1. Dear Students and Parents,
The purposes of summer reading for our St. John’s students are to promote
continuous reading habits, to encourage reading for pleasure, and to establish a
springboard for class discussion in the fall. Our goal is to develop independent readers
who will continue lifelong reading habits because they find personal value in reading and
sharing good books.
Recognizing the interest of parents in their children’s reading development, we
encourage parents to nurture that development and to make recommendations to their
children throughout the year. Students will have some required books to read for
Language Arts class that will become an integral part of their studies at the beginning of
next year. Class discussions and assessments in August will focus on these texts. If you
have any questions over the summer, feel free to email me: lslavens@stjstl.net
In Christ,
Mrs. Slavens
Assignment:
 Read one of the following required texts for assessment in the fall
 Choose one of the enrichment books in order to write a paper (see directions)
 Complete as much of the bingo card as you would like (at least any five of the
squares for 80/100)
7th
Grade required reading
 Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle- A classic case, based on a
Devonshire legend in which the demonic howling of the hound calls Sherlock Holmes
and Dr. Watson on an eerie adventure.
 Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls- Jay Berry Lee is happy until the summer he
is 14 years old and discovers monkeys living in the creek near his parent’s homestead.
Set in the 1800s, the book traces the boy’s adventure as he attempts to capture 29
monkeys that have escaped from the circus. Rawls is the author of Where the Red Fern
Grows.
 The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi- Historical Fiction about the Boston Massacre.
Rachel Marsh is an indentured servant in the home of John and Abigail Adams. Set six
years before the Revolutionary War, this book charts the rise of the Boston mobs through
the eyes of a young woman.
 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi- Told in the form of a recollection,
these “confessions” cover 13-year-old Charlotte’s eventful 1832 transatlantic crossing.
7th
Grade enrichment reading
 Any of the books suggested by Emily McIlvoy from the St. Louis Public Library slcl.org
 Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings- After years of failing eyesight, fourteen-year-old
Natalie reluctantly enters a school for the blind. In spite of her initial resistance, she
learns the skills that will help her survive in the sighted world.
 The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier- Twin daughters of interracial parents,
eleven-year-olds Keira and Minna have very different skin tones and personalities. It is
not until their African-American grandmother enters them in the Miss Pearly Pre-Teen
competition in North Carolina that red-haired and pale-skinned Minna realizes what life

2. in their small town in the Pacific Northwest has been like for her more outgoing, darker-
skinned sister.
 Black Hole Sun by David MacInnis Gill- On the planet Mars, sixteen-year-old Durango
and his crew of mercenaries are hired by the settlers of a mining community to protect
their most valuable resource from a feral band of marauders.
 A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee- Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, 17-year-
old orphan and thief Mary Quinn is offered a place at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for
Girls, where she is trained to be part of an all-female investigative unit called the Agency
in order to infiltrate a rich merchant’s homes in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships.
 Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea- Seven 5th
graders at Snow Hill School in
Connecticut relate how their lives are changed for the better by “rookie-teacher” Mr.
Terupt.
 Princess Academy by Shannon Hale- The king’s priests divine that the prince must
choose his bride from among the young girls who live in a small mountain village, so the
girls are ordered to attend a special academy established to train them in the ways of
royalty. When bandits attempt to kidnap and hold the future princess for ransom, Miri,
one of the mountain girls, realizes that she can mind speak and saves herself and the
others from harm.
 A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle- The story of Meg Murry, a high-school-
aged girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her
younger brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O'Keefe to rescue her
father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another
planet.
 The Acorn People by Ron Jones- Share a counselor’s experiences at a camp for
handicapped children. (non-fiction)
 Beauty by Robin McKinley- Beauty finds herself trapped in an enchantment with a
gentle beast that has been cursed with a man’s soul and discovers what true love can do.
(a classic fairy tale told in novel form)
 Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey- Have you ever
thought what life would be like if there were twelve children in your family? The
Gilbreths are a funny, wild family whose father’s “bright ideas” lead to hilarious
conclusions.
 Homecoming by Cynthia Voight- “It’s still true.” That’s the first thing James
Tillermann says to his sister Dicey every morning. It’s still true that their mother has
abandoned the four Tillerman children somewhere in the middle of Connecticut. It’s still
true they have to find their ways, somehow, to Great-aunt Cilla’s house in Bridgeport,
which may be their only hope of staying together as a family. A wonderful story of a
family with a strong will to survive as a family.
 No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman- Football hero Wallace makes a promise to
himself: he will never tell a lie. But, “not lying” is what gets him into a terrible mess!
 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech- After her mother leaves suddenly, thirteen-year-old
Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother’s route. Along the way, Sal
recounts the story of her friend Phoebe whose mother also left.
 Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson- During a winter full of surprises, good and bad,
Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light- her brother’s deafness, her mother’s
fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with
feathers.”