Bunker Hill Elementary
Recommended Summer Reading List 2015
Incoming 4th Graders
Bell, Cece. El Deafo.
This is the humorous journey of a girl who loses her hearing and tries to find acceptance in
elementary school. Written in a comic book style and based on the author’s own experiences, readers will
discover how she turns a disability to her advantage while making true friends. (Graphic Novel)
Byars, Betsy. Tornado. As they wait out a tornado in their storm cellar, a family listens to their farmhand tell
stories about the dog that was blown into his life by another tornado when he was a boy.
Cammuso, Frank. The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Book One: Spelling Trouble.
The school needs a new spelling bee champion; too bad that Salem's spells sometimes involve
flying vacuum cleaners and T-Rex chases. Salem's new animal companion, Whammy the cat,
may not like trouble or flying, but it's his mission to train Salem in magic. Mayhem and mishaps
follow this silly sorcerer everywhere she goes. This wacky graphic novel with plenty of humor
and wordplay will have you laughing out loud. (2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List)
Clements, Andrew. Frindle. When he decides to turn his fifth-grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her,
clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.
Davies, Jacqueline. The Lemonade War. Evan is not happy to learn that he and his younger sister Jessie will be in
the same fourth grade class next fall, so their summer turns into a battle to see whose lemonade stand can
earn one hundred dollars first. (Series)
Eddleman, Peggy. Sky Jumpers.
Bomb’s Breath, invisible but deadly, has thickened the air around a post-World War III town, protecting it
from bandits. A community focused on non-electric technology requires everyone four and older to invent
something once a year. Hope has never been good at inventing, but she knows she’s good at something.
You will hold your breath with Hope as she bravely jumps into the Bombs Breath and flies to save her
town in this action-packed, dystopian adventure. (2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List)
Egan, Kate. The Vanishing Coin.
The school year has just begun and Mike is already in the principal’s office. His parents won’t let him play
soccer until things at school improve. Mike and his new friend Nora discover a secret shop and an eccentric
magician, who introduces Mike to magic. Can Mike learn magic and finally be good at something? Magic
tricks included! (2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List)
Fleming, Candace. The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary. Fourth Grade teacher extraordinaire, Mr.
Jupiter, takes his energetic students on a wild and woolly ride through the school year.
Freeman, Martha. The Case of the Piggy Bank Thief.
Tessa and her sister Cammie, daughters of the first female U.S. president, explore the mystery of the gold
that is found on the White House property and are further perplexed because Tessa’s piggy bank has
disappeared. (Series)
Gutman, Dan. Mission Unstoppable. On a cross-country vacation with their parents, twins Coke and Pepsi, soon to
be thirteen, fend off strange assassins as they try to come to terms with their being part of a top-secret
government organization known as The Genius Files. (Series)
Healy, Christopher. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.
What happens after... “happily ever after?” The Four Prince Charmings – from Sleeping Beauty,
Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel – thought saving the princesses was the hard part. But when their
princesses throw them out, the four princes uncover a dastardly plot that endangers not just one kingdom,
but all of them. Will they be able to put aside their differences and save the kingdom once more?
Brimming with kid appeal and quirky characters, this fractured fairy tale is sure to enchant all readers.
(2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List)
Holm, Jennifer. Turtle in Paradise. In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not
like children, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in faraway Key West,
Florida.
Klise, Kate. The Show Must Go On!
Two mice and a crow, who travel with a circus, cleaning up the spilled popcorn after every performance,
come to the rescue when a greedy con artist takes over the management of the circus. (Series)
Mlynowski, Sarah. Whatever After: Sink or Swim.
Once again Abby and her brother Jonah go through the magic mirror in their basement, and this time they
find themselves interfering in the Little Mermaid story--and needing to set things right and make sure
everyone has a happy ending. (Series)
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Shiloh.
Marty must make some painful decisions about returning a dog to his abusive owner. (Series)
Newman, Aline Alexander. Lucky Leopards!: More True Stories of Amazing Animal Rescues! National
Geographic Children’s Books.
With pictures and prose, readers follow suspenseful daring rescues of two leopards, a sea turtle, and a loon.
The lively, informative stories help readers understand the animals’ plights, their rescues, and the caring
people who help them with their rehabilitation.
Paterson, Katherine and John. The Flint Heart: A Fairy Story. A magical amulet, created by a Stone Age magic
man for an ambitious individual wishing to take control of his tribe, brings power and despair to those who
touch it. When the amulet reemerges, Charles and his sister Unity must find a way to rescue the humans,
fairies, and animals from the mysterious object.
Selfors, Suzanne. The Sasquatch Escape.
Spending the summer in his grandfather's rundown town, ten-year-old Ben meets an adventurous local girl
and together they learn that the town's veterinarian runs a secret hospital for imaginary creatures. (Series)
Shurtliff, Liesl. Jack: The True Story of Jack & The Beanstalk.
Relates the tale of Jack who, after trading his mother's milk cow for magic beans, climbs a beanstalk to
seek his missing father in the land of giants.
Tarshis Lauren. I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79.
Mount Vesuvius exploded, and the ground of the city of Pompeii trembled. Marcus and his father knew
something was wrong because ashes and rocks were falling from the sky. People were afraid and tried to
escape the eruption.
Turnage, Sheila. The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing.
Who would have thought interviewing a ghost could save the day? With help from her fellow desperado
detectives, the hilarious Mo hopes to solve a mystery and get an A on her social studies assignment. Laugh
out loud as you weave through the mystery, a cast of kooky characters, and a touch of southern hospitality.
(2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List)
BHE Incoming 4th Grade Reading List 2014-2015
2