7th Grade - Franklin Board of Education

Seventh Grade Summer Reading Assignments
Directions:
Select one book from the list below and select one book of your own choosing to read over the summer.
Or,
Select two books of your own choosing, one that has your teacher’s approval. With your teacher, complete the
approval form at the back of this packet. Hold on to the approval form to turn into your 7 th grade language
arts teacher in September.
1. As you read, use your Reader’s Notebook (the one you’ve been keeping in 6 th grade) and post-it notes to
record your ideas, predictions, questions and insights. Use the Prompts to Push Your Thinking and
other guiding questions from your notebook to help you with your entries. It is also important to jot
down significant quotes from the texts.
2. Be prepared to turn in your Reader’s Notebook to your 7 th Grade Literacy teacher in September.
3. You will take a written assessment in the beginning of the year to demonstrate your reading
comprehension and critical thinking skills. You will be allowed to use your Reader’s Notebook and
post-it notes on this assignment. The assessment will measure the Common Core States Standard RL
7.1/ RI 7.1:
Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text.
Where can I get my summer reading books?
At the Barnes and Noble Franklin Summer Reading Book Fair on May 30. (Rte. 1 in
North Brunswick from 7-9PM).
At the Franklin Township Public Library

Fiction
Title Author Series (Y/N) Genre Level Summary
The Rock and the River Kekla Magoon N Historical Fiction In 1968 Chicago, it’s not easy for thirteen-year-old Sam to be the son of known civil rights
activist Roland Childs. Especially when his older brother, Stick, starts keeping to himself.
Then, one day, Sam finds something under Stick’s bed that changes everything: literature
about the Black Panthers. Suddenly, nothing feels certain anymore. And when Dr. King is
shot and killed, Sam’s father’s words are no longer enough to make him believe in
change….This moving, coming-of-age story gracefully encompasses the scope of the
struggle between the civil rights and black power movements through an intimate and
relatable lens.
Does My Head look Big Randa Abdelin
This?
Fattah
N Realistic Fiction Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and
everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she
stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little
different from everyone else.
Can she handle the taunts of "nappy head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract
the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel
will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.
Scat Carl Hiasan N Realistic Fiction Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a
school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.
But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a
"family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent,
Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.
And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine
Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to
reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas
oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really
begin to see the big picture.
That's life in the swamp, kids.
King of Mulberry Street Donna Jo
Napoli
N Historical Fiction W In 1892, nine-year-old Dom’s mother puts him on a ship leaving Italy, bound for America.
He is a stowaway, traveling alone and with nothing of value except for a new pair of shoes
from his mother. In the turbulent world of homeless children in Manhattan’s Five Points,
Dom learns street smarts, and not only survives, but thrives by starting his own business. A
vivid, fascinating story of an exceptional boy, based in part on the author’s grandfather.

