Cornerstone Classical School Required and Recommended Summer Reading Stories have that capacity to bestow images to memory, even in the youngest child, that become metaphors for the moral imagination. With these images and metaphors, the moral imagination draws these correspondences in life that enable us to make judgments, to choose good over evil, to do what is right. Dr. Vigen Guroian Studies show that reading to children greatly increases academic achievement. Even more than this, it is through reading that we tend the souls of our children, teaching them what is good, true, and beautiful. Above all, God has given us His Word. As Christians, we must be readers, for without the Word, we cannot engage the world. With this in mind, Cornerstone encourages its families to prioritize reading. We hope you find some favorites among these offerings! These selections are just a starting point for great books for your student! Feel free to look at resources such as Honey for Child s Heart and Honey for a Teen s Heart by Gladys Hunt for more ideas. For ideas for family read alouds, visit Sarah Mackenzie s Read Aloud Revival Booklist, which can be found online at.
Summer Reading List Selections for Pre K and Kindergarten Reqired: One family read aloud, plus any 15 picture books (1 chapter book counts for 10 picture books). Author (*indicates any book by that author) Title/Series C.W. Anderson* Billy and Blaze series Jill Barklem* Brambly Hedge series Jan Brett* Town Mouse, Country Mouse Virginia Lee Burton* The Little House Eric Carle* Animals, Animals Ingri and Edgar d'aulaire* Abraham Lincoln Laurent de Brunhoff* Babar series Marjorie Flack* The Story about Ping Don Freeman Corduroy Paul Galdone* The Little Red Hen James Herriot James Herriot s Treasury for Children Russell Hoban* Bread and Jam for Frances series Lois Lenski* (not chapter books) Mr. Small series Little series Robert McCloskey* Make Way for Ducklings Peggy Parish* Amelia Bedelia series Cynthia Rylant Henry and Mudge series Richard Scarry Richard Scarry s Please and Thank You Book Esphyr Slobodkina Caps for Sale Robert Louis Stevenson A Child s Garden of Verses Tasha Tudor* A Time to Keep Brinton Turkle* Thy Friend, Obadiah
Summer Reading Selections for Grades One and Two Required: One family read aloud, plus any 20 picture books (1 chapter book counts for 10 picture books) C.W. Anderson* Billy and Blaze series Jill Barklem* Brambly Hedge series Walter Brooks* Freddie the Pig series Frances Hodges Burnett A Little Princess Virginia Lee Burton* The Little House Alice Dalgliesh* The Fourth of July Story Ingri and Edgar d'aulaire* Abraham Lincoln Genevieve Foster George Washington s World Jean Fritz* And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? James Herriot James Herriot s Treasury for Children Margaret Hodges St George and the Dragon Paul Hutchens Sugar Creek Gang series A.A. Milne* Winnie the Pooh E. Nesbit Shakespeare s Stories for Young Readers Peggy Parish* Amelia Bedelia series Beatrix Potter* Peter Rabbit Robert Louis Stevenson A Child s Garden of Verses Patricia St John Treasures of the Snow (unabridged version) Childhood of Famous Americans series Laura Ingalls Wilder* Little House on the Prairie series
Summer Reading Selections for Grades Three and Four Required: One family read aloud, plus any two for independent reading Louisa May Alcott Little Women Michael Bond Paddington series Carol Ryrie Brink Caddie Woodlawn Frances Hodges Burnett Secret Garden Sheila Burnford The Incredible Journey Padriac Colum Children s Homer Dorothy Canfield Fisher Understood Betsy Genevieve Foster Augustus Caesar s World Margaurite Henry Misty of Chincoteague series Irene Hunt Across Five Aprils Norton Juster The Phantom Toolbooth Charles and Mary Lamb Tales from Shakespeare Hugh Lofting The Story of Doctor Doolittle Maud Hart Lovelace Betsy Tacy series Marie McSwigan Snow Treasure E. Nesbit Shakespeare s Stories for Young Readers Sterling North Rascal Jane Poter Just David George Selden Cricket in Times Square Johanna Spyri Heidi JRR Tolkien The Hobbit Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie series
Summer Reading Selections for Grades Five and Six Required: One family read aloud, plus the following two required books: Jean Lee Latham Elizabeth George Speare Carry On, Mr. Bowditch Witch of Blackbird Pond Additional recommended titles: Lloyd Alexander Chronicles of Prydain series Jean Bendick Archimedes and the Door of Science Lewis Carroll Alice s Adventures in Wonderland Alfred Church Aeneid for Boys and Girls Emily Dickinson William Pene DuBois Twenty One Balloons Walter Farley Black Stallion series Robert Frost Charles and Mary Lamb Tales from Shakespeare Madeline L Engle A Wrinkle in Time Lois Lenski* (not easy readers) Strawberry Girl San Francisco Boy Ludy Maud Montgomery Anne of Green Gables series Noel Streatfeild Ballet Shoes Corrie ten Boom The Hiding Place JRR Tolkien Lord of the Rings Trilogy Men of Faith series, Bethany House Publishers Women of Faith series, Bethany House Publishers
Summer Reading Selections for Grade Seven Required: One family read aloud, plus the following two required books with assignments as detailed on following pages: Genesis Exodus Additional Recommended Titles: Jane Austen* Pride and Prejudice G.K. Chesterton* Father Brown Mysteries James Fenimore Cooper The Last of the Mohicans Emily Dickinson Robert Frost C.S. Forester Horatio Hornblower series Alex and Bret Harris Do Hard Things James Herriot All Creatures Great and Small Lois Lenski* (not easy readers) Indian Captive, the Story of Mary Jamison John Piper Don t Waste Your Life William Shakespeare Julius Caesar Hamlet Romeo and Juliet Midsummer Night s Dream Elizabeth George Speare The Bronze Bow Corrie ten Boom The Hiding Place JRR Tolkien Lord of the Rings Trilogy Men of Faith series, Bethany House Publishers Women of Faith series, Bethany House Publishers
The goal for this assignment is to read the books of Genesis and Exodus as an story of what God is saying about what He has done and is doing in and through the world. The student is to read, rather than the typical verse or chapter at a time, an account at a time (some of these pericopes are long, so they may take more than one sitting!). For example, Genesis 1 through 2 tells the story of creation, Genesis 37 through 50 tells the story of Joseph, and Exodus 1 through 15 tells of the deliverance of the children of Egypt from the Egyptians. The student needs to pick 4 specific stories from the books of Genesis and Exodus, and will fill in a story sequence chart (below) for each. They may be written or typed, and are to be submitted the first day back to school. Story Sequence Chart Story: Biblical Reference: I. CHARACTERS AND SETTING Who are the characters in the story, and what are they like? When did it happen? Where do the characters live/go? II. PLOT OR PROBLEM What do they need/want? What do they think? What do they say and do? III. CLIMAX AND RESOLUTION How is the problem/need resolved? What happens after? What is the message/lesson?