Summer Reading 2021 "Tails & Tales - birth to adult, June 21-August 13. Register to log your reading here.

Summer Reading Booklists

Explore Tails and Tales this summer...

with these suggested titles for children and teens!

(Click right on the titles to go to the CWMARS catalog, see each book, and place a hold!)

Click here to jump to the Teen list

Click here to jump to local school reading lists

Children

Middle Grades

Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Legends

Sukey and the Mermaid by Robert D. San Souci

Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile by Won-Ldy Paye

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young

The Goat-Faced Girl: A Classic Italian Folktale by Leah Sharpe

Little Gold Star/A Cinderella Cuento by Joe Hayes

Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott

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Non-Fiction/Biographies

Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis

Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz

Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World by Vashti Harrison

Emmanuel's dream : the true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle

Realistic Fiction

Firebird by Misty Copeland

Our Favorite Day by Joowon Oh

Going Down Home with Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons

The Fisherman and the Whale by Jessica Lanan

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry

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Fractured Fairytales & Silly Stories

Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? and Other Notorious Nursery Rhyme Mysteries by David Levinthal

The Very Smart Pea and the Princess to Be by Mini Grey

Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz

The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray

This is Not That Kind of Book by Christopher Healy

Teens

Non-Fiction/Biographies

Finding Wonders: A Verse History of Girls and Science by Jeannine Atkins

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America's Test Kitchen

All in a Drop: how Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World by Lori Alexander

This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy

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Realistic Fiction

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

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Thriller/Adventure

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

Can You Survive [...]? An Interactive Survival Adventure (series)

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

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Graphic Novels & Fantasy

The Dragonet Prophecies by Tui Sutherland

The Girl Who Drank the Moon or The Witch's Boy by Kelly Regan Barnhill

Amulet by Kabu Kibuishu

Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty

Silver Batal and the Water Dragon Races by Kristin Halbrook

Short Stories/Anthologies

A Phoenix First Must Burn, Patrice Caldwell, ed.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, Ellen Oh, ed.

A Tyranny of Petticoats, Jessica Spotswood, ed.

Dear Heartbreak, Heather Demetrios, ed.

The Other Side by Juan Pablo Villalobos

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Realistic Fiction

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The Education of Margo Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your A** by Meg Medina

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Fairy Tales with a Fresh Spin

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie Dao

Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Grim, Christine Johnson, ed.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

A Face Like Glass by Francis Hardinge

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

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Memoirs

All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson

Positive: Surviving My Bullies, Finding Hope, and Living to Change the World by Paige Rawl

Free Lunch by Rex Ogle

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee

School Reading Lists

These reading lists have been provided to the Millbury Public Library by representatives of the respective schools. For further questions regarding assignments or reading requirements, please contact the school (links to the schools provided below). Note that these lists link to a version of the print copies; try a fuller catalog search for the titles in other formats, including downloadable e-books and audiobooks, or different editions.

Elmwood Street Elementary School:

All students--no list; your choice

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Abbey Kelley Shaw Charter School:

Kindergarten - Grade 3 are required to read the listed titles and encouraged to read at least three books of their choice. Middle School students are required to read the title listed for their grade level along with one choice book.

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Required:

Kindergarten --Dog on a Frog? or Frog on a Log? by Kes and Claire Gray

1st Grade-- Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

2nd Grade-- When I was Young in the Mountain by Cynthia Rylant

3rd Grade-- Frindle by Andrew Clements

4th Grade--Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo

5th Grade--The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

6th Grade--Restart by Gordon Korman

7th Grade--When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Choice Book (Choose one):

Grades 4/5

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Winterbourne Home: Vengence and Valor by Ally Carter 

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret by Trudi Trueit

President of the Whole 5th Grade by Sherri Winston

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Grades 6/7

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Serena Says by Tanita S. Davis

You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P by Alex Gino

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

7th Grade Only-- Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan

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Shaw Elementary School:

All students -- No required texts, books should be selected according to interest and independent reading level. There are suggested titles and authors including: 

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

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Blackstone Valley Tech:

Incoming Freshmen: Peak by Roland Smith

Returning students--no list; your choice

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Millbury Jr/Sr High School:

Grade 7: Eleven by Tom Rogers

All English Courses Grades 8-12: Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

Honors Level:

Grade 8: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Grade 9: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds

Grade 10: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Grade 11: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Grade 12: Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness by Liz Murray