Friday, January 4, 2008
8th grade list according to Manhasset Schools
Suggested Classic Books For Mr. Shapiro’s 8th Grade
This is a suggested list of books. If you or your parent/guardian have any other ideas, please feel free to contact Mr. Shapiro or Ms. Moody. Remember, you must have the permission of your parent/guardian before you begin your outside reading book.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Alice’s life is never the same after she tumbles through a rabbit hole to a magical land where she meets the Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts and many other fanciful characters.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A feisty orphan goes to live with an elderly brother and sister on rural Prince Edward Island.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Charlotte (a spider) decides to help Wilber (a pig) from certain death.
The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Four children step through the back of a wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
These are adventures of Mowgli, the boy raised by a pack of wolves in an Indian jungle.
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (I strongly recommend this one - Ms. Sackstein)
An aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret to what is important in life.
The Wind in Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The adventures of four animal friends who live near a river in the English countryside.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (I strongly recommend this one - Ms. Sackstein)
Meg and Charles journey through space to rescue their missing father.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (I strongly recommend this one - Ms. Sackstein)
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit. A tiny peaceful group of people living in a land called Shire. Bilbo finds himself on a great adventure.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
A young girl spends 18 years alone on an isolated island off the coast of California.
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
A boy and his horse find themselves shipwrecked on a desert island.
National Velvet by Enid Bagnold
A 14 year old English girl wins a horse in a raffle, trains it and rides in the Grand National Steeplechase.
Sounder by William H. Armstrong
The story of a black sharecropper, his family and their loyal dog.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ten year old Mary goes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire Moors where she discovers a mysterious locked garden.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Milo drives through a toll booth into a land of fantasy and adventure.
From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.C. Konigsburg
Claudia and her younger brother run away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
An adventure about 13 year old Julie and the wolf pack that adopts her in the Alaskan Tundra.
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Living in the South during the 1930’s, African American, Logan family faces devastating discrimination and prejudice.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
Story of a field mouse widow who asks help from a group of rats and finds they are part of an experiment at the National Institute of Mental Health. Together they work a plan for a safer life.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The four March sisters grow into young ladies against the back drop of Civil War era New England.
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
James escapes from his fearful aunts by rolling away inside a giant peach.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
A Swiss orphan is heart broken when she must leave her beloved grandfather and their happy home to go to school and live in the City.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Story follows an Ozark boy through his childhood with his two beloved dogs. They experience danger, adventure, love and sorrow.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.
The Watson’s Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
In the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a family travels to Alabama and experiences racial injustice first hand, surviving through with love and humor.
Time Machine by H.G. Wells
A scientist invents a time machine and then travels into the distant future.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
When Sara Crews’ father dies, she finds herself left penniless and alone at a strict Victorian girl’s school.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingils Wilder
Author recounts her memories of growing up in the Wisconsin frontier.
Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Tender story of a little girl who claims to have 100 beautiful dresses at home, yet she wears the same one to school every day.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Brian survives a plane crash to find himself stranded alone on a wooded island.
Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
When Sara’s developmentally disabled brother disappears, she attempts to find him.
Holes by Louis Sacher
Stanley Yelnats life of bad luck takes him to a correctional camp where he meets a true friend, a treasure and a new sense of himself.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
In a series of poems, fifteen year old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family’s wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the depression.
The Giver by Lowis Lowry (I strongly recommend this one - Ms. Sackstein)
Given his lifetime assignment at the ceremony of 12, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the truth of the society in which he lives.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Marty tries to hide a lost beagle he finds from his family and the dog’s real owner, a mean spirited man known to mistreat dogs.
Black Beauty by Ann Sewell
A horse of 19th Century England tells his life story from his early home through many masters and experiences both good and bad.
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
The three Darling children fly away from their nursery with Peter Pan and travel to Never-Never Land.
Kidnapped by Robert Lewis Stevenson
David Balfour survives kidnapping, imprisonment, dangerous journeys and enemies in an exciting adventure.
Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
The boy who finds the dragon in the cave knows it is kindly and harmless. How can he convince the villagers and St. George, the dragon killer?
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Jim Hawkins’ exploits in the 18th century involve a parrot and a treasure map.
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift - challenging
An adventure about Gulliver and his travels to lands of miniature people, giants, and other odd creatures.
Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson
Describes the adventures of a boy carried away by the Snow Queen and the search of the young girl who followed him.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the courtship of a snobbish gentleman as well as the lives of her four sisters.
Emma by Jane Austin
This novel of Regency England centers upon a self-assured young lady who is determined to arrange her life and the lives of those around her into a pattern dictated by her romantic fancy.
Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The story of Dorothy, a young girl who is transported by a cyclone to the magical world of Oz where she makes wonderful friends, battles evil, and must meet a Wizard to return home to Kansas.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A book burner in a future fascist state finds out books are a vital part of a culture he never knew.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
A young governess finds love unexpectedly with her new employer, but secrets from his past may prove to destroy her happiness.
My Antonia by Willa Cather
A successful lawyer remembers his boyhood in Nebraska and his friendship with an immigrant gypsy girl.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Ten strangers are summoned by an absent millionaire to a private island off the coast of Devon and begin to die one by one upon arrival.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solves a murder that occurred on the Orient Express.
Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper
A Mohican brave struggles to protect two English girls from an evil Huron during the French and Indian War in upstate New York.
Pioneers by James Fennimore Cooper
Natty Bumppo, now on the threshold of old age, finds his way of life challenged as the land he has roamed becomes private property and the laws of man supplant the laws of nature.
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Henry Fleming experiences the how horrible war really is, and will make one of the most difficult decisions of his life.
Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
During one of his several adventurous voyages in the 1600's an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck and lives for nearly thirty years on a deserted island.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Relates the adventures of a young Englishman who gives his life during the French Revolution to save the husband of the woman he loves.
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
In nineteenth-century England, a young orphan boy lives in the squalid surroundings of a workhouse until he becomes involved with a gang of thieves.
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Hans and Gretel's dream of competing for the silver skates seems as remote as a cure for their invalid father, until a new friend comes into their lives.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes, the beloved detective uses his skills to rescue a king from blackmail, to capture an ingenious bank robber, and other great mystery stories.
Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
During the reign of France's King Louis XIII, D'Artagnan and three musketeers unite to defend the honor of Anne of Austria against the plots of Cardinal Richeliu.
Man in the Iron Mask by Alexander Dumas
In seventeenth-century France, former Musketeers Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, reunite to replace the cruel young king Louis XIV with his twin brother, who has been imprisoned since birth, forcing d'Artagnan to choose between his loyalties to his king and to his comrades.
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Embittered by a false accusation and disappointed in friendship and love, the weaver Silas Marner retreats into a life alone with his loom and his gold, but fate steals his gold and replaces it with a golden-haired foundling child.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
After a plane crash strands them on a tropical island while the rest of the world is ravaged by war, a group of British schoolboy’s attempts to form a civilized society but descends into brutal anarchy.
Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Recounts the life and adventures of Robin Hood, who, with his band of followers, lived as an outlaw in Sherwood Forest dedicated to fighting tyranny.
House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Follows the Pyncheon family who lived for generations under a dead an's curse until his death restored their house.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
An old fisherman battles the sea and sharks to bring home the giant marlin he caught.
Odyssey by Homer
The epic poem recounting the experiences of Odysseus during his return from the Trojan War.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in the cathedral of Notre-Dame and now lives in its bell tower, must come to the aid of a beautiful gypsy girl named Esmeralda after she repels the advances of the cruel archdeacon Don Claude Frollo.
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Presents the adventures of a young boy raised by the animals in an Indian jungle.
White Fang by Jack London
The adventures in the northern wilderness of a dog who is part wolf and how he comes to make his peace with man.
Call of the Wild by Jack London
The adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually ecomes the leader of a wolf pack.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
After the Civil War sweeps away the luxurious life to which she has been accustomed, Scarlett O'Hara sets about salvaging her plantation home.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Marie Remarque
Depicts the experiences of a group of young German soldiers fighting and suffering during the last days of World War I.
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Shane rides into a Wyoming valley in 1889 and becomes involved in a feud between big cattle dealers and homesteaders, and finds a place in a little boy’s heart.
Black Beauty by Ann Sewell
A horse in nineteenth-century England recounts his experiences with both good and bad masters.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret of generating life from lifeless matter and creates a monster who, scorned for being ugly, swears revenge on his creator and the human race.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Young Francie Nolan experiences the problems of growing up in a Brooklyn, with an alcoholic father.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Terrible events follow the discovery of a magnificent pearl by a poor Mexican fisherman.
Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
A respected doctor who lives a secret double life begins losing his identity to his violent, evil side.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads them to a pirate's fortune as well as great danger.
Dracula by Bram Stroker
The mysterious Transylvanian Count Dracula wreaks havoc on a young businessman Jonathan Harker, his fiancée Mina, and several others, and when he is revealed to be a vampire, he must be destroyed at all costs.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
The discovery of the One Ring ignites the great war between good and evil in Middle-earth, as a courageous group of adventurers embarks on a perilous quest to destroy the dangerous artifact.
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
The dark forces of Mordor spread throughout Middle-earth and the fellowship forged to destroy the One Ring of power is broken, leaving Frodo the hobbit and Sarnwise Gamgee alone to return the ring to Mount Doom.
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
As the Shadow of Mordor grows, the companions find their way through danger and mystery as they defeat the Dark Lord and celebrate Aragorn's ascent to become King of the West. Includes appendices containing genealogical and historical information that form the background f the story.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Samuel Clemens
Tells the adventures of a boy and a runaway slave as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft.
Prince and the Pauper by Samuel Clemens
When young Edward VI of England and a poor boy that resembles him exchange places, each learns something about the other's very different station in life.
Around the World in Eight Days by Jules Verne
Englishman Phileas Fogg races around the world on a daring wager in the seemingly impossible time of eighty days.
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The story of the youth and reign of King Arthur, the establishment of the Round Table, and the search for the Holy Grail.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggins
Talkative, ten-year-old Rebecca goes to live with her spinster aunts, one harsh and demanding, and the other soft and sentimental, with whom she spends seven difficult but rewarding years growing up.
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Dorian Gray, a remarkably handsome young man, meets Lord Henry Wotton and is corrupted into a life of terrible evil that is reflected only in his portrait.
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
A family shipwrecked after battling pirates must learn to adapt to life on an island with abundant animal and plant life.