BROOKWOOD 4th and 5th GRADE
*SUMMER READING LIST – 2013
Students entering 4th and 5th Grades
May 2013
Dear Entering Fourth and Fifth Grade Students and Families,
As the summer draws near, we hope that the broad reading list below will provide you and
your child with many ideas for reading over the next few months. The New Books section
represents the best books published during the past year and includes Spring 2013 titles as well.
Our summer reading goal is to provide students the inspiration to read widely and to discover
new reading areas of interest. The fourth and fifth grade summer reading list will serve as a guide
to a selection of books that are available at your library, local bookstore, and home library. Be
sure to check out our Spring Book Fair as well! (May 15 and 16)
We know that some children read longer books, like the Harry Potter series, and therefore,
the number of books we expect your child to read is varied. We encourage students to spend at
least thirty minutes a day reading. We know, according to research, that students who take part
in their school’s summer reading program improve their reading skills and vocabulary. Of
course, the pleasure one gets from reading a good book is our ultimate goal.
Please feel free to read from the sixth grade summer reading list as well. All the
Brookwood Summer Reading lists may be found online on the library website:
URL: http://www.brookwood.edu/library/summer
• Students entering grade four are expected to read at least three to four books
• Students entering grade five are expected to read at least four to five books
Thank you for making reading a family priority this summer.
Sincerely,
Middle School Teachers, Mrs. Geraty and Ms. Glass
BROOKWOOD 4TH and 5th GRADE
SUMMER READING LIST – 2013
Students entering 4th and 5th Grades
NEW BOOKS – Books published in 2012/Spring 2013
Angelberger, Tom
The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee: An Origami Yoda Book
The third Origami Yoda book opens with Dwight in a new school with an equally effective
messenger, a paper Fortune Wookie.
Applegate, Katherine
The One and Only Ivan
2013 Newbery Medal Winner! Ivan, a gorilla, has lived for years in a down-and-out circusthemed mall. But when a baby elephant is added to the mall, he decides that he must find a way
to give her a better life.
Bauer, Joan
Almost Home
Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of
homelessness.
Bishop, Nic.
Nic Bishop Snakes
With breathtaking full-page images, Sibert Medal-winning photographer Nic Bishop introduces
the terrifying and beautiful world of snakes.
Byng, Georgia
Molly Moon & the Monster Magic
Molly confronts the powers of a magical coin that plays hypnotic music capable of turning
listeners into monster slaves.
Chin, Jason
Island: A Story of the Galapagos
A history of the Galapagos Island, describing how the island formed and animals came to inhabit
it.
Close, Chuck
Chuck Close: Face Book
Artist Chuck Close introduces children to his art, shows the processes he uses in his studios, and
answers questions about his life and the challenges--physical and mental--he has faced.
Fern, Tracey Barnum's Bones : How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur
in the World
As a paleontologist for the American Museum of Natural History, Barnum Brown discovered the
first documented skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as most of the other dinosaurs on
display there today.
Gidwitz, Adam
In a Glass Grimmly
2 In this companion to A Tale Dark & Grimm, Frog joins cousins Jack and Jill in leaving their own
stories to seek a magic mirror, encountering such creatures as giants, mermaids, and goblins
along the way.
Hale, Shannon
Princess Academy: Palace of Stone
Miri returns to Asland and calls upon all of her knowledge of rhetoric and other useful lessons
learned at the Princess Academy when she and the other girls face strong opposition working for
a new, fair charter.
Harper, Suzanne
The Unseen World of Poppy Malone: A Mischief of Mermaids
In the third book in the Unseen World of Poppy Malone series, Poppy makes friends with Nina, a
mermaid who lives in Lake Travis. But when Poppy’s sister messes with Nina’s magic, she gets
transformed into a mermaid herself.
Healy, Christopher
The Hero’s Guide to Saving the Kingdom
The four princes erroneously dubbed Prince Charming and rudely marginalized in their
respective fairy tales form an unlikely team when a witch threatens the whole kingdom.
Hiaasen, Carl
Chomp
When the difficult star of the reality television show "Expedition Survival" disappears while
filming an episode in the Florida Everglades wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Cray's family, Wahoo
and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna's gun-happy father.
Hopkins, Deborah
A Boy Called Dickens (picture book)
The tale of twelve-year-old Charles Dickens who, despite poverty and long hours of factory
work, still has time to discover and share the stories of other residents of 1824 London.
