Summer Reading Program
Dear TIA Parents,
The staff of The Islamic Academy for Peace hopes you and your children will enjoy spending the summer months together. Whether you are traveling abroad or just exploring your own backyard, there are so many wonderful adventures to be had. In particular, this is one of the best times to read with your children and to instill in them a love for literature.
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We encourage you to check out as many books from your local library as you can. Our lists give you a starting point. Most librarians can assist you in locating these books as well as by offering suggestions for further reading. In addition, the public libraries typically offer a variety of reading programs during the summer.
For each grade level, we have included a variety of books. Please encourage your child to read at least 3 books from among the list. Remember, children learn by example, so check out a book for you too! Have a great summer!
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TIA Staff
Children Transitioning from
Pre-K to Kindergarten
Books with a Predictable Pattern:
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Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
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Good Night Noon by Margaret Wise Brown
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Books with Rhyming:
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Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
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Splat by Mary Margaret Perez-Mercado
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Dr. Seuss Books including
o Fox in Sox
o There’s a Wocket in My Pocket
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Books with a Plot Children are able to follow:
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Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
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Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard, James Marshall
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Good Night Noon by Margaret Wise Brown
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Books with Classic Children’s Stories:
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Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McClosky
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The Tortoise and the Hare by Arthur Rackham
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Love you Forever by Robert Munsch
Students Entering Grade 1
Picture Books:
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One Afternoon by Yumi Heo
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Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
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My Map Book by Sara Fanelly
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It Takes a Village by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
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We Can Do It by Laura Dwight
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Anansi and the Spider by Gerald McDermott
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One Hundred is a Family by Pam Munoz Ryan
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New Shoes for Sylvia by Johanna Hurwitz
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Road Builders by B. G. Hennesey
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Mel's Diner by Marissa Moss
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Work Song by Gary Paulson
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America the Beautiful by Katherine Lee Bates
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The Great Monarch Butterfly Chase by R.W. N. Prior
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Around the Pond: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George
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World Water Watch by Michelle Koch
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Homeplace by Anne Shelby
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Treasure Nap by Juanita Havill
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The Goat in the Rug by Geraldine
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Tell Me a Story, Mama by Angela Johnson
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Happy Holidaysaurus by Bernard Most
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Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo
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Honest Abe by Edith Kunhardtx
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Books by Specific Authors:
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Jan Brett - The Umbrella
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Little Critter - Gina and Mercer Mayer
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Vera B. Williams - A Chair for my mother
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Don Freeman - A Pocket for Corduroy
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Arnold Lobel - Frog and Toad Series
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Kevin Henkes - Chrysanthemum, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, Owen
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Ezra Jack Keats - Jennie’s Hat, Peter’s Chair, Whistle for Willie
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William S. Steig - Brave Irene, Doctor DeSoto, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
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Bernard Waber - Ira Says Goodbye, Ira Sleeps Over, Lyle, Lye Crocodile
Students Entering Grade 3
Picture Books:
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Max’s Words, by Kate Banks
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Madeline by L. Bemelmans
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One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
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One Grain of Rice by Demi
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Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell
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Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey
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Chapter Books by Specific Authors:
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Anne Barrows: Ivy & Bean (Series)
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Beverly Cleary: Ramona (Series), Socks, Henry Higgins (Series)
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Ruth Chrisnas Gannett: My Father’s Dragon (Series)
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Mary Pope Osborne: Magic Tree House (Series), The Brave Little Seamstress
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James Preller: Jigsaw Jones (Series)
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Geronimo Stilton: Geronimo Stilton (Series)
Students Entering Grade 2
Picture Books:
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Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold
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The Berenstain Bears books by Stan and Jan Berenstain
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Books by Jan Brett
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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs & Old MacDonald had an Apartment House by Judy Barrett
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Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
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The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
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The Patchwork Quilt by Flourney/Pinkney
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Chapter Books:
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Amelia Bedilia by Peggy Parish
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Books by Tomia DePaola
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Books by Cynthia Rylant including the Henry and Mudge Series
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Horrible Harry by Suzy Kline
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Cam Jansen (series) by David A. Adler
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Frances Books by Russell Hoban
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Jigsaw Jones Mysteries by James Priller
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Oliver Moon by Sue Mongredien
Dear Parents & Students,
The staff of The Islamic Academy for Peace hopes you and your family will enjoy spending the summer months together. Whether you are traveling abroad or just exploring your own backyard, there are so many wonderful adventures to be had. In particular, this is one of the best times to explore the wonderful world of literature.
​
We encourage you to check out as many books from your local library as you can. Our lists give you a starting point to help you plan a quality reading program for the entire summer. Most librarians can assist you in locating these books as well as by offering suggestions for further reading. In addition, the public libraries typically offer a variety of reading programs during the summer.
​
For each grade level, we have included a variety of books. Encourage your family to read along with you; or perhaps they check out a book for themselves too! Either way, have a great summer!
​
TIA Staff
Students Entering Grade 4
All students entering fourth grade are encouraged to read two books and three short nonfiction stories as part of their summer reading. Each student is also encouraged to read the book, Lemonade Wars. Students can read the three nonfiction stories: “Labor Day”, “Lakes”, and “Thunderstorms”.
Students can also read one other book from the list below.
Animals On The Edge : Science Races To Save Species Threatened With Extinction by: Sandy Pobst
Lincoln : A Photobiography, Illustrated With Photographs And Prints by: Russell Freeman
Shipwreck At The Bottom Of The World : The Extraordinary True Story Of Shackleton And The Endurance by: Jennifer Armstrong
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by: Deborah Hopkinson
The Tarantula Scientist by: Sy Montgomery
Students Entering Grade 5
Students entering the 5th grade are encouraged to read 3 to 4 of the chapter books from the list over the summer.
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The Indian in the Cupboard by: L. Banks
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The House with a Clock in its Walls by: John Bellairs
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A Boy Called Slow: The True Story of Sitting Bull By: Joseph Bruchac
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A Little Princess by: Frances Hodgson Burnett
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No Talking by: Andrew Clements
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Janitor’s Boy by: Andrew Clements
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Room One by: Andrew Clements
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The Double Life of Pocahontas by: Jean Fritz
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My Side of the Mountain by: Jean Craighead George
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Ben and Me by: Robert Lawson
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Shiloh by: Phyllis Naylor
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Series of Unfortunate Events (Series) by: Lemony Snicket
Optional reading from any of the following books
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The Secret School by: Avi
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by: Avi
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The Wanderer by: Sharon Creech
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Matilda by: Roald Dahl
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A Wrinkle in Time by: Madeline L’Engle
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The Whipping Boy by: Sid Fleischman
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Bearstone by: Will Hobbs
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The Phantom Tollbooth by: Norton Juster
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Kira-Kira by: Cynthia Kadohata
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Owls in the Family by: Farley Mowat
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The Borrowers (Series) by: Mary Norton
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Black Storm Comin’ by: Diane Lee Wilson
Students Entering Grade 6
Read the following 2 books: Twenty-One Balloons by: Pene du Bois and Around the World in 80 Days (abridged) by: Jules Verne
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Students Entering Grade 7
Read Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.
Students Entering Grade 8
Read Code Talker: A Novel About Navajo Marines of World War II by Joseph Bruchac.