GSB Summer Reading Suggestions for Children Entering Third Grade

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

                GSB Summer Reading Suggestions for Children Entering Third Grade
 You may choose your summer reading from this list. Feel free to read other books by these authors or books not on this list.
 Please choose a minimum of one book from the non-fiction section. Keep a record of the books you read on the reading log
 (also included in the Portal) and bring it to school in September. Enjoy your summer. Happy reading!

                                                 2021 Award Winners

 Newbery
         *When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
         All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team written by Christina Soontornvat
         BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom written by Carole Boston Weatherford and
                 illustrated by Michele Wood
         Fighting Words written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
         We Dream of Space, written by Erin Entrada Kelly, illustrated by Erin Entrada Kelly and Celia Krampien
         A Wish in the Dark written by Christina Soontornvat
 Caldecott
         *We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade
         The Cat Man of Aleppo written by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu
         Me & Mama written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Canrera
         Outside In written by Deborah Underwood and and illustrated by Cindy Derby
         A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart written by Zetta Elliott and illustrated by Noa Denmon
 Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award
         *Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson (recommended for Gr. 5-6)
         King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callendar
 Schneider Family Book Award
         *Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
         Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen written by Lynne Kelly
         When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
 Pura Belpre Children’s Author Award
         *Efren Divided written by Ernesto Cisneros
         Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barba Higuera
         The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas

         *1st place medal winner.

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

                                                         Fiction

 Baratz-Logsted, Lauren. The Sisters Eight series. Eight sisters await their mother bringing them hot cocoa and their
        father bringing wood for the fire, but they never return. And so begins their story of survival and adventure.

 Birney, Betty. According to Humphrey series. Humphrey is a hamster who lives in Room 26. Follow his adventures
         in this fun series.

 Byars, Betsy Cromer. Tornado. As they wait out a tornado in their storm cellar, a family listens to a farmhand tell
         stories about a dog that was blown into his life by another tornado when he was a boy. Students who love
         horses should check out the Little Horse series, also by Byars.

 Chabert, Jack. Eerie Elementary series. On his first day as the school hall monitor, Sam Graves discovers that his
        elementary school is alive! Sam must defend himself and his fellow students against the evil school. Is Sam
        up to the challenge?

 Cheng, Andrea. The Year of the Book (Anna Wang series). Anna knows that peng you in Chinese means friend. But
        friendship can be easy to define, but difficult to figure out. Friendship is tricky, but worth the trouble.

 Cleary, Beverly. Henry Huggins. When Henry adopts Ribsy, a dog of no particular breed, humorous adventures
         follow. Also recommended, any of the Ramona series or the Ralph Mouse series.

 Cronin, Doreen. J.J. Tully Mysteries series. A former search-and-rescue dog helps solve complicated mysteries in
        this fun series. Are you a fan of Doreen Cronin? If so, try the Chicken Squad series too!

 Danziger, Paula. Amber Brown series. Grade-schooler Amber’s divorced parents share joint custody. In the course
        of the series Amber’s best friend moves away, her mother considers remarrying, and she deals humorously
        but realistically with various school challenges.

 Gaiman, Neil. Odd and the Frost Giants. An unlucky Norwegian boy named Odd, leads the Norse gods Loki,
       Thor, and Odin in an attempt to outwit evil Frost Giants who have taken over Asgard.

 Grabenstein, Chris. Welcome to Wonderland series. P.T. Wilkie is the hilarious main character in this series of
       books in which the Wilkies live in a motel named The Wonderland.

 Gidwitz, Adam. The Unicorn Rescue Society series. Don’t let the word unicorn in the title make you think this is a
        series just for girls. The Unicorn Society protects all mythical creatures and the first book of this series begins
        in the Pine Barrens with the Jersey Devil.

 Griffiths, Andy. The Treehouse Books series. Andy and Terry live in the most amazing treehouse in the world! It has
         a see-through swimming pool, a secret underground laboratory, and a marsh-mallow machine that follows
         you around and shoots marshmallows into your mouth.

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

 ♥ Henry, Marguerite. Misty of Chincoteague. Siblings Paul and Maureen work to raise enough money to purchase
       Phantom and her colt at the annual Chincoteague pony auction.

 Hill, Kirkpatrick. Bo at Ballard Creek series. It's the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she
         won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind
         people of the nearby Eskimo village.

 Hobbs, Valerie. Sheep. After a fire destroys the farm where he was born, a young border collie learns about life as he
        seeks a home and longs to fulfill his life's purpose of shepherding sheep.

