Interesting Books for 5Th Grader

A lot of good suggestions so far. My son also has enjoyed reading the series by Rick Riordan. Another series he has read and I did not see mentioned so far is Artemis Fowl. The Inkheart series is also very good, I saw they are making a movie out of one of the books so this might be just as popular as Harry Potter when it comes out. Good luck finding something she will enjoy reading.

Dear B.,
These are oldies but goodies:
Caddie Woodlawn
Magical Melons
Both are by Carol Ryrie Brink.
Great books.

B.,

Bill Wallace writes great books for that age. You can also go to cfisd.net and look up recommended reading for her grade level. Hope this helps.

Peace,
C.

My 11 year old daughter just started reading books more on her reading level because of the wonderful librarian at her school.

Right now, she is reading "So B. It" by Sarah Weeks and loves it. She is choosing to read without any encouragement from my part. Hooray!!!

This year she also read one of R.L. Stine's books and was very surprised and excited by how suspenseful it was.

Good luck!

12 year old niece loves the Inkheart series right now. When she was a little younger she enjoyed the Ralph S. Mouse series by Beverly Cleary. Roald Dahl has some cute books for kids (Matilda, BFG, James and the Giant Peach, etc.).

Does your kiddo like horses? I loved stuff like King of the Wind, Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague and My Friend Flicka at that age.

I wouldn't recommend Twilight so young either, but what about trying some other young adult series such as Garth Nix' Mister Monday. And a classic is the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, starting with book the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

HTH!

I guess I'm the odd one out. My 9 year old, like myself, reads anything she can get her hands on. She literally reads a book in two days. She's reading the Twilight series. I read them all first, and I didn't find anything inappropriate in them. There is one scene where Bella wants to make love to the character, Edward, but it's about four sentences, and Edward leaves. And number two it's not even close to being graphic. It says somthing to the effect of he touches her leg, and she leans in closer. Right after that he leaves. As an adult you can assume what was going on, but a child wouldn't read that much into it.

Good luck finding books for her!

My daughter and I have been reading the Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker. My daughter is in 3rd grade, but she's a little more mature than your average 8 year old. Also, the books are a tad bit advanced for her - we have to stop quite a bit for me to explain the meanings of words, plus the lead characters kiss and she still thinks that's gross! The series was recommended to us by her older cousin who just turned 12. It's really fun! It takes place in a magical land with good witches, fairies, talking animals and the like. Start with The Frog Princess.

Has she read The Chronicles of Narnia? Those are great!

In my opinion, Twilight is too old for a fifth grader. I have only read the first, but I know that I'm not going to let my daughter read it until she's at least 15 or so.

I plan to start reading the Harry Potter series to my daughter when she is Harry's age in the first book. I think she'll love it and really identify with him and his friends if she's the same age.

FYI, my daughter is a wonderful reader, but we have a tradition that started when she was in kindergarten that I read a chapter of a book to her each night. I know she could read them herself (and sometimes she reads ahead), but it's a sweet time together and then we can talk about what we've read and share ideas on what's going to happen next. I'm not sure how long she'll want to continue, but I'm game until she decides she's too old.

Hope this helps!

You've received some great suggestions. I'd like to add that our school district elementary schools are reading Texas Bluebonnet books. You can look at this year's list or any of the previous years. Your local library can also provide some visual clues for your daughter, take her and see what sparks her interest.

Best of luck from a bookworm!

B.:

My son and I just got done reading the first four "Olympian Series" books by Rick Riordan. Both of us really enjoyed them. The othe books I would recommend are: A Wrinkle in Time, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Giver, and the Witch of Blackbird Pond - all books I loved at her age as well.

I also lean towards anything that is a Newberry Award Winner.

Read a few of them with your daughter (not necessarily out loud but right after she does)... I did this with my son and he was thrilled that I was reading the same thing he had.

My 12 year old really enjoyed Kiki Strike and its sequel, Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb. They seem like fun books with strong girl characters, and are not inappropriate in any way. Hope she likes them!

J.

