Suggested Reading List for Students Entering 5th Grade Prepared by Brighton Memorial Library Children’s Staff & French Road Elementary School Library Media Specialist

The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Chasing Vermeer* by Blue Balliet

The Jumbies* by Tracey Baptiste

Gregor the Overlander* by Suzanne Collins

The City of Ember* by Jeanne Du Prau

Winterhouse* by Ben Guterson

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

Fourteenth Goldfish* by Jennifer Holm

Ice Dogs by Terry Johnson

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer* by Kelly Jones

Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

Elvis and the Underdogs* by Jenny Lee

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic by Lisa Papademetriou

Timmy Failure* by Stephan Pastis

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Storm Runners* by Roland Smith

Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

One Crazy Summer* by Rita Garcia Williams

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

NOTE: A star * means the book is part of a series

or has sequels.

FICTION alphabetical by author’s last name

GRAPHIC NOVELS alphabetical by title

Hereville* by Barry Deutsh

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales*

by Nathan Hale (any in series)

Newsprints* by Ru Xu

Sunny Side Up* by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson

Look for classic and contemporary Folktales, Fairy Tales, Legends, and Myths at BML and on

libraryweb.overdrive.com for this summer's Imagine Your Story Summer Learning theme!

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri D’Aulaire j292.13 DAU

The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk* (Scientists in the Field Series) by Sy Montgomery j594.56 MON

A Black Hole is NOT a Hole by Carolyn DeCristofano j523.887 DEC

The Case of the Vanishing Honey Bees *(Sandra Markle’s Science Discoveries Series) by Sandra Markle j595.799 MAR

Wild Animal Neighbors: Sharing our Urban World by Ann Downer j597.1 DOW

A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games by Lori Alexander j796.04 ALE

Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball by John Coy j796.323 COY

Cast Away: Poems for Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye j811.54 NYE

Ick! Yuck! Eew!: Our Gross American History by Lois Miner Huey j973 HUE

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli jBIO LUSTIG

Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet jBIO WHITE

NON-FICTION chronological by Dewey Decimal number

Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian – An 8-year-old on a space station who explores the galaxy with friends.

Brains On! – Kids submit questions; scientists answer them. (See also the spin-off Smash, Boom, Best.)

But Why? A Podcast for Curious Kids – Seemingly simple questions have surprisingly complex answers.

Circle Round – Tales of global folktales from WBUR: Boston’s NPR news station.

Flyest Fables – Original fable of a magical book that takes readers to a world where they find the strength to overcome any obstacle.

Past and the Curious – History with a side of fun, featuring well-known and no-as-well known figures.

Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd – "Old time radio" serial of the World's Most Brilliant Scientist, Dr. Floyd!

Short & Curly – Australian podcast examines serious ethical questions with time for students to share views.

Stories Podcast – Kid-friendly renditions of classic stories, fairy tales, and original works.

Thrilling Adventure Hour – Staged show in the style of "old time radio" performed by today's stars.

Tumble Science – Crack science reporting and interviews with experts on new scientific discoveries.

Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel – mystery serial cross between Goonies and Stranger Things.

Unspookable – For spooky lovers, a family-friendly take on popular urban legends, scary stories and myths.

PODCASTS New this year as we continue to look for digital content due to

COVID limitations. Look for these wherever you listen to podcasts.

Check out our full list of podcasts for kids and families at www.brightonlibrary.org/podcasts-for-kids