SEED Suggested Reading (check periodically for updates)
- Grade 1
Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
Russell Sprout by Johanna Hurwitz
Big Max by Kin Platt
Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Arthur by Marc Brown
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
The Stray Dog by Paul Schmidt
- Grade 2
The One in the Middle is a Green Kangaroo by Judy Blume
The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osbrone
The Boston Coffee Party by Doreen Rappaport
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon by Paula Danziger
Nate the Great by Marjorie Sharmat
- Grade 3
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Hellen Keller by Margaret Davidson
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Arthur Makes the Team by Marc Brown
- Grade 4
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
- Grade 5
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
The Twenty-one Balloons by William Pène du Bois
A Step from Heaven by An Na
- Grade 6
Gentlehands by M. E. Kerr
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
- Grades 7-8
The Contender by Robert Lipsyte
The Hobbit by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Old Man and Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint
The Miracle Worker by William Gipson
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
- Grades 9-12
Since most of the books we would recommend for high school students are similar to the ones that already appear on most high school reading lists, it would be superfluous to reiterate them here. Apart from standards such as The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye, you may want to explore the Books and Writers Lists and the comments in the Books That Matter section under Journals for books not on every high school reading list.
Books & Writers Lists
Do a Google search of “best books” or “best writers” and you will hit thousands of websites. Here are a few lists we recommend:
The CollegeBoard’s 101 Great Books
List of Nobel Prize winners for literature
List of Pulitzer Prize winners for Fiction (1948 to present)List of Pulitzer Prize winners for General Non-Fiction (1962 to present)
You can view the National Book Award (NBA) Winners and Finalists from 1950 to the present here.
An interesting feature on this website is The Book That Changed My Life section—where you can read “some of our nation’s most distinguished writers explain the book that changed their lives and why.”TIME magazine’s critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present here.
Every December, The New York Times comes out with a list of the 100 Notable Books of the year. For 2007, click here.
TIME Magazine loves lists. Here are few to review:
CNN Heroes
People make a difference everyday. It is good to hear some of their stories from time to time. Read them here.
Useful Resources & Databases (Alternatives to Wikipedia)
The Internet Public Library was founded by a class at the University of Michigan’s School of Information and and Michigan SI students almost exclusively generated its content and managed the Ask a Question reference service. On January 1, 2007, the IPL moved to Drexel University’s College of Information Science and Technology. Now, a consortium of colleges and universities with programs in information science is developing and maintaining the IPL! information and links regarding a variety of topics.
Citizendium is a wiki-type online encyclopedia that may be more credible and reliable than Wikipedia because it is a collaborative effort between experts and the general public.
For information regarding American population, housing, economic, and geographic data refer to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Web references gathered by the Library of Congress
Virtual Reference DeskFactCheck.org provides nonpartisan, truthful information about the candidates and what they claim. Visit
FactCheck.orgFor credible information on pretty much everything, Infoplease provides an encyclopedia, atlas, a dictionary and more.
InfopleaseAnother great online reference, Refdesk provides search engines and tools to aid you in finding information.
RefdeskFor information regarding the English language visit
AskOxfordThe CIA Factbook offers information on countries, and lists their profile in specific categories (government, economy, military etc.).
CIA Factbook
25 Helpful Facebook Applications
This list, compiled by Susan Jacobs, features helpful Facebook applications for students and teachers. View them here.
SEED Staff’s Favorite Websites
Admin – Cracked, The Onion, Gawker
Mrs. Choe – Naver
Mrs. Han – Daum
Sunny – N.Y. Times
Michael – CTS TV, LPGA
James C – Han Kook Il Bo
Anonymous Math Teacher’s – WOW Head
JP – SEED Homepage
John K – ESPN
Helen – Travel Channel
Joo Young – WeCanSolveIt
Jennie B – Free Rice
Lonnie – Digg
Stella k – YouTube
Brian K – CNET
Peter K – OneManga
Danny Y – Yahoo Sports
More websites to come…