I think variety is the key to finding something she likes...and being willing to go back to your own childhood to find books.

At that age, my favorite books were "The Black Stallion" series...and the nice thing was that since they were published before I was born, I never had to wait for the next one to come out! Many girls are horse crazy at that age so it may work for her.

Incidentally, the Accelerated Reading (AR) book level for most of the series is fifth grade.

Nancy Drew was another favorite (so was Hardy Boys)...I liked reading mysteries at that age because it was fun to try to figure out the solution before the end of the book. Most of these books are also in the fifth-grade range.

...and what about the Chronicles of Narnia? (Also fifth-sixth grade level).

You might search for ideas at:
http://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx

You do an advanced search by book level (BL) to find books appropriate for her reading level then look through the list to get ideas for series you may have loved (and forgotten) as a child...and new stuff too.

BTW, if you're not familiar with the system, the "BL" for a book corresponds to the grade and month...for example as BL of 5.7 would be considered appropriate for a student in the seventh month of the fifth grade. I love this site because my son's teacher has given him a goal of reaching the 7.1 reading level by the end of this year...he's at 4.5 now...and he's in second grade!...love this system for developing reading skills...he started first grade at a BL of .4 (fourth month kinder) and hated reading, and AR has helped him just more than four grade levels in 18 months! I found him reading the bible on his own for the first time last week!

Good luck!

Madeleine L'Engle's books (A Wrinkle in Time, etc) are great. Also Nancy Drew mysteries are fun at her age.

Good Luck,
K.

When I taught fifth grade, and when my own children were in fifth grade, C. S. Lewis's The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe series were great favorites. Also books by Madeleine L'Engle...A Wrinkle in Time is one I've read many times. Good Luck!

My son is 11, but in the 6th grade and his language arts teacher was very interestedin the Twilight book. My son said that although he was not too into it, all the girls were just wanting to read that book and then watch the movie. I have the book myself, but have had no time yet to read it. I guess I would suggest to read the book and see for yourself what you think about it. I hear its very much a chic type of book, so its not reading for the boys.
My son also reads the Harry Potter books. I bought the books and actually check out the CDs from the library. I do this so he can read along with the book. These books have pretty difficult names for the characters and I really like for him to read it as they were meant to be. Plus the narrator reads it with a great accent that my son says really paints a picture for him. So far it's been really great. Plus the books are long that it takes at least 2-3 weeks to finish one book with about 30 minutes of reading a night.

Good luck!

"The Hobbit" is very age appropriate for 11. Madeleine L'Engle's series starting with "A Wrinkle in Time". Her books are wonderful, thoughtful, and entirely wholesome. I'm reading (or trying to) "Twilight", and it is NOT age appropriate for 11, besides being draggy and remarkably silly in its depiction of teen behavior. My daughter is 19, read it because some of her friends like it, and found it dull and unrealistic. That coming from a kid who loves fantasy. The C.S. Lewis Narnia books are also wonderful.

Maybe this is a little old-fashioned, but at that age and a little older I enjoyed the Judy Blume books and the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. She might even get a kick out of the timelessness of them or that her mother read those books. (Maybe you didn't, but you know....) I did enjoy going through my mother's old books and even reading some old poetry that her mother used to read to her.

Hope this helps--take good care.

Have you tried the Magic Tree House Series. There are about 4o books that you could buy or rent from the library. Each book is about two kids that go on great adventures. The language is safe and fun story line.

I'm not sure about series, but how about A Wrinkle In Time. Or the chronicles of Narnia series.

Hello B., I would like to agree with some of the other responses, and recommend "An American Girl" it is a wonderful series and very wholesome. No witches, fairys, magic, spells or any of that. No sex, explicit, or suggestive language. That is what my daughter loved reading, also "The Babysitters Club." Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, if she prefers something more like a mystery novel.

DO NOT let her read the Twilight series - the first book starts out a bit innocent, but it quickly gets VERY DARK and disturbing. I gave the reviews to my 15yr old and she decided on her own that she didn't want to read the last two books even though she had read the 1st books.
My daughter really enjoyed the AMERICAN GIRL series - good values, interesting ideas, etc - very sweet and sentimental, but not sappy. I read most of the books w/my daughter and we'd laugh and cry together.

