Take your young teen to your local library this summer and check out some of these great titles. Read my recent blog to learn about the importance of summer reading programs and how they can benefit your child.
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer is a lovable rogue who is constantly getting into trouble. This book outlines his adventures with his best friend Huck as he runs away finds buried treasure, and even attends his own funeral. Every boy (and girl) will be able to relate to Tom.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
This is the often-humorous story about a twelve-year-old boy named Moose. He moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 where his dad is a prison guard. Besides the fact that he lives on an island prison he has to deal with his autistic sister.
Beyond the Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky
Set during the time of the Salem Witch Trials Mary faces the rumors and the accusation that her mother is a witch. Mary and her brother Caleb are forced to make a decision are the villagers right? Or is her mother innocent?
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
This is the timeless story of sisters who face the challenges of life together while their father is fighting in the Civil War. Readers will laugh and cry with Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy as they journey through life’s mishaps together.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Twelve year-old Jonas, lives in a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness, no unemployment, and where every family is happy. Yet as he learns the disturbing truth about the utopian society he lives in he has to decide whether the price for a perfect society is too great to pay.
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
While his father returns to collect his family, thirteen-year-old Matt is left to guard the homestead on the edge of the frontier. When a hive of bees attack him an old Native American and his grandson Attean attend to his wounds. The old man asks Matt to teach Attean to read as payment for his help. A friendship develops as Matt teaches Attean to read while Attean teaches Matt how to survive in the wilderness and about Native American Culture.
Stranger With My Face by Lois Duncan
This is a suspenseful mystery in which Laurie Stratton has to find out who is impersonating her. What evil force is trying to take over her life? Besides the mystery the author explores the themes of popularity and relationships.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Young Jim Hawkins receives a warning about a man with one leg from a mysterious sea captain as well as a treasure map. With the help of some friends he acquires a ship to go after the treasure. But makes the mistake of hiring a one-legged cook named Long John Silver who also picks the crew. When they get to Treasure Island Jim finds that the crew is really a group of pirates.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Thirteen-year-old Charlotte begins her journey across the Atlantic to America as a prim schoolgirl and finds herself a part of the crew when the crew rebels. At first she sides with the captain but quickly realized that he is not the civilized man he claims to be and joins the crew. Her family refuses to believe her tale so she returns to the sea.
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
Jeff Bussey joins a regiment fighting for the North during the Civil War. His idealism is short-lived as he is faced with the horrors of war. At one point he is sent behind enemy lines and discovers that the men fighting for the south are just the same as him.
Other great titles include:
Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster
Down the Rabbit Hole and Echo Falls Mystery by Peter Abrahams
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George.
My Brother Sam is Dead by James and Christopher Collier
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The River Between Us by Richard Peck
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera Cleaver, Bill Cleaver