Summer Reading list
The Infinate by Patience Agbabi
Leaplings, children born on the 29th of February, are very rare. Rarer still are Leaplings with The Gift – the ability to leap through time. Elle Bíbi-Imbelé Ifíè has The Gift, but she has never used it. Until now. On her twelfth birthday, Elle and her best friend Big Ben travel to the Time Squad Centre in 2048. Elle has received a mysterious warning from the future. Other Leaplings are disappearing in time – and not everyone at the centre can be trusted.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Book level 6.5
Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, is set in an alternate 19th Centurt England during the reign of King James III. It tells of the adventures of cousins Bonnie and Sylvia and their friend Simon as they seek to thwart the evil schemes of their new teacher, Miss Slightcarp
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Book level 6.5
One of the original coming of age novels written by Louisa M Alcott in 1868/69.
Little Women follows the lives, loves and tribulations of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War and is one of the best loved books of all time
The Bone Sparrow by Zan Fraillon
Book level 4.9
Perfect for fans of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This is a beautiful, vivid and deeply moving story about a refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre . This novel reminds us all of the importance of freedom, hope, and the power of a story to speak for anyone who’s ever struggled to find a safe home.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Book level 5.5
The enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and contented hobbit whose life is turned upside down when he joins the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves on their quest to reclaim stolen treasure. It is a journey fraught with danger and in the end it is Bilbo Baggins alone who must face the guardian of this treasure, the most dreaded dragon in all Middle-earth.
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Book level 8.6
For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it is more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself. But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life, where the meaningful things like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic, have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Book level 5.7
After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan – and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Book level 5.1
There is something strange about Coraline’s new home. It is not the mist, or the cat that always seems to be watching her, nor the signs of danger that Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, her new neighbours, read in the tea leaves. It’s the other house, the one behind the old door in the drawing room. Another mother and father with black button eyes and papery skin are waiting for Coraline to join them there. And they want her to stay with them. For ever. She knows that if she ventures through that door, she may never come back.
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
Book level – 4.7
A classic science fiction novella by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction caused by the Iron Man. A trap is set for him, but he cannot be kept down, he then befriends a small boy and when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world.
Millions by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Book level – 4
Brothers Damian and Anthony did not mean to get caught up in a botched train robbery. But what would you do if a massive bag of cash dropped from the sky and you had only a few days to spend it before it became worthless? Buy a million pizzas? End world poverty? Not such an easy decision, is it?
The boys soon find out that being rich is a mug’s game. Not only is the clock ticking but the bank robbers want their money back.
