SUMMER BOOK LISTS FOR PARENTS ~ GRADE FIVE
Summer Book List for Students Entering 6th Grade
Fall 2009
June, 2009
Dear Parents,
I have prepared a book list for you and included suggestions from Tenafly teachers. There are several book lists: parents’ resource books, books for parents to read aloud to children, and individual books and titles of series for children to read on their own. If any text is too difficult for your child to read independently, please use it as a read-aloud book. The packet includes new titles as well as old favorites.
To find additional books at your child’s independent reading level, your child’s teacher can print you an additional list of books. Please don’t be concerned regarding the actual reading level of your child. Each child is on their own continuum. The purpose of assigning a level is to help students find books that are just-right for them. This ensures they can continue to decode and have high level comprehension as they grow and practice their reading skills. You can also locate books by reading level at:
Have fun reading! (
Suggestions of reading resources for parents:
• Calkins, Lucy and Lydia Bellino. Raising Lifelong Learners, A Parent’s Guide. Reading: Perseus Books, 1998.
• Codell, Esme Raji. How to Get Your Child to Love Reading. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2003.
• Fox, Mem. Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. New York: Harcourt, 2001.
• Haas, Laurie Joy and Monty Haas. Read It Aloud!: A Parent’s Guide to Sharing Books With Young Children. Mansfield: Atlas Books/The Reading Railroad, 2000.
• Silvey, Anita, Editor. The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
• Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook, 6th Edition. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.
• Zimmerman, Susan and Hutchins, Chryse. 7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help Your Kids Read It and Get It! New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2003.
• GREAT WEBSITES FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS AND PARENTS’ RESOURCES:
and
Smiles (
Meredith Alvaro - Tenafly Literacy Specialist/Staff Developer
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 2)
READ-ALOUD LIST
These books are recommended by teachers from Tenafly and top
reading and writing experts. Recent award-winners have been included.
Almond, David. Kit’s Wilderness.
Almond, David. The Fire Eaters.
Avi. Poppy.
Bloor, Edward. Tangerine.
Boyce, Frank Cottrell. Millions.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts.
Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front.
DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember.
Finklestein, Norman H. The Way Things Never Were – The Truth about the “Good Old Days”.
Ives, David. Monsieur Eek.
Levy, Constance. A Crack in the Clouds and Other Poems.
Matthews, L.S. Fish.
Miller, Kate. Poems in Black & White.
Mozchizuki, Ken. Passage to Freedom: the Sugiharana Story.
Osofsky, Audrey. Free to Dream: the Making of a Poet: Langston Hughes.
Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia.
Paterson, Katherine. Preacher’s Boy.
Paulsen, Gary. The Cook Camp.
Pearce, Philippa. The Little Gentleman
Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry.
Turner, Ann. Mississippi Mud: Three Prairie Journal
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 3)
BOOKS FOR STUDENTS ENTERING 6th GRADE TO READ
(If a book is too difficult for your child to read, please begin by using it as a read aloud. Refer to the leveled book list to find more individual titles at your child’s June reading level)
POPULAR AUTHORS FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 6 INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
Russell Ash - The Top Ten of Everything books
Avi
Natalie Babbitt
Betsy Byars
Andrew Clements
Sharon Creech
Kate Di Camillo
Russell Freedman
Ralph Fletcher
Mary Downing Hahn
Karen Hesse
Kimberly Willis Holt
Johanna Hurwitz
E.L. Konigsburg
Kathleen Krull
Lois Lowry
Patricia MacLachlan
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Katherine Paterson
Lawrence Pringle
Emily Rodda
Cynthia Rylant
Louis Sachar
Seymour Simon
Jerry Spinelli
Mildred Taylor
Yoshiko Uchida
Wendelin Van Draanen
Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Woodson
Betty Ren Wright
Ruth White
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 4)
INDIVIDUAL BOOKS FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 6 TO READ
(If a book is too difficult for your child to read, please begin by using it as a read aloud. Refer to the leveled book list to find more individual titles at your child’s June reading level)
*Anderson, Janet. The Last Treasure. Dutton Juvenile, 2003.
This exciting mystery is about a thirteen-year-old boy, Ellsworth, who is on a mission to unearth family secrets and discover his ancestor’s treasures.
*Armistead, John. The $66 Summer, Milkweed Editions, 2000.
This is a story of interracial friendship in a 1950s southern town. Thirteen-year-old George and two black friends stumble onto evidence of a violent crime.
*Armstrong, Alan. Whittington. Random House Children’s Books, 2005.
This superior novel interweaves animal fantasy and family story with a retelling of the English folktale Dick Whittington and His Cat. A battered tomcat named Whittington arrives
one late-fall day at a New England barn, where he gradually befriends the equally ragtag group of animals already adopted by the barn's taciturn but soft-hearted owner, Bernie.
*Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks. Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.
The Penderwick sisters—responsible Rosalind, twelve; feisty Skye, eleven; creative Jane, ten; and shy Batty, four—along with their loving but preoccupied botanist father and a clumsy dog named Hound, spend their summer holiday in the Massachusetts Berkshires in a rose-covered cottage on the grounds of a mansion called Arundel Hall. Suffused with affectionate humor, this charming, old-fashioned story feels familiar in the way the best books seem like old friends. Nostalgic but never stale, this fresh, satisfying novel is like a cool breeze on a summer’s day. This book received the National Book Award.
*Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
Young reviewers encourage anyone who liked The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall to snatch this sequel off the shelves. Publishers Weekly states, “It has more charm than the original.” It seems that the Penderwick sisters are home on Gardam Street, and to their chagrin, are in the middle of an adventure that they didn’t expect.
*Burleigh, Robert. Black Whiteness. Atheneum, 1998.
This is an award-winning nonfiction book beautifully written in prose, about how Admiral Byrd battled the elements in Antarctica.
*Choldenko, Gennifer. Notes from a Liar and Her Dog. Putnam Juvenile Publishers, 2001.
An eleven-year-old, Antonia, is feeling misunderstood in her family. Often she wants to be noticed, while at other times she wants to be invisible!
*Clements, Andrew. The Janitor’s Boy. Simon and Schuster, 2000.
Jack, a fifth-grade student, finds himself the target of ridicule at school when it becomes known that his father is one of the janitors. Written by the author of Frindle.
*Creech, Sharon. Granny Torrelli Makes Soup. HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.
This is the story of a wonderful relationship between twelve-year-old Rosie and her Italian grandmother. The School Library Journal states, “This is a humorous and endearing story about intergenerational relationships.”
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 5)
*Crowe, Ellie. Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku. Lee & Low Books, 2007.
Recommended by The Horn Book Guide! “Crowe’s respectful picture book biography brings to light a seminal figure in the history of surfing and Olympic swimming.” The author deals delicately with the issue of discrimination against the Hawaiian swimmer.
*Delaney, Joseph. The Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice, Book One). Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2005.
When so much recent neo-Gothic fiction seems to be written with tongue firmly in cheek (if not check), it is pure shivery pleasure to read a novel of the supernatural that is both admirably concise and genuinely frightening. Delaney’s storytelling is at once accessible to unseasoned readers and satisfying for confirmed genre fans.
*Ellerbee, Linda. Girl Reporter Stuck in a Jam. Avon Paper, 2000.
This is the third book in the series. Casey is so busy trying to get a story about the victim of physical abuse that she neglects her friend Ringo, the school’s first male cheerleader.
*Erdrich, Louise. The Game of Silence. HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.
This sequel to The Birchbark House is infused with elegy, as if young Omakayas is storing up the details of her Ojibwe family’s way of life as they prepare for a government-ordered “removal” to the West. Like Laura Ingalls Wilder, Erdrich uses a simple but lyrical style to convey the particulars of a historical context. Perfect for those who want to know the other side of the Westward Movement!
*Ferris, Jeri Chase. Demanding Justice: A Story About Mary Ann Shadd Cary. Lerner Publishing Group, 2003.
This is a short biography about a woman ahead of her time who was born free and black in 1823. Mary Ann Shadd Cary worked to improve the social and economic status of black Americans, and she began the first weekly newspaper owned by a black woman.
*Fletcher, Ralph. Fig Pudding. Houghton Mifflin, 1995.
This is a heartwarming story about how a family pulls together to cope with a very sad occurrence.
*Fletcher, Ralph. How to Write Your Life Story. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.
Recommended by The Horn Book Guide! The newest book by Ralph Fletcher helps students to draw on their own experiences when writing memoir. Wonderful interviews with memoirists are included as well as suggested lists of memoirs to inspire writers.
*Fletcher, Ralph. Spider Boy. Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Bobby, a seventh-grade student, misses his friends after moving to New York state. Because he withdraws by spending more and more time with his spiders, he is given the name “Spider Boy.” This is an excellent story that also includes information about spiders.
*Giff, Patricia Reilly. Pictures of Hollis Woods. Random House Children’s Books. 2002.
This award-winning 2003 Newbery Honor Book features a twelve-year-old, Hollis Woods, who was abandoned at birth. Reilly masterfully takes the reader along on Hollis’s emotional journey of finding her real home. Beautifully-written story!
*Gordon, Amy. The Gorillas of Gill Park. Holiday House, 2003.
This book is about a boy, Willy Wilson, who begins spending the summer with his unconventional aunt as a shy, sheltered boy. However, by the end of the summer he grows in ways that he never imagined.
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 6)
*Harrah, Madge. Blind Boone: Piano Prodigy. Lerner Publishing Group, 2004.
