Summer reading is part of the Grace Church School program. All Lower School students should spend time reading or listening to literature. This book list is filled with suggestions for the summer and year-round. Obviously, we could not include every book that third grade students might enjoy. If you discover some treasures that we have overlooked, please tell the librarians in the fall.

Choose at least 3 to 5 chapter books to read. As you finish reading, fill out the corresponding Reading Log. Then make a book jacket for one of your books, following the directions on the next page. Bring the log and the book jacket to your teacher in September.

We hope that you read more than the required number of books; please record the others on your Reading Log also. The books on this list are available in paperback or hardcover editions in bookstores as well as on library shelves.

Happy Summer Reading!

How to Make a Book Jacket

Use 9" x 18" construction paper.

Fold in half.

Make a 3" flap at each end.

How to decorate the book jacket:

• Write your opinion of the book and sign your name.
• If you know other students who have read the book, ask them to write a comment about the book on your cover.

• Write the title and author.
• Design the front cover.
• Draw and color a picture on the cover.

• Write a summary of the book.
• Draw the author or illustrator the way he looks or the way you think he looks.
• Write two sentences about the author or illustrator.

Reading Log

Entering Third Grade

List title and author.

THIRD GRADE READING LIST

Adler, David A.

Cam uses her photographic memory to catch a thief disguised as a ghost.

The Fortune-Tellers

A carpenter in the West-African country of Cameroon goes to a fortuneteller and finds the predictions about his future coming true in an unusual way.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.

Abigail Tales the Wheel

When the first mate of the freight boat Neptune falls ill, it is up to Abigail, the captain’s daughter, to steer the ship up the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York City.

The Devil's Storybook

Ten stories recount the devil's exploits, successes and failures, in Hell and in the world above.

From the moment that young Egan arrives in Instep, he is entranced by the fable surrounding the peak of Kneeknock Rise.

A Cat of a Different Color

An amazing cat and a clever young girl halp save their troubled village, Felicity-by-the-Lake.

Brock, Betty

A tiny talking dog arrives at the home of the rich Mrs. Vancourt and asks shelter for herself and her companion, a little girl.

Cheyenne Again

In the late 1800s, 10-year-old Young Bull is sent to boarding school to learn the white man’s ways.

Dandelions

Embarking on a new live, Zoë and her family journey west to the Nebraska Territory in the 1800’s.

Train to Somewhere

Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on the Orphan Train, is sure that her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way.

Burnett, Frances Hodgson

Sara Crewe, a pupil at Miss Minchin's London school, is left in poverty when her father dies, but is later rescued by a mysterious benefactor.

Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

Byars, Betsy Cromer

As each of the five member of the roof family tries to write a "roof" poem they come to realize just how nice it is to be a Bean.

Keeper of the Doves

In the late 1800s in Kentucky, Amie McBee and her four sisters both fear and torment the reclusive and seemingly sinister Mr. Tomiski, but their father continues to provide for his needs.

As they wait out a tornado in their storm cellar, a family listens to a farm hand tell stories about a dog that was blown into his life by another tornado when he was a boy.

Cameron, Ann

Relates episodes in seven-year-old Julian's life which include getting into trouble with his younger brother Huey, planting a garden, what he did to try to grow taller, losing a tooth and finding a new friend.

The Piano Man

A girl tells the story of her grandfather who played piano in a silent movie theater, a Broadway theater, a medicine show and vaudeville.

Christopher, Matt

Baseball Flyhawk

Chico Romez plays left field for the Royals, but cutting remarks from first baseman, String Becker, leave him feeling like he's playing "left out." What will it take for Chico to prove to String -and himself- that he can be an asset to his team?

Mitch and Amy

Mitch and Amy both think being twins is fun, but that doesn’t stop them from squabbling.

Ramona the Pest

Ramona meets lots of interesting people in kindergarten class, like Davy whom she keeps trying to kiss and Susan whose springy curls seem to ask to be pulled.

Ribsy

Separated form his owner, Henry Huggins, in a shopping center parking lot, an ordinary city dog begins a string of bewildering adventures.

Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library

Mary Rose and her younger sister find themselves locked in a strange and creepy library at night.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven

The timeless fable of a cat who changes the life of a poor Japanese artist.

Cohen, Barbara

213 Valentines

Wade has trouble adjusting when he is transferred to a special fourth grade class for the gifted and talented, so he plans to send himself 213 Valentines signed by celebrities.

Carp in the Bathtub

Leah and her brother hatch a plan to save the Passover carp from the cooking pot.

Molly, a young Jewish immigrant girl from Russia is invited to her first American birthday party, where she definitely wants to taste the cake, even though it is Passover and she knows she shouldn't.

