Summer Reading List Students entering Grade 4 - Waltham Public ...
Summer Reading List Students entering Grade 4 - Waltham Public ...
Summer Reading List Students entering Grade 4 - Waltham Public ...
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<strong>Grade</strong> Four<br />
<strong>Waltham</strong> <strong>Public</strong> Schools<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> <strong>Reading</strong> <strong>List</strong><br />
<strong>Students</strong> <strong>entering</strong> <strong>Grade</strong> 4<br />
New Favorites<br />
Lemonade War<br />
by Jacqueline Davies<br />
The Miraculous Journey of<br />
Edward Tulane<br />
by Kate DiCamillo<br />
Lowji Discovers America<br />
by Candace Fleming<br />
Remembering Mrs. Rossi<br />
by Amy Hest<br />
Piper Reed: Navy Brat<br />
by Kimberly Holt<br />
Thunder Rose<br />
by Jerdine Nolen<br />
The Comic Book Kid<br />
by Adam Osterwell<br />
Hoop Queens<br />
by Charles Smith Jr.<br />
Zathura<br />
by Chris Van Allsburg<br />
Christopher Mouse: The<br />
Tale of a Small Traveler<br />
by William Wise<br />
<strong>Students</strong> <strong>entering</strong> <strong>Grade</strong> 4<br />
are expected to read in a<br />
“just right” book for 25 –<br />
30 minutes a day and<br />
record the completed<br />
books on the reading log.<br />
<strong>Students</strong> <strong>entering</strong> <strong>Grade</strong> 4<br />
must read Tales of a<br />
Fourth <strong>Grade</strong> Nothing and<br />
complete the assignment<br />
in the packet.<br />
Dear Parents,<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> vacation is almost here! We hope that you make it a time to REST,<br />
RELAX, READ, but above all ENJOY!<br />
<strong>Reading</strong>, like a sport, involves practice and skill. Real skill building occurs<br />
when children read for pleasure, when children read “just right” books, that<br />
is, books that are not too hard and not too easy, and when children can explore<br />
books about those topics that interest them. The more they practice<br />
with someone’s encouragement, suggestions and praise (just like in a sport),<br />
the better and more confident readers they will become.<br />
Here are some tips to encourage reading:<br />
June 2011<br />
• Set aside a regular family reading and /or read aloud time.<br />
• Read to your children, even the older ones.<br />
• Recognize that your child’s own choice and interests are important<br />
ingredients toward reading enjoyment.<br />
• Let your child see you reading for pleasure.<br />
• Don’t forget to pack a book wherever you go this summer.<br />
• Encourage and help your child succeed with reading but do not<br />
push or expect too much too soon.<br />
• Participate in activities at the local library.<br />
• Learn more about children’s books, from your child’s friends, from<br />
the local library or from the attached lists.<br />
Best wishes for a safe, happy, reading fun-filled summer from the elementary<br />
reading staff and elementary library teachers of the <strong>Waltham</strong> <strong>Public</strong> Schools.<br />
Fitzgerald Wendy Darcy Meryl Kaye Amy Giroux Kathleen Finnerty<br />
MacArthur Sharon Davis Lori Vanaria Ellen Brandt<br />
Northeast Jennifer Gershon Judith Araujo Carol Klatt<br />
Plympton Kristen Amarante Wendy Darcy Judith Paradis<br />
Stanley Robin Fopiano Heather Cummings Laura Larsson<br />
Whittemore Amy Giroux Sabina Steede Mary Kenslea<br />
Nancy Coppolino – Director, <strong>Reading</strong>/Language Arts Department<br />
Sandra Roby – Director of Library/Instructional Technology
Page 2 <strong>Grade</strong> Four<br />
Books about 4th <strong>Grade</strong><br />
4B Goes Wild<br />
by Jamie Gilson<br />
Fourth graders are on a three-day camping<br />
trip with their teachers experience frights<br />
and delights.<br />
Amber Brown Goes Fourth<br />
by Paula Danziger<br />
Amber enters fourth grade in a<br />
panic. Her parents are newly<br />
divorced and her best friend<br />
has moved away. How will she<br />
cope?<br />
Also Amber Brown Sees Red and<br />
Amber Brown Wants Extra Credit<br />
Awfully Short for the Fourth <strong>Grade</strong><br />
by Elvira Woodruff<br />
Nine-year-old Noah disrupts the school when<br />
his wish comes true and he becomes small<br />
and his miniature toy men come to life.<br />
The Cybil War by Betsy Byars<br />
Valentine's Day calls for romance but fourth<br />
grader Simon, smitten with classmate Cybil,<br />
finds the road to romance is a bumpy one.<br />
Fiction—Realistic<br />
Everything in a Waffle by Jane Margolies<br />
A very funny book! Eleven-year-old Primrose<br />
