Required and Suggested Summer Reading 2023: Huntsville City Schools

Friends Elephant and Piggie are playing outside when it starts to rain, and then they must decide what to do.

"Mo is the youngest kid on the Robins football team. The kids on the rival team tease him for being a 'butterfingers' who's too tiny to catch the ball. But Mo's coach has a plan up his sleeve to turn Mo's little size into a big win for the Robins"-- Provided by publisher.

Follows a bear from the time she emerges from her den in April after four months without food, through months of eating fish, ants, and huckleberries, to midwinter when the arrival of two cubs interrupts her long winter's rest. Includes facts about brown (grizzly) bears of the Yellowstone National Park/Glacier National Park region.

Colorful illustrations show the many varieties of fish.

A very old overcoat is recycled numerous times into a variety of garments.

Instilled with confidence by his parents, a young boy has a great first day of kindergarten.

Lola reads story books to her new baby brother Leo, and even though Mommy and Daddy are busy, they still have time to read to Lola at bedtime.

"Ty and Corey love to visit the museum. When they step through the doors, they become scientists. They study bugs and hunt for fossils. They catch the wind. When Ty can't participate in a lab activity because of his age, he uses his big imagination at home. Discovering new things is so much fun!"

When a tiny wave grows bigger and bigger, what’s a fish to do? Fish and Wave by Sergio Ruzzier is a playful exploration of what it really means to go with the flow.

Have you ever been in the ocean? This search-and-find series lets young readers dive right in and learn about underwater critters. Find out how their body parts help them eat and avoid enemies in this water-filled series. This search-and-find book invites young readers to look for new vocabulary words and pictures while giving simple facts about a sea star's ocean habitat, body parts, and behaviors.

The Book Hog loves books and has a large collection, although he never learned to read.

Simple text that new readers can read by themselves, along with delightful pictures in a comic format, show a little creature trying and trying again as they learn to ride a bicycle. All their friends help with supportive words of encouragement. “You did it!” their friends exclaim.

Can the friendship of best friends Harold and Hog, a carefree elephant and a careful hog, survive a game of pretending to be Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie?

From the team behind See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog comes a funny and handy guide that explains just how (and how not!) to say I'm sorry. Wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone knew how to apologize? Luckily, this humorous guidebook is full of practical tips about when, why, and how to say you're sorry. From a porcupine who accidentally popped his friend's balloon to a snail who was running so fast he stepped on a sloth's toes, hilarious examples and sweet illustrations abound. For both listeners who are just learning and older readers who need a refresher, this book will come as a welcome reminder that even though apologizing can be hard, it doesn't have to be complicated.

A boy rides a pogo stick to a visit with grandma.

Jabari is making a flying machine all by himself, but when it doesn't work the way he imagined, he learns about perseverance and problem-solving.

Dot proves she is not little by standing up to a school bully.

Penny feels guilty after taking a beautiful blue marble that she sees in Mrs. Goodwin's grass, but gets a pleasant surprise when she goes to return it the next day.

"What happens when the book gets it wrong? Max is not a cat - Max is a dog! But much to his dismay, this book keeps instructing readers to 'see the cat.' How can Max get through to the book that he is a dog? In a trio of stories for beginning readers, the author introduces the excitable Max, who lets the book know in irresistibly emphatic dialogue that the text is not to his liking. The illustrator depicts the pup's reactions to the narrator and to the wacky cast of characters who upend Max's - and readers' - expectations as the three stories build to a satisfying conclusion."--Provided by publisher.

Spend a day at sea tracking sharks―with the help of a robot!

Join a team of marine biologists as they head out in their boat to study mako sharks. Simple, entertaining text and bright, accurate illustrations bring science and technology to life, and additional pages of facts about sharks follow the story. This book is bound to make a splash with young minds!
*Only available from Hoopla Digital Library

Fox overcomes his fear of monsters when he meets real nocturnal animals.

A little girl's daddy steps in to help her arrange her curly, coiling, wild hair into styles that allow her to be her natural, beautiful self.

