1. Classic Literature Reading List for Middle School Students

[Pages:26]1. Classic Literature Reading List for Middle School Students

By: LuAnn Schindler

Many middle school students enjoy the connection with a young adult novel, but classic literature never goes out of style. Several humanities organizations have established a classic literature reading list that emphasizes the importance of reading timeless books. This list introduces new characters and alien worlds to the middle school set. Several of these books are commonly taught in middle school English classes, so adding them to a summer reading list can give your child an advantage when they come up during the school year.

Title 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea A Christmas Carol A Day No Pigs Would Die A Stranger Came Ashore A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A Wizard of Earthsea A Wrinkle in Time Across Five Aprils Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Amos Fortune, Free Man The Bridge of San Luis Rey Call It Courage The Call of the Wild The Chocolate War The Count of Monte Cristo Daddy Long Legs Diary of a Young Girl Dragonsong Dragonwings Enchantress From the Stars The Endless Steppe: Growing up in Siberia Fahrenheit 451 Frankenstein The Ghost Belonged To Me Goodbye, Mr. Chips The Hobbit The Horatio Hornblower Series

Author Jules Verne Charles Dickens Robert Newton Peck Mollie Hunter Betty Smith Ursula K. LeGuin Madeleine L'Engle Irene Hunt Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Mark Twain Elizabeth Yates Thornton Wilder Armstrong Sperry Jack London Robert Cormier Alexander Dumas Jean Webster Anne Frank Anne McCaffrey Laurence Yep Sylvia Engdahl Esther Hautzig

Level 10.1 6.7 4.4 6.2 5.8 6.7 4.7 6.6 7.0 8.1 6.5 7.1 6.2 8.0 5.4 8.8 6.1 6.5 6.8 5.3 7.3 6.3

Points 28 5 4 6 23 9 7 10 18 12 5 5 3 7 8 34 6 14 9 10 15 10

Ray Bradbury Mary Shelley Richard Peck James Hilton J.R.R. Tolkien C.S. Forester

5.2

7

12.4

17

5.8

6

6.5

3

6.6

16

7.2- 7-19

8.3

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Victor Hugo

11.8

38

Incident at Hawk's Hill

Allan W. Eckert

7.2

9

Ivanhoe

Sir Walter Scott

12.9

40

Island of the Blue Dolphin

Scott O'Dell

5.4

6

Jacob Have I Loved

Katherine Paterson

5.7

8

Johnny Tremain

Esther Forbes

5.9

13

Journey to Topaz

Yoshiko Uchida

6.0

5

Julie of the Wolves

Jean Craighead George

5.8

6

Kim

Rudyard Kipling

7.7

18

The Last Mission

Harry Mazer

4.3

6

The Last of the Mohicans

James Fenimore Cooper 12.0

32

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Irving Washington

11.0

3

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-

5.0

2

Exupery

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

7.9

33

M.C. Higgins the Great

Virginia Hamilton

4.4

10

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Howard Pyle

8.6

21

My Brother Sam Is Dead

James and Christopher

4.9

7

Collier

My Friend Flicka

Mary O'Hara

6.0

15

Narrative of the Life of Frederick

Frederick Douglass

7.9

7

Douglass

National Velvet

Enid Bagnold

5.5

11

The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton

4.7

7

The Pigman

Paul Zindel

5.5

6

The Pilgrim's Progress

John Bunyan

10.4

21

The Red Pony

John Steinbeck

6.1

6

Rifles for Watie

Harold Keith

6.1

14

Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

12.3

27

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Mildred D. Taylor

5.7

10

Shane

Jack Schaefer

5.5

7

Story of My Life

Helen Keller

6.8

12

To Be a Slave

Julius Lester

6.9

5

Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson

8.3

12

The Upstairs Room

Johanna Reiss

2.9

6

War of the Worlds

H.G. Wells

9.1

11

Where the Lilies Bloom

Vera Cleaver

5.2

6

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wilson Rawls

4.9

11

The White Mountains

John Christopher

6.2

7

The Yearling

Marjorie Kinnan

5.0

19

Rawlings

2. Older Classics for Children

The following titles commonly appear on lists of classic children's literature. Most have been issued in several different editions, offering a range of illustration styles from which to choose.

Author

Alcott, Louisa May Barrie, J.M. Baum, L. Frank Bond, Michael Brink, Carol Ryrie Burnett, Frances Hodgson Carroll, Lewis

Collodi, Carlo Defoe, Daniel Dickens, Charles Farley, Walter Forbes, Esther Frank, Anne Gannett, Ruth Stiles Gipson, Fred Golding, William Grahame, Kenneth Kipling, Rudyard Knight, Eric Lewis, C.S.

Lindgren, Astrid Milne, A. A. Montgomery, L. M. Norton, Mary Pearce, Philippa Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan Sewell, Anna Speare, Elizabeth G. Spyri, Johanna Stevenson, Robert Louis

2.

