5th Grade Reading List
Students are expected to read at least FIVE books from this list, including the core
novel, which will be discussed in their Literature classes. A reading log must be
signed and turned in to advisors during the first week of class.
Lois Lowry. Number the Stars. (core novel to be read by ALL incoming Fifth
Graders)
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie
learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend
from the Nazis. Newberry Award Winner.
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Philip Ardaugh. A House Called Awful End: Book One in The Eddie Dickens
Trilogy. Dreadful Acts: Book Two in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy. Terrible Times: book
Three in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy. (only one from this series can count)
When eleven-year-old Eddie Dickens' ill parents become 'a bit crinkly around
the edges,' he is taken by his great-uncle and great-aunt, Mad Uncle Jack and Mad
Aunt Maud, and embarks on adventures that involve strolling actors, St. Horrid's
Home for Grateful Orphans, and a carnival float shaped like a giant cow.
Jeanne Birdsall. The Penderwicks A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two
Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. (National Book Award for Young People's
Literature)
This summer the Penderwicks are spending the summer at the beautiful estate
called Arundel where they discover the summertime magic of its sprawling gardens,
treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in
Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner,
who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures.
Andrew Clements. The Report Card.
Nora Rose Rowley is a genius, but don't tell anyone. She's managed to make it to
the fifth grade without anyone figuring out that she's not just an ordinary kid, and
she wants to keep it that way.
Suzanne Collins. Gregor the Overlander; Gregor the Overlander and the
Prophecy of Bane; Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods; Gregor and the Marks
of Secret; Gregor and the Code of Claw. Underland Chronicles (only one can count)
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a
strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving humans, bats, rats,
cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.
Doug Cooney. The Beloved Dearly.
Ernie is a twelve-year-old tycoon, always on the lookout for a fast buck. This
time he stumbles onto a money-making bonanza: pet funerals. He hires Dusty to
decorate the burial boxes and Tony to dig the holes, but his prize find is Swimming
Pool, a tomboy who can cry on cue.
Bruce Coville. The Monsters of Morley Manor: a Madcap Adventure.
Anthony and his younger sister discover that the monster figures he got in an
unusual box at an estate sale are alive, but they have no way of knowing that the
'monsters' will lead them on fantastical adventures to other worlds in an effort to try
to save Earth.
Sharon Creech. Heartbeat.
Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her
mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and
running partner) becomes distant.
Francesco D’Adamo. Iqbal.
When young Iqbal is sold into slavery at a carpet factory, his arrival changes
everything for the other overworked and abused chidren there. It is Iqbal who
explains to them that despite their master's promises, he plans on keeping them as
his slaves indefinetely. But it is also Iqbal who inspires the other children to look to a
future free from toil...and is brave enough to show them how to get there.
Tony DiTerlizzi. The Field Guide; The Seeing Stone; Lucinda’s Secret; The
Ironwood Tree; The Wrath of Mulgarath. (The Spiderwick Chronicles series) (only
one from this series can count)
When the Grace children go to stay at their Great Aunt Lucinda's worn Victorian
house, they discover a field guide to fairies and other creatures and begin to have
some unusual experiences.
Neil Gaiman. Coraline.
In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors.
Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side
is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to
another flat in another house just like her own. Only it's different. A creepy read!
Dan Gutman. Jackie and Me: a Baseball Card Adventure.
With his ability to travel through time by using baseball cards, Joe Stoshack
goes back to 1947 to meet Jackie Robinson.
Kimberly Willis Holt. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.
During the summer of 1971 in a small Texas town, thirteen-year-old Toby and
his best friend Cal meet the star of a sideshow act, 600-pound Zachary, the fattest
boy in the world. Newbery winner
Kathleen Karr. The Great Turkey Walk.
Simon Green can't pass third grade (he's tried four times), but he's a canny
businessman who's going to drive a thousand head of turkeys from Missouri to
Denver to sell at a profit. Set in the 1860's.
Gordon Korman. Maxx Comedy.
Eleven-year-old Max Carmody has wanted to be a stand-up comedian since he
was five, so when a contest is held to find the 'world's funniest kid,' he goes through
all kinds of craziness to win.
Janet Taylor Lisle. Afternoon of the Elves.
