American Fork Junior High Seventh Grade English Suggested Books for Outside Reading
The number with the “L” indicates the lexile level (reading level) of the book.
Select books near or above your own reading level.
The number with the “L” indicates the lexile level (reading level) of the book.
Select books near or above your own reading level.
Select books that you have not read before.
You may choose books not on this list.
Watching a video based on a book does not count, though it may be a valuable additional activity after you have read the book.
You should be able to answer questions about the book.
If you’re reading a library book for your portfolio, make sure you complete the portfolio before the time you must return the book.
â This symbol indicates books which will be read as a class in seventh, eighth, or ninth grade, so must not be used for your seventh grade reading.
Adolescent Literature
Brooks -- The Moves Make the Man (basketball) L1150
Corman – No More Dead Dogs L610
Westall, Robert – Stormsearch
Kherdian, David – A Song for Uncle Harry
Spinelli – Maniac Magee (192 pages) L820
Fleischman, Paul - Whirligig L760
Hesse – The Music of Dolphins and others
Adventure
Aiken, Joan – The Wolves of Willoughby Chase L1020
Beatty, Patricia – Lupita Manana L760
Burroughs, Edgar Rice - Tarzan L1270
Defoe, Daniel – Robinson Crusoe L1320
Duman, Alexander – Count of Monte Cristo L930
Gardiner, John Reynolds – Stone Fox L550
George, Jean Craighead – Julie L700, Julie of the Wolves L860
Heyerdahl, Thor – Aku-Aku, Kon-Tiki L1310
Junger, Sebastian – The Perfect Storm (301 pages) L1140
Kipling, Rudyard – Captain’s Courageous L1020
Krakauer, Jon – Into Thin Air (378 pages) L1320
McKinley, Robin – The Blue Sword L1030 ,
The Hero and the Crown L1120 -- Fantasy
Myers, Walter Dean – The Righteous Revenge L980 and others
O’Dell, Scott – The King’s Fifth L840 , Island of the Blue Dolphins L1000 (184 pages), The Black Pearl (96 pages), Zia, Sing Down the Moon L820
Orczy, Baroness – The Scarlet Pimpernel L1140
Paulsen, Gary (not allowed by some teachers) - Hatchet L1120 (195 pages), The River (132 pages), Brian’s Winter (133 pages),
Brian’s Return (115 pages)
Richter, Conrad – The Light in the Forest L870 (120 pages)
Sperry, Armstrong – Call It Courage L830
Stevenson, Robert Louis – Kidnapped L990 ,
Treasure Island L1100
Swift, Johathan – Gulliver’s Travels L1330
Taylor, Theodore – The Cay L860 (144 pages), Timothy of the Cay (176 pages)
Tolkien, J.R.R. – The Hobbit L1000, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy L860, 810, 920, any others
Twain, Mark – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn L990, Adventures of Tom Sawyer L950
Ullman, James – Banner in the Sky L680
Animal
Adams, Richard --Watership Down L880
Armstrong – Sounder L900
Eckert, Allan W. – Incident at Hawk’s Hill L1200 (207 pages)
Farley, Walter - Black Stallion L680-920 (series)
Gipson – Old Yeller L910
Grahame – Wind in the Willows L1140
Herriot, James – All Creatures Great and Small. etc. L990
Kjelgard – Big Red L910
London, Jack – â The Call of the Wild L1150 and â White Fang L970 = seventh and eighth grade class books
Mowat – Never Cry Wolf L1330
Rawlings – The Yearling L750
Rawls, Wilson – Summer of the Monkeys L810 , Where the Red Fern Grows L700
Sewell – Black Beauty L1010
Schaefer, Jack – Conversations with a Pocket Gopher
Award Winners – Many of the books listed here are award winners. Ask your librarian for others.
Biography/Autobiography – See biography shelves in the media center.
