Books for Grades 5 and 6

Article in Juvenile Fiction,

This list is a mix of suggestions from the Central Branch of the library and Judy Freeman's "What's New in Children's Literature" Seminar.

J Avi Seer of Shadows

Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs.

J Barry Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and Molly overcome bands of pirates and thieves to keep a fantastical secret safe.

J Clements Lunch Money

Greg teams up with his rival Maura to create a series of comic books to sell at school.

J Creech Castle Corona

Two orphaned peasant children find their lives transformed at Castle Corona.

J Cushman Rodzina

A Polish-American girl travels west on an orphan train fearing a life of unpaid slavery.

J DiCamillo Because of Winn Dixie

After finding a dog at the Winn-Dixie, a girl begins to make friends in her new town.

J Gantos Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Joey has trouble paying attention and controlling his mood swings.

J Gibson The Truth About Horses, Friends, and My Life as a Coward

As she fearfully begins learning to ride the horses she never wanted her family to own, Sophie Groves begins to find friends.

J/YA Hale Rapunzel's Revenge

In this Old West retelling, Rapunzel uses her hair as a lasso and to take on outlaws.

J Haven The Seven Keys of Balabad

While his parents find living in Balabad endlessly interesting, Oliver feels very much out of his element until he gets caught up in a centuries-old mystery.

J Haworth Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning

Violet's world is turned upside down by the arrival of a girl who seems intent on stealing Violet's best friend.

J Ibbotson Star of Kazan

Orphaned Annika goes to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.

J Jacobsson In Ned's Head

Ned records his thoughts about life in a diary in this funny book.

J Kelly The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate studies the natural world with her grandfather which leads to an important discovery.

J Klise Trial by Journal

Lilly keeps a journal of her experiences on a jury in this zany story.

J Law Savvy

When Meg's father is injured, she hopes to heal him using her "savvy."

J Lowry The Birthday Ball

A bored Princess Patricia Priscilla switches identities with her chambermaid.

J Mack The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas

The boys known as the Baker Street Irregulars help Sherlock Holmes.

J Morpurgo Kensuke's Kingdom

Michael is swept off his family's boat and washed up on a desert island.

J O'Connor Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia

Burdette finds out that things aren't always what they seem when she befriends a new boy at school.

J Ryan Paint the Wind

Maya discovers a love of horses.

J Schlitz A Drowned Maiden's Hair

Maud is delighted to be adopted by three sisters, but why is that she cannot let their neighbors see her?

J Selznick The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Hugo, an orphan, lives in a Paris train station.

J Springer The Case of the Missing Marquess

Meet Enola Holmes, the sister of detectives Sherlock Holmes.

J Teague The Doom Machine

After a spaceship lands in Vern Hollow in 1956, juvenile delinquent Jack and studious Isadora form an unexpected alliance as they try to keep a group of extraterrestrials from stealing eccentric Uncle Bud's space travel machine.

J Wood Into the Volcano: a Graphic Novel

Two brothers are trapped inside an erupting volcano.