Woodstown
Middle SchoolSummer Reading Suggestions
for students entering fifth or sixth grade
Alcott,
Louisa May - Little Women
Much-loved
tale of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and their family troubles and triumphs.
Alexander,
Lloyd - The Book of Three and others in the series
The
first of a series of five books about Prydain,
a mythical kingdom based on legends of ancient Wales.Newbery
Award.
Armstrong,
William Howard – Sounder
A
poor African-American boy is the son of a sharecropper who struggles to
feed his family. Night after night, he and his great coon dog, Sounder,
return to the cabin empty-handed. When at last there is a sweet-smelling
ham cooking in the family's kitchen an angry sheriff comes, changing the
boy's life forever. Newbery Medal
Avi
- The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Young
girl joins the crew of a sailing ship in the late 1880s.
Bauer,
Marion - On My Honor
When
his best friend drowns while they are both swimming in a river that they
had promised never to go near, Joel is devastated and terrified at having
to tell both sets of parents the terrible consequences of their disobedience.
Bellairs,
John - The House with a Clock in its Walls
The
first of a chilling mystery series for those who want a scary book.
Burnford,
Sheila - The Incredible Journey
How
two dogs and a cat found their way through the wilderness of northern Ontario.
Cleary,
Beverly - Dear Mr. Henshaw
In
letters, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents'
divorce and finding his place in the world. Newbery
Award.
Conly,
Jane L.- Crazy Lady
As
he tries to come to terms with his mother's death, Vernon finds solace
in his growing relationship with the neighborhood outcasts, an alcoholic
and her retarded son.
Cooper,
Susan - The Dark is Rising and others in series
Life
for Will Stanton is strangely wonderful as, for twelve days of Christmas,
he is drawn through terror and delight.
Corbett,
Scott -
The Lemonade Trick
A
mysterious potion mixed by Kerby with his
chemistry set has a beneficial effect on the neighborhood bully but also
wreaks havoc at the Sunday School pageant.
Creech,
Sharon -Walk Two Moons
Thirteen-year-old
Sal, journeying with Gram and Gramps to find her mother, tells the story
of Phoebe, whose mother disappears and then returns. Eventually, Sal realizes
that underneath Phoebe's story lies her own. Newbery
Award
Curtis,
Christopher Paul - Bud, Not Buddy
Ten-year-old
Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression,
escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes
to be his father — the renowned bandleader, H. E. Caloway
of Grand Rapids. Newbery Award
De Jong, Meindert
- Along Came a Dog
A
wonderful friendship between a little hen who knows she belongs with the
farmer and a homeless dog who wants to belong.
DiCamillo,
Kate - Because of Winn-Dixie
Ten-year-old
India Opal Buloni describes her first summer
in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her
because ofher big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
Fleischman,
Sid – The Whipping Boy
Jemmy
is an orphan who must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat. Jemmy
plans to flee this arrangement until Prince Brat beats him to it, and takes Jemmy
along. Jemmy then hears he's charged with
the Prince's abduction. Newbery Award
Fox,
Paula - The One-Eyed Cat
An
11-year-old shoots a stray cat with his new air rifle, subsequently suffers
from guilt, and eventually assumes responsibility for it.
Gantos,
Jack - Joey PigzaSwalloed
a Key and Joey Pigza Loses Control
In
these two books, ingenuously and breathlessly narrated by Joey himself,
readers are treated to an up-close and personal introduction to life with
attention deficit disorder.
George,
Jean - My Side of the Mountain
A
young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends alone in the
Catskill Mountains.
Giff,
Patricia Reilly - Nory Ryan's Song
When
a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelve-year-old Nory
Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.
Greene,
Bette - Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon, Maybe
It's
hard having a crush on the boy next door, especially when you can outdo
him in everything. Life in rural Arkansas.Newbery
Honor Book.
Gutman,
Dan, - The Babe and Me, Jackie and Me, and Honus
and Me
Travel
back in time to meet the greatest stars of baseball.
Henry,
Marguerite - King of the Wind
Exciting
story of the life of a stallion which even non-horse lovers will enjoy.Newbery
Award.
Holm,
Jennifer -
Our Only May Amelia
As
the only girl in a Finnish American family of seven brothers, May Amelia
Jackson resents being expected to act like a lady while growing up in Washington state
in 1899. Newberry Honor Book
Jacques,
Brian -Redwall
The
first in a series of adventures in a mysterious animal kingdom.
Koss,
Amy Goldman - The Girls
Each
of the girls in a middle school clique reveals the strong, manipulative
hold one of the group exerts on the others,
causing hurt and self-doubt among the girls.
Levine,
Gail Carson - Ella Enchanted
In
this novel based o the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the
childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her. Newbery
Honor
Lowry,
Lois - Number the Stars
In
1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-oldAnnemarie
learns how to be brave when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the
Nazis.Newbery
Award.
Morey,
Walter - Gentle Ben
Traces
the friendship between a boy and a bear in the rugged Alaskan Territory.
Nesbit,
Edith - The Story of the Amulet
Extraordinary
things can happen to quite ordinary children when there's a bit of (uncontrollable)
magic about.
Paulsen,
Gary - Dogsong
Fourteen-year-oldRusellSusskit
makes a perilous and arduous dogsled trek across the frozen Alaskan wilderness,
a journey that becomes a quest for self-discovery.Newbery
Honor
Peck,
Richard - A Long Way from Chicago
During
the Depression, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice-two city slickers from
Chicago, spend their summers visiting Grandma Dowdel's
seemingly sleepy Illinois town. They find that it's far from sleepy. and
Grandma is far from your typical grandmother. Newbery
Medal
Reiss,
Joanna - The Upstairs Room
Annis
and her sister spend hard years in hiding in an upstairs room of a Dutch
farm sheltered from the Nazis.
Rylant,
Cynthia - Missing May
A
young girl and her uncle try to deal with the loss of May, aunt to the
girl and wife of the man.
Spinelli,
Jerry - Wringer
As
Palmer comes of age, he must either accept the violence of being a wringer
at his town's annual Pigeon Day or find the courage to oppose it.
Treviõno,
Elizabeth Borton de - I, Juan de Pareja
When
the great Velazquez was painting his masterpiece of the Spanish court in
the 17th century, he was assisted by his African slave, Juan. Juan then
becomes an accomplished and respected artist himself.
Wolff,
Virginia Euwer - The Mozart Season
A
young girl, who is a gifted violinist, spends her summer preparing to play
in a regional contest.
Wright,
Betty Wren - The Dollhouse Murders
Spooky
things happen when a dollhouse is discovered in the attic.