Posted by Arpita Shah, English Teacher, Middle School.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Get to Know the Classics!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Peter Pan by Sir James Barrie

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Any other classic is also acceptable. Look for abridged versions that will be easier to read.

Challenge

Rooftop Astronomer:Story about Maria Mitchell by Stephanie Sammantino McPherson

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (any book by Gary Paulsen)

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (Any books by him)

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Little House on the Prarie, The Long Winter, or On the Banks of PlumCreek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Lost in Red Hawk Woods by Megan Stine

Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret

My Side of the Mountain or One Day in theTropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Frozen Fire by James Houston

Island of the Blue Dolphins, or Thunder Rolling in the Mountains by Scott O’Dell

The Tower Trick by Megan Stine

Rocks Tell Stories by Sidney Horenstein

Isabelle the Itch by Constance C. Greene

Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz

Snowshoe Trek to Otter River by David Budbill

Tornado by Betsy Byars

Sacajawea by Judith St. George

Journey to the Planets by Patricia Lauber

The Mystery of Mars by Sally Ride & Tam O’Shaughnessy

Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Watson’s Go to Birmingham by Richard Peck

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Extra Challenge

Snow Treasure,  Marie McSwigan

Anna of Byzantium,  Tracy Barrett

A View from Saturday,  E.L. Konisburg

The Midwife’s Apprentice,  K. Cushman

Walk Two Moons,  Sharon Creech

Tangerine,  Edward Bloor

My Side of the Mountain,  Jean George

Tuck Everlasting,  Natalie Babbitt

Canyons by Gary Paulsen

The Last Warrior,  Suzanne Pierson Ellisen

Twenty One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Super Challenge

Johnny Tremain,  Esther Forbes

Dicey’s Song, Cynthia Voigt

Devil’s Arithmetic, Jane Yolen

Freak the Mighty, Rodman Philbrick

True North, Kathryn Lasky

Shoeless Joe, W.P. Kinsella

The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells

Where the Red Fern Grows, W. Rawls

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson (any books by Katherine Patterson)

Sign of the Chrysanthemum, Katherine Paterson and Peter Landa

Feel free to choose other books from any of the authors listed. You may also find other international and Indian authors you like. Happy Reading!