Dahl, Roald – Boy (160 pages) L1090
Classics
Alcott, Louisa May – Little Women L1300
Barrie, James – Peter Pan L920
Baum, Frank – Wizard of Oz (series) L1000
Burnett – The Secret Garden L970
Carroll, Lewis – - Alice in Wonderland L950
Collodi, Carlo – Pinocchio L780
DeJong, Meindert – The House of Sixty Fathers L820
Dodge, Mary Mapes – Hans Brinker L1020
Heaney, Seamus, translator – Beowulf L1090 (208 pages)
Kipling, Rudyard – Jungle Books L1140
Milne, A.A. - Winnie the Pooh (not for portfolio)
Montgomery – Anne of Green Gables (series) L990
Saint Exupery, Antoine de – The Little Prince L710
Seredy, Kate – The Good Master L640
Sewell – Black Beauty L1010
Spyri, Johanna – Heidi L960
Fantasy
Alexander, Lloyd – The Book of Three L770, The Black Cauldron L760, The Iron Ring L680, and others.
Anthony -- Incarnations of Immortality & Xanth series L@750
Asprin – Myth series, Thieves’ World Series L710-980
Babbit, Natalie – Tuck Everlasting L770
Banks, Lynn Reid – The Indian in the Cupboard L780
Barron, T.A. – Heartlight, The Ancient One L910, The Lost Years of Merlin (series) L770, and others.
Beagle, Peter – The Last Unicorn and others L820
Bradbury, Ray – Something Wicked This Way Comes L820
Brooks, Terry – Sword of Shannara and others L830-1220
Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold L830
New: Chabon, Michael – Summerland (500 pages)
Cooper, Susan – Greenwitch L830 , The Dark is Rising L920, Silver on the Tree L900, and others.
Donaldson, Stephen – Lord Foul’s Bane and others
Eddings, David – any novel L800-900
Farmer – The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm L660
Feist, Raymond – Magician: Apprentice L940 (485 pages)
Goldman – The Princess Bride L870
Grahame – Wind in the Willows L1140
Jacques, Brian - Redwall and others L800
Jordan, Robert - The Wheel of Time series
Kendall – The Gammage Cup L950
Kurtz, Katherine – Deryni Rising and others
L’Engle, Madeline – A Wrinkle in Time L740, A Wind in the Door, etc.
Lewis, C.S. – The Chronicles of Narnia L870-940 (fantasy), Out of the Silent Planet L1020 (160 p.), Perelandra,, That Hideous Strength, and others. (scifi/fant)
McCaffrey, Anne – any novel L910-1120
McDonald, George – The Princess and the Goblin L1030
McKinley, Robin – Beauty L970, and others.
Nix, Garth – Keys to the Kingdom, Seventh Tower, and others
Pullman, Philip – The Golden Compass L930 and others
Rowling, J.K. – H. P. and the Sorcerer’s Stone L880 and others
Sachar, Louis – Holes â L660
Sleator, William – Singularity L740
Stewart, Mary – any novel The Crystal Cave L960
Swift, Johathan – Gulliver’s Travels L1330
Tolkien, J.R.R. – The Hobbit L1000, The Lord of the Rings L860,810,920, any novel
Weis/Hickman – The Dragonlance series
White, T.H. - The Once and Future King L1080, The Sword in the Stone L1120, and others.
