Summer Reading: Can You Dig It?

Holes by Louis Sachar (RL 5.1).  If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy.  That was what some people thought.  And here is what we think on the Book Beach: if we take a good book and read it every day in the shade, it will turn us into bright and happy summer readers! 

  

An Unlikely Hero: Overweight, bullied, and haunted by a curse that has brought bad luck to his family for generations, Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongly accused of theft and sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention center near a not-so-green and dried-up lake in Texas.

  

Soon, Stanley begins to question the motives of the camp warden who forces resident boys to dig five-foot-deep holes in the scorching Texas sun as punishment.  Holes, winner of the 1999 Newbery Medal, is a story about self-discovery, friendship... and buried treasure!

We can play the Holes Match ‘Em Up Challenge or test our skill at the Holes Green Lake Treasure Hunt. Just click on the blue-highlighted words to get started.

Lafayette Principal Mrs. Russo recommends Holes for summer reading fun.  She "loves how the story moves back and forth between the legendary curse and the current time—and how it all connects in the end.”  
Mrs. Russo shares that she will be reading and relaxing in beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine, this summer... and perhaps digging for buried treasure in her own backyard!

Also from Louis Sachar: 

A Sideways Series to Read When We’re Not in School! 

   

Sideways Stories from Wayside School (RL 3.9) presents comical episodes from the thirtieth-floor classroom of a school that was accidentally constructed sideways, with one crazy classroom-- and lots of crazy stories-- on each story.  

In Wayside School is Falling Down (RL 3.9), students learn to tango, deal with the cafeteria’s dreaded mushroom surprise, and study a hobo during show-and-tell.  

In Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (RL 3.3), Pet Day brings dogs and cats, frogs, skunks and pigs... and a pet orange named Fido to the school.  More surprisingly, favorite teacher Mrs. Jewls is expecting a baby.  That means a substitute teacher is coming....

Sideways Movie Poster from Lafayette School!

We can learn more about Louis Sachar and his books.  

Click on the blue-highlighted words to visit the author's website!

A Super Story to Read 
When We’re Not in School!   

Powerless by Matthew Cody (RL 5.3).  After moving to small-town Noble's Green, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Daniel learns that his new friends have extraordinary powers that they will lose when they turn thirteen... unless he can use his regular-kid brain power to protect them!  

Check out a book commercial for Powerless, 

created by Tamer L: 

From Holes... to Whole Nother Stories?

A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup (RL 5.6).  Ethan Cheeseman and his children, ages eight, twelve, and fourteen, hope to make a home in a small, quiet town-- at least long enough to complete work on their LVR-ZX time machine.  Sneaky spies and government agents have been chasing the family, however, and they are about to catch up:

 

Another Whole Nother Story, also by Dr. Cuthbert Soup (RL 6.0).  Ethan Cheeseman time travels with his children—and Captain Jibby and crew—to the year 1668 to put an end to an ancient family curse and to save the children's mother.  Damage to the time machine and the arrival of Mr. 5, however, complicate the adventurers’ return.

No Other Story by-- you guessed it-- Dr. Cuthbert Soup (RL 6.6).  When Mr. Cheeseman and his three smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children travel to the not-so-distant-past, they meet something weirder and wilder than anything they've encountered in their earlier adventures. They are about to meet... alternate versions of themselves! 

Buried Treasure, Sideways Schools, Super Powers,

Time Travelers... Let's Dig into Summer Reading!

Time and Travels, Whales and Tales

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (RL 4.5).  Let’s say I build a time machine... And let’s say I decide I want to go back to last Wednesday.  Let’s say I want to go to the movies while the other me is still in school.... And let’s say this summer, we explore space and time—when we reach for the 2010 Newbery Medal Winner! 

Check out a book commercial for When You Reach Me, 

created by Aidan D. 

Moira likes When You Reach Me.

