Summer Reading - Middle School: Middle School Summer Reading 2017

Profiles a series of animals with unusual eyes, and explains how such animals use their uniquely evolved eyes to gain essential information about the biological world.

Illustrations explore the ocean from the birds and waves down to the deepest, darkest bottom; and feature jellyfish, squid, whales, and more.

Describes some of the remarkable places on earth, including the hottest, coldest, windiest, snowiest, highest, and deepest.

Calling upon his former governess, William Jones, gentleman, is startled when his knock is answered by an uncommonly beautiful servant, the soft-spoken Emma. Throughout his visit, William's eyes drift to the maid whenever she enters the room, and he contrives to meet Emma socially as she goes about her errands. But London society is a web of strict codes and divisions. For the son of a wealthy merchant, seeking out a working-class girl is simply not done! William's father plans for his son to marry into the peerage and elevate the Jones family to greater heights, but although William says and does what is expected of him, he longs only for Emma's company...

The world is changing for two girls in 1970s China. When Chairman Mao dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. The girls soon learn that their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced.

The hotly anticipated new release from #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning graphic novelist, Raina Telgemeier! Catrina and her family are moving to the coast of Northern California because her little sister, Maya, is sick. Cat isn't happy about leaving her friends for Baha de la Luna, but Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from the cool, salty air that blows in from the sea. As the girls explore their new home, a neighbor lets them in on a secret: There are ghosts in Baha de la Luna. Maya is determined to meet one, but Cat wants nothing to do with them. As the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones approaches, Cat must figure out how to put aside her fears for her sister's sake -and her own.

Tells Malala Yousafzai's harrowing story of standing up for girls' education against the Taliban, being shot in the head, and surviving to continue the fight.

Looks at Japanese American baseball player Kenichi Zenimura's time spent in the internment camps during World War II and his creation of a baseball field there.

Seven-year-old Lena and her mother observe the variations in the color of their friends' skin, viewed in terms of foods and things found in nature.

Yoshio delights in the everyday sounds of Tokyo, but when a musician tells him that her favorite sound is ma, the Japanese word for silence, Yoshio sets out to hear this sound for himself among the hustle and bustle of the city. Includes information on the Japanese concept of ma.

After being forced to give up his pet fox Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back.

Teddy has been training all summer with his new friends Jack and Gus to make the new travel football team in Walton, but when his long-absent dad comes back to town and into his life he is faced with a much bigger challenge.

At first, twelve-year-old Carol is not happy to be spending the summer helping her parents move her grandfather to an assisted living home, but as the summer wears on, she finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by his amazing stories.

"A single-minded twelve-year-old drummer, challenged by her school's budget cuts and her family's financial woes, must find a way to keep her dreams of drumming alive.

Eleven-year-old Zomorod, originally from Iran, tells her story of growing up Iranian in Southern California during the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis of the late 1970s.

A pair of siblings with developmental delays were hidden away for fear of being discovered by the community for fear of a "curse," but the children soon learn the road to freedom through fairy songs, where all are welcome.

Twelve-year-old Isaveth eagerly accepts an opportunity to study at the most exclusive magical school in the city but her scholarship might prove be more a trap than a gift.

In 1965, a year after Arianne thinks she sees a shooting star land in the fields surrounding her family's horse farm, a baby centaur is born and the family, already under scrutiny because Arianne's six-year-old brother has birth defects, struggles to keep the colt a secret.

An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her

Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.

Crossing paths at an inn, thirteenth-century travelers impart the tales of a monastery oblate, a Jewish refugee, and a psychic peasant girl with a loyal greyhound, the three of whom join forces on a chase through France to escape persecution.

Twelve-year-old Annabelle must learn to stand up for what's right in the face of a manipulative and violent new bully who targets people Annabelle cares about, including a homeless World War I veteran.

A biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist in New York City who rose to fame in the 1980s.

Grandmother wants so badly to be left alone to finish the knitting for her grandchildren that she leaves her tiny home and her big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting.

Chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square.

Explains how to design and build fifteen electronics projects from easy-to-find components and equipment, and includes photographs and illustrations.

