Nonfiction - Middle School

This is a list of the nonfiction books on the suggested Summer Reading List for Trumbull Middle School students.

Updated June 7, 2025
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1

Phineas Gage : a gruesome but true story about brain science
Fleischman, John
Paper Book
Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain...

2

Claudette Colvin :
Hoose, Phillip M.,
Paper Book
"When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can't sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, 'This is not right.'" - Claudette Colvin On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat...

3

The boy on the wooden box :
Leyson, Leon,
Paper Book
In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his...

4

An American plague :
Murphy, Jim,
Paper Book
Powerful and riveting, this Newbery Honor-winning narrative describes the illness known as yellow fever, the toll it took on the nation's capital--and the eventual triumph over the disease. Long before Covid and the West Nile virus, yellow fever was a medical mystery that forced thousands...

5

Chew on this :
Schlosser, Eric.
Paper Book
Kids love fast food. And the fast food industry definitely loves kids. It couldn't survive without them. Did you know that the biggest toy company in the world is McDonald's? It's true. In fact, one out of every three toys given to a child in the United States each year is from a fast food...

6

Bomb :
Sheinkin, Steve.
Paper Book
Perfect for middle grade readers and history enthusiasts, New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents the fascinating and frightening true story of the creation behind the most destructive force that birthed the arms race and the Cold War in Bomb: The Race...

7

Most dangerous :
Sheinkin, Steve.
Paper Book
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War is New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin's award-winning nonfiction account of an ordinary man who wielded the most dangerous weapon: the truth. "Easily the best study of the...

8

All thirteen :
Soontornvat, Christina.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2021 Kirkus Prize for Young People's Literature A 2021 Newbery Honor Book A 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book A 2021 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist A 2021 Orbis Pictus Honor Book A unique account...

9

Almost astronauts :
Stone, Tanya Lee.
Paper Book
They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow. What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape -- any checklist would include...

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