Quite a Tale: As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show The $20,000 Pyramid, twelve-year-old Miranda tries to make sense of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source— messages that seem to turn the laws of space and time upside down and inside out! 

Olivia and Anya share a good book!

Maggie G. shares, “I like this book because it takes place in my favorite city, New York... and it’s very mysterious.”  Indeed, puzzling twists in the plot had Sophia S. turning the pages of this imaginative chapter book. “I wanted to keep reading to figure out the end,” she says.

Mrs. Worden recommends When You Reach Me.

Fifth-grade Language Arts teacher Mrs. Worden suggests When You Reach Me for captivating summer reading “because it always keeps you guessing!”  
After completing an amazing 152-mile charity bike ride from Montreal to Quebec City in her native Canada this summer, Mrs. Worden will be relaxing and reading good books on the quiet coast of Maine.

Let’s pick up another summer page-turner, Savvy by Ingrid Law (RL 6.0).  This 2009 Newbery Honor Book follows the travels and adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday reveals her special savvy—a unique family-related magical power—just as her father is seriously injured in an accident.

Blair and Elizabeth with Savvy.

Mali C. describes the book as suspenseful and heartwarming and would like to read another book by Ingrid Law.  “She’s very creative and descriptive.  Her book was very well-written,” observes Mali.  We agree with Mali.  The author’s talent for colorful expression is evident throughout the Savvy.   


The young characters stow away, for example, on a big pink Bible delivery bus that heaved and shuddered like a whale caught by the tail. Speaking of whales and tails....

A Tale of the Whales: The Wild Whale Watch by Eva Moore (RL 4.2).  In this smooth summer read from The Magic School Bus Chapter Book series, Ms. Frizzle and the students go on a field trip to observe whales.  They travel on the Magic School Sub deep into the ocean, where they learn interesting facts about magnificent marine mammals.
  

The Wild Whale Watch by Anya D.

A Whale of a Tale: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein (5.2).  Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library—a building designed by famous game-maker Luigi Lemoncello.  When morning comes, Kyle and friends discover they must work together to solve puzzles and escape the library.

Sounds like cool reading suggestion 
for the hot summertime:
 fun and games in an air-conditioned library book!

Explore the Wonder of Summer Reading

Wonder by R.J. Palacio (RL 4.8).  My name is August.  I won’t describe what I look like.  Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.... Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, born with severe facial deformities, is venturing from the isolated safety of home schooling to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep in Manhattan.  

Auggie wants nothing more than to be treated like an ordinary kid.  Auggie’s classmates, however, can’t get past his unusual appearance, and he endures taunting, ridicule, fear, and bewilderment at his new school.

Ethan and Amari recommend Wonder

At first, Wonder is told from Auggie’s point of view, but then the story shifts to include his classmates, his sister and her boyfriend, and others.  
Different perspectives come together to create a page-turning portrayal of a community’s realistic struggle toward  compassion and acceptance-- and what it means to be "different."
 
Check out a book commercial, inspired by Wonder and created by Lafayette students:

Mrs. Badian with Wonder

Lafayette speech teacher Mrs. Badian enjoys reading poolside during the summer.  She recommends Wonder and reports, “We read this book out loud as a family activity.  We related to each character in the book and discussed how we would be kind to anyone who is different.”  

Wonder Poster by Melanie and Ezra

Wonderful Biography: Who Was Helen Keller? by Gare Thompson (RL 4.1).  This title from the popular Who Was? series tells Helen Keller's life story, describing her childhood loss of sight and hearing, her education and learning of language skills with the help of Annie Sullivan, and her efforts to help others with disabilities.  

 

Helen Keller by Layla C: "This book was great, but I think Helen Keller was great-er!"

Wonderful Hoops: The Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman (RL 4.6).  Eleven-year-old Eddie has a chance to win a million dollars!  All he has to do is sink a foul shot at the National Basketball Association finals.  Jack A. recommends the book to friends who like the sport of basketball and the excitement of competition.

 The Million Dollar Shot by Tamer F.