GRADES 5 & 6

Each student must read 2 books and complete a reading log for each book.

Elijah of Buxton - Christopher Paul Curtis

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled—a life from which he’ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.

Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway? - Avi

World War II is just background noise for Frankie Wattleson. His life revolves around action-packed radio dramas like "Buck Rodgers" and "The Lone Ranger." Suspense, heroism, thrills -- what more could an American boy want? Frankie's mom can't stand her son's hobby, though, and neither can his teacher, MissGomez. It all spells doomsday for Frankie -- unless he, disguised as radio detective Chet Barker, can cook up a plan to save the day.Tune in tomorrow to find out how this hilarious drama unfolds!

Fever, 1793 - Laurie Halse Anderson

August 1793. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is ambitious, adventurous, and sick to death of listening to her mother. Mattie has plans of her own. She wants to turn the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia, the capital of the new United States. But the waterfront is abuzz with reports of disease. "Fever" spreads from the docks and creeps toward Mattie's home, threatening everything she holds dear.

Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini - Sid Fleischman

How did he walk through walls, escape drowning, and shatter iron chains that were tightly wrapped around him? The rare photos in this book might help you figure it out. So might the exclusive update about the rumor that Houdini was poisoned. But just remember, a true magician never reveals his tricks.

The Green Glass Sea - Ellen Klages

It is 1943, and eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is en route to New Mexico, to live with her mathematician father. Soon she arrives at a town that, officially, doesn't exist. It is called Los Alamos, and it is abuzz with activity, as scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Europe work on the biggest secret of all-"the gadget." None of them-not J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project; not the mathematicians and scientists; and least of all, Dewey-know how much "the gadget" is about to change their lives.

Odysseus (retold by)  Geraldine McCaughrean

This superb retelling includes all the great adventures of Odysseus, including his encounters with the evil Cyclops, the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, the beautiful sorceress Circe, and the vengeful god of the sea and protector of all waters, Poseidon. Filled with excitement, romance, and the timeless power of myth, Odysseus makes a perfect companion for young readers interested in learning more about the Greek heroes.

The Shakespeare Stealer - Gary Blackwood

A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's acting troupe in order to steal the script of "Hamlet," but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy.

Chasing Vermeer - Blue Balliett

When a book of unexplainable occurances brings Petra Andalee & Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, & an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal. As Petra & Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth they must draw on their powers of intuition, their skills at problem solving, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled?

The Twenty-One Balloons  - William Pene Dubois

Professor William Waterman Sherman left San Francisco on August 15th, 1883, in a balloon, with the intention of flying across the Pacific Ocean. He was picked up three weeks later in the Atlantic Ocean clinging to the wreckage of a platform which had been flown through the air by twenty balloons. His only stop between San Francisco and the Atlantic Ocean was a brief sojourn on the island of Krakatoa, which blew up just after he left it in what is considered to be the most violent eruption of all time.

The Egypt Game – Zilpha Keatley Snyder

When Melanie Ross and April Hall begin to play the Egypt Game, everyone thinks it’s just a game until strange things begin happening to the players. Has the Egypt Game gone too far?

Hatchet – Gary Paulsen

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

Maniac McGee – Jerry Spinelli

He wasn’t born with the name Maniac Magee. He came into this world named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, but when his parents died and his life changed, so did his name. And Maniac Magee became a legend. Even today kids talk about how fast he could run; about how he hit an inside-the-park “frog” homer; how no knot, no matter how snarled, would stay that way once he began to untie it. But the thing Maniac Magee is best known for is what he did for the kids from the East Side and those from the West Side.