Larky Mavis

Having found a tine baby in a peanut shell, Larky Mavis calls him Heart’s Delight and carries him around as he grows bigger to the confusion and anger of the adults around her.

The World's Worst Fairy Godmother

Given one last chance by her skeptical boss when her spells continue to backfire, haphazard Maybelle Clodnowski seeks to reform the obnoxious Susan, a situation that is complicated by a secret enemy.

Pleasing the Ghost

Nine-year-old Dennis, whose uncle and father died within a year of one another, is visited by the ghost of his uncle and together they settle some unfinished business.

Dahl, Roald

Kidsnatched from her orphanage by a BFG (Big Friendly Giant) who spends his life blowing happy dreams to children, Sophie concocts with him a plan to save the world from nine other man-grabbing cannybull giants.

Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory takesadvantage of the situation in his won way.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Three farmers, each one meaner than the other, try all-out warfare to get rid of the fox and his family.

Amber Brown Goes Fourth

Entering fourth grade, Amber faces some changes in her life as her best friend moves away and her parents divorce.

Willie McPhee, the finest bagpipe player in Scotland is forced to travel far from home to find paying customers. One day when he’s nearly frozen, he stumbles over a dead body in the forest–a body with a nice pair of boots.

The Twenty-One Balloons

Three weeks after he leaves San Francisco to cross the Pacific by balloon, Professor William Waterman Sherman is picked up in the Atlantic clinging to the wreckage of a platform flown by twenty-one balloons.

It’s just an ordinary school day when third-graders Lexie and J.P. see an unusual sign on the bulletin board. In silver letters that seem to float on the paper it says: Alien for Rent. Two Gugentocks per hour.

How to Be Cool in Third Grade

On his first day of third grade, Robbie York decides that he would like to become cool, but falling into the school bully on the bus starts the year off on the wrong foot.

Spotlight on Cody

The third grade talent show is next Friday and Cody doesn’t have an act.

A Toad for Tuesday

On Thursday a toad is captured by an owl who saved him to eat on Tuesday, the owl's birthday, but the intervening five days change his mind.

Aliens for Breakfast

When Richard Bickerstaff sits down to breakfast one morning, he gets the surprise of his life. An alien climbs out of his cereal bowl!

Sophie

As Sophie grows bigger and her grandfather gets smaller, they continue to love each other very much.

A small boy tries to discover the meaning of "memory" so he can restore that of an elderly friend.

Dance With Rosie

Wishing she could have got into Miss Dierdre's ballet class, Rosie tries to learn ballet anyway by spying on the class from the alley and practicing at home but fears she will never become a star.

Pickle Puss

Emily Arrow is determined to get the most fish in the library's Fish for a Good Book Contest, but she doesn't take into account the equal determination of Dawn Bosco.

Gypsy Girl

After she is orphaned, seven-year-old Kizzy, who has lived as a Romany or Gypsy all her life, must face a small English town’s intolerance and find herself a new home and family.

Teammates

Describes the racial prejudice experienced by Jackie Robinson when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first black Major League baseball player and depicts the acceptance and support he receives from his white teammate, Pee Wee Reese.

Honey I Love and Other Poems

Sixteen poems tell of love and the simple joys of everyday life, seen through the eyes of a child skipping rope, riding on a train, or keeping Mama company until Daddy gets home.

Koya Delaney and the Good Girl Blues

Koya Delaney loves to laugh, but sometimes she hides feelings, like anger, behind her smile. Then a fight between her sister and her best friend leaves Koya in a situation that cannot be solved with laughter.

Back to School with Betsy

Third-grader Betsy and her friend Billy seem to be always getting into scrapes both inside and out of school.

Misty of Chincoteague

Two youngsters' determination to win a Chincoteague pony is greatly increased when Phantom and her colt are among those rounded up for the yearly auction.

Stormy, Misty's Foal

Bird Boy

All his life Chang has not been able to speak. The only sounds he can make are the squawks and caws of the cormorants his father trains for fishing. Chang is thrilled when he is finally old enough to help raise a cormorant chick.

Mister and Me

Joline’s family was just Momma and Grandpa until big, loud Leroy Redfield started taking Momma dancing. Is there anything Jolene can do to make him go away?

While their family is away, Harold and Chester, a dog and a cat are boarded at Chateau Bow-Wow where Chester becomes increasingly alarmed by the strange behavior of his fellow guests and the sudden disappearance of one of them.

Huneck, Stephen

The author describes the workings of his dog’s mind as he imagines them

The Adventures of Ali Baba Bernstein

Eight-year-old David is convinced that his life will be more adventurous when he changes his name to Ali Baba.

Lucas Cott, the most obstreperous boy in the third grade, finds it hard to turn over a new leaf when he decides to become the perfect student.

