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2026 Summer Reading

2026-2027 UPPER SCHOOL SUMMER READING & OTHER ASSIGNMENTS

 

UPDATED JUNE 8, 2026
 
The goal of summer reading at Roland Park Country School is consistent with the School’s philosophy in that it “strives to instill in its students a lifelong love of learning as well as the motivation to look within and beyond themselves” while also promoting the importance of reading a variety of works.

This summer, we are guided by the inspiring words of our upcoming Anne Healy Visiting Author, award-winning poet Victoria Chang, who will visit our campus on October 13-14, 2026. 

“Maybe I am staring into a piece of paper like it is a pond, hoping one day that what looks back is not my own reflection, but my great-grandmother's face. Maybe poetry is the distance between my face and her face. Maybe it's the difference between how the moon looks in the sky and how it contorts when a mayfly travels across the pond.”
― Victoria Chang, from Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence and Grief


We ask our students to consider how the books they read this summer give them spaces to find reflections. Maybe, through reading, the reflection they see is their own, or maybe it will be some other face looking back from the pages of a book.

Summer reading material can be purchased through The Ivy Bookshop. Use coupon code RPCSSUM26 to save 10%. (Note: separate information about purchasing the necessary textbooks and other course materials for next year will be sent in July.)

RPCS ENGLISH SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS

This Upper School Summer Assignments LibGuide will provide students with the book titles and assignments for each RPCS English course and our free choice book summer reading program. 
 
For 2026-2027, the Upper School Summer Reading Program consists of the following:
 
  • Two required books for the student’s RPCS English course with a related assignment due on the first day of class.
    • A hard-copy book should be used for English class books.
    • Juniors taking English 11 at Gilman should visit the Gilman summer reading page (link below) for information regarding required summer reading. Juniors will find out if their English class is at RPCS or Gilman when they receive their schedules in mid-July.
    • Seniors taking English 12 electives at Gilman or Bryn Mawr should visit the coordinate schools’ links below for information regarding required summer reading for those classes.
       
  • All students will read one book of their personal choice selected from a list of options from the US Summer Reading LibGuide and create a book talk to share in advisory on Tuesday, September 8. The book talk assignment is linked on the US Summer Reading LibGuide. 

We encourage students to read as much as possible beyond the required readings over the summer (and year-round!). The US Summer Reading LibGuide is an excellent resource for book titles for additional reading ideas.

RPCS AP COURSES
 
This AP Course Summer Reading Assignments LibGuide lists and provides links to the required summer work for certain RPCS AP level courses in English, history, math, science, visual arts, and world languages.
 

COORDINATE SCHOOL COURSES
 
The information listed in the RPCS LibGuides is for the courses held on the RPCS campus. If you are taking a first semester or year-long class at Bryn Mawr and/or Gilman, please review their summer reading pages for the information about required summer work for their courses: