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May 12, 2026
Dear Families of Students in Grades 5-7,
As the school year comes to a close, we look forward to providing reading options for the summer. Our librarian and language arts faculty spend a great deal of time thinking about how to maintain our students’ literary engagement. Our summer reading program is designed to promote reading as an enjoyable and worthwhile activity, while also helping to maintain skills and reducing the impact of the “summer slide.” Students in each grade level are required to read one book from the attached list. This year, our faculty will also be choosing one of the books to read over the summer. Advisors and their students will have discussions about their chosen books during the first week of school.
The librarian and language arts faculty consider the varied interests, abilities, learning styles and maturity levels of students in each grade level, selecting books with appeal and points of view that align with our school’s educational mission. Although students are only required to read one book, we hope that they will use some of their extra time to read many more books of their choosing.
The required titles, book covers and brief synopses can be viewed on the library’s webpage and are also available under Middle School Resources on the Family Resources Page of the school’s website.
We hope you find a title or two that you’d like to read this summer and join in the fun with your children.
Regards,
Shaka Arnold
Head of Middle School
Amy Seymore
Language Arts Department Coordinator
Gwendolyn Nzimiro
Middle School Librarian
2026 MS Summer Reading Choices
Adventure, Fantasy & Science Fiction
Charlie Hernández & the League of Shadows by Ryan Calejo
The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen
Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
The Ranger's Apprentice: Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
The Singular Life of Aria Patel by Samira Ahmed
Historical Fiction
Becoming Muhammad Ali by Kwame Alexander and James Patterson
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Supteys and Steve Sheinkin
Into the Bright Open: a Secret Garden remix by Cherie Dimaline
Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Mystery
Blood in the water by Tiffany Jackson
The Clackity by Lora Senf
Girl Forgotten by April Henry
The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co.) by Jonathan Stroud
A Study in Secrets (Last Chance Academy) by Debbi Michiko Florence
Realistic Fiction
Azar on Fire by Olivia Abtahi
Dust by Alison Stine
Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy
A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Slugfest by Gordon Korman
Biography and Nonfiction
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
Earthrise: The Story of the Photograph That Changed the Way We See Our Planet by Leonard S. Marcus
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win
World War II by Candace Fleming
Mexikid by Pedro Martin
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day
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