Dear Parents and Guardians,

The English Department at Cardinal Mooney has a long-standing commitment to excellence. Our students’ accomplishments on Advanced Placement, ACT, and SAT tests, as well as on the reading and writing portions of the Ohio Graduation Test, reflect this. To continue this tradition, we require summer reading because we believe when students read, they are honing their comprehension, writing, and vocabulary skills, enriching their knowledge of the world, and adopting a lifelong habit.

Periodically, the English staff revises and updates the reading list. All of these works have been carefully selected; they are highly regarded, award-winning pieces of literature. Information about the merit of a given work can be obtained from the English Department. Some works with mature subject matter and themes or strong language are not assigned as summer reading so that they can be handled with sensitivity in the classroom by English staff with five to 41 years of teaching expertise. Listed below are the summer reading assignments for each level of English 9 through 12.This list also appears on our web site: www.cardinalmooney.com Should a parent or guardian have any concerns about the reading selections, English teachers will provide an alternative novel and assignment.

We ask that parents monitor this reading to see that the novels and plays are read. Students can borrow these works from the public library; some students may even enjoy “reading along” with the CD or cassette version. These sound recordings, sometimes read by the author, provide a new dimension of understanding. We ask that you discourage the substitution of the video, Sparks Notes, or even No Fear Shakespeare for the power and beauty of the original.

Students should read the works prior to the opening of school even if the class is not scheduled until the second semester. Within the first week of class, students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the works, so they should make a descriptive list of characters and a chapter-by-chapter or act-by-act summary.

English 9- 101
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Giver - Lois Lowry

English 9 – 100
Fallen Angels – William Dean Myers
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Never Cry Wolf - Farley Mowat

Honors English 9
Fallen Angels – William Dean Myers
Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths - Bernard Esvlin

English 10 – 201
Robin Hood - Howard Pyle
Walkabout - James Vance Marshall

English 10- 200
Night – Elie Wiesel
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

Honors English 10
A Doll’s House - Henrik Ibsen
Night – Elie Wiesel
Siddhartha – Herman Hesse
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

English 11 –300
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Honors English 11
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
Ordinary People - Judith Guest
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Advanced Placement Lit. & Comp. I
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams
Their Eyes Were Watching God –- Zora Neale Hurston
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

English 12 – 400
Heart of Darkness/Secret Sharer - Joseph Conrad
The Lord of the Flies - William Golding
A Man for All Seasons - Robert Bolt

Honors English 12
Heart of Darkness/Secret Sharer - Joseph Conrad
The Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Macbeth (text) - William Shakespeare
A Man for All Seasons - Robert Bolt

Advanced Placement Lit. & Comp. II
Heart of Darkness/Secret Sharer - Joseph Conrad
The Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Macbeth - William Shakespeare
A Man for All Seasons - Robert Bolt
Pygmalion - George Bernard Shaw