Summer Reading List for Fifth Graders
Your soon-to-be fifth grader is ready to move on to more thought-provoking books, books that ask her to read below the surface and comprehend themes instead of just the words on the page. This fifth grade summer reading list contains a number of Newbery Award winning books with challenging themes as well as a few anthologies for the reader who doesn't want all of her summer reading in one long book.
A Newbery-award winning book, Holes is written by the same author as the Marvin Redpost series on the 3rd Grade reading list and The Sideways Stories on the 4th Grade reading list. The book tells a complicated story within a story while following Stanley Yelnats' misadventures when he mistakeningly ends up in a youth detention camp for the summer. His punishment? Digging holes all day long. Your child will be fascinated when he discovers why Stanley is digging holes and how the many stories tie together.
Extension Activity: Watch the movie based on the book and discuss the similarities and differences between them.
The Redwall series of books tells the tales of the magical, excitement-packed adventures of the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey (who happen to be rodents). This series of books is a wonderful way to introduce your child to the joys of how the fantasy genre can help to suspend reality for as long as a book lasts.
Another Newbery winner, The Giver is a thoughtful look at a futuristic, uptopian society as seen through the eyes of the 12-year-old protagonist, Jonas. As Jonas is chosen to become the society's next Giver and is granted the memories of his people, he begins to question whether "Sameness" and lack of emotion is really a good way to live a life. Are his people really living the utopian life or are they being forced into a sort of anti-utopia?
Note:Lois Lowry's The Giver has been a controversial book in many schools because the subject matter is complex and challenging. The book holds a place on the American Library Association's Frequently Challenged Books list.
Though over thirty years have passed since this collection of four short stories by the Newbery award winning E.L. Konigsburg was first published, the theme remains universal: How can a child cope with a difficult situation? While the situations in the stories ( "Inviting Jason", "The Night of the Leonids", "Camp Fat", and "Momma at the Pearly Gates") vary, the common theme is one with which your child is sure to identify.The book is also cleverly illustrated by the award-winning Mercer Mayer.
Another Newbery winner, Jerry Spinelli, shares a compelling look at what it was like to be a boy growing up in the 1950s and how his experiences led him to become a writer. His wry stories of his childhood will draw your child in, forcing him to think about his own experiences and where they may be leading him.
This book is perfect for any child who likes to read in short bursts. The anthology, particularly aimed at boys, contains nearly 100 short pieces by a number of authors (including Stephen King and Dav Pilkey) about what it's like to be a boy who likes to read. The message is simple: read what you like and like to read. The book is spin-off of the Guys Read website, a "web-based literacy program for boys" designed to get boys reading and get them reading for life.
1. Holes (Louis Sachar)
A Newbery-award winning book, Holes is written by the same author as the Marvin Redpost series on the 3rd Grade reading list and The Sideways Stories on the 4th Grade reading list. The book tells a complicated story within a story while following Stanley Yelnats' misadventures when he mistakeningly ends up in a youth detention camp for the summer. His punishment? Digging holes all day long. Your child will be fascinated when he discovers why Stanley is digging holes and how the many stories tie together.
Extension Activity: Watch the movie based on the book and discuss the similarities and differences between them.
2. Redwall series (Brian Jacgues)
The Redwall series of books tells the tales of the magical, excitement-packed adventures of the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey (who happen to be rodents). This series of books is a wonderful way to introduce your child to the joys of how the fantasy genre can help to suspend reality for as long as a book lasts.
3. The Giver (Lois Lowry)
Another Newbery winner, The Giver is a thoughtful look at a futuristic, uptopian society as seen through the eyes of the 12-year-old protagonist, Jonas. As Jonas is chosen to become the society's next Giver and is granted the memories of his people, he begins to question whether "Sameness" and lack of emotion is really a good way to live a life. Are his people really living the utopian life or are they being forced into a sort of anti-utopia?
Note:Lois Lowry's The Giver has been a controversial book in many schools because the subject matter is complex and challenging. The book holds a place on the American Library Association's Frequently Challenged Books list.
4. Altogether, One at a Time (E.L. Konigsburg)
Though over thirty years have passed since this collection of four short stories by the Newbery award winning E.L. Konigsburg was first published, the theme remains universal: How can a child cope with a difficult situation? While the situations in the stories ( "Inviting Jason", "The Night of the Leonids", "Camp Fat", and "Momma at the Pearly Gates") vary, the common theme is one with which your child is sure to identify.The book is also cleverly illustrated by the award-winning Mercer Mayer.
5. Knots in My Yo-yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid (Jerry Spinelli)
Another Newbery winner, Jerry Spinelli, shares a compelling look at what it was like to be a boy growing up in the 1950s and how his experiences led him to become a writer. His wry stories of his childhood will draw your child in, forcing him to think about his own experiences and where they may be leading him.
6. Guys Write for Guys Read (Jon Scieszka)
This book is perfect for any child who likes to read in short bursts. The anthology, particularly aimed at boys, contains nearly 100 short pieces by a number of authors (including Stephen King and Dav Pilkey) about what it's like to be a boy who likes to read. The message is simple: read what you like and like to read. The book is spin-off of the Guys Read website, a "web-based literacy program for boys" designed to get boys reading and get them reading for life.
