Dear Friends,
We hope that you find the following information useful! We have included a link to the Austin Public Library summer reading program, links to some great book lists and resources, and a grade-level summer reading list. The books mentioned are merely suggestions and the list is certainly not comprehensive. In most cases, the titles listed have been published within the last ten years and should be available through local libraries and bookstores…although that is not a guarantee.
We recommend the Texas Bluebonnet List for students in 3rd through 5th grade. While not every title is appropriate for every grade, there is certainly something for everyone. For our primary readers in Kindergarten through 2nd grade, we suggest looking at the Texas 2x2 Book List. Because these lists are specific to Texas, there is a good chance that you can access the titles through the Austin Public Library. As always, we advise that parents preview all titles, to insure that the literature is appropriate for your child.
Topher Bradfield of BookPeople is sharing his summer book picks with the Doss Owls this week. Be sure to head down to our favorite independent bookseller to support the in-store book fair benefitting the Doss Library and stock up on some great summer reads Tuesday, May 21st through Monday, May 27th. Make sure to bring a copy of the flyer (or tell the cashier that your from Doss) so that our school will get credit!
Have a great summer and don't forget to dive into a good book!
Mrs. Lang and Mrs. Willis
Doss Elementary Librarians
Great Resources on the Web:
Austin Public Library
http://library.austintexas.gov/youth-recommends
http://library.austintexas.gov/youth-events
Texas 2x2 Reading List
http://www.txla.org/groups/2x2
Texas Bluebonnet Reading List
http://www.txla.org/tba-nominees
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) Reading Planet
http://www.rif.org/kids/readingplanet.htm
The Book Hive
http://www.bookhive.org/
Guys Read
http://www.guysread.com/
Monster Librarian
http://monsterlibrarian.com/
International Children’s Digital Library
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Summer Before Kindergarten:
Black, Michael Ian. I’m Bored. (Fiction)
Cook, Michelle. Our Children Can Soar. (Nonfiction)
Costello, David. Little Pig Joins the Band. (Fiction)
Ehlert, Lois. RRRalph. (Fiction)
Henkes, Kevin. Penny and her Marble. (Fiction)
MacKay, Elly. If You Hold a Seed. (Fiction)
Messner, Kate. Over and Under the Snow. (Nonfiction)
Ray, Mary Lyn. Mud. (Fiction)
Schoonmaker, Elizabeth. Square Cat. (Fiction)
Sierra, Judy. Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur: A First Book of Manners. (Fiction)
Stead, Philip. Bear has a Story to Tell. (Fiction)
Thomas, Jan. Let’s Sing a Lullaby with Brave Cowboy. (Fiction)
Wright, Johanna. Bunnies on Ice. (Fiction)
Yolen, Jane. Here’s a Little Poem. (Nonfiction-Poetry)
Summer Before First Grade:
Checonas, Dori. Cork and Fuzz: Best Friends. (Fiction-Series)
o Good Sports
o Short and Tall
o The Babysitters
o Finders Keepers
Copeland, Cynthia. The Tooth Fairy Tells All. (Nonfiction)
Green, Emily K. Backyard Wildlife: Raccoons. (Nonfiction-Series)
o Coyotes
o Deer
o Foxes
o Rabbits
o Snakes
o Squirrels
Hoberman, Mary Ann. You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales. (Nonfiction-Series)
o Mother Goose Tales
o Fables
o Short Scary Tales
Katz, Susan. Oh Theodore! Guinea Pig Poems. (Nonfiction-Poetry)
Lies, Brian. Bats at the Ballgame. (Fiction)
McMullan, Kate. Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends. (Fiction-Series)
o Four Eyes
o Five Days Till Summer
o One Funny Day
Metzger, Steve. Detective Blue. (Nonfiction-Graphic)
Roemer, Heidi B. Come to my Party and Other Shape Poetry. (Nonfiction-Poetry)
