Grade 5

*Items may be found in multiple locations. Check the catalog or ask a librarian for assistance.

Adventure

Barry, Dave. Peter and the Starcatchers.* [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 13.0]
Soon after Peter, an orphan, sets sail from England on the ship Never Land, he befriends and assists Molly, a young starcatcher, whose mission is to guard a trunk of magical stardust from a greedy pirate and the native inhabitants of a remote island.

Black, Holly. Doll Bones. [AR BL 5.4, Pts. 7.0]
Zach, Alice, and Poppy, friends from a Pennsylvania middle school who have long enjoyed
acting out imaginary adventures with dolls and action figures, embark on a real-life quest to Ohio to bury a doll made from the ashes of a dead girl.

Brown, Peter. The Wild Robot. [AR BL 5.1, Pts. 5.0] Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants. 

George, Jean Craighead. My Side of the Mountain. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 6.0] A boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.  

Healy, Christopher. A Dastardly Plot. (A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem #1) [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 11.0] In 1883 New York, while trying to introduce her mother's flying machine to the men-only Inventors' Guild, twelve-year-old Molly uncovers a plot to destroy the World's Fair. 

Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth. [AR BL 6.7, Pts. 7.0] Milo, a bored ten-year-old, comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock, Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey.   

O’Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. [AR BL 5.4, Pts. 6.0] 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 selfreliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.  

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. [AR BL 5.7, Pts. 7.0] Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane he is traveling in crashes in the Canadian wilderness.  Stranded alone, with nothing but the hatchet his mother gave him as a present, Brian must use his wits, courage, and determination to survive.  

Uss, Christina. The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle. [AR BL 5.9, Pts. 11.0] Left at the Mostly Silent Monastery as a toddler and homeschooled by a retired nun, twelveyear-old Bicycle rides cross-country to meet a famous cyclist whom she hopes will be her first friend.

Animals

Avi. Poppy. [AR BL 4.5, Pts. 4.0]
Poppy the deer mouse urges her family to move next to a field of corn big enough to feed them all forever, but Mr. Ocax, a terrifying owl, has other ideas.

DiCamillo, Kate. The Tiger Rising.* [AR BL 4.0, Pts. 2.0]
Rob, who passes the time in his rural Florida community by wood carving, is drawn by his spunky but angry friend Sistine into a plan to free a caged tiger.

Gipson, Fred. Old Yeller.* [AR BL 5.0, Pts. 5.0]
Young Travis faces a test of manhood when his heroic dog is bitten by a rabid wolf.

King-Smith, Dick. Babe: The Gallant Pig.* [AR BL 5.6, Pts. 3.0] Babe the piglet is destined to end up as ham on Farmer Hoggett’s dinner table.  But when he’s adopted by Fly, a motherly sheepdog, Babe discovers a secret talent that just might save his bacon.

O’Brien, Robert C.  Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. [AR BL 5.1, Pts. 8.0] Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long-lived.  

Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square.* [AR BL 4.9, Pts. 4.0] A country cricket falls into a picnic basket and ends up in New York city.

Sewell, Anna. Black Beauty. [AR BL 7.7, Pts. 11.0] The classic Victorian tale, intended to discourage cruelty to animals, in which a horse recounts his long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully overworked cab horse.    

Science Fiction/Fantasy  

Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. [AR BL 7.0, Pts. 7.0] After a cyclone transports her to the land of OZ, Dorothy must seek out the great Wizard in order to return to Kansas this classic tale originally published in 1900. 

Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles #1).* [AR BL 4.8, Pts. 8.0] When Gregor and his little sister fall through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment building, they tumble into the dark Underland beneath the city, triggering an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders.  

DasGupta, Sayantani. The Serpent’s Secret. (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1) [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 10.0] Until her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala considered herself an ordinary sixth-grader. When her parents disappear and a drooling rakkhosh demon shows up in her kitchen, she needs to sort it all out, find her parents, and basically save the world.  

DuPrau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. (Book of Ember #1) [AR BL 5.0, Pts. 9.0] In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.  

Gidwitz, Adam.  A Tale Dark & Grimm. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 6.0] Follows Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into eight more tales, encountering both wicked creatures and kindly strangers. Based in part on the Grimms' fairy tales—Faithful Johannes, Hansel and Gretel, The Seven Ravens, Brother and Sister, The Robber Bridegroom, and The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs.  

