7th Grade – Summer Reading List 2009

Academic Language Arts Fiction Book Choices

Cooney, Caroline B. The Face on the Milk Carton. Imagine looking at a milk carton and seeing your picture as a missing person! Janie learns the truth about her past while searching for her other parents.

Korman, Gordon. Chasing the Falconers. Aiden and Meg Falconer must escape from a juvenile detention center in order to prove their parents innocent of charges which would put them in jail for life.

Lupica, Mike. Heat. Pitching superstar Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only 12-years-old and he has no parents to offer them proof.

Nixon, Joan Lowery. The Other Side of Dark. After spending four years in a coma, 17-year-old Stacy awakens ready to identify, locate, and prosecute the young man who murdered her mother and wounded her.

Non-Fiction Choices for All Students

Christopher, Matt. Great Moments in Baseball History. Describes nine memorable moments from baseball’s past.

Ehrlich, Robert. What If? Mind-Boggling Science Questions for Kids. Explores the earth, weather and climate, forces and energy, plants and animals, and other scientific subjects.

Espeland, Pamela. Dude, That’s Rude! (Get Some Manners). Ten steps to amazing manners anytime, anywhere. Learn the difference between what is appropriate and what is not.

Gaines, Thom. Digital Photo Madness: 50 Weird & Wacky Things to do with Your Digital Camera. Describes 50 interesting things to do with a digital camera including using color and light to enhance photos, taking close-up shots, and using photo-editing software to change the colors of a photograph.

Macaulay, David. Building Big. A book about the creation of bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, domes, and dams, focusing on the connection between the main planning and design problems.

Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: A Memoir. The author describes his childhood in Harlem in the 1940s and 50s discussing his stepmother, his problems in school, and his beginnings as a writer.

Schwartz, Ellen. I’m a Vegetarian: Amazing Facts and Ideas for Healthy Vegetarians. A guide to vegetarianism for kids that provides information on eating balanced meals without meat.

Siegel, Siena Cherson. To Dance: A Memoir. A graphic novel that follows the career of a ballerina. Provides those who hope for or wonder about a career in dancing with a candid view of the profession.

Required Reading for Students in Advanced Language Arts

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn have the kinds of adventures many boys can imagine: racing bugs during class, impressing girls with fights and stunts in the schoolyard, getting lost in a cave, and playing pirates on the Mississippi River.

Grade 7 Listen NJ

Lupica, Mike. Heat.
Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: A Memoir.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Listen NJ

Listen NJ is a free library service that offers downloadable audio books which are playable on computers, iPods, and MP3 players. Accessing ListenNJ is very easy: Click the link on the North Brunswick Public Library home page.
The first time you log in you will need to create an account and download OverDrive. To download OverDrive, simply click on one of the links on the right side of the ListenNJ page under Software Downloads. (If you plan to use an MP3 player, download the OverDrive MP3 Audiobook. It is a very small file but is essential for converting tracks.)
Next, create an account. Click on Audiobook Account. Select your library (which is Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium), type in your library card number (on the back of your library card, starts with 29302...) and your PIN (If you don't know your PIN, bring your library card to the library so we can look it up for you).
Next, simply search for a title or author for your summer reading list. Once the list is populated, select ADD TO CART. If you want more than one, click Continue Browsing. At any time, click on My Cart at the top to begin downloading.
Click Proceed to Checkout to finalize the process. Click Download. A box will open with Open with (OverDrive Media Console) select OK. The download will begin filling in your OverDrive Folder. Once it is complete, you can listen to it.