St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
Dear Parents and Students,
According to the American Library Association, students who read
during their summer break will benefit in many ways. Listed below is a
short list of the benefits.
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Reading in the summer helps students retain knowledge taught
during the school year.
Reluctant readers will be able to practice reading skills over the
summer. This will give such students a
head start to the upcoming year.
Students may generate interest in the
local library where they will have
access to summer programs and
thousands of books.
More importantly, students who read during
the summer break are more likely to
develop a love for reading which may in
turn become a lifelong habit thus increasing
their knowledge of all things. Parents please note that children will
participate in summer reading activities when school resumes in
August. For example, summer assignments will be graded by the new
teacher and become a part of projects and/or class work to come.
Students please find the grade in which you are entering. Be sure to
complete the assignment for your school. There is an attached reading
log to help you keep track of your reading. Bring it to school on your
first day for a chance at a wonderful surprise!
St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
St. Helena Arts and Technology Academy and
St. Helena Early Learning Center
Assignments
Attention students in grades 2-6, please choose and complete ONE of the
following assignments. Your response should be 1-2 pages in length and may be
typed. Be sure to put your name, the title, and the author of your book at the top
of your response.
1. Choose any character in the text and explain how he/she has changed
throughout the story. In your response, please provide at least three details
from the text that support your ideas. Secondly, make a connection to this
response by explaining how you have changed as a person (e.g. as a
student, friend, etc.).
2. Choose any character in the text and explain
whether this character is admirable or not. In
your response, please provide at least three
details from the text that support your ideas.
Secondly, make a connection to this response
by writing about someone who is admirable in
your own life.
3. Describe an obstacle a character had to
overcome and how he/she overcame it. In your response, please provide at
least three details from the text that support your ideas. Secondly, make a
connection to this response by describing an obstacle you had to overcome
in your own life.
4. Describe a major life lesson the author conveys in the text and how this
lesson is learned. In your response, please provide at least three details
from the text that support your ideas. Secondly, make a connection to this
response by explaining how we can apply this lesson to our own lives.
**If you choose to read either of the two nonfiction texts on the list, you can choose any of the above
assignments but substitute the word “individual” for the word “character.”
St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
St. Helena Early Learning Center
Kindergarten - First Grade
Books by Dr. Seuss, such as:
• The Cat in the Hat
• Green Eggs and Ham
• Hop on Pop
• Put Me in the Zoo
• One Fish, Two Fish
Books by Beatrix Potter, such as:
• The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
• The Tale of Tom Kitten
• The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
Books and poems by A.A. Milne, such as:
• Winnie the Pooh
• Now We Are Six (poetry)
• When We Were Very Young (poetry)
Picture books related to basic maps, human body, matter, electricity.
Second Grade
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Come Back Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parrish
If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
It’s a Fair Day Amber Brown by Paula Danziger
Any book for the Magic Tree House series
Any book from the Junie B. Jones series
St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
St. Helena Arts and Technology Academy
Third Grade
 Caleb’s Story by Patricia MacLachlan
 Ramona Quimby, age 8 by Beverly Cleary
 The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Fourth Grade
 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia
MacLachlan
 Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume
 The Report Card by Andrew Clements
Fifth Grade
 The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
 Misty of Chincoteague by Marquerite Henry
 Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
Sixth Grade
 Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
 Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
*Author’s name in italics.*
St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
St. Helena College and Career Academy
Task: Each student is responsible for reading the books from the required list for their grade
level. After reading the books, students must complete the attached book report forms and
use the information to draft a short book report.
Grade
Required Readings
Suggested Readings
th
7
 Long Journey Home: Stories from Black  Blue Tights (Rita Williams Garcia)
History (Julius Lester)
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
 Harriet Tubman: Freedom Leaders
 Dreamland Lake (Richard Peck)
(Tanya Savory)
8th
 Up from Slavery: An Autobiography
 The Moves Make the Man (Bruce Brooks)
(Booker T. Washington)
 Wolf Rider (Avi)
 The Runner(Cynthia Voight)
 A Family Apart (Jean Lowery Nixon)
 Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
th
9
 The Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
 A Hero Ain't Nothing But a Sandwich
(Alice Childress)
 The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison)
 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya
10th
 A Gathering of Old Men (Ernest Gaines)
Angelou)
 Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph
 The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The
Campbell)
True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a
 Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Literary Obsession (Allison Hoover
 Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)
Bartlett)
 Like Water for Chocolate (Laura
Esquivel)
11th
 Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
 Alive (Naya S.)
12th
 Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer
Bradley)
 Mama Day (Gloria Naylor)
*Author’s name in italics.*
 The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
 Long Drive Home (Will Allison)
 A Lesson Before Dying (Ernest Gaines)
 The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
 Native Son (Richard Wright)
 The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
(Ernest Gaines)
St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
Summer Reading Assignment
Grades 7-12
Name of Book ______________________________________________________
Author ____________________________________________________________
Number of pages ___________
Did you complete the book? Yes
No
Student Signature ____________________________________________________
Parent Signature _____________________________________________________
This summer, your assignment will be to read the
books on the required list for your grade level. You
will then create a book report that contains the
following:
 A 3 page summary of the book
 Descriptions of the major characters ( 1-2
paragraphs each)
 1-2 page reaction explaining your opinion of
the book and whether you would
recommend it to others
 an attractive cover
Please answer these questions on your own, and
do not use an internet source, media or other
resources. Type your answers and staple to this
one. Your answers should be well developed, a
minimum of two paragraphs. Have a great
summer.
1. Would you classify this novel as biography,
historical fiction, adventure, romance, mystery,
fantasy, science fiction, religious, gothic, detective,
novel of manners, or other? Why did you choose
this classification?
2. Biographical sketch—Write a biographical sketch
of one of the characters in your book. You might ask
yourself these questions: What is the writer’s
attitude toward the subject? What is the writer’s
purpose in creating this character? Does the writer
use description, dialogue, or commentary to
present this character? What do you learn about
him/her from his/her actions or what other
characters say about him/her? What picture of this
character emerges by the end of the story?
3. Plot is the structure of events, which result from
a conflict. Explain the main plot of the novel. These
questions might guide you in your writing: What
happens in the book? At what point is excitement at
its peak? How does the writer signal the turning
point of the action? Are all the loose ends tied up by
the end of the book?
4. Identify the setting for the novel and discuss its
importance.
5. Point of view is the method the writer chooses to
tell the story. Choose an important scene in the
book and tell it from another character’s point of
view.
6. Identify a theme from the novel and discuss how
the author brings you to a conclusion about it (or
does he or she reach a conclusion?).
St. Helena Parish School District
2017 Reading List
Name of Student: _______________________________________________________
Title of Book: ___________________________________________________________
Author: ________________________________________________________________
Author’s Purpose
(entertain, persuade, inform,
explain)
Genre
(Fable, fairy tale, poetry, folktale,
non-fiction, myth, science fiction,
drama, mystery, realistic fiction,
historical fiction, biography,
autobiography)
Point of View
(Who told the story?)
Main Characters and description
(traits, similarities/difference)
Setting
(time of day, place, year)
Rising Action
Climax
Resolution
Connection
(text to text, text to self, text to
world)