Carlisle students participate in a variety of literature experiences, including class discussions of books and stories, skills instruction, and independent reading. The attached list has been developed to assist parents and students in the selection of quality independent reading books that are interesting and appropriate.
Parents of readers at any level are encouraged to read books along with their children and to have the children read aloud to them. Sharing insights, questions, and feelings about books is an excellent way to build a lifelong enthusiasm and appreciation of literature.
This book list represents a broad sampling of literature appropriate to a wide range of reading tastes and abilities The list does not include “core literature” which is read as part of the regular classroom programs in the Carlisle Schools. Picture Books, Alphabet Books, and Beginner Readers are grouped on the first pages. All other books are arranged alphabetically by author.
A general category (genre) has been identified for each title. CATEGORIES include: picture books, alphabet books, beginner readers, adventure, animal stories, fantasy/science fiction, folklore, books dealing with diversity, books with historic themes or settings, realistic fiction, humor, mystery, sports, non-fiction, and poetry.
Under the heading LEVEL, an attempt has been made to classify books by reading level as a guide only. Individual differences in reading skills and interests should be considered when making selections. “ADV” is used to denote if a particular title is deemed to be more challenging, or a book deals with more mature subject matter.
N.B.
* indicates an author who has written more than one book worthy of our recommendation. A representative title (not from CPS Core Literature List) is offered. . In some cases, an author may be listed more than once if titles fall into different categories or are considered to be written for different levels.
# signifies an author who is included in the Massachusetts Department of Education Language Arts Curriculum Framework List of Suggested Contemporary Literature. In most cases, more than one book is worthy of our recommendation.
There are many sources for book reviews and annotation available on the Internet. Examples:
Updated 6/4/ 2007