As Hillary works in the miniature village, allegedly built by elves, in Sara-
Kate's backyard, she becomes more and more curious about Sara-Kate's real life
inside her big, gloomy house with her mysterious, silent mother.
David Lubar. Punished or Dog Days. (only one can count) Kyle Likover Memorial
Visiting Author 2008
Punished will have readers laughing--and learning--about puns, palindromes,
oxymorons, and more, while Dog Days is a feel good story for dog lovers.
OR from this series:
Invasion of the Road Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales; In the
Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales; The Curse of
the Campfire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales.
Welcome to the weird and wacky world of David Lubar with tales ranging from the
silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying.
Jan Merrill. The Pushcart War.
The outbreak of a war between truck drivers and pushcart peddlers brings the
mounting problems of traffic to the attention of both the city of New York and the
world.
Barbara Park. Skinnybones, Almost Starring Skinnybones. (only one from this
series can count)
When a new student takes over his pitching spot on the Little League team,
Alex 'Skinnybones' Frankovitch depends on his sense of humor to make the most of
the trials and tribulations of life.
Gary Paulsen. Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day.
Today Molly: Learned her wacky grandma was coming to spend the day at
school with her; Lost her Notebook with Everything that Matters in it, including her
homework; Got a black eye; Tore her skirt. And it’s only 9 a.m. Could things get any
worse? You bet!
Mary Quattlebaum. Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns; Jackson Jones
and the Mission Greentop; Jackson Jones and the Curse of the Outlaw Rose.
Jackson Jones wants a basketball for his tenth birthday, but his mother gives him
a garden plot in the community garden, along with money for seeds, manure, and
tools. Winner of the Marguerite de Angeli Prize.
John Ritter. The Boy Who Saved Baseball.
An elderly doctor planning to sell his land for future development decides to
hinge the deal on whether Tom's baseball team can beat a rival in a big game. Tom
and his teammates, fighting to keep the town the way it is, recruit a reclusive former
all-star for their coach and attempt to learn the secrets of hitting.
Angie Sage. Magyk; Flyte; Physik; Queste (Septimus Heap Series) (only one
from this series can count)
Jenna learns that she is a princess found as a baby and now she and Septimus,
who was taken at birth by the midwife, are being threatened by the evil wizard,
DomDaniel, who intends to finish off the entire royal line. A quirky fantasy for the
pre Harry Potter set, full of magykal charms, potions, and spells.
Gary Soto. The Skirt.
Miata has left the beautiful folklorico skirt her mother wore in Mexico on the
bus. She was going to wear the skirt on Sunday when her dance group performed
folklorico. Can Miata and her friend Ana rescue the precious skirt in time? A
warmhearted story about a contemporary Mexican-American family.
Jerry Spinelli. Maniac Magee.
Young Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee appears in Two Mills, apparently out of nowhere,
and takes the town by storm in a cross between a tall tale and a twentieth-century
morality play told with exaggeration, humor, and melodrama. Newbery Medal Winner
Theodore Taylor. The Cay, Timothy of The Cay. (only one from this series can
count)
Shipwrecked on a tiny Caribbean island, Philip must overcome his prejudice
towards Timothy, the old black sailor who becomes the key to his survival. Timothy
of the Cay is the prequel/sequel.
Roderick Townley. The Great Good Thing; Into the Labyrinth; The
Constellation of Sylvie. (only one can count)
Twelve year old Princess Sylvie’s storybook kingdom really is a storybook, where
nothing ever changes, even the characters’ mad scramble to reach places whenever
the book is opened, until Sylvie discovers she can enter new worlds with the Reader,
and find new adventures.
Linda Urban. A Crooked Kind of Perfect.
Ten-year-old Zoe Elias longs to play the piano and become a musical prodigy,
wearing a grand tiara. Unfortunately, her father buys her an organ instead. A
humorous story about family, friends, and school social life.
Wendelin Van Draanen. Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief. (you may choose
any from this series, but only one can count)
While scanning the neighborhood with some high-powered binoculars,
Sammy spots something strange at the Heavenly Hotel. A man in one room is
wearing gloves and rummaging through a purse. When he looks out the window
straight at Sammy, what does she do? She waves. This is the first in the exciting
mystery series with supersleuth Sammy Keyes.
judy.baldwin@kinkaid.org