1. Joey Pigza Loses Control By: Jack Gantos Summary: Joey Pigza, who is taking medication to keep himself from getting too wired from his ADHD, goes to spend the summer with the father he has never known. He quickly learns that his father, Carter Pigza, is an older version of his old out-of-control self. Joey really wants his six-week visit with his dad to count, to show him he's not as wired as he used to be, to show his dad how much he loves him. But Carter Pigza's not an easy guy to love. He's eager to make it up to Joey for past wrongs and to show him how to be a winner, to take control of his life and Joey can't get a word in, and his dad doesn't listen to anything Joey tries to say. But Carter Pigza believes Joey can be as normal a kid as he wants without medication because he has started drinking again and he thinks taking control means giving up the things that keep Joey safe. Joey wants to believe him more than anything in the world. At the end of the story Joey Pigza returns back home to his mom’s house by leaving the championship baseball game without saying goodbye to his dad. Characters: Joey Pigza, Carter Pigza, Mrs. Pigza Setting: Carter Pigza's House Theme: Divorce 2. Owl Moon By: Jane Yolen Summary: A little boy and his Pa went owling in to the woods; he said he has been waiting to go owling with Pa for a long, long time. The little boy says his nose and the top of his cheeks felt cold and hot at the same time but he never said a word because “when you go owling you have to be quiet.” The little boy and his Pa are very patient waiting for this owl and making owl calls and at the end of the book the owl calls back and they find him! After they stare at the owl for awhile they head back home and Pa always says “When you go owling you don’t need words or warm or anything but hope.” Characters: Pa, little boy Setting: Woods Theme: Family 3. I Can Be Anything By: Jerry Spinelli Summary: I Can Be Anything is a book about a little boy who is troubled by the fact that he does not know what he wants to be when he grows up. All of the jobs listed are jobs that every child can be, because they are very simple and original things such as a good-bye waver and a dandelion blower. At the end of the story it says that the little boy will be all of the jobs listed in the book and he is so happy. Characters: A little boy Setting: No real setting Theme: You can be anything you want! 4. Ramona Quimby Age 8 By: Beverly Cleary Summary: Ramona Quimby, Age 8, is a story of a young third-grader's experiences as she starts a new school year at a new school and deals with family stresses as well as riding the bus for the first time. Characters: Ramona Quimby Setting: School, Home Theme: New experiences 5. Superfudge By: Judy Blume Summary: This story is about a boy named Peter and his parents explain to him that they are going to have a baby and he is not happy about it; so he says he is running away. Without really anywhere to go he decides to “stay until the baby comes” because he thinks it’ll turn out like his little brother, Fudge. After a few months pass Peter’s mom and dad break new news that they’re moving to Princeton, New Jersey from New York City. As well as the fact that Warren (Peter’s dad) is taking a year off from his job to stay home and write a book. Peter meets a new friend named Alex Santo and Fudge continues to cause trouble in his new kindergarten class because his teacher would not call him “Fudge.” Finally, life goes back to how it used to be and they move back to New York. Peter says he was finally getting used to Princeton but that he missed New York. ' Characters:Peter, Fudge, Warren, Alex Santo, Mom Setting:New York City, Princeton New Jersey Theme: Family Experiences, Moving 6. When I Was Young in the Mountains By: Cynthia Rylant Summary: When I Was Young in the Mountains is about a little child who tells stories about what it was like to be them and what their grandparents did for her. "When I was young in the mountains, I never wanted to go to the ocean, I never wanted to go to the desert. I never wanted to go anywhere else in the world, for I was in the mountains. And that was always enough." Characters: A child Setting: West Virginia, Appalachian Mountains Theme: Family 7. Junie B., First Grader (at last!) By: Barbara Park Summary: Junie B. started her first day of school in Mr. Scary’s first grade class. She was so excited to see her old best friend Lucille in her class, but Lucille has made two new friends (Camille and Chenille) , and Grace has made a new friend on the bus as well and will no longer sit with Junie B. She ends up going to see Mrs. Weller, the school nurse, and she tells Junie B. that she needs glasses. Her new friend Herb saves her at show and tell and makes all the kids think Junie’s glasses are cool; she ends up liking first grade! Characters: Junie B. Jones, Mr. Scary, Camille, Chenille, Grace, Mrs. Weller, Lucille Setting: First grade classroom Theme: School 8. A Sick Day for Amos McGee By: Philip Stead Summary: Amos McGee goes to the zoo to play and take care of all of the animals until one day Amos gets sick. He plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the tortoise, sits with the penguin, lends a handkerchief to the rhinoceros and reads with the owl. When Amos McGee gets sick all of the animals show up at his house to take care of him and do what he did with them. Characters: Amos McGee, Zoo animals Setting: Zoo, Amos' bed room Theme: Friendship 9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid By: Jeff Kinney Summary: A middle–school- aged boy named Greg Heffley writes in his journal everyday throughout the entire year. He draws pictures and he finally gets to be the cartoonist for the school newspaper. A few days later Rowley had told on Greg for the worm-chasing incident and he got his safety patrol job taken away from him. It continues on throughout the entire year explaining different events that happened to him. Characters: Greg Heffley, Rowley Setting: School Theme: Middle School Experiences 10. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale By: Mo Williams Summary: This story is about a little girl named Trixie. One day Trixie and her father were leaving the Laundromat and she realized something, she turned to her dad and spoke jibberish, and after a second time of speaking her father started getting frustrated. The first thing her mom asked when they got home was, “Where’s Knuffle Bunny?” The whole family ran down the block, through the park, zoomed past the school, and into the Laundromat. Trixie’s dad looked, and looked, and looked for Knuffle Bunny but he was nowhere to be found. Her dad then looked harder and found Knuffle Bunny in the washing machine. Trixie screamed, “KNUFFLE BUNNY!” And those were the first words she ever said. Characters: Trixie, Trixie's father, Knuffle Bunny Setting: Laundromat, Trixie's House Theme: Childhood Attachments 11. The Snowy Day By: Ezra Jack Keats Summary: A little boy named Peter woke up one morning to snow covering the ground and decided to play in the snow all day long. At the end of the day he makes a snowball and puts it in his pocket but to his surprise it was no longer there before he went to bed. But the next morning he woke up and new snow was falling so he played in the snow all day again with his friend. Characters: Peter and his friends Setting: Peter's house and outside playing in the snow Theme: Winter 12. The Dot By: Peter H. Reynolds Summary: Vashti was stuck in art class thinking what to draw but she couldn’t think of anything because she thinks she doesn’t know how to draw! Her art teacher tries to give her advice and introduce a little fun into her situation by looking at Vashti’s blank white paper. At the end of the story Vashti was at the school art show and noticed her artwork was all over the wall. A little boy looked up at her and said “You’re a really good artist! I wish I could draw.” So Vashti handed him a blank piece of paper and instructed him to do exactly what her art teacher had told her. Characters: Vashti Setting: School Theme: Determination and goals 13. The Runaway Bunny By: Margaret Wise Brown Summary: A little bunny wanted to run away so he told his mom and she said she would run after him. Then he says but if you run after me then I will become a fish in a trout stream and swim away from you. But his mom said then she would become a fisherman. The entire book continues this way and finally at the end of the book they are snuggled up in their home under the big tree. Characters: Two bunnies Setting: No real setting Theme: Family love 14. White Snow Bright Snow By: Alvin Tresselt Summary: This is a story about snow and how everything changes when it snows. Characters: Children, Rabbits, Postman, Policeman, Farmer Setting: Village Theme: Seasons
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