Schachner, Judy. Skippyjon Jones: Cirque De Ole. (Fiction-Series)
o Skippyjon Jones
o Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble
o Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse
o Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones
o Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Space
o Skippyjon Jones: Class Action
Schotter, Roni. The Boy Who Loved Words. (Fiction)
Summer Before Second Grade:
Abbott, Tony. Goofballs #1 The Crazy Case of Missing Thunder. (Fiction)
Amani, Mary Jo. Excuse Me, I’m Trying to Read. (Fiction)
Aston, Dianna Hutts. A Rock is Lively. (Nonfiction)
Bernheimer, Kate. The Lonely Book. (Fiction)
DiCamillo, Kate. Bink and Gollie. (Fiction-Series)
o Bink and Gollie: Two For One
o Bink and Gollie: Best Friends Forever
Grey, Mini. Traction Man. (Fiction-Series)
o Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog
o Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey
o Traction Man is Here
Howe, James. Otter and Odder: A Love Story. (Fiction)
Jenkins, Steve. The Beetle Book. (Nonfiction)
McKay, Hilary. Lulu and the Duck in the Park. (Fiction-Series)
o Lulu and the Dog from the Sea
Pinkwater, Daniel. Mr. Noodlekugel. (Fiction)
Rosenstock, Barb. The Camping Trip that Changed America. (Nonfiction)
Summer Before Third Grade:
Ain, Beth Levine. Starring Jules (as herself). (Fiction)
Amato, Mary. Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook. (Fiction)
Ancona, George. It’s Our Garden. (Nonfiction)
Birney, Betty. School Days According to Humphrey. (Fiction-Series)
Clements, Andrew. Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School. (Fiction-Series)
o We the Children
o Fear Itself
o The Whites of Their Eyes
o In Harms Way
Delaney. Obi, Gerbil on a Mission. (Fiction)
Gifford, Peggy. Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank You Notes. (Fiction-Series)
o Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little
o Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano
Holm, Jennifer. Game On! (Nonfiction-Squish Series)
Johnston, Tony. Levi Strauss gets a Bright Idea. (Fiction)
Jenkins, Steve. The Beetle Book. (Nonfiction)
MacLachlan, Patricia. White Fur Flying. (Fiction)
Markel, Michelle. Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909. (Nonfiction)
Watson, Tom. Stick Dog. (Fiction)
Wissinger, Tamera. Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verses. (Fiction)
Summer Before Fourth Grade:
Babbit, Natalie. The Moon Over High Street. (Fiction)
Burns, Loree Griffin. Citizen Scientists: Be Part of a Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard. (Nonfiction)
Else, Barbara. The Traveling Resturant: Jasper’s Voyage in Three Parts. (Fiction)
Greenwood, Cathleen. Because of Shoe and Other Dog Stories. (Nonfiction)
Healy, Christopher. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. (Fiction)
Horvath, Polly. Mr. And Mrs. Bunny-Detectives Extrodinaire! (Fiction)
Ibbotson, Eva. One Dog and His Boy. (Fiction)
Losure, Mary. The Fairy Ring: Or, Elsie and Frances Fool the World. (Nonfiction)
Trogan, Brit. Margaret and the Moth Tree. (Fiction)
Weeks, Sarah. As Simple as it Seems. (Fiction)
Summer Before Fifth Grade:
Adderson, Caroline. Middle of Nowhere. (Fiction)
Ashley-Hollinger, Mika. Precious Bones. (Fiction)
Bacon, Lee. Joshua Dread. (Fiction)
Foley, Lizzie K. Remarkable. (Fiction)
DeCristofano, Carolyn Cinami. A Black Hole is NOT a Hole. (Nonfiction)
Freedman, Russell. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship. (Nonfiction)
Healy, Christopher. The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle. (Fiction)
Montgomery, Sy. Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World. (Nonfiction)
Rex, Adam. Cold Cereal. (Fiction)
Stead, Rebecca. Liar and Spy. (Fiction)
