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Summer
Reading List Grade 5
2008
Alcott, Louisa May.
Little
Women.
The story of the four March sisters in their
years between girlhood and womanhood. (Any by this author)
(Frameworks)
Alexander, Lloyd. The Black Cauldron. Taran must conquer Arawn to protect his kingdom. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. A family discovers the “fountain of youth” and others try to uncover their secret. (Frameworks)
Barrie, James. Peter Pan. The story of the boy who never grew up. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Balliett, Blue.
The Wright 3.
Spring semester at the
Baum, Frank L. The Wizard of Oz. The first truly American fairy tale crafted out of such familiar items as a cornfield scarecrow, a mechanical woodman, and a humbug wizard who used old fashioned hokum to express the universal theme, “There’s no place like home.” (Series) (Frameworks)
Bishop, Nic.
Digging for Bird-dinosaurs: An Expedition to
Boston, Lucy. The Children at Green Knowe. Tolly comes to live with his great-grandmother at the ancient house of Green Knowe and becomes friends with three children who lived there in the seventeenth century. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Bridges, Ruby.
Through My Eyes. Ruby
Bridges recounts the story of her involvement, as a six-year-old, in the
integration of her school in
Choldenko, Andrea.
Al Capone Does My Shirts.
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to
Clements, Andrew. The Janitor’s Boy. When fifth-grader, Jack finds himself the target of ridicule at school for being the son of one of the janitors, he turns his anger toward his father.
Codell, Esme Raji.
Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony. This fifth entry in the Artemis Fowl series finds Artemis, now fourteen, caught in a plot to prevent fairy demons that live in another dimension from returning to earth. (Series)
Corbett, Sue. Free Baseball. Baseball is in eleven-year-old Felix Piloto’s Blood. His Cuban father plays professionally, but Felix knows little else about him. When he runs away to serve as batboy for a professional baseball team, Felix ultimately discovers his father’s story, as well as his love for his mother, a dog, and of course, the game.
Curtis, Christopher
Paul.
Bud, Not Buddy.
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in
Creech, Sharon. Heartbeat. Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of live the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant.
Cushman, Karen.
Matilda Bone. Fourteen-year-old
Matilda, an apprentice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in
medieval
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Through the intervention of four ghosts, Ebenezer Scrooge is shown the spirit of Christmas. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
DeFelice, Cynthia. The Ghost of Fossil Glen. While investigating the mystery of the missing Lucy Stiles, Allie puts her own life in danger.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. Sherlock Holmes Series. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Dyson, Marianne. Space Station Science: Life in Free Fall. The author describes the International Space Station, training and activities of its crew, and the conditions that will exist on it, including weightlessness and the dangers of radiation and meteors.
Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. While apprenticed to a silversmith during the time of the Revolutionary War, Johnny burns his hand and eventually learns that his crippled hand can be put to use on the battlefield. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Fox, Paula. Radiance Descending. Paul learns to accept his younger brother, Jacob, who has Down’s syndrome. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. While running away from home and an unwanted marriage, Julie, a thirteen-year-old Eskimo girl becomes lost on the North Slope of Alaska and is befriended by a wolf pack. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Giff, Patricia
Reilly.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Just Ella. Fifteen-year-old Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming’s proposal ensnares her in such a suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette that she plots to escape.
Halls, Kelly Milner. Tales of the Cryptids. Be the judge: are the many mysterious and legendary animals including Bigfoot and assorted sea serpents real based on the descriptions, photographs and drawings?
Hobbs, Will. Jackie’s Wild Seattle. Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her little brother, Cody, spend the summer with their uncle, helping at a wildlife rescue center named, Jackie’s Wild Seattle.
Horvath, Polly. The Pepins and Their Problems. The reader is invited to help solve the Pepin family’s unusual problems, which include having a cow that creates lemonade rather than milk and having to cope with a competitive neighbor.
Ibbotson, Eva. The Secret of Platform 13. Odge Gribble, a young hag, accompanies an old wizard, a gentle fey, and a giant ogre on their mission through a magical tunnel to rescue their King and Queen’s son who had been stolen as an infant.
Kerley, Barbara.
Walt Whitman:
Words for
Lasky, Kathryn.
The Man Who Made Time Travel. The
need for sailors to be able to determine their position at sea led to the
efforts of John Harrison, and eighteenth-century man who spent his life refining
instruments to enable them to do this.
Lauber, Patricia.
Painter of the Caves.
The author describes the 1994 discovery made in
Lawrence, Iain. The Wreckers. Shipwrecked after a vicious storm, fourteen-year-old John Spencer attempts to save his father and himself while also dealing with an evil secret about the Cornish coastal town where they are stranded.
Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted. A modern-day Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order giver to her.
Lewis, C. S.
The Magician’s Nephew.
The Chronicles of Narnia (series) (Frameworks)
London, Jack. Call of the Wild. A dog in the Klindike reverts to wilderness life and becomes leader of a pack of wolves. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Lowry, Lois.
Number the Stars.