This is an award-winning book about a blind concert pianist, William “Blind” Boone, an African-American musical genius who toured the country after the Civil War. Numerous primary sources detail Boone’s life and career. Boone brought ragtime music to America.
*Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.
This book is a 2004 Newbery Honor Book. Readers are amazed at how well Henkes has captured the thoughts and emotions of a twelve-year-old girl, Martha Boyle. While vacationing on Cape Cod, Martha realizes a bond between herself and a classmate who recently died. Martha also faces growing pains as she deals with adolescent issues.
*Hiassen, Carl. Hoot. Random House Children’s Books, 2003.
Publishers Weekly says, "Several suspenseful scenes, along with dollops of humor, help make this quite a hoot indeed." This book is about a boy’s attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.
*Jones, Charlotte Foltz. Accidents May Happen: Fifty Inventions Discovered by Mistake. Delacorte, 1996.
Students love to read about how such household items as cellophane and liquid paper were invented. This book contains fascinating short stories about each invention.
*Kelley, K.C.. Hottest NASCAR Machines. Enslow Publishers, 2007.
Recommended by The Horn Book Guide, and part of the Wild Wheels! series by Enslow Publishers…”These books provide insight into the high-speed world of car racing…Racing enthusiasts will appreciate the photographs and text boxes that expand the simple, but informative text.”
*Kurtz, Jane. Bicycle Madness. Holt Books for Young Readers, 2003.
A young girl in the late 1800s who is coping with the loss of her mother and other family and friendship issues sees life differently through the eyes of feminist, Frances Willard. Willard learns how to ride a bike. Voting rights, child labor laws, and poor working conditions are skillfully interwoven in this award-winning novel about women’s history.
*Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope: The Story or Cesar Chavez. Harcourt Brace & Company, Orlando, Florida, 2003.
This intriguing biography from the award-winning Krull begins with Cesar Chavez at age ten, when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch and extends to Cesar at age thirty-eight. It highlights his peaceful protest against California Migrant workers’ miserable working conditions.
*Krull, Kathleen. Marie Curie. Penguin Group, New York, NY, 2007.
An award-winning book about scientist, Marie Curie! This account is written in text that will interest children, as well as amaze them with details about a brilliant, driven woman’s life.
*Lewin, Ted. At Gleason’s Gym. Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2007.
This book, written by award-winning author Ted Lewin, is recommended by The Horn Book Guide! It portrays the training of a nine-year old champion boxer, Sugar Boy Younan, 2006 National Silver Gloves Champion. Sugar Boy worked out at Gleason’s Gym, which is also the training place of Mohammad Ali.
*Lowry, Lois. Looking Back: A Book of Memories. Delacorte Paper, 2000.
A marvelous author uses photos from her life to recall stories and important events.
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 7)
*Martin, Ann M. A Corner of the Universe. Scholastic, 2002.
This book is a 2003 Newbery Honor Book. The summer that Hattie Owen turned twelve in 1960 was a life-changing experience, as she learns what it is like to care for her 21-year-old mentally disabled uncle. A very touching story!
*McKay, Hilary. Dog Friday. Aladdin Paperbacks, 1994.
Robin Brogan is determining to keep the dog he finds abandoned on the beach. This is the first in a series: entertaining, funny and thoughtful! Other books in this series are the following titles: The Amber Cat and Dolphin Luck.
*McKay, Hilary. Permanent Rose. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2005.
The Casson family — parents Bill and Eve and their four paint-color-named children, Cadmium, Indigo, Saffron, and Rose — previously reported on in Saffy’s Angel and Indigo’s Star , has lost none of its sparkle in this third book. This is exemplary comic writing —buoyant, perceptive, subversive, and trailing a whiff of sadness. Read the others in this amazing series, if you love this one!
*Mills, Claudia. Trading Places. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
Fifth-grade twins Todd and Amy realize that they have more in common than they thought. Amy is known as the family poet, a disorganized yet creative spirit who usually has her head in a book. Todd is the logical one, the engineer who keeps his room, his desk, and his life–up till now–running like a well-oiled machine. But when a class project forces the siblings to work outside their comfort zones, they begin to learn more about themselves and one another. Short chapters trade back and forth, telling the story from each sibling’s perspective. The realistic situations and characters will appeal to middle graders.
*Napoli, Donna Jo . The King of Mulberry Street. Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, 2005.
Drawing on her grandfather's experience, Napoli dramatizes a seldom-told bit of American history in this story of Italian Jewish young people in the 1890s. Beniamino, who lives in Napoli, is only nine years old when his beloved, poverty-stricken Mama bribes someone to hide him away on a cargo ship to America. His lively, immediate first-person narrative recalls the trauma of separation and the brutal struggle on the New York streets. The characters are drawn with depth, especially the three kids, and the unsentimental story is honest about the grinding poverty and the prejudice among various immigrant groups.
