English list

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUMMER READING
GRADE 4
Dear Parents, During the summer holidays, we recommend that students read regularly in French and English. Below you will find some suggestions categorized by level of difficulty. While reading, please ask your daughter some of the questions (see below); this will promote inferencing skills and understanding. In addition, it will allow them to share their reactions with you and will be more likely to appreciate the novel. After the holidays we will continue the discussion in class. No summary or report shall be required at the beginning of the year. For those who would like to read more than one book, you can choose among the titles listed below or any other book that you consider interesting. One of the pleasures of reading is that it can done anywhere! Good summer reading! Why read? The benefits of reading daily :
Studies show that “the more students read, the better readers they become”(Mraz,
2007).
Reading over the summer allows students to maintain or further develop their reading
skills.
Reading brings the world to your child on many levels, allowing students to develop
their imaginations and vocabulary, learn about other people and places.
Reading as a family, on a daily basis, gives families different opportunities to discuss
ideas, share opinions and enjoy quality time together.
Source: Mraz, 2007, Summer Reading Loss, Issues and Trends in Literacy
Suggested Questions for parents/Suggestions de questions pour les parents
1. Where is the setting of the story? Use adjectives to describe where the story took place.
Où l’histoire se déroule-t-elle? Utilise des adjectifs afin de décrire l’un des lieux principaux
de l’histoire.
2. Who are the characters in the story? Name them and describe their personality traits.
Use examples to support your answer.
Qui sont les principaux personnages du récit? Nomme-les et décris quelques-unes de leurs
caractériques physiques et morales. Utilise des exemples du texte.
3. What is one of the themes or one of the lessons learned in the story? Explain how you
know.
Selon toi, quel est l’un des thèmes de l’histoire ou l’une des leçons? Donne un exemple qui
le démontre.
4. What is the solution to the problem in the story? Can you think of another ending to the
story? What would you do differently if you were in the story?
Quelle solution vient régler ce problème dans le récit? Quelle autre solution pourrais-tu
proposer? Que ferais-tu si tu te retrouvais dans l’histoire?
5. How does the main character change from the beginning to the end of the story? Be
specific.
Comment le personnage principal a-t-il évolué ou changé du début à la fin de l’histoire?
Nomme ces différences et explique-les. (Le personnage est devenu…)
6. Find a passage in the story and relate it to your personal experiences or to another novel.
Trouve un passage de l’histoire qui te rappelle tes propres expériences (à l’école, dans ta
famille, en vacances, etc.) ou une autre histoire?
7. How did the author capture your interest (e.g. dialogue, humour, interesting vocabulary,
etc.)? Be specific and give examples.
Quelles sont les qualités du travail de l’auteur qui te font apprécier l’histoire? Donne des
exemples. (dialogues, vocabulaire, humour, etc.)
8. Why do you think the author wrote the book? How do you know?
Quelle était l’intention de l’auteur en écrivant ce livre? Pourquoi, selon toi, a-t-il écrit ce
livre?
Reading Suggestions Reading level: Easy
Author
Kate DiCamillo Title
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane Genre
Fiction Summary :
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. Roald Dahl
The Twits
Fiction/Humour
Summary :
Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, nastiest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything—except playing
mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the
Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. They don't just want out,
they want revenge.
Andrew Clements
Frindle
Fiction/Humour
Summary:
He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some
interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the
frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick
gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar,
and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is
frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can
do to stop it.
Cynthia Lord
Rules
Realistic Fiction
Summary:
Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism
and a family that revolves around his disability. She's spent years trying to teach David the rules—from “a peach is
not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public!”—in order to head off his embarrassing behaviours.
But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the next-door friend she's always
wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?
Reading level: Average
Author
Title
Genre
Michael Buckley
The Sister’s Grimm The Fairy-Tale
Detectives
Mystery/Fantasy
Summary :
In book one of this bestselling series, sisters Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother,
Relda Grimm. The sisters learn they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, whose famous book of fairy tales is
actually a collection of case files. The girls are the latest in a long line of fairy-tale detectives, and their new
hometown is filled with Everafters (as magical folks like to be called)—some good and some very, very bad. When
a mysterious Everafter sets a giant loose on the town, it’s up to the Sisters Grimm to save the day.
Lauren St. John
The White Giraffe
Adventure/Myth
Summary :
The night Martine Allen turns eleven years old is the night her life changes completely. Martine’s parents are killed
in a fire, so she must leave her home to live on an African wildlife reserve with a grandmother she never knew she
had. When Martine arrives, she hears tales of a mythical animal living there – a white giraffe. They say no one has
ever seen the animal, but it does leave footprints behind. Her grandmother insists that the white giraffe is just a
legend, but then, one stormy night, Martine looks out her bedroom window straight into the eyes of the tall silvery
animal. Could it be just Martine’s imagination, or is the white giraffe real? As if so, why is everyone keeping its
existence a secret?
Elise Broach
Shakespeare’s Secret
Mystery/Suspense
Summary:
Starting sixth grade at a new school is never easy, especially when your name is Hero. Named after a character in a
Shakespeare play, Hero isn’t at all interested in this literary connection. But when she’s told by an eccentric
neighbor that there might be a million dollar diamond hidden in her new house and that it could reveal something
about Shakespeare’s true identity, Hero is determined to live up to her name and uncover the mystery.
Jacqueline Davies
Lemonade Wars
Humour
Summary :
Fourth-grader Evan Treski is people-smart. He’s good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister,
Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart, but not especially good with people. So when the siblings’ lemonade stand
war begins, there really is no telling who will win—or even if their fight will ever end. Brimming with savvy
marketing tips for making money at any business, definitions of business terms, charts, diagrams, and even math
problems, this fresh, funny, emotionally charged novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone’s
intent.
Reading Level: Difficult
Author
Title
Genre
Cornelia Funke
The Thief Lord
Mystery/Fantasy
Summary :
Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling canals and misty alleyways
shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy
with a dark history of his own. He calls himself the Thief Lord. Prosper and Bo relish their new "family" and life of
petty crime. But their cruel aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the
boys' freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.
Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief
Adventure/Myth
Summary:
Percy Jackson is just another New York kid who has good intentions, a nasty stepfather, and a long line of schools
that have rejected him. He finds out he is a half-blood offspring of one of the Greek gods. Mount Olympus, has
migrated to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building (the center of Western civilization) while the door to Hades
can be found at DOA Recording Studio, somewhere in LA. With his new friends, a disguised satyr, and the halfblood daughter of Athena, Percy sets out across the country to rectify a feud between Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon.
Along the way they must cope with the Furies, Medusa, motorcycle thug Aires, and various other immortals.
Margaret Buffie
Who is Francis Rain?
Mystery
Summary :
It's going to be a long, hot summer for 15-year-old Lizzie. Normally a vacation at her grandmother's northern
Manitoba cottage is the highlight of the year, but this summer the whole family is going along, including her new
stepfather whom she detests. To escape the family's bickering, Lizzie explores a nearby island, where she finds the
remains of an old cabin and uncovers a pair of spectacles. When she tries on the old glasses she is surprised to find
herself watching a woman and girl from the past. Lizzie is determined to find out who these ghosts are, and why
they are appearing to her.
Linda Buckley - Archer
The Time Travelers
Fantasy/Mystery
Summary:
Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric
and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from
the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have
a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine -- and Peter and Kate's only chance of getting
home.