As a girl that age with an older sister, like your girls, I loved Ramona the Brave. She would go on and on about her sister "beezus" (Beatrice) It was awsome!!! Suddenly I wasnt the only girl in the world with a older sister who"got to do" everything!!!!

Margaret :)

When I taught 5th grade my students loved Goosebumps (although they are about a 3rd and 4th grade reading level)and would read about 1 a week. Also, Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli are good authors. I especially like Pam Munoz Ryan who wrote Esperanza Rising (a book many kids read in school). She has a really good book "Becoming Naomi Leon" that I loved! I think the word damn is in there though but only once or so. And, believe it or not, after we did a biography project in the beginning of the year, I had some that only checked out biographies from the library after that! They loved reading about people and their inventions, etc. Good luck!

From working in elementary school library I have seen these to be popular: books by Andrew Clements, the American Girl series - Addie, Samantha, etc..., Judy Blume books, Cornelia Funke books, Little House on the Prairie series - check with your school librarian. I have seen where the Twilight books are geared to the 12-18 year olds, so maybe you could read them together with your daughter.

Hi B.,

My daughter (age 11) LOVES to read!!! She has really enjoyed the Dear Dumb Diary series and the American Girl books. There is another set similar to American Girl called Dear America. Each one is a diary from a girl in a certain time period. I read nearly all of the books my daughter brings home and I've enjoyed them too. She likes R.L. Stine and one of her favorite authors is Margaret Peterson Haddox. Her writings include a series called the Shadow Children. Very, very good! She also enjoys the Choose Your Own Adventure books which are so fun. She read the Gregor the Overlander series last year and liked it so much she read it again. I've bought her the Wrinkle in Time box set but she didn't care for it. I've also bought some Nancey Drew but she didn't like those either. Good Luck!!!

Hoe 'bout Nancy Drew? That's a classic.

My daughter loves A Wrinkle in Time, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Artemis Fowl, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series(The Lighting Thief is the first in that series), The Candy Apple books, Harry Potter, and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. By the 6th grade I was reading Jurassic Park but I was kind or a science fiction geek.

My fifth-grader loves the Warriors books by Erin Hunter. It's about groups of cats who are parts of different clans, and the adventures of cats in each clan. There are three different series, the first two with six books each, the third series isn't complete yet. My daughter begs for them every time we go to Hastings, and I have read a few of them and they are pretty good.

If you can still find them, the Animorphs was a good series as well. Those are about a group of kids who receive the gift of animal shape-shifting, and basically use it to battle evil that comes to earth from space. I don't remember who wrote them, I just remember my younger cousins really liking them about 8 or 10 years ago. I read a few of those as well, and they are pretty interesting.

I also just thought of a book that came out a couple of years ago, called Eragon. I saw the movie and liked it, but I haven't read the book, so I can't speak for sure about the content. (The movie wasn't objectionable, though.) I seem to recall the target audience being kids around 10 or 12, though, so that's a thought. I think there was also more than one book written, possibly a series as well.

I love the suggestions you have already received...especially Nancy Drew. I would include on the list Lloyd Alexander's kids' fantasy series of 5 books that begins with The Book of Three and ends with The High King. Very wholesome, good winning over evil, loyalty and friendship...good stuff

You could also look into Anne of Green Gables series.

I know people have different views on the Harry Potter books, but the series begins when Harry is about to turn ten and you could have her read one per year...the first two especially are right on for her age. The stories become more complex and a little scarier as the characters get older...the stories "age" as the characters do.

Happy Reading!!!

hi B., i have a daughter who love series of dear dumb dairy by jim benton,amelias books by marissa moss,shiloh by phyllis reynolds naylor,disney faries by lisa papademetriou,weird school,by dan gutman,super fudge by judy blume,and because of winn-dixie by kate dicamillo.. good luck in looking for books. the main library downtown in san antonio has a good selection of books. have a blessed christmas!!!