Summer Reading Lower School 2024

When Rio is sent to live with a grandmother he barely knows in California, he feels completely alone. Then he makes a new friend on the foggy beach--a girl named Marina, who teaches him about the massive grey whales that migrate nearby.

As Rio grows to love the whales, he discovers that his mother loved them, too. He's suddenly sure that if he can somehow find a way to connect her with these gentle giants - and especially with a particular whale named White Beak - she will get better and come to join him in California. But White Beak is missing--and Rio must embark on a desperate journey across the dangerous ocean to find her.

Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.

Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.
Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.
Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?
It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams? - Goodreads

Ade loves living at the top of a tower block. From his window, he feels like he can see the whole world stretching out beneath him. His mum doesn't really like looking outside - but it's going outside that she hates. She's happier sleeping all day inside their tower, where it's safe. But one day, other tower blocks on the estate start falling down around them and strange, menacing plants begin to appear. Now their tower isn't safe anymore. Ade and his mum are trapped and there's no way out.

Take a journey through space as you study the stars and constellations before venturing out into the solar system and beyond.

Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.

Fred, Con, Lila, and Max are on their way back to England from Manaus when the plane they’re on crashes and the pilot dies upon landing. For days they survive alone, until Fred finds a map that leads them to a ruined city, and to a secret.

Imagine having the perfect friend, one who never steals, lies or bullies. Now you can, with the TrooFriend 560, the latest in artificial intelligence! What can go wrong with a robot buddy? Especially one that's developing human characteristics and feelings, and who has just run away with her human?

It's beautiful here, and eerie, a lost kingdom, a ghost village...It's the near-future and Britain is having yet another heatwave. For Polly, it's the sort of heat that makes her do wild, out-of-character things just to cool down. Essential when she and her brother have been sent to their aunt's eco lake-side house for the summer.

New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft. - From the Publisher

The author relates, in graphic form, her experiences after she injured her two front teeth and had to have surgeries and wear embarrassing braces and headgear, all while also dealing with the trials and tribulations of middle school.

From surrounding yourself with the right team, to showing kindness to those around you, to celebrating and championing difference, 'You Can Do It' shows you that your voice really does matter and that you can do anything you put your mind to.

"Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has always wanted to be a Unicorn rider, but when the mysterious Weaver steals the most powerful unicorn in the world, Skandar must face sky battles, ancient secrets, and bloodthirsty unicorns in order to save his island"--OCLC.

Take a journey through space as you study the stars and constellations before venturing out into the solar system and beyond.

At an English boarding school in the 1930s, crime-solving friends Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells struggle to find an exciting mystery to investigate until Hazel discovers the dead body of Miss Bell, the science teacher.

When his brother catches measles, Tom is sent away for the summer to stay with his uncle and aunt and is thoroughly fed up about it. What a boring summer it's going to be. But then, lying in bed one night, he hears the old grandfather clock in the hall strike the very strange hour of 13 o'clock. What can it mean? As Tom creeps downstairs and opens the door, he finds out...a magical garden, a new playmate, and the adventure of a lifetime.

When she discovers that her small Scottish town used to burn witches simply because they were different, a neurodivergent girl who sees and hears things others cannot refuses to let them be forgotten.

ugh a mysterious hidden doorway and enters the realm of Greenwild, where she must uncover the truth about who she really is to save this land of magic and amazing natural wonders from being destroyed.

"Imagine being able to hear for the first time, or see in full-colour, or take your first steps on Earth. This incredible book celebrates the remarkable achievements made in medical engineering, and offers a glimpse of what the future might hold for humanity. Pioneering technological breakthroughs have truly changed lives. For some people, particularly those with disabilities, recent advances have crossed the realms of the purely imaginable, and reached a place of possibility. People with paraplegia can walk again, those who are hearing impaired can listen to even the faintest sounds, and some people with missing limbs can create beautiful works of art. This phenomenal book is a celebration of all that has been achieved so far, and a look at what might be possible in the near future. Is it inevitable that technology will surpass biology? From cochlear implants and pacemakers, to bionic arms and legs, this empowering book also features spotlights on pioneers including Paralympians Richard Whitehead and Blake Leeper, and the world's first 'cyborg' Neil Harbisson"--Publisher's description.

When twelve-year-old Onyeka discovers that she has psychokinetic powers, her mother reveals that she is Solari, part of a secret group of Nigerian mutants that trains at the Academy of the Sun.

Life can be tough in your last year of primary school. Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS at his side - they’ ve been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, his world turns upside-down. As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he’ s dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that’ s lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to make sense of what’ s going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough?

When Tasha builds a snow girl with her grandpa, all she wants is for her to be real. If only wishes on snow could come true... Then Tasha meets Alyana, a friend made of wishes, starlight, snowfall and magic. But when your best friend is made of winter, what do you do when spring comes?

In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?