Sixth Grade program - HOWL (Heim's Original Wolf Literature)
Each year at Heim there will be a different list of titles read and selected by the librarian for the 6th grade reading program.  Of the selected titles, sixth graders will be expected to read any three of them but are encouraged to read more (or all) of the selected titles.  Students reading the three required or more will receive prizes. 

HOWL list 2009-2010

Title	Author	Summary
The Black Book of Secrets	F. E. Higgins	When Ludlow Fitch runs away from his thieving parents in the City, he meets up with the mysterious Joe Zabbidou, who calls himself a secret pawnbroker, and who takes Ludlow as an apprentice to record the grusome confessions of the townspeople.
Book of a Thousand Days	Shannon Hale	Dashti, sworn to obey her mistress, the Lady Saren, shares Saren's years of punishment locked in a tower.  While imprisoned in the tower they are visited by Saren's true love as well as an evil king who can turn into a wolf.
Cracker!  The Best Dog in Vietnam	Cynthia Kadhota	During the Vietnam war the United States trained dogs to sniff out bombs and detect trip wires to save the lives of our soldiers.  Cracker! is the fictional account of one of these dogs and her handler.
Don't Call Me Ishmael	Michael Gerard Bauer	Fourteen-year-old Ishmael Leseur is certain that his name is the cause of his unhappy school life as the victim of the worst bully in his class, but when James arrives at school, he shows everyone that things could be different through many funny situations.
Harlem Summer	Walter Dean Myers	In 1920s Harlem, sixteen-year-old saxophonist Mark Purvis struggles to advance his jazz career while working as a gopher for the new African-American magazine, "The Crisis," and accidentally becoming involved with mobster Dutch Schultz.
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period	Gennifer Choldenko	Kirsten and Walk, seventh-graders at an elite private school, become friends almost by accident as they and other misfits stand up to a mean but influential classmate.  But as time goes on, they discover that they have more in common than they ever expected.
Knucklehead:tall tales & mostly true stories about growing up Scieszka	Jon Scieszka	Presents a memoir of what it was like to grow up in a family of six boys by the author of silly books such as The Stinky Cheeseman.  Scieszka tells about the things he and his brothers did growing up - stories with which all boys can identify and girls can roll their eyes about!
Maze of Bones	Rick Riordan	Amy and Dan, members of the powerful Cahill family, try to uncover the thirty-nine clues which will reveal the secrets of their lineage and find out what really happened to their parents. By the author of the Percy Jackson series!
Schooled	Gordon Korman	Cap lives in isolation with his grandmother, a former hippie; but when she falls from a tree and breaks her hip, Cap is sent to a foster home where he has his first hilarious experiences in a public school.
Stormbreaker	Anthony Horowitz	After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.
Waiting for Normal	Leslie Connor	Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York.

HOW TO GET CREDIT FOR YOUR READING

After reading any of the HOWL titles 6th grade students will come to the library to discuss on the book with Mrs. Ashby.  These discussions will simply be a chance to talk about things the student liked or didn't like about the book.  The discussions are not a test filled with small facts about the book, just a discussion.  Students who are especially worried about "passing" the chat are welcome to bring notes about the book along with them to help remember important facts in the book.

PRIZES AND INCENTIVES!!

Reading the four required books will be part of the Language Arts grade throughout the year but in addition, 6th graders will earn the following prizes for participating in HOWL:

After reading and reporting on three books - a free paperback book
After reading and reporting on six books - another free book and candy
After reading and reporting on ten books - another free book, candy and an invitation to a pizza party

Students who have reported on all three of their books before January 8, 2009 will receive a special prize.

All students who read at least three books will be invited to a voting party with snacks and awards.