Horvath, Polly
One Year in Coal Harbor
In this sequel to Everything on a Waffle, twelve-year-old Primrose tries to be a matchmaker for
her Uncle Jack, befriends Ked, a new foster child and tries to decide if she is willing to go to jail
for her convictions.
Jenkins, Steve
The Beetle Book
From the goliath beetle that weighs one fourth of a pound to the nine-inch long titan beetle,
award-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins presents a fascinating array of these intriguing
insects and the many amazing adaptations they have made to survive.
Lin, Grace
Starry River of the Sky
An innkeeper's chore boy discovers that a visitor's stories hold the key to returning the moon to
the Starry River of the Sky.
Liu, Na and Martinez, Andres
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. For decades, China's government had
kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country's leader, Chairman
Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge.
3 Lupica, Mike
Play Makers
In this sequel to Game Changers, Ben McBain and his crew are still living large off their
incredible football championship win just weeks before, but must now prepare for basketball
season. Will Ben be able to pull it together for his team and for himself?
Palacio, R.J.
Wonder
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman was born with extreme facial abnormalities and not expected to
survive. After being home schooled his entire life, he enters fifth grade at a private middle school
and struggles to be seen as just another student.
Pierce, Lincoln
Big Nate Flips Out
When his habitual sloppiness gets a friend into trouble, the "sixth-grade detention king" decides
to clean up his act and his hazardous waste zone of a locker. Now everyone thinks Nate has lost
his mind.
Sandler, Martin
The Impossible Rescue: the True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure
In 1897, eight American whale ships become trapped in the ice, and the three hundred sailors
aboard have little hope of survival. Here is the incredible story of three men sent by President
McKinley to rescue them.
Schlitz, Laura Amy
Splendors and Glooms
2013 Newbery Honor Book! When a girl vanishes after the puppeteer Grisini and two orphaned
assistants were at her twelfth birthday party, suspicion of kidnapping chases the trio away from
London and soon the two orphans are caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a witch with
a deadly inheritance to shed before it is too late.
Schmidt, Gary
What Came from the Stars
In a desperate attempt for survival, a peaceful civilization on a faraway planet besieged by a dark
lord sends its most precious gift across the cosmos into the lunchbox of sixth grader Tommy
Pepper from Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Sheinkin, Steve Bomb: the Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon
2013 Newbery Honor Book! This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and
genius that created the world's most formidable weapon.
Stead, Rebecca
Liar & Spy
Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, being picked on at
school, and Safer, a homeschooled loner who lives in his building. Together the boys track a
mysterious building resident Safer is sure is hiding a sinister secret.
Tate, Don
It Jes’ Happened
A biography of twentieth-century African American folk artist Bill Traylor, a former slave who
at the age of eighty-five began to draw pictures based on his memories and observations of rural
and urban life in Alabama.
Telgemeier, Raina
Drama
4 Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle school
production of Moon over Mississippi as various relationships start and end, and others never
quite get going.
Turnage, Sheila
Three Times Lucky
2013 Newbery Honor Book! Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina,
Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel
seems implicated in a murder.
Wright, Barbara
Crow
The summer of 1898 is filled with ups and downs for 11-year-old Moses. His father and his
friends are finally getting the respect and positions of power they've earned in their community.
But not everyone is happy with the political changes at play and some will do anything,
including a violent plot against the government, to maintain the status quo.
General Summer Reading List
REALISTIC
Aronson, Sarah
Beyond Lucky
Abdel-Fattah, Randa
Where the Streets Had a Name
Angleberger, Tim
Origami Yoda series
Bauer, Joan
Close to Famous and others
Connor, Leslie
Waiting for Normal
Erskine, Kathryn
Mockingbird
Gantos, Jack
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and sequels
Henry, Marguerite
Misty of Chincoteague and others
Hiaasen, Carl
Hoot and Flush and Scat and Chomp
Harris, R.P.
Tua and the Elephant
House, Silas & Neela Vaswani
Same Sun Here
Ibbotson, Eva
One Dog and His Boy
Jacobsen, Jennifer Richardson
Small as an Elephant
Lindgren, Astrid
Pippi Longstocking
Lupica, Mike
The Big Field and other books
Mass, Wendy
11 Birthdays, Every Soul a Star and other titles
Myracle, Lauren
Eleven and other titles
Pierce, Lincoln
Big Nate series
5 Rawls, Wilson
Where the Red Fern Grows
Sachar, Louis
Holes, Wayside School series and others
Spinelli, Jerry
Loser and Maniac McGee
Yee, Lisa
Warp Speed
HISTORICAL
Alcott, Louisa May
Little Women
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
The Secret Garden
Choldenko, Gennifer
Al Capone Does My Shirts and sequel
Curtis, Christopher Paul
The Mighty Miss Malone and others
Erdich, Louise
The Birchbark House
Gantos, Jack
Dead End in Norvelt –Newbery Award Winner!
