Fantastic reads for 5th Graders

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Fiction

  • The House With a Clock in Its Walls
    by John Bellairs
    After the death of his parents, 10 year old Lewis finds himself living with his wizard uncle in a mansion where he finds himself immersed in mystery and adventure.
  • Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade
    by Barthe DeClements
    Jenny & her friends struggle through elementary school injustices while they learn to accept a problem new student with problems of her own.
  • Because of Winn Dixie
    by Kate DiCamillo
    10 year old India Opal Buloni recounts her first summer in a new town and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog.
  • Yolanda's Genius
    by Carol Fenner
    5th grader Yolanda is smart & tough for her age. After moving from Chicago to Michigan it becomes her mission to prove that her younger brother is not a slow learner but a musical genius.
  • Harriet the Spy
    by Louise Fitzhugh
    Harriet satisfies her writing ambitions by spying on people & writing about them. Life is not longer the same once her classmates find and read her secret notebook!
  • Bull Run
    by Paul Fleishman
    Through the alternating viewpoints of 16 characters from various walks of life, the reader gains insight into the 1st battle of the Civil War, & into the nature of war itself.
  • Maggie's Door
    by Patricia Reilly Giff
    Nory and Sean are friends and both are making the perilous journey from famine struck Ireland to America in the 1800s. In alternating voices we hear their story of hardship and hope.
  • Running Out of Time
    by Margaret Peterson Haddix
    Set amidst an interesting time-travel type plot, this is a gripping story of a young girl's efforts to save her family and friends from a deadly disease.
  • Wait Till Helen Comes
    by Mary Downing Hahn
    This eerie ghost story is not for the "faint of heart". Molly and her brother dislike their bratty 5 yr. old step-sister, but once a child ghost is discovered in the nearby graveyard things change.
  • The View From Saturday
    by E.L. Konigsburg
    Four students with their own individual stories develop a special bond & attract the attention of their teacher who chooses them to represent their class in an Academic Bowl competition.
  • My Life as a Fifth-Grade Comedian
    by Elizabeth Levy
    Bobby is the class clown, but can he use humor to his advantage to face up to some serious issues?
  • In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
    by Bette Bao Lord
    A Chinese child arrives in Brooklyn in 1947 and becomes Americanized at school, in her apt. building, and by her love for baseball.
  • Number the Stars
    by Lois Lowry
    A 10 yr. old Danish girl learns about courage when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis during World War ll.
  • Darnell Rock Reporting
    by Walter Dean Myers
    13 year old Darnell learns about himself & making a difference after writing for the school newspaper.
  • Shiloh
    by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
    11 year old Marty finds a stray dog that seems to be abused & is determined to keep it at all costs.
  • A Single Shard
    by Linda Sue Park
    This story brings 12th cent. Korea to life. A broken piece of pottery sets events in motion as an orphan struggles to pay off his debt to a master potter.
  • Harris and Me
    by Gary Paulsen
    An 11yr. old city boy is dropped off to stay on a farm for the summer and, upon meeting his distant cousin Harris, he is introduced to a whole new world.
  • Holes
    by Louis Sachar
    Stanley Yelnats lives under a curse & finds himself in a juvenile detention center. Amid the horrible conditions, Stanley finds friendship, real treasure and a lot more.

Non-Fiction