The Pollard Memorial Library |
Children's Home |
| Children's and Young Adult's Dept. | |
Recommended Books for Children in
Grades 5-8, SUMMER 2005
Lowell Public Schools
Pollard Memorial Library
Grade 5
| Fiction | |
| Avi | Poppy |
| Byars, Betsy | Midnight Fox |
| Creech, Sharon | Ruby Holler |
| Fenner, Carol | Yolanda’s Genius |
| Fitzgerald, John | Great Brain |
| Giff, Patricia Reilly | Pictures of Hollis Woods |
| Hermes, Patricia | Kevin Corbett Eats Flies |
| Martin, Ann | A Corner of the Universe |
| McKay, Hilary | Saffy’s Angel |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Me, Mop and the Moondance Kid |
| Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds | Beetles, Lightly Toasted |
| Robinson, Barbara | The Best School Year Ever |
| Shreve, Susan | The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates |
| Spinelli, Jerry | Wringer |
Multicultural / Historical Fiction | |
| Dorris, Michael | Sees Behind Trees |
| Fleischman, Sid | The Whipping Boy |
| Gardiner, John | Stone Fox |
| Myers, Anna | Red Dirt Jesse |
| Namioka, Lensey | Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family |
| Yolen, Jane | Passager |
Folktales and Legends | |
| Chrisman, Arthur Bowie | Shen of the Sea |
| Shannon, George | Stories to Solve |
Science Fiction / Fantasy | |
| DiCamillo, Kate | The Tale of Despereaux |
| Howe, James | Bunnicula |
| O’Brien, Robert | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H. |
| Scieszka, Jon | Summer Reading is Killing Me |
Classics | |
| Saint Exupery, Antoine de | The Little Prince |
| Selden, George | The Cricket in Times Square |
Nonfiction | |
| Bonner, Hannah | When Bugs Were Big |
| Dahl, Roald | Boy |
| Macaulay, David | Rome Antics |
| Ride, Sally | To Space and Back |
Grade 6
| Fiction | |
| Brooks, Bruce | What Hearts |
| Cleary, Beverly | Strider |
| Gantos, Jack | Heads or Tails |
| Howe, James | The Misfits |
| MacLachlan, Patricia | Journey |
| Naylor, Phyliss Reynolds | Saving Shiloh |
| Paulsen, Gary | River |
| Rylant, Cynthia | Missing May |
| Sachar, Louis | Sideways Stories from Wayside School |
| Spinnelli, Jerry | Library Card |
| Voigt, Cynthia | Bad Girls |
| Testa, Maria | Some Kind of Pride |
| Woodson, Jacqueline | Locomotion |
Multicultural / Historical Fiction | |
| Armstrong, William | Sounder |
| Avi | Fighting Ground |
| Blos, Joan | Gathering of Days |
| Curtis, Christopher Paul | Bud, Not Buddy |
| Cohen, Barbara | Thank You, Jackie Robinson |
| Gates, Doris | Blue Willow |
| Gregory, Kristiana | Legend of Jimmy Spoon |
| O’Dell, Scott | Sarah Bishop |
| Whelan, Gloria | Goodbye, Vietnam |
| Uchida, Yoshiko | A Jar of Dreams |
Science Fiction / Fantasy | |
| Alexander, Lloyd | The Arkadians |
| Avi | Bright Shadow |
| Juster, Norton | Phantom Tollbooth |
| Rowling, J.K. | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone |
| Walsh, Jill | The Green Book |
Classics | |
| Burnett, Frances | A Little Princess |
| Burnford, Sheila | Incredible Journey |
Biography | |
| Fritz, Jean | Double Life of Pocahontas |
| Yates, Elizabeth | Amos Fortune: Free Man |
Grade 7
| Fiction | |
| Avi | What Do Fish Have to Do with Anything? |
| Conly, Jane | Crazy Lady |
| Fox, Paula | One-eyed Cat |
| Kadohata, Cynthia | Kira-Kira |
| Konigsburg, E.L. | The View from Saturday |
| Paulsen, Gary | Brian’s Winter |
| Raskin, Ellen | The Westing Game |
| Rawls, Wilson | Summer of the Monkeys |
| Rylant, Cynthia | Every Living Thing |
| Sachar, Louis | Holes |
Multicultural / Historical Fiction | |
| Cushman, Karen | Catherine, Called Birdy |
| Hesse, Karen | Out of the Dust |
| Hobbs, Will | Bearstone |
| Speare, Elizabeth | Bronze Bow |
| Turner, Megan Whalen | The Thief |
| Winterfeld, Henry | Detectives in Togas |
Myths and Legends | |
| Fleischman, Paul | Dateline: Troy |
| Yep, Laurence | Rainbow People |
Classics | |
| Babbit, Natalie | Tuck Everlasting |
| Carroll, Lewis | Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland |
| Kipling, Rudyard | Just So Stories |
Fantasy / Science Fiction | |
| Cooper, Susan | King of Shadows |
| Funke, Cornelia | Inkheart |
| Levine, Gail Carson | Ella Enchanted |
| McGraw, Eloise | The Moorchild |
Biography | |
| Huynh, Quang Nhuong | The Land I Lost |
| Walker, Paul | Pride of Puerto Rico |
Grade 8
| Fiction | |
| Brashares, Ann | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants |
| Brooks, Bruce | Moves Makes the Man |
| Cohn, Rachel | Gingerbread |
| Creech, Sharon | Walk Two Moons |
| MacLachlan, Patricia | Baby |
| Myers, Walter Dean | Somewhere in the Darkness |
| Paulsen, Gary | Dogsong |
| Philbrick, Rodman | Freak the Mighty |
| Soto, Gary | Baseball in April |
| Voigt, Cynthia | Izzy, Willy, Nilly |
Multicultural / Historical Fiction | |
| Avi | The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle |
| Choi, Sook Nui | Year of Impossible Goodbyes |
| Cushman, Karen | Ballad of Lucy Whipple |
| Greene, Bette | Summer of My German Soldier |
| Hobbs, Will | Beardance |
| Hughes, Dean | Soldier Boys |
Jocelyn, Marthe | Mable Riley |
| Nixon, Joan Lowery | A Family Apart |
| Yep, Laurence | Dragon’s Gate |
Science Fiction / Fantasy | |
| Brittain, Bill | The Wish Giver |
| Farmer, Nancy | The House of the Scorpion |
| Jacques, Brian | Redwall |
| Cooper, Susan | The Dark is Rising |
Classics |
| London, Jack | Call of the Wild |
| Stevenson, Robert Louis | Treasure Island |
Folktales and Legends | |
| Hamilton, Virginia | Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales |
Nonfiction | |
| Bausum, Ann | With Courage and Cloth |
| Nelson, Peter | Left for Dead: A Young
Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis |
We encourage our middle school students to read for enjoyment this summer. Our hope is that children will engage in self-selected reading that captures their interests, enhances their imagination, and generates their enthusiasm for reading. While we have made specific suggestions, we encourage children to add to their own list of favorites and explore additional titles by favorite authors.
List compiled by:
Lowell 5-8 Reading Specialist: Pamela Gendron
Pollard Memorial Librarians: Molly Hancock, Beth Brassel, Youth Services
By the PML Web Committee
Last updated June 28, 2005.
http://www.pollardml.org/58.html
Send comments to mlojref@mailserv.mvlc.lib.ma.us