"An educational picture book about the life cycle of a sunflower"

A girl describes her family's annual visit with Mamaw and Papaw in West Virginia, then Abuela and Abuelo in Florida, especially the foods and cultural elements that make each kitchen unique.

In this compilation of four separately published books, Pakistani American second grader Yasmin learns to cope with the small problems of school and home, while gaining confidence in her own skills and creative abilities.

Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry bring Tabby and Zeke to the library for a special storytime.

In this beautiful celebration of immigration, children from around the world tell their stories, sharing their love of where they're from and where they live now--homes old and new. As they describe the foods they eat, the languages they've learned, the sports they play, and more, the differences and similarities that link us all are revealed

A.J. and Andrea go on a class trip to the museum, where their guide has been warned about their possible misbehavior.

When Nick decides to teach his cats to read, Verne is very much interested, especially in books about mice and fish, but Stevenson wants nothing to do with the project--or does he?

"Little Lobo, a Mexican American, and Bernabé, his dog, gather tacos, frutas picadas, cuernos, and more and deliver them to los luchadores preparing for Lucha Libre 5000."-- Provided by publisher.

"Some bugs have super-power like abilities. And then there's Burt the beetle. He's not strong and he can't run fast. He doesn't even bite. He's more of a hugger, really. But Burt wants more. He wants a SUPERPOWER. There's just one tiny problem: what kind of special abilities do June beetles have?"

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises -- some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat's mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he's got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

Gigi can't wait for her Ojiji-Japanese grandpa-to move in. Gigi plans lots of things to do with him, like playing tag, reading books, and teaching Roscoe, the family dog, new tricks. But her plans don't work out quite the way she'd hoped. And her grandpa doesn't seem to like Roscoe. Will Gigi find a way to connect with her Ojiji?

Retells, in graphic novel form, the tale of eight-year-old Jack and his younger sister Annie, who find a magic treehouse which whisks them back to an ancient time zone where they see live dinosaurs.

"Using rhyming lyrics from a previously written rap song, Midewin author, Manitoba politician, and creator Kinew tells the stories of diverse Indigenous heroes both historical and contemporary from the U.S. and Canada"

Rashin is an Iranian immigrant girl living in New York, excited by her first trip to Coney Island, and fascinated by the differences in the beach customs between her native Iran and her new home--but she misses the saffron flavored ice cream that she used to eat.

"When his friend RJ bets that Miles will wipe out at the ice rink, he is determined to prove him wrong"

Four orphans take shelter in an old boxcar during a storm, and, determined to make it their own, they turn it into a safe, cozy home.

Meet Mars! The red planet. Planet Marvelous. Favorite sibling of Earth (or so he claims). Sometimes they're close (just 34.5 million miles apart). Sometimes they need space (250 million miles apart)! Earth and Mars have a lot in common--clouds, mountains, polar icecaps. And while Earth has Earthlings, Mars makes a persuasive case for why people should make the journey to spend time with him. His day is 7 minutes longer! He is home to the largest volcano in the whole solar system. He's, well, marvelous.

After barn mice make a collar with a bell to warn them when Marmalade the cat is approaching, Smart Mouse must devise a way to safely put the collar on her in this retelling of a Aesop fable.

In July, 1916, Chet Roscow is fascinated by news accounts of the great white shark said to be attacking people along the New Jersey shore not far from his home, but when he goes swimming in Matawan Creek he discovers the truth of the stories.

In 1854 in Eastern Maryland twelve-year-old Ann is a slave, grateful that her family is still all together; but when their master, in need of money, decides to sell Ann and her younger brother, their parents decide to take the dangerous step of running away north to freedom--a journey filled with danger, especially since they are not sure how to find the first station on the Underground Railroad.

Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is black, present paired poems about topics including family dinners, sports, recess, and much more. This relatable collection explores different experiences of race in America.

In Brooklyn, nine-year-old Jax joins Ma, a curmudgeonly witch who lives in his building, on a quest to deliver three baby dragons to a magical world, and along the way discovers his true calling.

Describes the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee.

With the realm at peace and few dragons about, the Knights of the Round Table are bored, so Merlin sends them to face the most terrible lizards of all--dinosaurs.