Squarp disappears at sea and is then<br />
left in the hands of a “dubious cast of characters”.<br />
Newbery Honor book<br />
Fudge series by Judy Blume<br />
Funny stuff that starts with Tales of a Fourth<br />
<strong>Grade</strong> Nothing, and continues to Super-<br />
Fudge, Fudge-A-Mania, and Double Fudge.<br />
Granny Torelli Makes Soup<br />
by Sharon Creech<br />
While Rosie cooks with her<br />
Fiction—Mystery<br />
A to Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy<br />
This series features three smart kids who<br />
solve crimes and mysteries. They live in a<br />
small town in Connecticut, and have hobbies<br />
and pets and parents, but what they love<br />
most is a good mystery. Most<br />
kids enjoy reading the 26<br />
books in alphabetical order,<br />
but you can skip around without<br />
missing anything.<br />
Fourth <strong>Grade</strong> Celebrity<br />
by Patricia Reilly Giff<br />
Tired of feeling merely average and annoyed<br />
about the constant comparison with her older<br />
sister, Casey searches for a way to become a<br />
celebrity in her school.<br />
Fourth <strong>Grade</strong> Rats<br />
by Jerry Spinelli<br />
Narrator Suds is having a hard time giving up<br />
"baby" things and trying to be "macho."<br />
The Fourth <strong>Grade</strong> Wizards<br />
by Barthe deClements<br />
After her mother dies, Marianne<br />
becomes a daydreamer and<br />
begins to fall behind in her<br />
schoolwork<br />
Ghosts in the Fourth <strong>Grade</strong><br />
by Constance Hiser<br />
James is smarting from a trip to the dentist,<br />
thanks to a bully's punch. He and his pals plan<br />
revenge.<br />
Herbie Jones Moves On by Suzy Kline<br />
Fourth grader Herbie Jones is very upset that<br />
his best friend is moving away. He tries hard<br />
Granny Torelli they each share stories of<br />
being 12 years old.<br />
Hank Zipzer (series) by Henry Winkler<br />
Hank is not the best student in the fourth<br />
grade, but he might be the funniest.<br />
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows<br />
Ivy and Bean are very different and each<br />
girl thinks the other one is weird and that<br />
she could never be friends with the other.<br />
Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes<br />
12 year old Martha receives a journal<br />
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright<br />
While visiting her Aunt Clare at the old family<br />
home, Amy discovers a haunted dollhouse<br />
in the attic-an exact replica of the family<br />
home. Whenever she sees it, the dolls, representing<br />
her relatives, have moved. Amy researches<br />
old news reports where she discovers<br />
a family secret-the murder of her grandparents.<br />
to prevent it from happening. Read to see how<br />
his plans work out.<br />
Jack Adrift: Fourth <strong>Grade</strong> Without a Clue<br />
by Jack Gantos<br />
Jack struggles in a new home trying to figure<br />
out what he's supposed to do when his mother<br />
says one thing and his father another.<br />
Jake Drake, Class Clown<br />
by Andrew Clements<br />
Read how a student tries to make a "sourpuss"<br />
teacher laugh.<br />
Keep Ms. Sugarman in the Fourth <strong>Grade</strong><br />
by Elizabeth Levy<br />
Ms. Sugarman, reputedly the toughest teacher<br />
in the school, turns out to be the best thing that<br />
ever happened to the fourth grade troublemaker<br />
Jackie.<br />
Ramona's World<br />
by Beverly Cleary<br />
As Ramona enters fourth grade she makes a<br />
new best friend, still tries to figure out her big<br />
sister Beezus, and still has lots of funny adventures.<br />
entry of a deceased classmate, who was killed<br />
by a car when riding her bicycle, and learns<br />
about their commonalities. Newbery Honor book<br />
Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look<br />
Ruby Lu would have a great time with<br />
Ramona, Judy Moody, Clementine and all the<br />
other funny girls of realistic fiction.<br />
My Weird School (series) by Dan Gutman<br />
At Ella Mentry School all the grownups are<br />
quite weird. A.J. is a boy who doesn't like<br />
school and his arch-enemy Andrea Young<br />
loves school and everything else A.J. hates…<br />
Meg Mackintosh (series) by Lucinda Landon<br />
In this series Meg Mackintosh and her cousin<br />
Peter solve crimes with enough clues presented<br />
in the story and illustrations to allow<br />
readers to solve the mystery<br />
on their own. Meg's detective<br />
work usually occurs in exciting<br />
places, such as a whale watch,<br />
baseball game, medieval<br />
castle, or a haunted summer<br />
camp.