Presents a collection of full-color illustrated instructions for kids to over sixty classic recipes from Italy, France, China, and Mexico, and includes information on nutrition, cooking terms, and tips from Chef Matthew Locricchio.

Ten original fashion origami garments--including everyday items such as jeans, shorts, and tops--complete with written instructions and illustrated diagrams.

A guide to Minecraft, focusing on redstone and transportation.

The story of America's little known war-within-a war -- that of the "silent service" -- U.S. submarine warfare during World War II.

Looks at the life of con artist Victor Lustig, best known as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower.

In Tarreton, where the rich have all the magic they wish and the poor can barely afford a spell to heat their homes, twelve-year-old Isaveth's father is accused of murdering an influential citizen and Isaveth, aided by eccentric street boy Quiz, tries to solve the magical murder mystery before her father is executed.

Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in Tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth--and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the 'outside' world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from ... but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?

The much-anticipated, puzzle-packed sequel to the New York Times bestselling, award-winning ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY! Welcome, boys and girls, readers of all ages, to the first-ever Library Olympiad! Kyle and his teammates are back, and the world-famous game maker, Luigi Lemoncello, is at it again! This time Mr. Lemoncello has invited teams from all across America to compete in the first ever LIBRARY OLYMPICS. Will it be fun? Like the commercials say. . . HELLO? It's a Lemoncello! But something suspicious is going on . . . books are missing from Mr. Lemoncello's library. Is someone trying to CENSOR what the kids are reading?! In between figuring out mind-boggling challenges, the kids will have to band together to get to the bottom of this mystery. Now it's not just a game--can Mr. Lemoncello find the real defenders of books and champions of libraries? Packed with puzzles, clues, and thrilling surprises, this is a deliciously fun, action-packed sequel to the New York Times bestselling Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. Let the games begin!

Enthralling children's fiction for everyone who loves Robin Steven's Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries and Frances Hardinge's The Lie Tree. Twelve mysteries. Twelve authors. One challenge: can YOU solve the crimes before the heroes of the stories? These are twelve brand-new short stories from twelve of the best children's crime writers writing today. These creepy, hilarious, brain-boggling, heart-pounding mysteries feature daring, brilliant young detectives, and this anthology is a must for fans of crime fiction and detection, especially the Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries, The Roman Mysteries and The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow.

A plot to overthrow King Claudio is brewing in the Kingdom of Pergamontio, Italy. Mangus the Magician has been marked as an easy scapegoat for the traitor lurking within the king's court. Against all odds, his faithful new servant boy, Fabrizio, sets out to solve the mystery and prove his master's innocence before the stroke of midnight in order to save him from certain death!Intricate plotting, surprise twists, a marvelous literary duo, and an artful blend of medieval history with magic and intrigue make for another gripping and suspenseful page-turner that stands alone or sets the stage for more captivating adventure in Midnight Magic!

After her troublemaking twin, Scarlet, vanishes from Rookwood boarding school, shy Ivy tries to track her down, using pieces of Scarlet's journal carefully hidden all over the school for Ivy to find.

A collection of four ghost stories in which Nancy Drew and her friends, Bess and George, investigate spooky mysteries that involve skeletons, haunted houses, and other strange things.

Although housebound following an eerie accident, teenaged Ryan continues to investigate the strange occurrences in his hometown of Skeleton Creek, recording his findings in a journal and viewing email video clips sent by fellow detective Sarah.

In 1940, during the Blitz, Katherine, Robbie and Amelie Bateson are sent north to a private school in Rookskill Castle in Scotland, a brooding place, haunted by dark magic from the past--but when some of their classmates disappear Katherine has to find out if the cause is hidden in the past or very much in the present.

Sixteen-year-old Noah Daniels wants nothing more than to fight in George Washington's Continental Army, but an accident as a child left him maimed and unable to enlist. He is forced to watch the Revolution from his family's hard scrabble farm in Upstate New York--until a violent raid on his settlement thrusts him into one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution, and ultimately, face to face with the enemy.

Rose Lee Carter, a thirteen-year-old African-American girl, dreams of life beyond the Mississippi cotton fields during the summer of 1955, but when Emmett Till is murdered and his killers are unjustly acquitted, Rose is torn between seeking her destiny outside of Mississippi or staying and being a part of an important movement.