Summer Reading Philosophy
ACA’s English Department believes that the Summer Reading Program
is an opportunity for students to establish a broad literary foundation
and to develop cultural literacy. Second, students need to exercise
their independent reading and thinking skills during the summer months
in preparation for the next school year and ultimately for college.
Third, the Summer Reading Program contributes to a lifelong habit
of educational growth and entertainment. Literature allows students
to use their imaginations to take them to worlds unknown and gives
them a better understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Download
or browse the printable 2008 Summer Reading Brochure (PDF)
Quick Reference Summer Reading List - Required Reading
** The first novel listed as required reading for each grade will
be the first novel tested when school resumes in the fall.
SIXTH GRADE
**Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
Summer of the Swans
by Betsy Byars
SEVENTH GRADE
**Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O’Dell
EIGHTH GRADE
** Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell
The Wave
by Todd Strasser
FRESHMAN
**The Pearl
by John Steinbeck
The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
SOPHOMORE
**In His Steps
by Charles M. Sheldon
1984
by George Orwell
Students taking AP European History and the Accelerated English Course
should also read
**The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli
(to be tested in AP European History)
JUNIOR
**The Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch Albom
SENIOR
**
Leadership by the Book
by Ken Blanchard, Bill Hybels, and Phil Hodges
Choose one of the following:
The Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson
ADVANCED PLACEMENT
**Cold Mountain
by Charles Frazier
The Awakening
by Kate Chopin
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