<strong>Grade</strong> Four<br />
Fiction — Fantasy<br />
Babymouse series by Jennifer Holm<br />
A great graphic novel featuring a preteen mouse<br />
who dreams of glamour and excitement.<br />
Dark Hills Divide<br />
by Patrick Carmen<br />
Told from the perspective of its<br />
smart, brave, and adventurous<br />
heroine, The Dark Hills Divide<br />
invites readers on a spectacular<br />
and mysterious quest that will<br />
appeal to boys, girls, and fans<br />
of both fiction and fantasy. This story is full of<br />
mysterious plots, hidden passageways, and all<br />
manner of dastardly, hilarious, and noble characters.<br />
Gossamer by Lois Lowry<br />
While learning to bestow dreams, a young<br />
dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old<br />
boy from the effects of both his abusive past<br />
and the nightmares inflicted on him by the<br />
frightening Sinisteeds.<br />
Fiction - Action/Adventure<br />
Adventures of Humphrey by Betty Birney<br />
Humphrey is in for his biggest adventure yet!<br />
When his friends begin<br />
studying the ocean and sailing,<br />
he not only discovers the<br />
new and exciting world of<br />
the library, but also stows<br />
away aboard a model boat<br />
and takes a very perilous<br />
sail on Potter’s Pond.<br />
Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt<br />
Jack Plank enjoys being a pirate, but<br />
Biography<br />
Barack Obama by Jonah Winters<br />
This book focuses on Obama’s upbringing, his<br />
travels between Hawaii and Indonesia, and<br />
how he was shuttled between parents and<br />
grandparents. Obama keeps asking himself:<br />
“Who am I?” and “Where do I belong?"<br />
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen<br />
Each chapter is devoted to one of several<br />
dogs that played an important role in Gary<br />
Paulsen’s life.<br />
Franny K. Stein by Jim Benton<br />
Franny K. Stein is not your average girl -- she's a<br />
mad scientist. She prefers poison ivy to daisies and<br />
piranha to goldfish, and when Franny jumps rope,<br />
she uses her pet snake.<br />
Nim's Island by Wendy Orr<br />
Nim lives on the most beautiful island in the world<br />
by its location is a closely guarded secret with a<br />
marine iguana, a sea lion, and her scientist dad,<br />
Jack. When he goes off to explore<br />
the world of plankton, the child<br />
occupies herself with typical Swiss<br />
Family Robinson-like chores and<br />
keeping her dad's batteries charged<br />
so she can check his e-mail on the<br />
laptop computer.<br />
The Twits by Roald Dahl<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Twit become the target of revenge by<br />
the Mugglewump monkeys--who have finally had<br />
enough.<br />
plundering is not what it used to be, and Jack<br />
is let go. The good-hearted fellow takes a<br />
room in a boarding house run by a widow<br />
with an 11-year-old daughter, Nina. Each<br />
evening at the communal dinner table, one of<br />
the diners suggests a possible occupation to<br />
Jack, who replies that he and<br />
Nina discussed that very idea<br />
earlier in the day. However, he<br />
has ruled out that particular job,<br />
based on an experience that he<br />
proceeds to relate.<br />
Picture Book of... by David Adler<br />
Over 50 picture book biographies of major<br />
American figures. All are written in an easyto-understand<br />
style with lots of illustrations.<br />
Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh<br />
Pirates by Jonah Winter<br />
An inspirational story of how Clemente's<br />
passionate love of baseball and work ethic<br />
took him from poverty in Puerto Rico to<br />
World Series triumph.<br />
Spiderwick Chronicles series<br />
by Holly Black and Toni DiTerlizzi<br />
Mallory and her and 9-year-old twin<br />
brothers move into the Spiderwick<br />
Estate where they are drawn into a dark and fascinating<br />
world of faeries<br />