Robi Dobi

When Robi Dobi, and Indian elephant rescues a strange orange creature from a fast flowing river, he finds himself at the beginning of a most extraordinary adventure.

Jansson, Tove

It is spring in the valley and the Moomins, mythological Scandinavian beasties, are ready for adventure.

Johnson, Larry

Growing up in segregated Mississippi a child learns about the value of education and the struggle for democracy.

The Cuckoo Child

At the zoo Jack steals an ostrich egg that’s about to be fed to a snake, brings it home to his family’s farm, and persuades a pair of geese to be its foster parents.

A young girl's life with her father on their farm in England is changed when she befriends a talking hare that is really a shape-changing alien.

Horrible Harry and the Dungeon

When a student at South School misbehaves, they are automatically sent to the Suspension Room–or "The Dungeon", as it is called. The rumors are flying as to what actually goes on down there, and Harry won’t be satisfied till he finds out for himself.

The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps

Spending the summer of 1867 with her mining engineer father as he helps to construct the Central Pacific Railroad, Winnie Tucker meets Chinese tea carrier, Lee Cheng and begins to see the world in a different way.

Grace the Pirate

Grace does not want to sit at home and spin and churn with her mother, as other girls do. She wants to sail the seas with her father a famous trader, fisherman, and pirate.

She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!

Harriet and her cousin, Minna, are proper Boston ladies that find the latest in hat fashions for women -- dead birds on top -- appalling. So, they gather the most prominent people in town to form a club and protect the birds -- the Audubon Society.

Measuring Penny

Lisa has an important homework assignment–to measure "something" in several different ways. She decides to measure her dog, Penny, and learns a lot about her dog and measuring and even has fun doing it.

Levinson, Riki

Grandma still tells about her mama's journey to America by boat, years ago.

Dracula Is a Pain in the Neck

Robert fears that his plastic Dracula doll is responsible for spooky doings at his sleep-away camp.

Morgy Makes His Moves

When third grader Morgy MacDougal-MacDuff moves from California to Massachusetts, he has a lot of new things to get used to before he feels comfortable.

The Gold Dust Letters

At Angela's house, real magic has sprung up. Elegant, scrolled letters written in purple ink from "Pilaria, the Gray-Eyed Faerie" appear regularly during the night on the living room mantle piece. Angela and her two friends Georgina and Poco decide to investigate with the help of a Siamese cat named Juliette.

Berta: A Remarkable Dog

Berta, a dachshund adopts a baby sheep in her determination to be a mother.

Betsy-Tacy

Betsy and Tacy are such good friends that everyone on Hill Street thinks of them as one person, Betsy-Tacy.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

From her upside-down house the eccentric Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle issues to parents her marvelous cures for such common children's diseases as Won't-Put-Away-Toys-itis, Answerbackism, and Fighter Quarrelitis.

MacLachlan, Patricia

Seven Kisses in a Row

Emma learns to accept "different strokes for different folks," when her aunt and uncle come to take care of her and her brother.

Milne, A.A.

Winnie the Pooh

The adventures of Christopher Robin and his friends, in which Pooh Bear uses a balloon to get honey, Piglet meets a Heffalump, and Eeyore has a birthday.

More adventures of Christopher Robin and friends including the newest resident of the Hundred Acre Wood, Tigger.

Owls in the Family

Wol and Weeps, two owls from Saskatchewan, shake up a whole neighborhood, turn a house topsy-turvy, and outsmart Mutt, the dog.

Sitti's Secrets

A young girl describes a visit to see her grandmother in a Palestinian village on the West Bank.

The young detectives must put all the clues they find in the woods together to solve the mystery.

Lisa, Bill, and Jed soon realize that something weird is happening in and around their new home.

Paterson, Katherine

In order to wear the crown of the kingdom, an arrogant young prince must find an equal in his bride, instead he finds someone better than he.

Pilkey, Dav

Kat Kong is captured by mice and brought to Mousopolis where he escapes with a beautiful mouse hostage.

Pinkwater, Daniel Manus

A boy accompanies some guys from space on a visit to another planet, where they discover some incredibly amazing things such as talking rocks and root beer with ice cream.

The Magic Pretzel

There is only one way to keep from turning into a Werewolf, and that is with the help of a magic pretzel.

Prelutsky, Jack

Poems about werewolves, vampires, trolls, gremlins and other nightmarish creatures.

It is Zeesie’s seventh birthday, and not only does she have an elegant dress and her own dollar bill, but Papa has decided she’s old enough to attend her first package party.

The Thumb in the Box

A happily road-less, motor-vehicle-less island turns the government’s unwanted gift of a fire truck into just what they wanted in the first place.

How to Eat Fried Worms

Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.

The Blue Hill Meadows

Four short chapters, each telling a story set in a different season look at the Meadows’ country life in Blue Hill, Virginia.