Class of 2012, 2011, 2010,

 

Pentucket Reads 2009

 

Pentucket Reads is a summer reading program designed to celebrate reading while keeping students’ minds engaged during the summer vacation.

 

The list below includes both fiction and nonfiction and is organized by subject area for ease of searching; however, many books are interdisciplinary. The *starred books are good for underclassman and reluctant readers.  Students should choose books that are intriguing, and any students who needs help choosing a book should see Ms. Costello in the library.

 

Students will read a book, write a review for their book (see example below), and post it (beginning the week of September 1) to the discussion for that book/project on School Loop. We encourage students to continue an online discussion by responding to other people’s posts about their book. The reviews will be provided to your teachers. Students who participate fully in the Pentucket Reads summer reading program, will have an opportunity to win prizes like gift certificates for pizza, Dunkin Donuts, I-tunes and much more.  Students who read two or more books or post multiple discussions about the book will have their names entered into the prize pot as many times as they post.

 

Writing the Review

A review is part summary and part recommendation. You should give enough description to prove you read the book and give specific examples to support your like/dislike of the book. Include the title (underlined) and the author somewhere near the beginning of the review. If you use a quote, cite the page number. Write your review in MS Word first so you can spell check and edit. Then copy and paste it on to the SchoolLoop Group discussion for that book/project. Reminder: SchoolLoop is a transparent school-based tool. Teachers, parents, administrators, and all students can access all the discussions. Also be reminded, plagiarizing other reviews will be punished according to the student handbook.

 

Example of review:

If you like the Civil War, but wish history read more like a novel then The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is the book for you. The story of the generals who led troops at Gettysburg is a gripping, roller coaster ride. The following excerpt exemplifies the drama of war, “He was out in the open, waving his hat, pointing to a grove of trees. A moment later Buford looked that way and the horse was bare-backed. He did not believe it. He broke off and rode to see. Reynolds lay in the dirt road, the aides bending over him. When Buford got there the thick stain had already puddle the dirt beneath his head…. The battled went on without a commander.” (96) Shaara takes the reader day-by-day through the battle and back and forth between confederate and Union perspectives. A prime example is when Buford and Gamble arrive on the ridge over looking Gettysburg, “ 'Do you see any cavalry?’ Gamble swept the horizon, shook his head. Strange. Infantry moving alone in enemy country. Blind. Very Strange.”(34) In the next chapter, the reader is introduced to Longstreet’s perspective on the same day, “What bothered him most was the blindness. Jeb Stuart had not returned. The army moved all day in enemy country and they had not even known what was around the next bend.” (49)This book will appeal to those military history buffs who like the strategy of battle but also to social historians who like the intimacy of human relationships between characters. The humanity of Longstreet is clear in his memories of his three children’s death, “Longstreet took a deep breath. In the winter the fever had come to Richmond In a week they were all dead. All within a week, all three. He saw the sweet faces: moment of enormous pain.” (127) This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a model of great historical fiction and should not to be ignored.

 

Note to Parents

If you disagree with a book chosen by your child, merely have them choose another book from the list and then have them see Ms. Costello when school starts and she will give them access to the new group through School Loop.

Pentucket Reads 2009

                Timeline

October -March      Student &Faculty input

Week of April 27    Assigned to students through Social Studies classes

Week of  May 4      Sign-up for book(s) in English Classes

Week of May 12     Ms. Costello confirms sign-ups

Week of May 19     List of students not signed up issued.

May, June, July, August    READ!!

September 1-12 Post reviews to School Loop

 

SCIENCE & HEALTH

Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Le Couteur & Burreson

The 13th Element: The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus By John Emsley

*That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life by Dr. JoeSchwacz

*Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations By Alex Harris and Brett Harris

*You Are Here by Thomas Kostigen

*Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood by Julie Gregory

Beyond the Hippocratic Oath by John Dossetor

 

ENGLISH

*Eclipse by Stephanie Meyers (3rd book in twilight series)

*Brsingr by Christopher Paolini (3rd book in Eragon Series)

*Saving The World by James Patterson (3rd book in maximum ride series)

*Specials by Scott Westerfiedl (3rd book in Uglies series)

*The Off Season by Catherine Murdock (sequel to Dairy Queen)

*The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski (recommended by Ms. Fichera)

Peace Like a River  By Leif Enger  (recommended by Ms. Fichera)

Bad Monkeys: A Novel by Matt Ruff

*The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss  (recommended by Mr.Angelli and Mr. Langois)

*The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by  Michael Dorris

*The Spellman Files: A Novel by Lisa Lutz

Summerland by Michael Chabon. (recommended by Ms. Eppolitit)

*The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay (recommended by Ms. McCarron)

The River Wife by Jonis Agee (recommended by Mrs. Merritt)

*Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

*The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (recommended by Lisa Murray)

*High Fidelity by  Nick Hornby   (recommended by Ms. O’Brien)
Perfume by Patrick Suskind     (recommended by Ms. O’Brien)

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat   (recommended by Ms. O’Brien)

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary  By Simon Winchester

*Need By Carrie Jones

Surface Tension by Brent Runyon

Red Glass by Laura Resau

*Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

*Tears of a Tiger By Sharon Draper

*Peak By Roland Smith

Change me into Zeus’s  Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss

Bless Me Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Cold Sassy Tree By Olive Ann Burns

The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver

 

MATH

*Chances Are: Adventures in Probability by Michael Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan

Descartes's Secret Notebook: A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe By Amir Aczel

The Housekeeper and the Porfessor: A Novel By yoko Ogawa

The Numerati by Stephen Baker

 

HISTORY

*Outliers Malcolm Gladwell (recommended by Ms. Costello)

*The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America By Erik Larson (recommended by Mrs.  Stevens & Ms. Fichera)

*The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (recommended by Mrs. Merritt)

*The Queen’s Fool  by Phillipa Gregory (recommended by Ms. Costello)

*When Christ and his Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman  (recommended by Ms. Oliveira)

 

History Con’t

*Manhunt: The 12 day chase for Lincoln’s killer. By James Swanson (recommended by Mr. Stevens)

Stop Me if You Have Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes By Jim Holt

*Baghdad Express: A Gulf war Memoir by Joel Turnipseed

Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody

The Nazi Officer’s Wife By Edith Hahn Beer

 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

If you choose to read one of these you should give a good interpretation of the book and your review must be in the foreign language.

Le vieux juif blonde-Amanda Sthers (French)

L'idée fixe-Paul Valéry (French)

*Der Goldene Kompass by Philip Pullman (German)

*El Ratoncito de la Moto by Beverly Cleary (Spanish)

La Suma de los Dias by Isabel Allende (Spanish)

 

FINE ARTS

*This is your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession  by Daniel Levitan (recommended by Mr. Langlois)

The Birth of Venus: A novel By Sarah Dunant

*Luncheon of the Boating Party By Susan Vreeland

Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison

 

 

For a Book list with link to reviews go to School Loop Groups or library page of HS website

Where to Find Books
Public Libraries

Merrimac Public Library 978-346-9441

G.A.R. Memorial Library (W. Newbury) 978-363-1105

Langley-Adams Library, (Groveland)

978-372-1732

Local bookstores

Jabberwocky 978-465-9359

The Book Rack 978-462-8615

Barnes and Noble 603-898-1930

Borders 978-689-1999

Online Bookstores

 http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com