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story<br />
of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and<br />
a Spool of Thread<br />
by Kate Dicamillo and Timothy B. Ering<br />
Is the book better than the movie?<br />
Whales on Stilts by M. T. Andersoen<br />
On Career Day Lily visited her<br />
dad's work with him and discovered<br />
he worked for a mad scientist<br />
who wanted to rule the earth<br />
through destruction and desolation.<br />
Series<br />
Page 3<br />
Robot Dreams by Sarah Varon – a very<br />
funny almost wordless graphic novel<br />
Baseball card adventures<br />
by Jim Gutman - a series of 8 books…<br />
A Series of Unfortunate Events<br />
by Daniel Handler – pen name: Lemony<br />
Snicket - 14 novels in the series<br />
Time Warp Trio (series) by Jon Scieszka<br />
Rosa by Niki Giovanni<br />
Beautifully-illustrated biography of Civil Rights<br />
activist Rosa Parks.<br />
Who Was. . . series by various<br />
authors<br />
Over 30 biographies covering<br />
a wide-range of famous<br />
people.. Short chapters and<br />
fun illustrations keep kids'<br />
attention.
Page 4 <strong>Grade</strong> Four<br />
Award Winning Books<br />
Coretta Scott King Award<br />
The Friendship by Mildred L. Taylor<br />
An explosive confrontation takes place<br />
when the black man, Tom Bee, greets the<br />
clerk, John Wallace, by his first name even<br />
though Mr. Bee had saved<br />
John's life on more than one<br />
occasion, and John had<br />
given him permission to call<br />
him by his first name.<br />
Moses: When Harriet Tubman<br />
Led Her People To Freedom<br />
by Carol Boston Weatherford<br />
Harriet Tubman was the Moses of her people.<br />
What was her first trip North, along<br />
the Underground Railroad like and what<br />
inspired her to make 19 more trips?<br />
Newbery Award<br />
Because of Winn Dixie<br />
by Kate DiCamillo<br />
Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly, happy<br />
dog, 10-year-old Opal learns 10 things<br />
about her long-gone mother from her<br />
preacher father. Because of<br />
Winn-Dixie, Opal makes new<br />
friends among the somewhat<br />
unusual residents of her new<br />
hometown.<br />
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly<br />
Cleary<br />
Writing letters, first to the real Mr. Henshaw,<br />
and then in a diary to a pretend Mr.<br />
Favorite Authors - Fiction<br />
Avi<br />
Beverly Cleary<br />
Andrew Clements<br />
Sharon Creech<br />
Roald Dahl<br />
Steven Kellogg<br />
Dick King-Smith<br />
Patricia Polacco<br />
William Steig<br />
Jon Scieszka<br />
Chris Van Allsburg<br />
E.B. White<br />
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters<br />
by John Steptoe<br />
Mufaro has two beautiful daughters. Nyasha is<br />
kind and considerate, but Manyara is selfish<br />
and spoiled. When the king<br />
decides to choose a bride<br />
from among "The Most<br />
Worthy and Beautiful<br />
Daughters in the Land," both<br />
Mufaro's girls travel to the<br />
capital city, but only one<br />
can be chosen to marry the<br />
king.<br />
Tar Beach by Faith Ringold<br />
Quilt paintings - acrylic on canvas paper, with<br />
fabric borders from Ringgold's story quilt of<br />
the same name -illustrate a Depression era<br />
girl's imaginative foray to heights from which<br />
she can see and therefore claim her world.<br />
Picnicking on the roof of her family's Harlem<br />
apartment " building--a "tar beach".<br />
Henshaw, may be just what Leigh needs to get<br />
him through some tough times<br />
The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis<br />
Aunt Dew has a special wooden box that contains<br />
one penny dated in<br />
each year of her hundred<br />
years. Michael loves to sit by<br />
her side and count out the<br />
hundred pennies as she recalls<br />
events of a particular<br />
year.<br />
Maniac Magee by Jerry<br />
Spinelli<br />
