Great Summer Reads With Carol Jago: Into Space! for Grades 6-8

Explore space, travel in time, and make friends with a robot in this week’s great summer reads.

Dear Readers,

Summer is the perfect time to read whatever and whenever you want to read. Books let you travel to times and places other than your own and in a time of quarantine, find a way to have some SPACE. I put together a short list of books I loved that I think you might enjoy. See what you think. You will also find links to resources and additional features related to the collection.

Happy reading!

Carol

FUZZY

Science Fiction by Tom Angleberger and Paul Bellinger

Ever wonder what it would be like to go to school with a robot? Fuzzy is a new (robot) student at Vanguard One Middle School. He befriends Max, who starts to teach him the ins and outs of middle school life. Together, they discover an evil digital student evaluation system at their school. Its mission: CONTROL!

ENDER’S GAME

Science Fiction by Orson Scott Card

Earth is at war with an alien enemy. Child geniuses are being trained as soldiers via simulated war games. The future is uncertain, but Andrew “Ender” Wiggin could be the young general Earth needs. Ender is sent to the orbiting Battle School where he excels during his brutal training. Can one boy really lead an army and save Earth from the Buggers?

A WRINKLE IN TIME

Fantasy by Madeleine L’Engle

Meg’s father, a secret government scientist, had been experimenting with the fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Years later, strangers appear with a message about something called a tesseract. Meg, her friend Calvin, and her brother Charles Wallace risk their lives as they travel through space to an evil planet to rescue Meg’s father.

As you read these titles, consider:

  • Is space travel a daring adventure, a dangerous risk, or both?
  • What will people risk for those they care about?
  • Why do we enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy novels?

Try one of these activities to take your reading to the next level.

  • Check out these cool kinesthetic activities designed by the author of Fuzzy, Tom Angleberger.
  • Watch these videos that make real-life connections to topics found in Ender’s Game.
  • Book Club: Read, talk, eat, and create as you explore A Wrinkle in Time with family or friends.
  • Social Studies Connection: Do you know just how momentous the first trip to the moon was? Read about it here, and check out the video of the mission linked within the text.

Note: HMH is not responsible for the content of third-party websites.

Photo of Carol Jago provided by ©Andrew Collings
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