Fiction

Dear Mr. Henshaw  by Beverly Cleary 133p. 
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham  by Christopher Paul Curtis 210p. 
The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michi- gan, are drastically changed after they visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.

My Side of the Mountain  by Jean Craighead George 177p. 
A boy's experiences living by himself in a remote area of the Catskill Mountains.

The Phantom Tollbooth  by Norman Juster 255p. 
A bored young boy, Milo, drives his small electric car through a toy tollbooth and finds himself in the Land Be yond. A journey through a land where Milo learns the im portance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom.

A Wrinkle in Time  by Madeleine L’Engle 211p. 
Meg and Charles Wallace set out with their friend Calvin in a search for their father. His top secret job as a physicist for the government has taken him away and the children search through time and space to find him.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 232p. 
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella strug- gles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Number the Stars  by Lois Lowry 137p. 
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten- year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and coura- geous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Island of the Blue Dolphins  by Scott O’Dell 184p. 
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.

Esperanza Rising  Pam Munoz Ryan 262p. 
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Maniac Magee  by Jerry Spinelli 184p. 
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.

The Cay by Theodore Taylor 137p. 
When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpe doed by a German submarine during World War II, a teen- age white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old Black man are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

The Castle in the Attic  by Elizabeth Winthrop179p. 
A gift of a toy castle, complete with silver knight, intro duces William to an adventure involving magic and a per sonal quest.

Great Fifth Grade Series

Hardy Boys By Franklin W. Dixon

Hank the Cowdog  By John R. Erickson

Nancy Drew  By Carolyn Keene

Series of Unfortunate Events  By Lemony Snicket

Percy Jackson & The Olympians By Rick Riordan

Nonfiction

Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inve

ntions You Can Build Yourself

by Maxine Anderson 

George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War byThomas B. Allen

    

     

Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? by Jean Fritz (or any of the books by Jean Fritz)

Outrageous Women of Civil War Times by Mary Rodd Furbee