This is definitely a winner, about a boy who has<br />
some amazing adventures and who meets some<br />
very unusual people.<br />
Join the wiki and add<br />
your favorites in the <strong>Grade</strong> 4<br />
Discussion tab!<br />
wps-summerreading.wikispaces.com<br />
Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen<br />
An exuberant tall tale with an irresistible<br />
African American heroine. The night Thunder<br />
Rose was born to her parents, the thunder<br />
gave her her name, and she rolled<br />
the lightning into a ball and put it<br />
on her shoulder.<br />
We Are the Ship: The Story of<br />
Negro League Baseball<br />
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson<br />
Story of the history of the Negro Leagues,<br />
told as if an old-timer is entertaining his<br />
grandchildren with tales of baseball greats.<br />
Amazing artwork!<br />
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor<br />
This heartwarming tale revolves around an 11<br />
-year-old boy who finds an abused dog near<br />
his West Virginia hills home.<br />
Sounder by William H. Armstrong<br />
Sounder is the story of a poor African American<br />
boy’s struggle to carry on when his father<br />
is jailed. The family’s dog Sounder races<br />
after the deputies taking his master away,<br />
and one of the deputies shoots the dog. For<br />
months, the boy thinks that he has lost both his<br />
father and his dog.<br />
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the<br />
Airplane<br />
by Russell Freedman<br />
…a great biography of the famous brothers!<br />
Classics<br />
Harriet the Spy<br />
by Louise Fitzhugh<br />
Incredible Journey<br />
by Sheila Burnford<br />
James and the Giant Peach<br />
by Roald Dahl<br />
Little House on the Prairie<br />
by Laura Ingalls Wilder<br />
The Mouse and the Motorcycle<br />
by Beverly Cleary
<strong>Grade</strong> Four<br />
Nonfiction<br />
Follow the Trail by Jessica Loy<br />
From planning to packing to safety, this kidfriendly<br />
guide to camping and<br />
hiking is loaded with information.<br />
Bright, busy pages follow<br />
sisters Emma and Lydia and<br />
three friends on a camping<br />
trip. Activities to identify trees,<br />
wildflowers, and animal tracks<br />
are interspersed with facts about weather,<br />
suggestions for rainy days, and instructions<br />
for building a campfire.<br />
If The World Were a Village by David Smith<br />
Readers are asked to imagine as if the<br />
world's population of 6,200,000,000 were<br />
seen as a village of 100 people.<br />
The Sleepover Cookbook<br />
by Hallie Warshaw<br />
The recipes here are arranged in<br />
"sleepover order." The treats are<br />
Fiction—Historical<br />
Dear America and My America series by<br />
various authors<br />
In each book, a child living in a different<br />
period in America lets us know about what<br />
his or her life is like through a series of journal<br />
entries. Dear America books are usually<br />
written by girl characters, while My America<br />
are written by boy characters. The books<br />
span all American history, from the Jamestown<br />
settlement in Colonial Virginia to the<br />
Vietnam War in the 1960s.<br />
The following<br />
are great poets<br />
for <strong>Grade</strong> 4<br />
readers:<br />
Douglas Florian<br />
Mary Ann Hoberman<br />
Dennis Lee<br />
Jack Prelutsky<br />
Shel Silverstein<br />
easy to prepare, some incorporating ready-touse<br />
ingredients like canned soup and refrigerated<br />
biscuit dough. Each recipe begins with a<br />
list of supplies and a difficulty rating.<br />
So You Want to be President?<br />
by Judith St. George<br />
The basic theme is that anyone<br />
can be president. It's a fun<br />
book, but the underlying purpose<br />
is clearly serious: to remind<br />
kids that the American presidents have<br />
been a motley group of individuals, not a row<br />
