Great books for kids in grades 5 & 6
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Unless otherwise noted, all books may be found in
the juvenile fiction section under the author’s last name.
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KIDS LIKE ME
The strange case of Origami Yoda / Tom Angleberger
Sixth-grade friends try to figure out whether or not a Yoda finger puppet can really predict the future.
A crooked kind of perfect / Linda Urban
Ten-year-old Zoe finds that learning to play the organ has a positive impact on her family and social life.
Al Capone does my shirts / Gennifer Choldenko
A 12-year-old boy moves with his family to Alcatraz Island where his father is a prison guard.
Turtle in paradise / Jennifer L. Holm
In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, 11-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives in far away Key West, Florida.
My Louisiana sky / Kimberly Willis Holt
The lives of a 12 year-old Louisiana girl and her loving grandmother, her mentally slow parents, and her friend.
Alabama Moon / Watt Key
Having lived in the woods al his life, 10-year-old Moon
decides to head for Alaska after his father dies.
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place /E.L. Konigsburg
A 12 year old girl tries to save three unique towers built by her beloved grand uncles.
The Schwa was here / Neal Shusterman
Eighth-grader Antsy befriends the Schwa, a boy who
feels invisible and seems unnoticed by nearly everyone.
Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
An eccentric student changes her high school forever.
Flipped / Wendelin Van Draanen
In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe their changing feelings towards each other.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Crispin : the cross of lead / Avi
During the Middle Ages, an English boy falsely accused of murder runs away only to encounter more danger.
The Watsons go to Birmingham- 1963 / Christopher Paul Curtis
A Michigan African-American family’s life is changed when they take a trip to Alabama in 1963.
The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
In medieval England, a homeless girl is taken in by a short-tempered midwife.
One crazy summer / Rita Williams-Garcia
In 1968, 2 sisters visit California to see their mother and find that instead of visits to Disneyland, they will spend their summer at a Black Panther summer camp.
Our Only May Amelia / Jennifer L. Holm
A Finnish American girl and her 7 brothers grow up in Washington State in 1899.
The evolution of Calpurnia Tate / Jacqueline Kelly
In 1899, 11-year-old Callie Vee Tate loves to study the natural world with her grandfather.
How I found the Strong / Margaret McMullan
With the help of the family slave, a boy grows up after his father and brother go to fight in the Civil War.
The invention of Hugo Cabret / Brian Selznick
An orphan living within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter. (“a novel in words and pictures.”)
POETRY
Black stars in a white night sky / JonArno Lawson (j 811 Law)
Dark emperor & other poems of the night / Joyce Sidman
Poems that celebrate the night’s wonder and danger.
If the shoe fits: voices from Cinderella / Laura Whipple ( j 811 Whi)
HUMOROUS
Surviving the Applewhites / Stephanie S. Tolan
Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent to school at the eccentric Applewhite family’s Creative Academy.
Cosmic / Frank Cottrell Boyce
12-year old Liam, who looks like he's thirty, cons his way into being the adult chaperone on a space flight.
Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
Two new friends try to save endangered owls from a proposed construction site.
Everything on a Waffle / Polly Horvath
Primrose learns about the unpredictability of life after her parents are presumed lost at sea.
Harris and Me / Gary Paulsen
A city boy spends a memorable summer on his cousin’s farm.
A Long Way from Chicago / Richard Peck
During the Great Depression two siblings visit their larger-than-life grandmother.
MYSTERIES & ADVENTURES
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase / Joan Aiken
Wicked wolves, evil governesses & 2 brave girls.
The London Eye mystery / Siobhan Dowd
Two siblings try to solve the mystery of their cousin’s disappearance from the London Eye ferris wheel.
Dovey Coe / Frances O’Roark Dowell
A 12 year-old girl is accused of murder in her small North Carolina town in 1928.
Star of Kazan / Eva Ibbotson
In 19th-century Vienna, Annika’s surprise inheritance causes a woman claiming to be her mother to take her away to a decrepit mansion in Germany.
