Livingston Lord Library
Curriculum Materials Center

2004 Summer Reading List
for Teacher Education Candidates

No matter what grade level or subject you plan to teach, it is important that you encourage your students to enjoy reading.To do this, you need to read widely to develop a strong foundation in literature for children and teens. The following books are selected for their excellence and appropriateness to future PreK-12 teachers. While most of the titles are recent publications, others are included because of their historical importance. All of the books listed are available at Livingston Lord Library, Minnesota State University Moorhead. They will also be available in many bookstores and public libraries.

This bibliography is also recommended for parents, inservice teachers, librarians, and others who are interested in young people and reading.

Blumenthal, Karen.Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929.156pp.Atheneum, 2002.
        On the 75th Anniversary of the 1929 Stock Market Crash, learn how twenty-five billion dollars of individual wealth was lost in six terrifying days.

Boston, Lucy.The Children of Green Knowe.157pp.Harcourt, 1954.
        In this first in a series of classic time fantasy stories, Tolly visits his great-grandmother at her Green Knowe estate and brings to life three children who lived there 400 years earlier.(50th Anniversary)

Brashares, Ann.The Second Summer of the Sisterhood.373pp.Delacorte, 2003.
        The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel The Second Summer of the Sisterhood provide readers with an entertaining and up-close-and-personal view of four teenage girls who have been best friends since babyhood.

Cobb, Vicki.I Face the Wind.Illus. Julia Groton. 33pp.HarperCollins, 2003. 
        On most days we have plenty of wind to carry out these simple hands-on activities for the younger child.(2004 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book).See also I Get Wet and I See Myself.

DiCamillo, Kate.The Tale of Desperaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread.Illus. Timothy Basil Ering. 267pp.Candlewick, 2004. 
        Desperaux Tilling, a diminutive mouse with very large ears, is an unlikely hero.Desperaux’s story is skillfully woven together with those of three other characters, a princess, a peasant girl, and a rat. (2003 Newbery Medal. Minnesota Author)

Dodds, Dayle Ann.Where’s Pup?Illus. Pierre Pratt. 30pp.Dial, 2003.
        Tour the circus with a clown as he looks for his partner, Pup.The rhythm, rhyme, and repetition of the text are just right for emerging readers.

Doherty, Berlie.White Peak Farm. 102pp. Orchard, 1984. 
        Set in Britain on an isolated Derbyshire farm, this is a bittersweet story of a family struggling with change. (2004 Phoenix Award)

Donnelly, Jennifer.A Northern Light. 389pp.Harcourt, 2003.
        In this well crafted novel, Donnelly weaves together romance, historical fiction, and a murder mystery.(2004 Michael L. Printz Honor Book)

Durbin, William.Song of Sampo Lake.217pp.Random House, 2002.
        In this historical novel, a Finnish immigrant family settles in Northern Minnesota in 1900.From the dangerous work in an iron mine to the backbreaking labor needed to homestead 160 acres, fifteen-year-old Matti has ample opportunities to prove his “sisu.” (Minnesota Author)

Fitzhugh, Louise.Harriet the Spy.298pp.Harper, 1964.
        Harriet, a gifted eleven-year-old, has the feeling of being alone against the world.This novel was one of the first of the New Realism movement in children’s books.(40th Anniversary)

Fradin, Dennis Brindell.The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence.Illus. Michael McCurdy. 164pp.Walker, 2002.
        In preparation for your 4th of July celebration, learn more about the document that is our nation’s birth certificate.Includes profiles of each of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Franco, Betsy.Mathematickles!Illus. Steven Salerno. 34 pp.McElderry, 2003.
        Basic mathematical concepts plus wordplay create descriptive poetry for each season.Brightly colored retro style illustrations help readers understand the mathematical equations and graphs.A truly unique book.

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan.Action Jackson.Illus. Robert Andrew Parker.32pp.Roaring Brook, 2002.
        This slice-of-life biography describes several months in 1950 when Jackson Pollock painted his now famous “Lavender Mist.”In his watercolor illustrations, Parker paints with loose lines that echo the energetic quality of Pollock’s painting.

Grimes, Nikki.Bronx Masquerade.167pp.Dial, 2002.
        In an inner city Bronx high school, a wise English teacher hooks his students on poetry through a unit on the Harlem Renaissance.Inspired to write their own poetry, these eighteen students begin reaching out to each other as they share their poems on Open Mike Fridays.(2003 Coretta Scott King Award)

Johnson, D.B.Henry Builds a Cabin. 30pp.Houghton, 2002. 
        On the 150th anniversary of Walden, introduce young children to Thoreau through Henry the bear.Based on passages from Walden and many images from the Concord area.See also Henry Hikes to Fitchburg.

