author of Into the Wild describes his spring 1996 trek to Mt. Everest, an expedition that ended in disaster, claiming the lives of eight climbers, and explains why he survived, in a definitive, firsthand account of the tragedy” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 1997).

Fantasy Fiction: House of Salt & Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

“Mysterious deaths plague an island dukedom in a loose retelling of ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’.”’ (Kirkus Reviews, 2019) “When her beautiful sisters are cursed to dance at glittering balls night after night before they start dying in tragic accidents, Annaleigh questions her involvement with a mysterious stranger and wonders if she will be next” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2019).

Self-Help and Non-Fiction: Make Your Bed by Admiral William McRaven

“The former Navy SEAL, former JSOC commander and decorated Admiral at the head of the operation that took down Osama bin Laden shares uplifting life lessons and recommendations for changing the world for the better by taking small, motivational steps throughout the day” (Follett’s Titlepeek, 2017).

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Rectory Summer Reading 2023

Elementary School (Grades K-4)

For Students Entering Grades K-1

For Students Entering Grades 2-3

SUMMER READING FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 2:

For Students Entering Grade 4

SUMMER READING FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 4:

ES BOOK REVIEW FORMS & RESOURCES

Additional Summer Reading Resources

Middle School (Grades 5-9)

For Students Entering Grades 5-7

Summer Reading for Students Entering Grades 5-7

All students are required to read two books this summer and to complete the reader response form in the resources section below or a creative project to be turned in and discussed with the librarian.

For Students Entering Grades 8-9

Summer Reading for Students Entering Grades 8-9

All students are required to read two books this summer and to complete the reader response form in the resources section below or a creative project to be turned in and discussed with the librarian.

MS Book Review Forms & Resources

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