Summer Reading and Assignments
With a focus on developing our graduates as leaders, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners, Central Catholic’s summer reading program is centered on both developing a deeper engagement with literature and providing a centering moment for our students to develop a common understanding of the world around them.
Thus, all students are required to read two books this summer:
One book of choice, provided it is a good-faith effort to find something that the reader will actually enjoy, that fits who they are as a person, that they feel comfortable sharing, and that they haven't read before. Students will be assessed on their book of choice during the first two weeks of school in their English classes.
The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. We recommend the young adult version, but students can opt to read the original text. This book will be integrated into Social Studies and Theology curriculum and assessment during the first month of school.
The book,The Lemon Tree, was selected because of its connection to current events and in an effort to create a greater understanding of the complexities of the Middle East.
What is The Lemon Tree About?
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East is a biography and memoir written by Sandy Tolan and published in 2006. Against the backdrop of the first Arab-Israeli War’s 50th anniversary, American journalist Sandy Tolan travels to the Middle East to research his assignment. Through the biography, Tolan aims to highlight how two families on opposite sides of the conflict—the al-Khairis and the Eshkenazis—are connected on a level that transcends both faith and human fallibility.