Title and date

Little Women. c1868 Peter Pan. c1904 The Wizard of Oz. c1902 A Bear Called Paddington. c1958 Caddie Woodlawn. c1935 The Secret Garden. c1911

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. c1866 Adventures of Pinocchio. c1833 Robinson Crusoe. c1836 A Christmas Carol. c1844 The Black Stallion. c1941 Johnny Tremain. c1943 The Diary of a Young Girl. c1952 My Father's Dragon. c1948 Old Yeller. c1956 Lord of the Flies. c1954 The Wind in the Willows. 1907 The Jungle Book. 1894 Lassie Come-Home. c1940 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. c1950 Pippi Longstocking. c1945 Winnie-the-Pooh. c1926 Anne of Green Gables. c1908 The Borrowers. c1953 Tom's Midnight Garden. c1958 The Yearling. c1938

Black Beauty. 1877 The Witch of Blackbird Pond. c1958 Heidi. c1884 Treasure Island. c1884

Level 7.9 7.2 7.4 4.7 6.0 6.3

Points 33 8 7 4 8 13

7.4

5

5.3

6

12.3

27

6.7

5

5.2

7

5.9

13

6.5

14

5.6

1

5.0

5

5.0

9

8.2

11

7.4

20

5.4

9

5.7

6

5.2

4

4.6

3

7.3

17

5.3

5

6.1

9

5.0

19

7.7

11

5.7

9

8.2

16

8.3

12

Tolkien, J.R.R.

The Hobbit

6.6

16

Travers, P. L.

Mary Poppins. c1934

6.1

6

Twain, Mark

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. c1876

8.1

12

Verne, Jules

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the 10.1

28

Sea. c1873

White, E. B.

Charlotte's Web. c1952

4.4

5

Wilder, Laura Ingalls Little House in the Big Woods. c1932

4.9

8

3. Contemporary Classics

The following books are highly regarded by children's literature specialists, as well as being popular with children - two qualities that make them likely to stand the test of time.

Author Adams, Richard Alexander, Lloyd Babbitt, Natalie Blume, Judy Burnford, Sheila Cleary, Beverly Cormier, Robert Creech, Sharon Curtis, Christopher Paul Dahl, Roald DiCamillo, Kate Farmer, Nancy Fitzhugh, Louise Gantos, Jack Hamilton , Virginia Jacques, Brian Juster, Norton Konigsburg, E. L.

LeGuin, Ursula L'Engle, Madeline Lowry, Lois Lowry, Lois

Title and date Watership Down. c1972 The Book of Three. c1964 Tuck Everlasting. c1975 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. c1972 The Incredible Journey. c1961 Ramona the Pest. c1968 The Chocolate War. c1974 Walk Two Moons. c1994 The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963. c1995

Level 6.2 5.3 5.0 3.3 7.6 5.1 5.4 4.9 5.0

Points 25 7 4 3 5 4 8 9 8

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. c1964 Because of Winn-Dixie. c2000 A Girl Named Disaster. c1996 Harriet the Spy. c1964 Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. c1998 M.C. Higgins, the Great. c1974 Redwall. c1986 The Phantom Tollbooth. c1961 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. 1967 The Wizard of Earthsea. c1968 A Wrinkle in Time. c1962 The Giver. c1982 Number the Stars. c1989

4.8

5

3.9

3

5.1 14

4.5

8

4.9

5

4.4 10

5.6 16

6.7

7

4.7

5

6.7

9

4.7

7

5.7

7

4.5

4

MacLachlin, Patricia Sarah, Plain and Tall. c1985

3.4

1

Myers, Walter Dean Scorpions. c1988

3.7

6

North, Sterling

Rascal. c1963

7.1

7

Paterson, Katherine Bridge to Terabithia. c1977

4.6

5

Paulsen, Gary

Hatchet. c1987

5.7

7

Pierce, Tamora

Alanna: The First Adventure. c1983

4.5

7

Rasking, Ellen

The Westing Game. c1978

5.3

8

Rawls, Wilson

Where the Red Fern Grows. c1961

4.9 11

Rockwell, Thomas How to Eat Fried Worms. c1973

3.5

2

Rowling, J.K.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. c1998 5.5 12

Sachar, Louis

Holes. c1998

4.6

7

Soto, Gary

Baseball in April, and Other Stories. c1990

5.1

4

Staples, Suzanne

Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind. c1989

5.9

9

Fisher

Taylor, Mildred D.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. c1976

5.7 10

Uchida, Yoshiko

Journey to Topaz. c1971

6.0

5

Watkins, Yoko

So Far From the Bamboo Grove. c1986

4.7

6

Kawashima

Yep, Laurence

Dragonwings. c1975

5.3 10

4. Classic Reading--Recommended Books

Author Louisa May Alcott William Armstrong Jane Austin Lynne Reid Banks Frank Baum Ray Bradbury Charlotte Bront? Emily Bront? Frances Hodgson Burnett Willa Cather Geoffrey Chaucer Agatha Christy Joseph Conrad Stephen Crane Daniel Defoe Charles Dickens

Title Little Women Sounder Pride and Prejudice The Indian in the Cupboard The Wizard of Oz Fahrenheit 451 Jane Eyre Wuthering Heights The Secret Garden