Hope Was Here Joan Bauer N Realistic Fiction W When Hope and her aunt move to small-town Wisconsin to take over the local diner,
Hope's not sure what to expect. But what they find is that the owner, G.T., isn't quite ready
to give up yet--in fact, he's decided to run for mayor against a corrupt candidate. And as
Hope starts to make her place at the diner, she also finds herself caught up in G.T.'s
campaign--particularly his visions for the future. After all, as G.T. points out, everyone can
use a little hope to help get through the tough times . . . even Hope herself.
Uglies
Scott
Westerfeld
Y Fantasy Fiction Tally Youngblood is one of the most daring of the Uglies, and her imaginative tricks have
gotten her in trouble with the menacing department of Special Circumstances. She has
yearned to be pretty, but since her best friend Shay ran away to the rumored rebel
settlement of recalcitrant Uglies called The Smoke, Tally has been troubled. The authorities
give her an impossible choice: either she follows Shay’s cryptic directions to The Smoke
with the purpose of betraying the rebels, or she will never be allowed to become pretty.
Hoping to rescue Shay, Tally sets off on the dangerous journey as a spy. But after finally
reaching The Smoke she has a change of heart when her new lover David reveals to her the
sinister secret behind becoming pretty.
The Misfits James Howe N Realistic Fiction X What do a 12-year-old student who moonlights as a tie salesman, a tall, outspoken girl, a
gay middle schooler and a kid branded as a hooligan have in common? Best friends for
years, they've all been the target of cruel name-calling and now that they're in seventh
grade, they're not about to take it any more. Addie (the outspoken girl) decides that the four
of them should run against more popular peers in the upcoming student council election.
But her lofty ideals and rabble-rousing speeches make the wrong kind of waves, offending
fellow classmates, teachers and the principal. It is not until softer-spoken Bobby says
what's in his heart about nicknames and taunts that people begin to listen and take notice,
granting their respect for the boy they used to call "Lardo" and "Fluff." degrading labels.
Beautiful Creatures
Kemi Garcia & Y Fantasy Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and
Margeret Stohl
she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for
generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling
graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted
by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest
and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to
uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Hunger Games
Chains
Suzanne
Collins
Laurie Halse
Anderson
Y Fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining
Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the
Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one
boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight
to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her
mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her
district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but
one thing is constant: kill or be killed.
Y Historical fiction If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?
As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for
freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a
cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons,
who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel.
When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her
owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when
the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who
can provide her with freedom.
Non-fiction
Title Author Series (Y/N) Genre Level Summary
With their Eyes Annie Thoms N Narrative September 11, 2001 started as a normal day for the students of Stuyvesant High School,
four blocks away from the Twin Towers in New York City. Read firsthand accounts from
the students about living in the shadow of the World Trade Center attack.
Bad Boy
Walter Dean
Myers
N Memoir As a boy, Walter Dean Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for
a fight. He also read voraciously-he would check out books from the library and carry
them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to
be a writer. But growing up in a poor family in Harlem, his hope for a successful future
diminished as he came to realize fully the class and racial struggles that surrounded him.
He began to doubt himself and the values that he had always relied on, attending high
school less and less, turning to the streets and his books for comfort.

A Night to Remember Walter Lord N Narrative Before Leonardo DiCaprio was even born, this was the book about the Titanic. First
published in 1955, A Night to Remember remains a completely riveting account of the
Titanic’s fatal collision and the behavior of the passengers and crew, both noble and
ignominious.
Some sacrificed their lives, while others fought like animals for their own survival.
Tuesday's with Morrie Mitch Albom N Memoir Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise,
who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a
more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For
Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty
years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights
faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the
bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you
once did when you were younger?
Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the
older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every
Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one
final “class”: lessons in how to live.
Chew on This
Charles
Wilson &
Eric Schlosser
N Science Chew on This covers the history of the fast-food industry and delves into the agribusiness
and animal husbandry methods that support it. From the 37-day life of the pre-McNugget
chicken to the appallingly inhumane conditions of slaughterhouses and meatpacking
plants, the author lays out the gruesome details behind the tasty burgers and sandwiches.
Equally disturbing is his revelation of the way that the fast-food giants have studied
childhood behavior and geared their commercials and free toy inclusions to hook the
youngest consumers. The text is written in a lively, lay-out-the-facts manner. Occasional
photographs add bits of visual interest, but the emphasis here is on the truth about soda pop
and obesity, fries and lies.

Book Approval Form
Student Name______________________________________________
Current Grade___________
Book Title__________________________________________________
Author_____________________________________________________
Teacher Signature__________________________________________
For teacher to complete
I approve this book for the following reasons (check all that apply):
________Student Interest
________Grade level reading level
________Student reading level
________Alignment to the grade level assessment
Student: Remember to keep this sheet to turn in to your teacher in September.
Note: If for any reason you do not read the book approved on this form, you can go back and
choose a book from the list or get a new book approved over the summer by the Supervisor of
Language Arts, Carolyn Armstrong, at the board office. 732-873-2400 ext. 407;
carmstrong@franklinboe.org.