of marble busts. Ironically, that message makes<br />
the presidency far more interesting by and<br />
appealing than it seems in some of the more<br />
traditional books.<br />
The Stunning Science of Everything: Science<br />
with Squishy Bits Left In by Nick Arnolde<br />
This humorous look at science combines colorful<br />
cartoons and writing that ranges from light-<br />
If You Lived in the Time...series by various<br />
authors<br />
These books present an event in history, ask<br />
a series of questions about the event, and<br />
provide answers. Most answers are from the<br />
point of view of a child liviing during that<br />
time.<br />
Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan<br />
Based on the true story of a California orphan<br />
girl who disguises herself as a boy<br />
and becomes a well-known stage coach<br />
Favorite Series:<br />
Amber Brown<br />
by Paula Danziger<br />
Boxcar Children<br />
by Gertrude Chandler<br />
Clementine<br />
by Sara Pennypacker<br />
Encyclopedia Brown<br />
by Donald J. Sobol<br />
hearted to silly and conveys a lot of interesting<br />
information. Starting with the Big Bang,<br />
the book moves quickly from small by atoms,<br />
microbes, and bugs to big by<br />
humans, dinosaurs, and the<br />
universe. Each page is filled<br />
with cartoon drawings in a<br />
variety of visual presentations.<br />
Favorite Authors - Nonfiction<br />
Joanna Cole<br />
Jean Fritz<br />
Steve Jenkins<br />
Jerry Pallotta<br />
Seymour Simon – Check out his blog:<br />
http://www.seymourscience.com<br />
driver and a participant in the great California<br />
gold rush.<br />
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman<br />
Because a prince cannot be punished, a<br />
poor boy is brought to the castle to receive<br />
punishment in his place. When the prince<br />
runs away into the city and takes the<br />
"whipping boy" with him, they need to rely<br />
on one another to survive. Great<br />
adventure story set in the Middle<br />
Ages.<br />
Just Grace<br />
by Charise Mericle Harper<br />
The Penderwicks<br />
by Jeanne Birdsall<br />
Moxy Maxwell<br />
by Peggy Gifford<br />
Ramona<br />
by Beverley Cleary<br />
Wayside School<br />
by Loius Sacher<br />
Page 5
Page 6 <strong>Grade</strong> Four<br />
Books I might like to read...<br />
From this list:<br />
Not on this list:<br />
So many books! So little time to read them all!<br />
During the summer it is easier to make time to read some of the many wonderful books that have been written for children. When<br />
choosing a just right book, you can use the suggestions on our lists or go to one of the following websites, which have organized their<br />
suggestions in a user-friendly format.<br />
<strong>Waltham</strong> <strong>Public</strong> Library http://www.waltham.lib.ma.us/children/index.php<br />
Center for Teaching and Learning http://www.c-t-l.org/kids_recommend.html<br />
Children’s Choices Booklist http://www.reading.org/Resources/Booklists/ChildrensChoices.aspx<br />
Horn Book <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>Reading</strong> http://www.hbook.com/resources/books/summer.asp<br />
Planet Esme http://www.planetesme.com/fun.html<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> <strong>Reading</strong> <strong>List</strong> from other communities<br />
Houston Area Independent Schools Network http://www.haisln.org/recommendedreadinglists.html<br />
Multomah County, Oregon http://www.multcolib.org/kids/booklists/<br />
New York <strong>Public</strong> Library http://kids.nypl.org/reading/index.cfm http://www.summerreading.org/<br />
Newport News Virginia http://www.sbo.nn.k12.va.us/academic/summer/elem-read.html<br />
<strong>Waltham</strong>’s Library And <strong>Reading</strong> Teachers’ wiki—see the lists and join the discussion!<br />
https://wps-summerreading.wikispaces.com/Entering+<strong>Grade</strong>+4
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