Sulam English

Dear Families,

This summer, all rising 9th-12th grade students will be required to read at least one book in preparation for next year’s Sulam English class. We strongly encourage parents to read along with students as a way to model lifelong learning and to help students engage meaningfully. Please select one book from the following list. In addition to reading your selected book, please bring it with you to class during the first week of school. Students will be expected to complete a written assignment related to their summer book during the first week of school. Texts that are bolded are not required reading for our students, but we wanted to include them as options as some of their peers will be reading those books as a Berman required text.

Alternatively, students may choose a different book, but it must be approved by either Dr. Drang at drangd@mjbha.org or Mrs. Houben at houbenl@mjbha.org.

Graphic Novel or Sports-Related

• American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang (Required for Berman English 9th graders/ graphic novel)
• Dragon Hoops, Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)
• March, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (graphic novel)
• The Running Dream, Wendelin Van Draanen
• Tumbling, Caela Carter
• QB1, Mike Lupica
• Game Seven, Paul Volponi
• Golden Arm, Carl Deuker
• The Young Champion’s Mind: How to Think, Train, and Thrive Like an Elite Athlete, by Jim
• Afremow, PhD (nonfiction)
• Mental Toughness for Young Athletes, Moses and Troy Horne (nonfiction)

Memoir or based on true story:

• Refugee, Alan Gratz
• The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
• I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
• Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
• The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls
• Kent State, Deborah Wiles
• The Color of Water, James McBride
• Into the Wild, Jack Krakauer

Fantasy or Sci-Fi:

• The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer
• The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
• The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
• Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
• Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
• The Martian, Andy Weir
• The Word for World is Forest, Ursula K. Le Guin (Required for Berman Dystopian Lit. students)

Realistic Fiction:

• The Chosen, Chaim Potok (Required for incoming 10th grade for Berman English)
• Sunrise Over Fallujah, Walter Dean Myers
• Windfall, Jennifer E. Smith
• Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Catcher in the Rye
• Code of Honor, Alan Gratz
• Squirm, Carl Hiaasan
• It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Ned Vizzini
• The Call of the Wild, Jack London
• Peak, Roland Smith