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the Hidden (Shadow Children #1). [AR BL 4.8, Pts. 5.0] In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong.  

Law, Ingrid. Savvy. [AR BL 6.0, Pts. 9.0] Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose 13th birthday has revealed her “savvy”—a magical power unique to each member of her family—just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.  

L’Engle, Madeleine.  A Wrinkle in Time. [AR BL 4.7, Pts. 7.0] Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government. 

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. [AR BL 5.7, Pts. 6.0] When Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are sent to live with an old professor in the country, they can hardly imagine what wonderful adventures await them.   It all begins when Lucy hides in a magic wardrobe and finds herself in a magical snow-covered land, called Narnia.  

Lowry, Lois.  The Giver. [AR BL 5.7, Pts. 7.0] Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.   

Norton, Mary. The Borrowers. [AR BL 5.3, Pts. 5.0] Pod, Homily, and daughter Arrietty of the teeny-tiny Clock family furnish their subterranean home with the tidbits and trinkets they've "borrowed" from "human beans." Their pilfering goes undetected until a boy (with a ferret!) comes to live in the country house, and Arrietty commits the worst mistake a Borrower can make: she allows herself to be seen.  

Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. [AR BL 4.7, Pts. 13.0] Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods, where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.  

Ross, Joel N. The Fog Diver. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 9.0] In this futuristic adventure, humanity clings to cities on the highest mountain peaks above the deadly Fog, and airships transport the pirates of the skies. Daring 13-year-old tetherboy Chess and his salvage crew must face the dark plans of Lord Kodoc and work to save their beloved Mrs. E.  

Historical Fiction  

Avi. The Fighting Ground. [AR BL 4.2, Pts. 4.0] Thirteen-year-old Jonathan goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War and discovers the real war is being fought within himself.  

Cushman, Karen. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. [AR BL 5.8, Pts. 7.0] In 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town.  

De Angeli, Marguerite. The Door in the Wall. [AR BL 6.2, Pts. 4.0] When Robin, a young knight, loses the use of his legs, he is abandoned to the care of monks at the hospice of St. Mark’s, in fourteenth-century England. 

Fleischman, Sid. Bandit’s Moon. [AR BL 4.2, Pts. 3.0] Newly orphaned and searching for her older brother, Annyrose falls under the protection of a proud and fearless Mexican bandit, regarded as the Robin Hood of the California Gold Rush. 

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out and Back Again. [AR BL 4.8, Pts. 2.0] Told in verse, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.  

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Echo. [AR BL 4.9, Pts. 13.0] Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica—and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the 20th century, struggling to keep their families intact and tied together by the same harmonica.  

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. [AR BL 5.7, Pts. 9.0] A young woman brought up in Barbados comes to live with her uncle in Connecticut, and finds their Puritan way of life difficult after her unconventional upbringing.  

Taylor, Sidney. All-of-a-Kind Family. [AR BL 4.9, Pts. 5.0] Five sisters give a picture of life in New York's Lower East Side at the beginning of the 20th century, including the Rivington Street market, scarlet fever, peddlers, and bathing at Coney Island. Woven into the story are the traditions and holidays of the Jewish religion.  

Humorous  

Buckley, Michael. NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society. [AR BL 5.3, Pts. 9.0] When Miss Information kidnaps the President's daughter, it is up to twelve-year-old Ruby, also known as Pufferfish, to use her super-nanobyte-enhanced allergies in leading the NERDS' investigation.  

Clements, Andrew. Frindle. [AR BL 5.4, Pts. 2.0] When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.  

Dahl, Roald. Matilda. [AR BL 5.0, Pts.] Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.  

Fitzgerald, John. The Great Brain. [AR BL 4.7, Pts. 13.0] J.D.’s older brother Tom is a silver-tongued con man with a genius for turning a profit.  Whether it’s the Jenkin brothers getting lost in a cave or the new teacher who turns out to be a tyrant, Tom always saves the day – while lining his own pockets.  

MacDonald, Betty. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 3.0] Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle knows everything about children, and there isn’t an ailment she can’t cure.  Patsy hates baths.  Hubert never puts anything away.  Allen eats very s-l-o-w-l-y.  Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has a funny and effective treatment for each of them.  