 Holm, Jennifer. Babymouse. A graphic novel series featuring an imaginative young mouse.

 Holub, Joan. Heroes in Training series. While the terrible Titans rule the universe, a group of young Olympians
        are beginning to discover their powers that will help them gain control. Also by Holub, The Goddess Girls
        series featuring young goddesses.

 James, Anna. Pages and Co. Series. Tilly Pages dicovers she can travel in and out of books at her grandparents’
        bookshop. Not only does she meet characters like Anne of Green Gables who travels out of her own book,
        but she can travel into other stories to help solve mysteries.

 Kuhlmann, Torben. Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon. A mouse decides to build a
       rocket to fly to the moon to prove to his fellow mice that it is made of rock, not cheese. Beautifully
       illustrated. The Mouse Adventures series also includes Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse and Edison:
       The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure also.

 Lin, Grace. The Year of the Dog. Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American
        girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding
        oneself, to her own life.

 Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything series. Ruby Lu’s life becomes challenging after her deaf cousin
        arrives from China. Also by Look, Alvin Ho series. A young boy who loves superheroes and comes from a
        long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of
        everything.

 Lowry, Lois. Stay! Keeper’s Story. Separated early in life from his mother and siblings, Keeper, a dog, tells of his
        adventures with various human masters and his continual search for his little sister. On another topic
        entirely, Lowry’s The Willoughbys is a parody on old fashioned childhood and happily ever after endings.
        And check out The Willoughbys Return!

 McDonald, Megan. Judy Moody series. Judy Moody works her way through the trials and tribulations of third
      grade in this humorous series.

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

 Messner, Kate. Ranger in Time series. Ranger is a time-traveling golden retriever who has a nose for trouble…and
       always saves the day! Ranger has been trained as a search-and-rescue dog. In the first book of the series, he
       finds a mysterious first aid kit in the garden and is transported to the year 1850, where he meets a family on
       the Oregon Trail and saves them from danger.

 Nolan, Lucy. Down Girl and Sit series. The dogs, Down Girl and Sit, have a difficult time training their master
        Rruff and protecting their yard from Here Kitty Kitty.will

 Paterson, Katherine. The King’s Equal. In order to wear the crown of the kingdom, an arrogant young prince must
        find an equal in his bride; instead he finds someone better than he.

 Pennypacker, Sara. Clementine series. While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor, eight-
       year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles and helps her father try to banish pigeons from the front
       of their apartment building in the first book of this wonderful series.

 Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from the Wayside School series. The builders made a mistake when building the
         Wayside School. They built the classrooms right on top of each other. And that is just the beginning of the
         problems!

 Schoenberg. Jane. Stuey Lewis Against all Odds. Can third-grader Stuey Lewis figure out how to transport his
       whole class to outer space, navigate a first airplane trip disaster, celebrate the best Mother's Day ever, and
       find a cool enough pet for the class's pet show? With a little help from his best friend, Will, and his awesome
       teacher, Ginger, of course he can!

 Scieszka, Jon. Time Warp Trio series. Three boys from the Bronx have amusing time travel adventures.

 Thomson, Sarah. Dragon’s Egg. A young girl trained as a dragon keeper, is entrusted with carrying a dragon’s egg to
      the fabled Hatching Grounds, a dangerous journey on which she is assisted by a knight’s squire.

 Vail, Rachel. Justin Case series. Written in diary form, Justin writes honestly about his worries and observations of
         life in the third grade.

 Woodson, Jacqueline. The Other Side. Two girls live on either side of a fence - a fence that creates a racial divide in
      their town. One black. One white. Both girls are warned not to go to the other side, but what if they can
      create a friendship that will eventually bring down the fence?

                                        Non-Fiction, Poetry, Biography

 Agee, Jon. Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue. The 35 tongue twisting poems and funny watercolors
         in this seriously silly book are best shared with friends.

 ♥Alexander, Kwame.Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. A collection of poems celebrating poets like Maya
       Angelou and, e.e. cummings and more.

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

 Aston, Dianna. A Nest is Noisy. Poetic in voice and elegant in design, this carefully researched book introduces
        children to a captivating array of nest facts and will spark their imaginations.

 Atkins, Laura. Fighting for Justice series (Fred Korematsu Speaks Up; Biddy Mason Speaks Up). A series concentrating
         on true stories of champions for civil rights. Fred Korematsu Speaks up tells the story of a Japanese
         American whose family was sent to a prison camp during WWII and when he refustes to go, he is put in jail.
         Biddy Mason Speaks Up Is the story of a woman, born into slavery, who moves to California where slavery
         is not legal. When she is going to be moved back to a slavery state, she devises a plan to win her freedom.

 Basher Science series. Covering rocks and minerals, biology, chemistry, planet earth, astronomy and more, this
        series features sassy cartoon characters exploring science.

 Becker, Helaine. Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13. Katherine loved studying
         math. One of the characters featured in Hidden Figures, she was integral in problem solving the safe return
         of Apollo 13.

 Bishop, Nic. Butterflies or Snakes or Lizards or Frogs or Spiders. You can’t go wrong with a Nic Bishop nature
        book. Amazing close-up photography and loaded with information.

 Bulion, Leslie. Hey There, Stink Bug! Uses poetic text to describe various types of insects, and includes a glossary of
        terms and notes on poetic forms

 Butterworth, Chris. How Did That Get in my Lunchbox? The Story of Food. Explains where different foods come
        from and how they get to the store, describing farms, dairies, and factories.

 Clements, Andrew. A Million Dots. Illustrations and fun facts demonstrate what one million dots look like.

 ♥Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Before She Was Harriet: The Story of Harriet Tubman. Told in verse, this picture book
        tells the story of the many different names and heroic journeys of Harriet Tubman.

 Davies, Nicola. Tiny Creatures: the World of Microbes. A picture book that explores the different microbes that
         inhabit the Earth and examines the varied jobs they do.

 Eggers, David. Her Right Foot. A wonderful story of the Statue of Liberty and the significance of her right foot, her
         presence, and her creation.

 Florian, Doug. Laugh-eteria . More than 100 humorous poems on such topics as ogres, pizza, fear, school, dragons,
         trees, and hair. Florian visited GSB in 2019.

 George, Jean Craighead. How to Talk to Your Cat. Describes how cats communicate with people through their
        behavior and sounds and explains how to talk back to them using sounds, behavior, and body language. If
        interested in dogs, read How to Talk to Your Dog.

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

 Goodall, Jane. The Chimpanzee Children of Gombe. Jane Goodall introduces young readers to some of her favorite
        chimpanzees living in Gombe National Park, describing their behavior and family life.

 Herzog, Brad. T is for Touchdown. Full page illustrations highlight an alphabetical introduction to the nuts and
        bolts and history of football. Herzog also authored H is for Homerun, R is for Race, S is for Save the Planet
        and more.

 Lamothe, Matt. This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World. Italy, Japan,
       India, Russia, Iran, Peru and Uganda: see what happens in a day in these children’s lives.

 Markle, Sandra. Outside and Inside Mummies. Explores a variety of mummies and the new technologies developed
        to help study them.

 McCarthy, Meghan. The Wildest Race Ever: The Story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon. In 1904, St. Louis hosted
       the World’s Fair and the first Olympics in the United States. The marathon was particularly interesting with
       42 runners registered, and three vying for the gold with hijinx ensuing. A wild ride of a picture book!

 Memory, Jalani. A Kids Book about Racism. This is a book about racism written for children that explains what
      racism is, how it makes people feel, and what to do about it when you see it.

 Nobleman, Mark Tyler. Thirty Minutes over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s WWII Story. A true story of a Japanese
       pilot who flew a mission over Oregon in World War II and then returns twenty years later to apologize.

 Pinckney, Andrea Davis. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down. The true story of four friends who
        decided to peacefully protest segregation by sitting together at Woolworth's lunch counter.

 ♥Powell, Patricia Hruby. Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker . A biography about civil rights activist
        and performer Josephine Baker, this inspiring story follows her through failures and setback to success and
        triumph.

 Rockwell, Anne. Honey in a Hive. An introduction to the behavior and life cycle of honeybees, with particular
       emphasis on the production of honey.

 Simon, Seymour. Big Cats. Describes the physical characteristics, habits and natural environment of various species
        of big cats. If interested in the human body, try Bones. Outlines the many important roles that bones play in
        the healthy functioning of the human body.

 Winter, Jonah. You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! Learn about Sandy Koufax, a powerful left-handed pitcher for
        the New York Dodgers, a practicing Jew who would not play baseball on High Holy days, and a mystery
        man who quit baseball after the best season of his career.

♥ Award winner (Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, etc.)

 The following books may be read in class in the third grade, so please avoid reading them over the summer:

        Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper’s Penguins
        DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn Dixie
        Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House
        Estes, Eleanor. The Hundred Dresses
        Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic Tree House: Viking Ships at Sunrise
        Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver
        White, E.B. Charlotte's Web