Readers follow Claude Monet and learn about his favorite subjects to paint, his style of painting, and his studio on the Seine.

"Reverend F.D. Reese was a leader of the Voting Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama. As a teacher and principal, he recognized that his colleagues were viewed with great respect in the city. Could he convince them to risk their jobs--and perhaps their lives--by organizing a teachers-only march to the county courthouse to demand their right to vote? On January 22, 1965, the Black teachers left their classrooms and did just that, with Reverend Reese leading the way. Noted nonfiction authors Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace conducted the last interviews with Reverend Reese before his death in 2018 and interviewed several teachers and their family members in order to tell this story, which is especially important today" -- Amazon.com.

A picture book biography about Georgia Gilmore, the woman whose cooking helped feed and fund the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956"

Otsaliheliga is a Cherokee word that is used to express gratitude. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small. This book presents a look at modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor Black girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar's nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future...but it would also mean leaving his brother, his only family member remaining, every day. Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult of settings. It's an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to New York Times bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story and went on to help so many other refugees.

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

Prairie Lotus is a powerful, touching, multilayered book about a girl determined to fit in and realize her dreams: getting an education, becoming a dressmaker in her father's shop, and making at least one friend. Acclaimed, award-winning author Linda Sue Park has placed a young half-Asian girl, Hanna, in a small town in America's heartland, in 1880. Hanna's adjustment to her new surroundings, which primarily means negotiating the townspeople's almost unanimous prejudice against Asians, is at the heart of the story. Narrated by Hanna, the novel has poignant moments yet sparkles with humor, introducing a captivating heroine whose wry, observant voice will resonate with readers. In Dakota Territory in the 1880s, half-Chinese Hanna and her white father face racism and resistance to change as they try to make a home for themselves.

Brandon is visiting his dad on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 when the attack comes; Reshmina is a girl in Afghanistan who has grown up in the aftermath of that attack but dreams of peace, becoming a teacher and escaping her village and the narrow role that the Taliban believes is appropriate for women--both are struggling to survive, both changed forever by the events of 9/11.

Chase does not remember falling off the roof, in fact he does not remember anything about himself, and when he gets back to middle school he begins to learn who he was through the reactions of the other kids--trouble is, he really is not sure he likes the Chase that is being revealed, but can he take the opportunity amnesia has provided and restart his life?

When Heather L. Montgomery sees a rattlesnake flattened on the side of the road, her first instinct is to pick it up and dissect it--she's always wanted to see how a snake's fangs retract when they close their mouths, and it's not exactly safe to poke around in a live reptile's mouth. A wildlife researcher with a special penchant for the animals that litter the roadways, Heather isn't satisfied with dissecting just one snake. Her fascination with roadkill sets her off on a journey from her own backyard and the roadways of the American South to scientists and kids in labs and homes across the globe. From biologists who use the corpses of Tasmanian devils to investigate cures for a contagious cancer, to a scientist who discovered a whole new species of bird from a single wing left behind, to a boy rebuilding animal bodies from the bones up, to a restaurant that serves up animal remnants, Heather discovers that death is just the beginning for these creatures. This engaging narrative nonfiction is an eye-opening and irreverent look at the dead and dying animals that we pass by without a second thought--as well as a fascinating insight to the scientific research process. -- Publisher's description.

"In History Comics: The Challenger Disaster, we turn the clock back to January 28, 1986. Seven astronauts boarded the space shuttle Challenger on what would be a routine mission. All eyes and cameras were on crew member Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher, who was set to become the first private citizen in space. Excitement filled the air as the clock counted down to liftoff. But at T-plus seventy-three seconds after launch, the unthinkable happened... What caused the midair explosion? In Pranas T. Naujokaitis's imaginative tale, set in a far-off future, a group of curious kids investigate the hard questions surrounding the Challenger explosion. Inspired by the legacy and sacrifice of the Challenger seven, they continue in their footsteps, setting out toward the stars and into the great unknown!" -- Amazon.com.

"Bree can't wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees--until she's stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she's forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help"--