McCloskey, Robert. Homer Price.  [AR BL 6.6, Pts. 4.0] Six episodes in the funny life of Homer Price, including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage. 
Rodgers, Mary. Freaky Friday. [AR BL 4.4, Pts. 4.0] Annabel thinks her mom has the best life – if she were a grown-up, she could do whatever she wanted.  Then one morning she wakes up to discover she’s turned into her mother … and she soon discovers it’s not as easy as it looks.  

Tashjian, Janet. My Life as a Book. (My Life as… #1) [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 4.0] Dubbed a "reluctant reader" by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.  
Mystery  

Balliet, Blue. Chasing Vermeer. [AR BL 5.4, Pts. 6.0] When strange and seemingly unrelated events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, 11-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.  

Buckley, Michael. The Fairy-Tale Detectives. (Sisters Grimm #1) [AR BL 5.2, Pts. 9.0] Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother who they have always believed to be dead.  

Bosch, Pseudonymus.  The Name of this Book is Secret. (The Secret Series #1) [AR BL 5.6, PL 9.0] Two eleven-year-old misfits try to solve the mystery of a dead magician and stop the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, who are searching for the secret of immortality.  

Gibbs, Stuart. Spy School. (Spy School #1) [AR BL 5.3, Pts. 9.0] Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley leaves his public middle school to attend the CIA's highly secretive Espionage Academy, which everyone is told is an elite science school. 

Grabenstein, Chris. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. [AR BL 4.5, Pts. 7.0] Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.  

Hamilton, Virginia. The House of Dies Drear. [AR BL 4.8, Pts. 9.0] An African-American family tries to unravel the secrets of their new home, which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.  

Kittscher, Kristen. The Wig in the Window. (The Young and Yang Series #1)  [AR BL 5.1,Pts. 10.0] When their game of neighborhood spying takes a dark turn one night, pre-teen sleuths Sophie Young and Grace Yang find themselves caught in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with their bizarre guidance counselor, who may be hiding something sinister.  

Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society. [AR BL 5.6, Pts. 18.0] After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where their mission is to stop the plan of the evil Ledroptha Curtain.  
Realistic Fiction  
Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. [AR BL 4.7, Pts. 8.0] While vacationing with their father in the Berkshire Mountains, Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.  

Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Mind. [AR BL 4.3, PL 8.0] Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.  

Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. (Joey Pigza #1) [AR BL 4.9 AR pts. 5.0] To the constant disappointment of his mother and teacher, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription medicine wears off and he starts acting wired.  

Magoon, Kekla. The Season of Styx Malone. [AR BL 3.8, Pts. 7.0] Caleb Franklin and his younger brother, Bobby Gene, spend an extraordinary summer with their new, older neighbor, Styx Malone, a foster boy from the city.  

Medina, Meg. Merci Suarez Changes Gears. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 10.0] Merci Suárez begins the sixth grade knowing things will change, but she did not count on her grandfather acting strangely, not fitting in at her private school, and dealing with Edna Santos' jealousy.  

Palacio, R.J. Wonder. [AR BL 4.8, Pts. 11.0] Ten-year-old Auggie, born with extreme facial abnormalities, goes from being homeschooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school, where he endures taunts and bullying and struggles to be seen as just another student.  

Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins. [AR BL 4.6, Pts. 5.0] Eleven-year-old Gilly has been stuck in more foster families than she can remember, and she's disliked them all. She has a county-wide reputation for being brash, brilliant, and completely unmanageable. So when she's sent to live with the Trotters -- by far the strangest family yet -- Gilly decides to put her sharp mind to work. Before long she's devised an elaborate scheme to get her real mother to come rescue her.  

Patron, Susan. The Higher Power of Lucky. [AR BL 5.9, Pts. 5.0] Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.  

Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s. [AR BL 5.6, Pts. 10.0] Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident. 

Wiggin, Kate Douglas Smith. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. [AR BL 8.1, Pts. 13.0] The classic tale of talkative, ten-year-old Rebecca, who leaves her beloved Sunnybrook Farm to live with her spinster aunts—one harsh and demanding, the other soft and sentimental—with  whom she spends seven difficult but rewarding years growing up.  

Yang, Kelly. Front Desk. [AR BL 4.5, Pts. 9.0] Ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents are recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money. When they take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers.