The 2011/2012 Entering Sixth Gra de Core Summer Reading Book is:

ALL ST UDE NTS ARE RE Q UI RED T O REA D THI S B OO K




Heads or Tails
By Jack Gantos

Written in diary format, Jack's diary helps him deal with his problems which include dog-
eating alligators, having a terror for an older sister, having a younger brother who keeps
breaking parts of himself, and next-door neighbors who are really weird. It includes the
stories: Copycat, My Brother's Finger, Candy Itani, Rabies, Donna Lowry, Death and
Taxes, My Brother's Arm, and Cocoa Beach. You’re guaranteed to laugh!
And be sure to keep track of your questions and thoughts for when the author comes to
visit in the fall!


All students are required to read the 6th Grade Core Summer Reading Book
as well as one other book on the list below. 1

I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson
Growing up near Boston with her free-spirited mother and
old-world grandfather, twelve-year-old Emma has always felt
out of place. When she attends the family reunion her
estranged father's family holds annually in Wisconsin, she is
in for some surprises.
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
It's hard enough to be twelve when you're a typical kid, but
for Jason, who is a high-functioning autistic, navigating the
tough terrain of middle school proves very challenging. He
finds solace in writing stories and posting them online. It is
through this forum that he makes a real friend. He worries
that if he meets her in "real life" she will only see his autism,
like everyone else, and not see the real Jason.
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
It is the beginning of fifth grade, and Mr. Terupt is a brand
new teacher. He has his hands full with seven distinctive
voices in his class. Only Mr. Terupt seems able to reach his
students, and things are beginning to look up for each of
them until a fateful winter day when an accident occurs that
will change everything and everyone.
No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer
Choldenko
With their house in foreclosure, sisters India and Mouse and
brother Finn are sent to stay with an uncle in Colorado until
their mother can join them. When the plane lands, the
children are welcomed by cheering crowds to a strange place
where each of them has a perfect house and a clock that is
ticking down the time.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
In the summer of 1968 eleven-year-old Delphine and her two
younger sisters go to spend a month with the mother they
barely know. They arrive to a cold welcome as they discover
that their mother is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and
wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in
the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that
happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live
with a lonely middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince
Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible
impression on everyone around her.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Marty finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia
home, and tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real
owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of
season and to mistreat his dogs.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the
Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily
chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share
special occasions when they get together with relatives or
neighbors.
Phineas Gage by John Fleischman
Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. A
railroad construction foreman, Phineas was blasting rock
when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain.
Miraculously, he survived another eleven years. But he was
forever changed by the accident. What happened inside his
brain will tell you a lot about how your brain works and what
makes us who we are.
Escape! by Sid Fleischman
In this biography, Fleischman introduces readers to the
amazing Houdini – magician, ghost chaser, daredevil, pioneer
aviator, and king of escape artists. No jail cell or straitjacket
could hold him!
Christo and Jeanne-Claude by Jan Greenberg
Examines the lives and work of the Christo and Jeanne-
Claude, a couple who create environmental art installations,
and features "The Gates," which was on displayed in New
York City's Central Park in the winter of 2005.
Oh, Rats! by Albert Marrin
Describes rat behavior and survival skills and aspects of their
relationship with humans, including disease, rats as food, rats
as pests, and the training of rats as rescuers.
Six-Million Paperclips by Peter W. Schroeder &
Dagmar Schoeder-Hildebrand
In rural Whitwell, Tennessee, the community middle school
decided to teach diversity by focusing on the Holocaust. To
help them grasp the numbers of people who died, they
collected 11 million paper clips, which they placed in a
memorial made from a German World War II railcar.
2

The Watsons go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul
Curtis
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the
Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan,
are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in
Alabama in the summer of 1963.
Nory Ryan’s Song by Patricia Reilly Giff
When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845,
twelve-year-old Nory Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her
family and neighbors survive.
Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
While her father works on the Manhattan Project, eleven-
year-old gadget lover and outcast Dewey Kerrigan lives in
Los Alamos Camp, and becomes friends with Suze, another
young girl who is shunned by her peers. (sequel: White
Sands, Red Menace)
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year
old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when
she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.
Second Fiddle by Roseanne Parry
Six months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, three eighth-grade
girls living on an American military base with their families in
Berlin try to save a Russian soldier, who has been beaten and
left for dead, by smuggling him to Paris, where they are going
to perform in a music competition.
Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper
Eleven-year-old Melody is one of the smartest people around,
but nobody knows it. Melody has cerebral palsy and can't
talk, can't walk, can't write. When she discovers something
that will allow her to speak for the first time ever, at last
Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready
to hear it.
Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf by Jennifer Holm
Ginny makes a to do list for her seventh grade year, which
includes landing a role in the school play, trying to make
friends, ignoring her horoscope, and going to see her
grandpa Joe in Florida; but she always seems to come up
short in accomplishing any of it.
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.
Saffy’s Angel by Hillary McKay (series)
Meet the Cassons, an artistic and eccentric family, whose
ups and downs are charmingly told in the four books of this
series. Saffy’s Angel, the first in the series, tells of Saffron
Casson’s quest to find her real parents once she finds out
that unlike her brother and sisters, she is adopted.
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi
runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and
younger brother in search of her father.
Keeper by Kathi Appelt
Ten-year-old Keeper heads to a sandbar in a small boat
along with her dog BD and a seagull named Captain in order
to find her mother, a mermaid who left her when Keeper was
only three.
Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry
On her journey to the royal university to become a doctor,
fifteen-year-old Evie, wearing potent gypsy charms, learns of
her monstrous inheritance.
Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation by Matt Myklusch
Twelve-year-old Jack, freed from a dismal orphanage, makes
his way to the elusive and impossible Imagine Nation, where
a mentor saves him from dissection and trains him to use his
superpower, despite the virus he carries that makes him a
threat.
Simon Bloom: the gravity keeper by Michael Reisman
Sixth-grader Simon Bloom finds a book that enables him to
control the laws of physics; but when two thugs come after
him, he needs the formulas in the book to save himself.
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
Halli Sveinsson, a mischievous young man who does not fit in
with his peers and siblings, plays a trick on Ragnor that goes
too far, forcing him to embark on a hero's quest in which he
will face highway robbers, monsters, an intriguing girl, and
truths about his family and the legends he grew up with.
3

Science Fair by Dave Barry
The president of Kprshtskan is plotting to infiltrate the science
fair at Hubble Middle School in Maryland in order to take over
the United States government, but when Toby Harbinger, an
ordinary student, makes up his mind finally to win the fair, the
terrorists' plans go awry.
School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari
Twelve-year-olds Madeleine, Theo, and Lulu, and thirteen-
year-old Garrison, are sent to a remote Massachusetts
school to overcome their phobias, but tragedy strikes and the
quartet must work together – with no adult assistance – to
face their fears.
Guys Read: Funny Business by multiple authors
A collection of humorous stories featuring a teenaged
mummy, a homicidal turkey, and the world's largest pool of
chocolate milk.
Leon and the Champion Chip by Allen Kurzweil
Potato chip collector Leon is excited when the new science
teacher announces they'll be using Leon's favorite snack
food as the basis for the year's curriculum. In order to earn
money, Leon enters an international potato chip competition.
Leon and his friends are also trying to tame the class bully.
The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander
Sixth-graders Mac and Vince operate a business charging
schoolmates for protection from bullies and for help to
negotiate conflicts peacefully, with amazing challenges and
results.
Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs
Twelve-year-old Teddy's life is somewhat unconventional, as
he lives on a theme park/zoo where both of his parents work.
When the park's mascot, Henry the Hippo, goes belly up,
Teddy suspects foul play. It turns out the list of suspects
who might have wanted him dead is long. The search for
Henry's killer heats up as Teddy starts to fear for his own life!
Pish Posh by Ellen Potter
Eleven-year-old Clara Frankofile sits in her parents' elegant
New York City restaurant, Pish Posh, and passes judgment
on each customer as a Somebody or a Nobody, but her all-
seeing eyes fail to observe the mysterious events occurring
right under her nose.
Half-Minute Horrors by multiple authors
An anthology of very short, scary stories by an assortment of
authors and illustrators including Chris Raschka, Joyce Carol
Oates, Neil Gaiman, Jack Gantos, and Lane Smith.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings
together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover
the circumstances of his death before they can claim their
inheritance.
The View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
Rob's family is pre-occupied with his sister’s upcoming
wedding. Rob stays out of their way, up in his favorite spot,
his cherry tree where he sees old Mrs. Calloway get
murdered. No one likes the old woman, and everyone seems
to think it was an accident. But Rob knows it wasn't and he’ll
prove it too.
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett
Krosoczka
The school lunch lady, a secret crime fighter, uncovers an evil
plot to replace all the popular teachers with robots.
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
The author relates, in graphic form, her experiences after she
injured her two front teeth and had to have surgeries and
wear embarrassing braces and headgear, all while also
dealing with the trials and tribulations of middle school.
The Lost Key by Melinda Thielbar (Math Manga series)
Joy, Sam, and their friends from the kung fu school use their
knowledge of mathematics and whole numbers to discover
who stole the keys to the school and used them to steal all
the kung fu equipment.
Lost and Found by Shaun Tan
Collects three stories by Shaun Tan that explore how people
lose and find what matters most to them, as a girl finds a
bright spot in a dark world, a boy leads a strange, lost being
home, and a group of peaceful creatures loses its home to
cruel invaders.
Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
This wordless graphic novel depicts an enduring friendship
between a dog and his robot. Dog wants a friend, so he
orders and constructs a mail-order robot. The two are the
best of friends until a rust-inducing trip to the beach. After
that fateful visit, dog and robot are able to see what true
friendship it.
4
Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman
Eddie Ball has the chance of a lifetime: to win a million dollars
by sinking a foul shot during halftime at the NBA finals, but
someone really wants Eddie to shoot an air ball on the big
day and will do anything to sabotage the million dollar shot.

Stumptown Kid by Carol Gorman

In a small Iowa town in 1952, eleven-year-old Charlie
Nebraska, whose father died in the Korean War, learns the
meaning of both racism and heroism when he befriends
Luther Peale, a young man who once played for the old
Negro Baseball League.

Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven

Although everyone credits him and his superstitions for the
Sluggers’ first winning streak in 108 baseball seasons,
eleven-year-old Danny Gurkin believes that his discovery of a
secret from the team's past may be the real reason behind
the ball club's success.

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

Danny Walker is crushed when he doesn't make the seventh
grade basketball team because he is too short; he suspects
that the real reason has something to do with a feud between
his father and the father of the team's best player. Then
Danny's father announces that he is starting his own youth
team, but unexpected setbacks sideline his dad and the
team.

Madcat by Kathy Mackel

Fast-pitch softball catcher MadCat Campione's love for the
sport is strained when her team competes on a national level
and her best pal Jess puts the game before her friends.