George, Jean C.
My Side of the Mountain trilogy
Montgomery, Lucy
Anne of Green Gables series
Selznick, Brian
The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck
Sewell, Anna
Black Beauty
Stead, Rebecca
When You Reach Me – past Newbery Award Winner!
Vanderpool, Clare
Moon Over Manifest – past Newbery Award Winner!
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Little House in the Big Woods and others in series
MYSTERY AND ADVENTURE
Avi
Poppy and other titles
Berlin, Eric
The Puzzling World of Winston Breen and sequel
Birney, Betty G.
Humphrey Adventures series
Bosch, Pseudonymous
Name of the Book is Secret series
Broach, Elise
Superstition Mountain series and others
Dowd, Siobhan
The London Eye Mystery
Rocklin, Joanne
One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street
Springer, Nancy
Enola Holmes Mystery series
Stewart, Trenton Lee
The Mysterious Benedict Society and sequels
Wood, Maryrose
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
6 FANTASY
Babbitt, Natalie
Tuck Everlasting
Baum, L. Frank
The Wizard of Oz series
Byng, Georgia
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism and others
Collins, Suzanne
Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicles)
Dahl, Roald
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and others
Funke, Cornelia
Dragon Rider and Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath
Gaiman, Neil
The Graveyard Book – past Newbery Award Winner!
Gidwitz, Adam
A Tale Dark & Grimm and sequel
Hale, Shannon
Princess Academy and others
Harper, Suzanne
The Unseen World of Poppy Malone series
Ibbotson, Eva
The Orge of Oglefort and others
Lewis, C. S.
Chronicles of Narnia series
Lin, Grace
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and sequel
MacHale, D. J.
Pendragon series
Martin, Ann M.
The Doll People trilogy
Meloy, Maile
The Apothecary
Paolini, Christopher
Inheritance series
Riordan, Rick
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and others
Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter series
Scott, Michael
The Secrets of the Immortal Nichols Flamel series
CARTOON AND GRAPHIC BOOKS
Gaiman, Neil
Coraline
Horowitz, Anthony
Alex Rider series
Roche, Art
The Art of Cartooning and Comic Strips
Say, Allen
Drawing From Memory
Smith, Jeff
Bone series
Soo, Kean
Jellaby and sequel
Telgemeier, Raina
Smile, Baby-sitters Club series, and others
7 TRUE FACTS AND STORIES
Chin Jason
Redwoods and Coral Reefs
Decristofano, Carolyn
A Black Hole is NOT a Hole
Denenberg, Barry
Titanic Sinks!
Jenkins, Steve
The Beetle Book
Krull, Kathleen
The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo
Farnsworth
Moffett, Mark W.
Face to Face with Frogs
Moss, Marissa
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds
Nivola, Claire
Orani: My Father’s Village
Scieszka, Jon
Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories About
Growing Up Scieszka
POETRY
Lai, Thanhha
Inside Out and Back Again
Levine, Gail Carson
Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems
Raczka, Bob
Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed From a Single
Word
Sidman, Joyc
This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
PERFECT FOR SUMMER
Barry, Dave
Peter and the Starcatchers and others in series
Birdsall, Jeanne
The Penderwicks series
Grahame, Kenneth
The Wind in the Willows
Hobbs, Will
Downriver and others
Holm, Jennifer L.
Turtle in Paradise – past Newbery Honor Book!
Pennypacker, Sara
Summer of the Gypsy Moths
Phelan, Matt
Around the World (graphic book)
Williams-Garcia, Rita
One Crazy Summer
*Developed by Librarian Sheila Geraty and Anastasia Glass in collaboration with Language Arts teachers. Annotations come
from review sources (Booklist, School Library Journal, Horn Book Guide Magazine), Library of Congress information and
bibliographies as well as from the librarian's reading notes. Every year the reading list is modified to reflect new titles and to
reconsider inclusion of those on the list. Your suggestions and comments are welcome
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