My ?ntonia The Canterbury Tales Murder on the Orient Express Heart of Darkness The Red Badge of Courage Robinson Crusoe A Christmas Carol

Level 7.9 5.3 12.0 4.6 7.4 5.2 7.9 11.3 6.3

Points 33 3 27 6 7 7 33 23 13

6.9

9

8.1

26

6.2

9

9.0

10

8.0

8

12.3

27

6.7

5

Charles Dickens Charles Dickens George Eliot Ralph Ellison F. Scott Fitzgerald Esther Forbes Anne Frank William Gibson Fred Gipson William Golding Kenneth Grahame Bette Greene John Gunther Alex Haley Thomas Hardy Nathaniel Hawthorne Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway S. E. Hinton Irene Hunt Aldous Huxley Daniel Keyes Rudyard Kipling John Knowles Harper Lee Madeleine L'Engle C. S. Lewis

Jack London Lois Lowry Patricia MacLachlan Herman Melville Arthur Miller Arthur Miller Margaret Mitchell L. M. Montgomery Scott O'Dell George Orwell George Orwell Alan Paton Robert Newton Peck Wilson Rawls

Great Expectations A Tale of Two Cities Silas Marner Invisible Man The Great Gatsby Johnny Tremain The Diary of a Young Girl The Miracle Worker Old Yeller Lord of the Flies The Wind in the Willows Summer of My German Soldier Death Be Not Proud Roots Tess of the D'Urbervilles The Scarlet Letter A Farewell to Arms For Whom the Bell Tolls The Old Man and the Sea The Outsiders Across Five Aprils Brave New World Flowers for Algernon The Jungle Book (Books I and I) A Separate Peace To Kill a Mockingbird A Wrinkle in Time The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Call of the Wild The Giver Sarah, Plain and Tall Moby-Dick The Crucible Death of a Salesman Gone With the Wind Anne of Green Gables Island of the Blue Dolphins 1984 Animal Farm Cry, The Beloved Country A Day No Pigs Would Die Where the Red Fern Grows

9.2

35

9.7

27

9.7

14

7.2

30

7.3

8

5.9

13

6.5

14

5.2

4

5.0

5

5.0

9

8.2

11

5.2

9

8.0

8

7.4

48

9.5

23

11.7

14

6.0

13

5.8

28

5.9

4

4.7

7

6.6

10

7.5

11

5.8

13

7.4

20

6.9

10

5.6

15

4.7

7

5.7

6

8.0

7

5.7

7

3.4

1

10.0

42

4.9

5

6.2

5

7.1

71

7.3

17

5.4

6

8.9

17

7.3

5

6.2

14

4.4

4

4.9

11

Erich Maria Remarque Antoine de SaintExup?ry J. D. Salinger Jack Schaefer William Shakespeare George Bernard Shaw Mary Shelley Sophocles Armstrong Sperry John Steinbeck John Steinbeck John Steinbeck John Steinbeck Robert Lewis Stevenson Robert Lewis Stevenson Jonathan Swift J. R. R. Tolkien Mark Twain Mark Twain

Jules Verne Alice Walker Edith Wharton E. B. White Laura Ingalls Wilder Thornton Wilder Richard Wright Richard Wright Johann David Wyss Paul Zindel

All Quiet on the Western Front The Little Prince

The Catcher in the Rye Shane Romeo and Juliet Pygmalion Frankenstein Antigone Call It Courage The Grapes of Wrath Of Mice and Men The Pearl The Red Pony Kidnapped

Treasure Island

Gulliver's Travels The Hobbit The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea The Color Purple Ethan Frome Charlotte's Web Little House on the Prairie Our Town Black Boy Native Son The Swiss Family Robinson The Pigman

6.0

10

5.0

2

4.7

11

5.5

7

8.6

5

7.0

6

12.4

17

5.2

2

6.2

3

4.9

25

4.5

4

4.5

4

6.1

6

7.6

14

8.3

12

13.5

25

6.6

16

8.1

12

6.6

18

10.0

28

4.0

9

7.6

6

4.4

5

4.9

8

3.9

3

7.4

22

6.1

24

9.7

23

5.5

6

5. College Bound Reading List--suggested for Honors students

Compiled by Arrowhead Library System

American Literature

Agee, James

A Death in the Family Story of loss and heartbreak felt when a young father dies.

6.1

16

Baldwin, James

Go Tell It On the Mountain

6.5

13

Semi-autobiographical novel about a 14-year-old black youth's religious conversion.

Bellow, Saul Seize the Day A son grapples with his love and hate for an unworthy father.

5.6

7

Bradbury, Ray

Fahrenheit 451

5.2

7

Reading is a crime and firemen burn books in this futuristic society.

Cather, Willa My Antonia Immigrant pioneers strive to adapt to the Nebraska prairies.

6.9

9

Chopin, Kate

The Awakening

8.5 12

The story of a New Orleans woman who abandons her husband and children to search for love and self-understanding.

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