Annemarie learns about bravery when her family shelters a young Jewish friend
from the Nazis during the German occupation of
Montgomery, Sy.
The Quest for the Tree Kangaroo.
Wonderful color photographs and an excellent text provide details
of the search for the tree kangaroo in
Murphy, Jim.
The
Great Fire. The
Napoli, Donna.
The King of
Naylor, Phyllis
Reynolds.
Saving
Osborne, Mary Pope. Adaline Falling Star. Feeling abandoned by her deceased Arapaho mother and her explore father, Adaline Falling Star runs away from the prejudiced cousins with whom she is staying and comes close to death in the wilderness, with only a mongrel dog for company.
Paterson, Katherine.
Bridge to Terabithia.
During a storm, Jess’ new friend Leslie meets an unexpected tragedy while
trying to reach their secret
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. After his plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, thirteen-year-old Brian must survive with only the aid of a hatchet. (Any by this author)
Peck, Richard.
Fair Weather.
In 1893 thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel
from their
Pierce, Tamora.
Magic Steps.
When drawn into the investigation of murders perpetrated on a
powerful family in Summersea, Sandy and her student
Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Relive the adventures of Robin Hood and his band for the sheer joy and fun of it. (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game. The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance. Newbery Medal (Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Roberts, Willo Davis. Hostage. When eleven-year-old Kaci interrupts burglars in the process of robbing her house, she and her nosy elderly neighbor Mrs. Banducci are kidnapped and held hostage by the desperate and ruthless criminals. (Any by this author)
Selznick, Brian.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Hugo Cabret, a clever mechanically-minded orphan living in
Sewell, Anna. Black Beauty. The world’s best loved story of a horse named Beauty. (Frameworks)
Speare, Elizabeth. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. A young girl’s rebellion against bigotry culminates in a terrifying witch hunt and trial.(Any by this author) (Frameworks)
Spyri, Johanna.
Heidi. A Swiss
orphan is heartbroken when she must leave her beloved grandfather and their
happy home in the mountains to go to school and to care for an invalid girl in
the city. (Frameworks)
Stevenson, Robert
Louis.
Kidnapped.
Young David Balfour is cheated of his inheritance by his Uncle
Ebenezer who has him kidnapped and put on a ship for the
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins, respectable, well to do Hobbit, lives comfortably in his Hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to share in an adventure from which he may never return. (Series) (Frameworks)
Townley, Roderick. The Great Good Thing. Nothing ever changes inside the storybook kingdom inhabited by twelve-year-old Princess Sylvie, her parents, and many other characters until Sylvie discovers that by allying herself with the Reader she can experience new adventure beyond the confines of the book. Sequel is Into the Labyrinth: A Novel.
White, Ruth.
Buttermilk Hill.
When her parents divorce and
gradually begin to make new lives for themselves, Piper faces the difficult
changes by finding solace and a means of self-expression through her poetry.
Wiles, Deborah.
Each Little Bird that Sings.
Comfort Snowberger is well
acquainted with death since her family runs the funeral parlor in their small
southern town, but even so, the ten-year-old is unprepared for the series of
heart-wrenching events triggered by the sudden death of her beloved great-uncle
Any book from the
(Series) – Any book from the mentioned series may
be read not just the book listed.
(Frameworks) – Selected author from the English
Language Arts Curriculum Framework for Grade 5-8.
Grades 5-8
In addition to the previous lists the following are authors, illustrators and suggested readings from the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework for Grades 5-8.
In addition to the PreK-4 selections:
Traditional literature:
Grimm’s fairy tales, French fairy tales, tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Rudyard Kipling, Aesop’s fables, Greek, Roman, or Norse myths, myths and legends of native North Americans, American folktales, myths, and legends, Asian and African folktales and legends, stories about King Arthur, Robin Hood, Beowulf and Grendel, St. George and the Dragon.
The Bible as literature:
Old Testament: Genesis, Ten Commandments, Psalms and Proverbs. New Testament: Sermon on the Mount, Parables.
American authors and illustrators:
Louisa May Alcott Jean George Howard Pyle
Lloyd Alexander Virginia Hamilton Ellen Raskin
Natalie Babbitt Bret Harte Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Nathaniel Benchley Jack London Booth Tarkington
L. Frank Baum
Carol Ryrie Brink
L.M.
Elizabeth Coatsworth
Ester Forbes Scott O’Dell E. B. White
Paula Fox Edgar Allan Poe Laura Ingalls Wilder
British and European authors and
illustrators:
James Barrie Leon Garfield Anna Sewell
Lucy
Frances Burnett C. S. Lewis Johanna Spyri
Lewis Carroll George MacDonald Robert Louis Stevenson
Carlo Collodi Edith Nesbit Jonathan Swift
Daniel Defoe Mary Norton J.R.R. Tolkien
Charles Dickens Philippa Pearce T. H. White
Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Rackham
Poets:
Stephen Vincent Rachel Field
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow David McCord
Rosemarie Carr Benet Robert Frost Lewis Carroll
Langston Hughes
John Ciardi Edward Lear
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