ZM Summer Reading for NCCS Middle School Students 2022: Animals

Eleven-year-old Sadie Mitchell-Rosen is having trouble fitting in at school and at home, so when she meets a dog named Dewey things seem to get better for her. Grade 4-7

When trouble calls . . . it's DOG SQUAD to the rescue!

Duke is not your average dog. Along with his crew, he fights crime and goes on claw-biting adventures helping dogs in peril in the hit streaming sensation--DOG SQUAD! Fred is a pretty average dog. He's scrappy. He's loveable. But he's not brave like his heroes on Dog Squad.

Fred looks an awful lot like Duke from Dog Squad though. In fact, when Duke needs a stand-in, Fred's the perfect choice. But the Dog Squad action doesn't always stop on screen! When there's danger in real life, can Fred find the courage to step up and save the day?!
It's all paws on deck in this action-packed, middle grade adventure series just right for anyone who loves dogs--and anyone who loves to laugh! Grade 4-6

Nina, a young girl unsure of her role in her communist society, befriends a dog named Laika, who dreams of finding a home and is being studied in Nina's father's lab as part of the Soviet space program. Grade 4-7

Twelve-year-old Malian lives with her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grade 3-6

In this heartfelt animal friendship story, a troubled young boy befriends a wayward coyote after a forest fire changes both of their lives. Grade 4-6

n this sequel to Girl Giant and the Monkey King, after releasing the Monkey King from his prison, Thom and her friends set off on a far flung adventure to save the Heavens for certain destruction. Grade 4-7

In the wilds of Scotland, a secret colony of beavers have been hiding in plain sight, safe from humans who crave their fur, until Dunwattle, a young beaver kit, exposes their hidden colony and faces a fate worse than death. Grade 4-7

Using a mysterious wardrobe that allows them to travel through time, two eleven-year-olds, Federico a boy from the Italian Renaissance and Bee a girl from present-day New Jersey, work together to prevent the bickering between two great artists from changing the future. Grade 3-6

He's not a stray house cat, he's an immortal being. And now he must choose whether to return to his planet or remain with his new human friend. The cat that Olive rescues from a flood has a secret: he's not really a cat at all, but an alien who crashed to Earth on a beam of light. The cat, whom Olive names Leonard, was prepared to visit the planet as a human--but something went wrong. Now Leonard may never know what it's like to hold an umbrella, go bowling, or host a dinner party. (And his human jokes still need some work: Knock, knock. Who's there? Just Leonard. It is me.) While Olive worries about whether she will have to move after her mom and her new boyfriend get back from their summer vacation, Leonard tries to figure out how to get from South Carolina to Yellowstone National Park, because if he's not there at the end of the month, he'll miss his ride home. But as Olive teaches Leonard about the beautiful and confusing world of humans, he starts to realize how much he cares about this particular one. A sweet and dryly funny story about what it means to be human--and what it means to be home. Grade 4-7

Cassie King's father has died, her mother has retreated into herself, away from reality, and her best friend has abandoned her for the in crowd, so when she and her sort-of friend, Joe, find a kitten during an intense electrical storm, Cassie is determined to adopt him; but Albert (named for Einstein) is no ordinary kitten: he is incredibly strong, things around him tend to burn, his eyes glow red, and when he gets annoyed the weather turns dangerous--in fact Albert is a dragon, and there is someone searching for him with very unfriendly intentions. Grade 4-7

Twelve-year-old Arrow was raised by the Guardian Tree in a rainforest protected by a magical veil, but now the veil is deteriorating and humans have entered, changing his life forever. Grade 4-6 (Lexile: 610)

Journey into the heart of Assam, a remote land of tea plantations, paddy fields, and ancient forests, to tell the true story of the last viable population of Asian elephants and one man who is dedicated to saving them. Grade 5-8 (Lexile: 980)