Most moving is the story of letting go, as Dom confronts the fact that Mama sent him away, and America is now his home. This is a powerful story by an accomplished historical fiction writer.
*Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. Almost to Freedom. Lerner Publishing Group, 2003.
This book tells the unforgettable story of a young slave girl’s dramatic escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. It is told with stunning pictures through the eyes of the girl’s doll.
*Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. Simon & Schuster, 1987.
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson has been left in the Canadian wilderness due to a plane crash. All he has left to help him survive is his hatchet.
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 8)
*Paulsen, Gary. A Soldier’s Heart. Random House Children’s Books, 2000.
Based on the life of a real boy, it tells the story of Charley Goddard, who lies his way into the Union Army at the age of 15. Charley has never been anyplace beyond Winona, Minnesota, and thinks war would be a great adventure. And it is--at first--as his regiment marches off through cheering crowds and pretty, flag-waving girls. But then comes the battle. Paulsen's storytelling is so psychologically true that readers will feel they have lived through Charley's experiences. A powerful read—graphic details might be overwhelming for some.
*Porter, Pamela. Sky. Groundwood Books, 2005.
This simple tale elegantly showcases a girl's story of triumph over adversity. Georgia Salois, 11, lives with her grandparents in 1964 in Montana, near a Blackfeet Reservation. After a spring of record rainfalls, a local dam bursts and a flood completely destroys the family's house and barn. Georgia tells her story in a straightforward manner. Despite the troubles, she learns that caring for an animal can be a form of healing, too. None of the harshness of her life is diminished, from the extent of the flooding to her difficulties in school to the prejudice the family experiences because of their Indian heritage. Yet the heart of this story will remain with readers long after they close the book.
*Porter, Pamela. The Crazy Man. Groundwood Books, 2006.
Written in prose-poetry that is as spare as the Saskatchewan prairie and yet rich in its yield of what matters – understanding, forgiveness, friendship and a faithful dog.
*Raven, Margot Theis. Night Boat to Freedom. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006.
This book received the Teachers’ Choices for 2007 award, and offers a fascinating and realistic account of the Underground Railroad. It was based on Slave Narrative Collection and features a twelve-year old boy who risks his life to help slaves get to freedom.
*Ray, Delia. Ghost Girl: A Blue Ridge Mountain Story. Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
An eleven-year-old’s life is transformed in the 1920s when a school opens in her isolated Blue Ridge Mountain community in Virginia. There are many novels out about the lives of mountain children, but this excellent portrayal of four important years in a girl's life rises to the top. Based on a real school and teacher, this novel seamlessly incorporates historical facts into the narrative. April is an engaging character, always eager to learn but also struggling with her desire for her mother's approval.
*Riggio, Anita. Secret Signs Along the Underground Railroad. Boyds Mill Publishers, 1997.
This is a story about a deaf boy passing secrets on the Underground Railroad.
*Rodda, Emily. Deltora series. Scholastic, 2002.
A student who reviewed these books exuberantly stated, “Deltora Quest will leave you spellbound and a bookworm. Emily Rodda is the next J.K. Rowling.”
*Scott, Elaine. When Is a Planet Not a Planet?: The Story of Pluto. Houghton Mifflin Publishers, 2007.
Recommended by The Horn Book Guide, this book captivates readers who want to think like scientists. Noted nonfiction author, Elaine Scott, explains complex ideas with a simplistic charm that makes sense to readers.
*Sheen, Barbara. Eating Right. Heinemann-Raintree. 2007.
Part of the Real Deal series and recommended by The Horn Book Guide. “Sheen capably covers nutrition basics (the six groups of nutrients, the three kinds of fats) before setting her sights on convincing readers to eat well and offering menu suggestions for each meal.”
(Suggested Booklist for Students Entering 6th Grade– June, 2009 – continued, page 9)
*Spinelli, Jerry. Crash. Knopf, 1996.
Crash Coogan is a rough seventh grader who looks down at peers unlike himself. A problem ensues when Crash’s teasing goes too far.
*Thomson, Sarah. Astronauts and Other Space Heroes. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.
Over two dozen astronauts, cosmonauts, animals, and other travelers are introduced to readers. This award-winning book details their adventures in space and includes many facts and tidbits that are guaranteed to interest readers…
*Van Draanen, Wendelin. Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary. Knopf, 2000.
Sammy and her friends meet Lucinda Huntley, who regales them with tales of the Wild West that still echo in the lives of her family members today. Another action-packed mystery in one of our favorite series!
*Weeks, Sarah. Regular Guy. Harper Collins, 1999
Humorous and light summer reading
*Weeks, Sarah. Guy Time. Harper Collins, 2000.
Humorous and light summer reading
Resources Consulted: Tenafly teachers and lists of national award-winning books.
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