Yolen, Jane – any novel above Lexile 700
Historical Fiction
Avi – The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle L740; Crispin
Bruchac – Sacajawea L840
Collier – My Brother Sam is Dead L770
Crowe – Mississippi Trial, 1955 (Utah author)
Cushman, Karen – Catherine Called Birdy L1170,
â Midwife’s Apprentice L1240 (class book)
Edmunds and Lanz – The Matchlock Gun (80 pages)
Fox - The Slave Dancer L970
Greene – Summer of My German Soldier L800
Hesse – Out of the Dust
Lowry, Lois – Number the Stars L670, â The Giver L760]
*The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry
Paterson – Lyddie L860
Selden, Bernice – The Mill Girls: Lucy Larcom, Harriet Hanson Robinson, Sarah G. Bagley
Uchida– Journey to Topaz L970 (Reading Class Book)
Houston – Farewell to Manzanar L1040 (Reading Class Book)
Walters – War of the Eagles, Caged Eagles L650,690 "
Horror
Bellairs, John – Chessmen of Doom, The House with a Clock in its Walls, etc. L910, 800
Doyle, Sir Arthur C – The Hound of the Baskervilles L1090
Peters, Ellis – A Morbid Taste for Bones L1160
Shelley, Mary – Frankenstein L1179
Stevenson, Robert Louis – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde L1040
Humor
Enright, Elizabeth – Gone-Away Lake L760
Gilbreth, Frank R. Jr. – Cheaper by the Dozen L890 -- nonfiction
Kaufman, Bel – Up the Down Staircase
Kerr – Please Don’t Eat the Daisies
Korman, Gordon – I Wanna Go Home. etc. L560-840
Lewis, C.S. – The Screwtape Letters L1250
McMannus, Patrick – A Fine and Pleasant Misery
Snicket – A Series of Unfortunate Events L1000-1150
Life and Its Problems -- Contemporary Realistic Fiction is in Red
Aldrich, Bess Streeter – A Lantern in Her Hand L1020 -- Historical
Angelou, Maya – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings L1070
Avi – Nothing But the Truth L1080 pp. 210
Bach, Richard - Jonathan Livingston Seagull -- Fantasy
Barrett – Lilies of the Field L770 -- Historical
Bauer, Joan – Hope Was Here, Squashed L710,930
Braithwaite – To Sir with Love
Bunyan, John – Pilgrim’s Progress L1140 -- Allegory
Cannon, A.E. – Amazing Gracie L680
Carter - The Education of Little Tree L890
Creech – any except Walk Two Moons (7th grade class book)
Dickens, Charles – Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities â(required 9th grade) L1200,1130
Douglass – The Robe -- Historical
Fitzhugh, Louise – Harriet the Spy L760
Fox – The One-Eyed Cat L1000
Frankle, Viktor – Man’s Search for Meaning (Non-fiction)
Gardiner – Stone Fox L550
George, Jean Craighead - Water Sky L730
Gunther - Death Be Not Proud L1069
Hemingway, Ernest – The Old Man and the Sea L940
Hilton – Goodbye Mr. Chips L930
Hinton – That Was Then, This is Now, Tex L780, 710, (The Outsiders â L750 Seventh grade class book)
Holt – When Zachary Beaver Came to Town L700 pp.227
Johnson, Scott – One of the Boys, Safe at Second L700
Keyes – Flowers for Algernon L910
Knowles – A Separate Peace L1110 pp. 196
Krumgold, Joseph – and now Miguel L780 pp. 245
Lindberg, Anne – Gift from the Sea
McCormic – Cut L660 pp. 151
Myers, Walter D.--- Somewhere in the Darkness, Monster L670
Newton, Robert – A Day No Pigs Would Die L690 pp. 150
Olsen, Gretchen – Joyride (200 pages)
Paterson – Bridge to Terebithia L810
Potok, Chiam – The Chosen L970
Randale – The Only Alien on the Planet L650
Ritter – Choosing Up Sides L670
Saint Exupery – The Little Prince L710 -- Fantasy
Sebestyen, Ouida – Words By Heart â L750 -- Historical Fiction
Smith – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn L810
Steinbeck, John – The Red Pony, The Pearl L810,1010
Ten Boom, Corrie – The Hiding Place L900 -- Nonfiction
Voight, Cynthia – Dicey’s Song and others L710
Wiesel, Elie – Night L590 -- Historical Fiction
Wolff – Make Lemonade L890 pp.200
Love Stories
Austin, Jane – Pride and Prejudice L1100
Bronte, Emily – Wuthering Heights L880
Bronte, Charlotte – Jane Eyre L890
McDonald, George – any of his Scottish romances
West, Jessamyn – Friendly Persuasion L970
[â May not be used for 7th grade reading.]
