Summer Reading

As I mentioned before, my summer reading list this year has been somewhat chosen for me.  As a part of a weekend institute at Simmons College, I have a list of recommended books to read.  Since they are all children's books, they automatically go on the list.  Some I have already read so I will pass on those but I am going to do my best to crank out the others before July 26th.

I have also held strong to a tradition of reading a Gabriel Garcia Marquez book every summer and this summer is no different!  The book I chose for this summer is a collection of short stories called No One Writes to the Colonel.  I may try to squeeze Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn in there as well because too many folks have told me to read it.

Now, on to the list. As I mentioned before, the theme of the institute is "Love Letters." The titles marked with a * are the books I have already read so I will pass on those.  Pretty ambitious, right? I'll be marking them as I finish each one.

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, by Deborah Heiligman (finished!)

The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall*

See You at Harry’s, by Jo Knowles (finished!)

Islands, by Jason Chin (finished!)

Coral Reefs, by Jason Chin (finished!)

Redwoods, by Jason Chin (finished!)

Upstairs Mouse, Downstairs Mole, by Wong Herbert Yee (finished!)

Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole, by Wong Herbert Yee (finished!)

Max Makes a Million, by Maira Kalman (finished!)

Oh, La, La: Max in Love: Wow, by Maira Kalman (finished!)

Max in Hollywood, Baby, by Maira Kalman (finished!)

Swami on Rye: Max in India, by Maira Kalman (finished!)

Anastasia Krupnik, by Lowis Lowry (finished!)

Anastasia Has the Answers, by Lois Lowry (finished!)

Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman*

The Basic Eight, by Daniel Handler (finished!)

Lessons from a Dead Girl, by Jo Knowles (finished!)

Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos*

My picks for my students (heading into 6th grade) this summer were:

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin

Forge! by Laurie Halse Anderson

Scat by Carl Hiaasen 

We read Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson as a class this year and Forge! is the sequel.  I already know about six kids who already started that book.  We also read 2 of Carl Hiaasen's books (Hoot and Flush) so Scat seemed like a logical option as well.

What have you put on your reading list? Comment below and share some of your picks!