2021 Sharon Middle School Summer Reading
Click below to access the SMS summer reading site to find suggestions:
Once you've chosen your next great read, find it at the library!
Confronting Racism: A Tween/Teen Book List in Response to Recent Events
This list was created by some wonderful librarians from the Minuteman system and was 
adapted by Sharon Youth Services to reflect OCLN collections. We’re sharing this list in light of the events surrounding the death of George Floyd. It is intended to help youth in grades 6-12 process the information and the protests. There are resources for all races and for those that wish to help. This is intended as an informational source; not all books have been read over by those who created it.
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows (Book 1) by Ryan Calejo
City Spies by James Ponti
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
Love, Sugar, Magic: A Dash of Trouble ( Book 1) by Ann Meriano
Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
The Pants Project by Cat Clarke
Save Me a Seat by Weeks and Varadarajan
Scouts by Sharon Greenland
The Storm Runner (Book 1) by J.C. Cervantes
The Talk : Conversations about Race, Love & Truth edited by Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson
To: Night Owl From: Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
The Twelve by Cindy Lin
Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson
We’re Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey
What’s the Issue: Climate Change (Book 3) by Tom Jackson and Cristina Guitian
When Life Gives You Mangos by Kereen Getten
When the Stars Scattered by Victoria Jameison and Omar Mohamed
The Wild Robot (Book 1) by Peter Brown
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream: Power Forward; On Point: Bounce Back by Hena Khan
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award honors books that promote reading for pleasure
among students in grades four through six. The Massachusetts Children's Book Award is sponsored by Salem State University and coordinated by Dr. Cami Condie.
De-stress & Learn with Art
Daily Drawing Class with Wendy MacNaughton
@wendymac 
Illustrator Wendy MacNaughton has launched a
daily drawing class on Instagram for “kids of all ages, parents of kids, parents of parents, aunties/uncles, friends and pets.” MacNaughton is offering the classes via Instagram Live, but it also will be on her Instagram story for 24 hours. Hashtag #drawtogether.
Drawing Activities from Jarrett Lerner
https://jarrettlerner.com/activities/ 
Jarrett Lerner, author of
Enginerds, provides blank comic book pages for young artists to print and use, "Finish this Comic!" drawing activities, and a variety of drawing/writing prompts.
Coloring Pages from Liz Climo 
Print and color pages featuring dozing sloths, joking elephants, bears rockin' fanny packs, sassy cats, and others.
Google Art Project
https://artsandculture.google.com/ 
Virtually tour galleries, zoom in to examine art pieces, and browse by time period, artist, media - even color! Highlights include mini history lessons on fashion trends such as the bikini, tales and art of Kenyan superheros/mythological figures, and "Hyper History," in which viewers can "speed through stories of natural history" such as the story of the titanosaur. Explore from your couch!
Resources from Authors & Illustrators
Draw Everyday with JJK! https://www.youtube.com/studiojjk
Jarrett J. Krosoczka is the author of
Hey, Kiddo, the
Lunch Lady graphic novel series,
Platypus Police Squad, and other titles. Check out his drawing videos on Youtube.
My Weird Read-A-Loud with Dan Gutman
https://www.facebook.com/Dan-Gutman-60020139122/
The author of popular series such as
My Weird School (a favorite among Sharon's kids!), Dan Gutman offers live read-a-aloud sessions from his Facebook page.
Kids Ask Authors Podcast, Run by Grace Lin
https://www.kidsaskauthors.com/blog/introducingkidsaskauthors
According to author Grace Lin, kids can be a part of this podcast! Each 5-10 minute episode features Grace and a guest author answering a real reader's question. Kids can submit questions, book reviews, comments -even a joke or poem!
Drawing With This Guy - James Burks
https://www.youtube.com/user/jimmyjamesjimjimbo/videos 
Brief videos with the author teach kids how to draw characters from James Burks' popular graphic novel series
Bird and Squirrel. A great, quick boredom buster.
Mini Writing Workshop: The Four Elements of Character
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc0nwi-EKzo 
Chris Tebbetts, co-author of
Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life (written with James Patterson) offers a mini video writing workshop for ages 10+. This is an 8 minute video where you pause and write sometimes, bringing the full activity to about a half hour. Also check out Chris' other
video about creating a great story beginning.
#WriteToAnAuthor
A list of authors/illustrators (with addresses) who will be accepting snail mail! Write a letter or send a picture to authors like Chris Grabenstein, Laura Shovan, and Anne Marie Pace.
Stimola Literary Studio
https://www.stimolalive.com/
Stimola Live Literary Studio recently offered a variety of live stream events
by a selection of professional authors and illustrators. The videos remain up. Examples of featured videos include "Art Starters from TinkerLab" and a "Getting Into Character" mini writing workshop. Ages for videos vary.
Authors Everywhere *Read*Draw*Create*Community*
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCowhHSUaWp3KJDcuI0nR0vw/videos
Created by Susan Tan and fellow children's authors/illustrators, this channel
features videos of "workshops, readings, activities, art projects, writing games, writing advice, and more." Participating authors include Grace Lin, Jarrett Lerner, and Supriya Kelkari.
STEAM Challenges, Hands-on Activities & More
Coupon Follow - Free Resources for Home Learning!
https://couponfollow.com/research/free-arts-crafts-resources
This page is filled with a bunch of arts and crafts activities - and it even has a handful of virtual trips to art museums too! Recommended by young patrons Erin and Trey (thanks for the share, friends!).
America's Test Kitchen - For Kids!
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/kids/home 
Kid and family-friendly recipes, quizzes, Q&A from professional chefs, and activities that reference art, science, and more.
Do Try This At Home: Guinness World Records
https://kids.guinnessworldrecords.com/activities/try-this-at-home/ 
Browse famous records, explore what world records you might be able to break your, get ideas for science experiments, and much more!
Left Brain Craft Brain's Free Boredom Buster Resource
Check out
this website to download an awesome resource...
Print directions and lessons for STEAM activities such as Binary Backpack Charm Making and Bridge Building with recyclables! Five themes in all: Explore, Build, Color, Code, and Create.
Skype a Scientist
https://www.skypeascientist.com/ 
This initiative offers kids and families opportunities to interact with real working scientists around the world! Sign up through a provided form, get matched with a scientist, and enjoy an awesome Q&A-style chat.
Smithsonian Science How
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/distance-learning 
Sign up to participate in a live webcast with a real-life Smithsonian scientist! While waiting for the next live webcast, explore the video webcast archives. You can also send questions in to the scientists. Best for science lovers in grades 3-8.
Girl Scouts at Home
Access virtual badge activities, programs, and resources for girls and families. These are all
available to the public—no Girl Scout membership necessary!
Animal Webcams to Check Out
Peek into the Lives of Zoo & Aquarium Animals
San Diego Zoo
Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam
Smithsonian's National Zoo
Reid Park Zoo Lion Cam, Tucson, AZ
Ouwehand Park Polar Bear Cubs, Rhenen, Netherlands
Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Bay, CA 
Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA
Not zoo/aquarium cams, but great for a smile:
Dog Bless You Service Puppy Cam
Kitten Rescue Sanctuary
Award Lists & More
Caldecott Medal & Honor Books
Newbery Medal Winners
Notable Children's Books
Enc. Britannica Learning Zone
Kids InfoBits