Multicultural
Angelou, Maya – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings L1070
Banks, Lynne Reid – One More River L780
Barrett – Lilies of the Field L770
Brooks -- The Moves Make the Man (basketball) L1150
Carter - The Education of Little Tree L890 pp.216
Frankle, Viktor – Man’s Search for Meaning
Gardiner, John Reynolds – Stone Fox L550
George, Jean Craighead - Water Sky L730
Hicylimaz, Gaye – Against the Storm
Ho, Minfong – The Clay Marble
Ho, Minfong – Rice Without Rain
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki– Farewell to Manzanar L1040 p203
Jiang, Ji-Li – Red Scarf Girl L780 pp.285
Levitan, Sonia – The Return
Namioka, Lensey - The Coming of the Bear and others L690-830
Potok, Chiam – The Chosen L970
Richter, Conrad – The Light in the Forest L870
Sebestyen, Ouida – Words By Heart L750
Taylor, Mildred D. – Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry L920 pp276
Ten Boom, Corrie – The Hiding Place L900
Wiesel, Elie – Night L590
Mystery
Braun, Lilian Jackson – The Cat Who. . . mysteries L740-910 Christie, Agatha – And Then There Were None â 8th grade , Murder on the Orient Express, others. L570,640
Clark, Mary Higgins – The Anastasia Syndrome L790 (stories)
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan – Complete Sherlock Holmes L1080
Konigsburg, E.L. – From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The View From Saturday L700,870
Raskin, Ellen – The Westing Game L750
Van Draanen – Sammy Keyes mysteries
Non-Fiction
Armstrong – Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World L1090
Farrell – Invisible Enemies:. . . Infectious Disease L1200
Hawking – A Brief History of Time L1290
Ritter – The Story of Baseball
Wilson – The Ingenious Mr. Peale
Science Fiction
Adams – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy L1000
Asimov, Isaac – any novel L740-1250
Bradbury, Ray - The Martian Chronicles, any novel
Card, Orson Scott - Ender’s Game and others. L780-910
Christopher, John – Pool of Fire, The White Mountains, City of Gold and Lead L760-970
Coville, Bruce - My Teacher is an Alien L650, many others. ( You may read â My Teacher Fried My Brains L750 as a class in seventh grade)
Crichton, Michael – Jurassic Park, The Lost World L710,670
Farmer – The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm L660
Lewis, C.S. – Out of the Silent Planet and others (scifi/fantasy)
Lowry, Lois – â The Giver L760, Gathering Blue L680
Philbrick – The Last Book in the Universe L740
Verne, Jules – Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea L1040,1080
Wells, H.G. – The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man L1070,1170,980
Sports
Biracee, Tom – Wilma Rudolph (Olympics, 111 pages)
Brooks -- The Moves Make the Man (basketball) L1150
Carter, Alden R. – Bull Catcher (baseball, 285 pages) L750
New: Chabon, Michael – Summerland (500 pages)
Krakauer, Jon – Into Thin Air L1320
Paulsen, Gary – Woodsong (dog sledding, 132 pages) L930
Pele – My Life and the Beautiful Game (autobiography – soccer)
Pfetzer, Mark – Within Reach: My Everest Story (nonfiction,
224 pages) L970
Romain, Joseph – The Mystery of Wagner Whacker (baseball - 208 pages), Maradora (soccer, 108 pages)
Western
Clark, Walter Van Tilburg – The Ox Bow Incident L890 p220
Grey, Zane – The Mysterious Rider, The Lost Trail (288 pages) , and others L790-890
L’Amour, Louis L690-1150
Owen, Wister – The Virginian L830
Schaefer, Jack Warner – Shane (119 pages) L870