Lee, Claudia M., compiler.Mandaderos de la lluvia y otros poemas de América Latina.Illus. Rafael Yockteng. 80pp.Groundwood, 2002.
        An excellent selection of poems in Spanish, including classic verses and traditional rhymes.Includes well-know Latin American children’s poets, such as Ruben Dario of Nicaragua and Gabriela Mistral, a Nobel prize-winner from Chile.

Lourie, Peter.On the Trail of Lewis and Clark: A Journey Up the Missouri River. 48pp.Boyds Mills, 2002.
        On this 200th anniversary join Lourie and three friends as they follow the trail of Lewis and Clark on the Missouri River from Omaha to its headwaters in Montana.See also Animals on the Trail with Lewis and Clark by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent.

McGhee, Alison.Countdown to Kindergarten.Illus. Harry Bliss. 32pp.Harcourt, 2002. 
        A soon-to-be kindergartener worries about all the rumors she’s heard about the rules at school.

Osa, Nancy.Cuba 15.277pp.Delacorte, 2003.
        To please her Cuban grandmother, Violet reluctantly agrees to having a quinceañero, the traditional Latina fifteenth-year coming-of-age ceremony.A smattering of Spanish words and phrases are found throughout the novel.(2004 Pura Belpré Honor Book)

Park, Linda Sue.When My Name was Keoko.199pp.Clarion, 2002.
        In a novel set in Korea from 1940-45, a brother and sister alternately narrate their stories of living in Japanese-occupied Korea.Park deftly explores how the totalitarian occupation impactedthe lives of ordinary people.

Peacock, Thomas, and Marlene Wisuri.The Good Path: Ojibwe Learning and Activity Book for Kids.127pp.Afton Historical Society, 2002. 
        Combines history, culture, and traditional tales to introduce readers to the Good Path, the nine core values that form Ojibwe philosophy.(2003 Minnesota Book Award)

Pulver, Robin.Punctuation Takes a Vacation.Illus. Lynn Rowe Reed. 30pp.Holiday House, 2003.
        After days of teaching punctuation, Mr. Wright says to his class, “Let’s give punctuation a vacation.”With that, the punctuation marks get huffy and decide to go on a vacation to Take-a-Break Lake.Mr. Wright and his students are left behind totally confused and unable to communicate.

Schultz, Jan Neubert.Firestorm.203pp. Carolrhoda, 2002.
        Fifteen-year-old Maggie escapes from the 1894 firestorm in Hinckley but returns to witness the unbelievable devastation the forest fire left behind.Schultz used eyewitness accounts to create her riveting novel.(2003 Minnesota Book Award)

Simoen, Jan.What about Anna? Trans. from the Dutch by John Nieuwenhuizen. 254pp.Walker, 2002.
        Sixteen-year-old Anna reluctantly realizes she has been “chosen” to solve the mystery of the fate of her older brother, who the family believes was killed by a land mine in Bosnia.

Smith, David J.If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People.Illus. Shelagh Armstrong. 32pp. Kids Can, 2002.
        What if the world were a village of just 100 people?Smith compresses the world’s population down to 100 in order to provide readily understandable data on religions, languages, education, resources, and much more.

Tackach, James.Brown v. Board of Education. 111pp.Lucent, 1998.
      Every teacher should be well versed in this important U.S. Supreme Court Case, which “marked the beginning of the end of racial segregation in the United States” and set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement.(50th Anniversary of the Case)

Weidt, Maryann N.Oh, the Places He Went: A Story about Dr. Seuss—Theodor Seuss Geisel.Illus. Kerry Maguire. 64pp.Carolrhoda, 1994.
   During this Seussentennial, share biographical information about Dr. Seuss from Minnesota Author, Maryann Weidt’s biography.For a visual tour of Seuss’ work, consult The Seuss the Whole Seuss and Nothing but the Seuss by Charles D. Cohen.

Woods, Brenda.The Red Rose Box.136pp. Putnam, 2002.
        Ten-year-old Leah lives in rural Louisiana in 1953.When she visits her rich aunt in Los Angeles, Leah experiences “freedom” by discovering what life is like outside of the segregated south.(2003 Coretta Scott King Honor Book)

Books selected by Carol H. Sibley, Curriculum Librarian, Livingston Lord Library, Minnesota State University, Moorhead, Minnesota, 04/04.  Please send comments about the summer reading list to sibley@mnstate.edu.