Recommended Fifth Grade Summer Reading List, Summer 2011

Entering 5th Grade: Books about exploring the Americas

All students are required to read a book this summer then complete a project. Books on this list are available for summer borrowing. Students may choose to read an alternative book for their summer reading assignment.

If you have any questions, even over the summer, please feel free to email Mrs. Holland.

Summer Reading Assignment for Incoming Fifth Grade Students (PDF document)

Required Summer Reading Project (PDF document)

The Year of Miss Agnes

by Kirkpatrick Hill

It isn’t easy to keep a teacher in Alaska, especially not in a small fishing community. Read all about Miss Agnes, who changes everything while teaching and learning in Alaska. Reading Level O

Danger on Midnight River

by Gary Paulsen

Daniel did not want to go to summer camp, especially when he realized that the school bullies were going with him. When the van overturns and lands in the river, it is up to Daniel to save the others, or not same them. Reading level P

Hatchet

by Gary Paulsen

Thirteen-year-old Brian is on a small plane to visit his father in Canada. When the pilot has a heart attack, it is up to Brian to land the plane and try to survive a summer alone in the Canadian wilderness. Reading Level R

Shredderman; Secret Identity

by Wendelin Van Draanen

Can anything be done about the school bully? Nolan comes up with a high tech plan that’s sure to make you smile. Reading level S

My Life in Dog Years

by Gary Paulsen

Eight real-life dogs are described in this touching book of memoirs. Paulsen’s true stories will appeal to dog lovers, hunters, and nature enthusiasts. Reading level S

The Divide

by Elizabeth Kay

Felix passes out while visiting Costa Rica. He wakes up in a world with mythical creatures and magic. Can he convince his new friends that our world of science really exists and find a way to return to it? Reading level T

Free Baseball

by Sue Corbett

When your dad is a baseball player in Cuba and you’re in Florida it’s hard to think about anything but baseball. Felix accidentally becomes a ball boy at a minor league baseball stadium where he finds the shocking truth about his family. Reading level T

Esperanza Rising

by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza has everything a Mexican girl could ask for. When tragedy strikes her family, she is forced to move to America and labor as a common worker. Reading Level V

Wait Till Helen Comes

by Mary Downing Hahn

In this scary book Michael and Molly don’t understand their new stepsister. This little girl threatens to send a ghost after the older children. The ghost terrifies the older children and has secrets of her own. Reading level U. If you have already read this book try All the Lovely Bad Ones by the same author. When Travis and his sister fake ghosts to attract guests to their grandmother’s inn, he wakes up long-dead children, who make demands on the living. Reading level V

A note about reading levels: In late elementary school, there is a wide range of levels. Help your child choose a book that he or she can understand. The letters given are from a scale developed by Fountas and Pinnell. Level A is the easiest reader. Your child may choose a book at whatever level he or she feels most comfortable

*Thanks to grants by the Elementary PTO, Mohonasen Foundation for Excellence and Walmart, and additional funding from the Mohonasen Teacher’s Association, summer reading books will be provided for all students. Please have your child return the book in September to the Pinewood Library.