STARTING OFF POINTS

A book list for 6th-to-7th and 7th-to-8th graders

Georgetown Day School, Summer 2008

Fiction

Bauer Stand Tall.
Twelve year old Tree has a heart as big as his 6 feet 3 inches.

Bloor London Calling.
An antique radio transports Martin from modern day
New Jersey to the 1940’s London bombings.

Cameron Colibri.
A Guatamalan beggar girl tries to find her true identity.

Card Ender’s Game.
Interplanetary war fought by kids. First in a series.

Castellucci Plain Janes.
When Jane and her friends turn community eyesores into works of art, the town wonders is it “art”, or “art terrorism”? (Graphic Novel)

Barbara’s Pick: Cushman The Loud Silence of Francine Green.
Growing up in 1950’s Hollywood, Francine’s new friend Sophie encourages her to question authority and her own values.

Flanagan The Ruins of Gorlan.
At age 15, Will is assigned to become the apprentice of the mysterious Ranger Halt. First in a Series.

Hartinger The Geography Club.
Gay high schoolers find a unique way to feel included.

Hilton The Lost Horizon.
Hilton’s classic tale of four travelers who end up at the mysterious Shangri-la.

Hoobler The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn.
In order to solve a mystery, Seikei, the son of a merchant who longs to be a samurai, must join a group of kabuki actors.

Raven Beowulf: A Tale of Blood, Heat and Ashes.
When the land of the Danes is threatened by a hideous monster, the great warrior Beowulf is the last hope.

Lester Day of Tears.
Powerful voices paint a portrait of slave auctions in Georgia.

Mass A Mango-Shaped Space.
Seeing color and shapes with numbers and letters, 13 year old Mia keeps it a secret when she realizes it makes her different.

Shull Amazing Grace.
Grace’s good looks and her tennis success make her America’s “It” girl. At 16, she decides she wants out, but to what lengths will she go to escape her fans and the paparazzi?

Sturm Stachel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow.
An account of the great pitcher’s defiance of racial barriers and extraordinary skill. (Graphic Novel)

Taylor The Land.
A young, newly freed slave seeks his place in the South.

Tashjian The Gospel According to Larry.
A 17 year old who is inspired to live simply attracts such a following through his blog, his identity is in jeopardy.

Barbara’s Pick: Westerfeld Uglies.
Living in a dystopia where all 16 year olds  undergo surgery to become pretty, Tally has a tough decision to make. First in a series.

Yolen Sword of the Rightful King.
This King Arthur story is full of magic and surprises.

Non-Fiction

Hoose The Race to Save the Lord God Bird.
Chronicles the extinction of the ivory billed woodpecker in the U.S. and discusses what this experience has taught us about the preservation of species.

McElwain The Game of My Life: A True Story of Challenge, Triumph, and Growing Up Autistic.
The 4 minutes Jason McElwain played in a high school basketball game captured the heart of the nation.

Neimark Johnny Cash: A Twentieth-Century Life.
A look at the events that shaped a music legend’s life.

Smithsonian Do All Indians Live in Tipis?
Addresses common misconceptions about Native Americans, past and present, on the topics of identity, origins, popular myths and sovereignty, among others.

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