Summer Reading Suggestions From 62 Fifth Graders
Jun 26 '00
Getting kids to read can sometimes be a tough task. However, often kids don't read because they can't find something interesting to them. It's tough when you're a kid to be faced with seventeen thousand choices every time you're in a library or a book store. How can you tell the good from the bad, the interesting from the boring?
Teachers can often supply book lists of suggested reading. Sometimes these lists work, sometimes they don't. Teachers have a natural aversion to including anything not of good literary quality, and can often spice up the lists with their own "suggestions." (Not that suggestions are bad--but I've included From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler on every reading list I've ever made and only one student has ever read it!)
So, I finally decided that the best way to make a list of books kids would like was to ask them what they liked! Brilliant, huh? I had all 62 of my fifth grade students write down 2-4 books they'd read in the past year or so that they would suggest to other fifth graders. I compiled all of these ideas together into a list. I also went through my classroom library to find out what books were signed out the most often. That's what you will see before you here: the most often signed-out books and the most often-suggested books, straight from the mouths of the fifth graders.
I'd say the choices are all appropriate for 4th-7th grade readers. If you have a "reluctant reader" in your house, you might want to point them toward some of these choices. They are not an award committee's choices, they are not a teacher's choices--they are the choices of the kids. The most popular choices are listed first. (If the title has an asterisk in front of it, I have written a review of that book.)
*The Harry Potter series - Of the 62 fifth graders that I taught, EVERY SINGLE ONE of them voluntarily read at least one of the books in the Harry Potter series. It wasn't assigned reading--every last one of them chose to read it. That should say something right there.
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar - I'm sure the title pulled them in, but the story is a good one. It's about a troublemaker boy who learns how to be "good" through the help of a controversial counselor.
The Wayside School series by Louis Sachar - This series of three books by the popular Louis Sachar tells the story of a school where everything is done very strangely. The books include Sideways Stories From Wayside School, Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, Wayside School is Falling Down.
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit and There's a Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger - The popularity of these two books surprised me. They were written in the 70s and have a bit of a dated feel to them. They're about a girl named Marcy who is trying to understand her true self, with a lot of real-life situations thrown in.
The Two of a Kind series - I got a couple of these Mary-Kate and Ashley books for a very low price and added them to my library. They were checked out so many times that both sides of the index cards were filled and I had to make new ones. I'm sure anything featuring Mary-Kate and Ashley would be popular with girls.
*Tangerine by Edward Bloor - The story of a soccer player who is adjusting to a move to Florida and the strange things that accompany it. I think it's a shame that this book wasn't recognized by the Newbery people.
The Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin VanDraanen - This is kind of an updated Nancy Drew mystery series featuring Sammy, a spunky seventh grader.
*Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix - The story of Luke, an illegal and hidden child. He is foced to live his life in the attic. Another one overlooked by the Newbery people.
*Holes by Louis Sachar - This book tells the story of a boy wrongly sent to a work camp to dig holes. While there, he discovers that the camp's not what it seems to be.
Six Months to Live by Lurlene McDaniel - This is the first in a series of four books dealing with a 14-year-old girl who finds out that she has leukemia. Definitely more geared for girls.
Crash by Jerry Spinelli - Popular among football enthusiasts, this story tells about a young football player who befriends someone very different from himself.
Spider Boy by Ralph Fletcher - As the title suggests, it's about a boy who loves spiders and uses his knowledge to help make a place for himself in a new town after a family move.
The Year My Parents Ruined My Life by Martha Freeman - This book tells the story of a girl whose parents move her from sunny California to snowy Pennsylvania. Moving is one of kids' top fears, as their choices seem to indicate.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - This book is the first in a trilogy about a boy who fights to get and retain ownership of an abused dog.
*Bloomability by Sharon Creech - Popular with girls, this book tells the story of Dinnie, a girl who is plucked from the life she knows to live with an aunt and uncle and attend boarding school in Switzerland.
Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul - If you haven't heard of this series, you're living under a rock. This is the kids' version.
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - A classic story of good winning out against evil, as poor Charlie Bucket wins a chance to explore a magnificent chocolate factory.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster - One of the "oldest" books on this list, it tells the tale of a young boy's journey through a humorous fantasy world.
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli - In this book that appeals more to boys, a boy refuses to participate in a town's long-standing but cruel ritual for boys his age.
Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix - This book reminds me of the movie The Truman Show. It's about a girl who thinks she lives in 1840 but actually lives in a specially-created tourist attraction. Another book that deserved Newbery recognition but didn't get it.
Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen Emerson White - This book is part of the popular Dear America series of historical fiction diaries. As can be inferred from the title, this one deals with a girl's trip on the Titanic. I sure wonder why this book was popular. :)
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers - Definitely a "boy book," it's about a boy growing up in an urban area and trying to steer clear of drug dealers.
I admit, this is not an exhaustive list of books your kids might like. As a matter of fact, it's rather biased, since it only contains books that were in my collection of books at school. This list is just the collective favorites of my students.
I hope this list helps you in your quest to find books to interest your intermediate-grade kids this summer. If your kids have a book that they'd recommend to others that's not on this list, please add it in the comments section!
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