Grade 5 Reading List


Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine – J LEVINE

In this retelling of Cinderella Ella is blessed upon her birth by a blundering fairy named Lucinda with the gift of obedience. But this blessing is actually a horror for Ella as she has no choice but to go through life obeying each and every order--no matter what the consequences may be whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head!
 

Wayside School Is Falling Down
by Louis Sachar – J SACHAR

More hilarious stories from the classroom on the thirtieth floor of Wayside School, where students learn to tango, face the cafeteria’s dreaded Mushroom Surprise, and study a hobo during show and tell. Sequel to Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

Redwall
by Brian Jacques – J JACQUES

When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall destroy their enemy.


A Wrinkle In Time
by Madeline L 'Engle – J LENGLE

When an atomic physicist disappears on a secret mission, his son, daughter, and their friend search for him going on an interplanetary journey through time and space.


The Black Cauldron
 by Lloyd Alexander – J ALEXAND

In the land of Prydain, a young boy named Taran, who dreams of a future as an invincible warrior, finds himself leading a real-life quest. In a race against the evil Horned King, Taran must be the first to find the Black Cauldron or the Horned King will unleash it’s power and take over the world.


Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O’Brien – J OBRIEN

Having no one to help her with her sick child, a widowed mouse visits the strange rats living under the rosebush at the Fitzgibbon farm. Soon she finds herself flying on the back of a crow, slipping sleeping powder into a ferocious cat's dinner dish, and helping 108 brilliant, laboratory-enhanced rats escape to a utopian civilization of their own design.


The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
 by Karen Cushman – J CUSHMAN

Arvilla Whipple is a pioneer adventurer to the bone, but her 12-year-old daughter, Lucy, is not. She is a Massachusetts girl transplanted to the 1849 Gold Rush town of Lucky Diggins, California, which has absolutely nothing lucky about it.


Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli – J SPINELL

He wasn't born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. He became a legend. One that could outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, and tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say.


Lily's Crossing
by Patricia Reilly Giff – J GIFF

Lily's family is forced to cancel their spectacular summer vacation plans at Rockaway Beach. It is 1944, and World War II seems to be changing everyone's lives. The family has to move to an old factory town, and to make matters even worse, her father must go overseas to fight in the war. Lily knows no one in the town and is miserable until she meets Albert a poor refugee from Hungary. In their special friendship, they share many secrets and even some lies, including one that may cost Albert his life.


Julie of the Wolves
by Jean Craighead George – J GEORGE

While running away from home and an unwanted marriage, a 13-year-old Eskimo girl becomes lost on the North Slope of Alaska with no food, no shelter, and no idea which is the way to safety. Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves. With their help, and drawing on her father's teachings, she struggles day by clay to survive. But the time comes when she must leave the wilderness and choose between the old ways and the new. Which will she choose?


Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson– J PATERSO

This is a story about a friendship between a fifth grader, Jess Aarons, and a new girl at school Leslie Burke. Despite their superficial differences, it's clear that Jess and Leslie are soul mates. Together, she and Jess create the magical kingdom in the woods called Terabithia. In Terabithia they reign as king and queen until the day that real-life tragedy invades their magical world and the two are separated forever.


The Pinballs
by Betsy Byars – J BYARS

Carlie has always felt like a pinball being bounced around with no control over her life. When she finds herself in a foster home with two other kids, both boys, she knows that nothing is going to change. But against her will and her better judgment, Carlie and the boys become friends and maybe this time things will be different.