The Young Man and the Sea / Rodman Philbrick
A 12 year old boy sails alone on a dangerous ocean trip to try to catch a huge bluefin tuna.
When you reach me / Rebecca Stead
As her mother prepares to be a contestant on a TV game show, a 12-year-old New York City girl receives mysterious notes from an anonymous source.
The mysterious Benedict Society / Trent Lee Stewart
Four kids selected for a secret mission go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.
The Crowfield curse / Pat Walsh
In 1347, an orphan finds a magical creature caught in a trap and becomes embroiled in a strange mystery involving Old Magic, a bitter feud, and ancient secrets.
Leepike Ridge / N. D. Wilson
Eleven-year-old Tom, presumed dead, is actually trapped in a series of underground caves.
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
The Dark is Rising / Susan Cooper
Will Stanton must keep the world safe from evil.
Stoneheart / Charlie Fletcher
When 12 year old George accidentally decapitates a stone statue in London, he falls into another time .
Into the woods / Lyn Gardner
Three special sisters seek refuge in the woods when they try to escape the sinister Dr. DeWilde.
The lost conspiracy / Frances Hardinge
When a lie is exposed and their island tribe turns against them, Hathin must find a way to save her sister Arilou--once considered the tribe's oracle--and herself.
The Pinhoe egg / Diana Wynne Jones
A fun fantasy about a witch who is discovering her powers.
Skulduggery Pleasant / Derek Landy
Twelve-year-old Stephanie joins forces with Skulduggery Pleasant to save the world from the Faceless Ones.
The Wee Free Men / Terry Pratchett
A young witch teams up a clan of 6-inch-high blue men to rescue her brother and ward off a sinister invasion.
Magyk / Angie Sage
A foundling girl with a noble heritage is raised by the wizarding Heap family.
KIDS IN OTHER LANDS
The Breadwinner / Deborah Ellis
Under the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, 11-year-old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy to help earn money for her family after her father is arrested.
The circuit: stories from the life of a migrant child / Francisco Jiménez
A small boy and his family move from Mexico to California in hopes of finding a better life.
The Shadows of Ghadames / Joëlle Stolz
In 19th century in Libya, the narrow world of women in which Malika lives is disrupted when an injured stranger finds refuge in her home.
Homeless Bird / Gloria Whelan
In India, 13 year-old Koly fights against her ill-fated arranged marriage.
OUR FAVORITES
Savvy / Ingrid Law
At 13 Mibs Beaumont receives her "savvy"-a unique magical power-just as her father is injured in an accident.
Heat / Mike Lupica
A pitching prodigy is banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only 12 years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
The witch of Blackbird Pond / Elizabeth George Speare
In 1687 Connecticut, Kit befriends an old woman considered a witch and then finds herself standing trial for witchcraft too.
Moon over Manifest / Clare Vanderpool
In 1936, 12-year-old Abilene is sent by her father to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.
TRUE STORIES
Marooned / Robert Kraske
Recounts the story of a sailor marooned for 5 years on a Pacific island in 1704. (j 92S SELKIRK Kra)
Team Moon : how 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon / Catherine Thimmesh (j 629.454 Thi)
The whole story of Apollo 11 and the first moon landing.
Escape!: the story of the great Houdini / Sid Fleischman
A biography of the magician, ghost chaser, aviator, and king of escape artists. (j 92H HOUDINI Fle)
The year of goodbyes : a true story of friendship, family and farewells / Debbie Levy ( j 940.5318 Lev )
A collection of narrative poems about life in Nazi Germany for a Jewish family trying to escape.
Kakapo rescue : saving the world's strangest parrot / text by Sy Montgomery ; photographs by Nic Bishop
On a remote island off the coast of New Zealand live the last 91 kakapo parrots on earth and a team of scientists trying to restore the kakapo population.
Look for these and other great books in
The Children's Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412/531-1913 2011
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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