Hingham Elementary Summer Reading
Get your summer reading at Buttonwood Books and Toys! You can find all of Hingham's ELA summer assignments here.
Grades 4 and 5 can find their assignments here. Grades 4 and 5 are required to read to read one book out of three possible choices.
Additionally, all children entering Grades 1-5 are encouraged to participate in the HPS summer reading challenge. You may access the live links on the Hingham Public Schools website and on your individual elementary school's website.
This is an option from the designated list for 4th grade.
From acclaimed author Elana K. Arnold and with illustrations by Charles Santoso, A Boy Called Bat is the first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum. Perfect for readers who loved Clementine and The Year of Billy Miller. 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 stray 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. From acclaimed author Elana K. Arnold comes a story of first friendship starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.
This is an option from the designated list for 4th grade.
A classic middle-grade tale of magic and friendship, about a girl who helps an old friend find home, by two New York Times–bestselling authors, Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. It’s been five years since Livy visited her grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something important about Gran’s house. It turns out she’s right. Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back. He can’t remember who—or what—he is, or where he came from. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise. Clue by clue, Livy and Bob unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever. Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic, middle-grade fiction, come together to craft this magical story about the enduring power of friendship.
This is an option from the designated list for 4th grade.
Ryan Hart loves to spend time with her friends, loves to invent recipes, and has a lot on her mind—school, self-image, and family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means changes like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. Because Ryan is all about trying to see the best. Even when things aren’t all she would wish for—her brother is infuriating, her parents don’t understand, when her recipes don’t turn out right, and when the unexpected occurs—she can find a way forward, with wit and plenty of sunshine.
Newbery Honor- and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Renée Watson was inspired to write her own version of Ramona, starring a Black girl and her family, in this charming new series.
This is an option from the designated list for 5th grade.
A New York Times bestseller and Top Ten Indie Next Pick. This gripping novel about survival and family is based on the real story of one wolf’s incredible journey to find a safe place to call home. Illustrated throughout, this irresistible tale by award-winning author Rosanne Parry is for fans of Sara Pennypacker’s Pax. Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate says, “Don’t miss this dazzling tour de force.” Swift, a young wolf cub, lives with his pack in the mountains learning to hunt, competing with his brothers and sisters for hierarchy, and watching over a new litter of cubs. Then a rival pack attacks, and Swift and his family scatter. Alone and scared, Swift must flee and find a new home. His journey takes him a remarkable one thousand miles across the Pacific Northwest. The trip is full of peril, and Swift encounters forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before he finds his new home.The New York Times proclaimed “Rosanne Parry evokes the Pacific Northwest with lilting, sensory-driven ambient details.” Inspired by the extraordinary true story of a wolf named OR-7 (or Journey), this irresistible tale of survival invites readers to experience and imagine what it would be like to be one of the most misunderstood animals on Earth. This gripping and appealing novel about family, courage, loyalty, and the natural world is for fans of Jack London’s White Fang and Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan.
This is an option from the designated list for 5th grade.
What does it take for a student with hearing loss and a hearing aid to become a superhero!!?!? Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here, she’s different. She’s sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom but anywhere her teacher is in the school—in the hallway . . . in the teacher’s lounge . . . in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different . . . and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend? El Deafo is a book that will entertain children, give hearing-impaired children a hero of their own, and challenge others to consider an experience unlike their own. Like other great works for children, it provides the opportunity for young readers to consider how they would act or react in a similar situation, helping to build empathy and understanding through the power of story.
This is an option from the designated list for 5th grade.
One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving-middle grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos. Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target. After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mom decides it's time for a change of environment. She takes Marcus and his younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don't remember or have never met. But Marcus can't focus knowing that his father--who walked out of their lives ten years ago--is somewhere on the island. So begins Marcus's incredible journey, a series of misadventures that take him all over Puerto Rico in search of his elusive namesake. Marcus doesn't know if he'll ever find his father, but what he ultimately discovers changes his life. And he even learns a bit of Spanish along the way.