5th Grade Books You Don’t Want to Miss
There are tons of great 5th grade books out there! I’ve made a list of my absolute favorites that I will also be using during homeschool for my 5th grader this year. Pop in your email address below and I’ll send this printable book list right to your inbox!
Yesterday, I shared the list of books I’m having my 3rd grader read this year as part of homeschool.
Today’s list is the one I made for my 5th grader!
I think this is a kind of a golden age of reading – you’re a solid enough reader to handle heftier books, more complex storylines, and more interesting characters.
And there are SO many good books at this level!
Here are the 20 books I picked for my 5th grader to work through over the course of this school year.
BOOKS FOR 5TH GRADERS
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
If you’ve never read this Newbery winner about some very smart rats who help save a little mouse family, you’re missing out. The first chapter or two are bit slow, but after that we couldn’t read enough and we read long past bedtime many many nights. (I’ve never read the sequel – is it worth it?).
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
I didn’t know I had any interest in 12th century Korea until I read this. Then I made everyone I know read it. It’s beautifully written and such a great story. I read this one on my own years before I had kids and then revisited it with them. (Full Review here)
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
This beloved Newbery winner is the story of Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton who comes out to the prairies from her home in Maine when Papa advertises for someone to come join their family as a wife and mother.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I read this classic series so many times as a child and was delighted to see it show up at this event – I read it aloud to my girls a few years ago and they loved it as much as I do. A pure delight!
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
This is the book that shot Kate DiCamillo to stardom, and it’s so sweet about a little girl who finds a dog that needs a home.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
This middle grade novel, about a family that comes to the US from China in the 90s, is such a fascinating look at the immigrant experience. Highly recommend this, plus the sequels! (Full review here)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
I had read part of this book but never finished it as a child. Listening to it as a family was a DELIGHT and I just loved every bit of this book about two siblings that run away from home and live, undetected, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
During the Depression of the 1930s, the Logan family is faced with prejudice and discrimination while living in Mississippi. I read this Newbery winning title as a kid and then I reread it in grad school and sobbed my eyes out. I am really looking forward to reading it with my girls!
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
I read this aloud a couple of years ago and it’s phenomenal. Sai works for the most celebrated mapmaker in the kingdom, but she lives in fear of someone discovering that she isn’t of the proper rank. Luck is on her side, though, when the mapmaker is invited on a discovery voyage to find a mysterious new land and he asks her to accompany her. High adventures and lots of clever twists and turns. (Full review here)
Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery
This is book #7 in the Anne of Green Gables series. I read this classic series so many times as a child! I read it aloud to my girls a few years ago and they loved it as much as I do. A pure delight!
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Orphaned Mary Lennox is shipped off to live with a distant uncle after her parents die and she feels nothing but loneliness. She spends her time on the Yorkshire moors exploring the surrounding gardens…and that’s when she finds a key. A curious old key that fit perfectly in a mysterious little door. And then she realizes what she found. A secret garden.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
When the Watson family go to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama in the summer of 1963, the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, their world is turned upside down. This Newbery winner is a classic and I can’t wait to read it with the girls – I read it years ago and I’m looking forward to revisiting it!
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
One of my favorite Newbery winners in recent years, this story is told by two different voices – a young girl during the Great Depression and a young boy just before WWI breaks out. Sometimes I read a Newbery book and think, “Meh.” This one blew me away. (Full review here)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
This classic Newbery-winning mystery begins when sixteen strangers are summoned to the will reading of Samuel W. Westing, a well-renowned millionaire and game player. Anyone of these sixteen people could end up with his fortune, but only if they could find the answer to the confusing and mysterious game he has them take part in.
The Double Life of Danny Day by Mike Thayer
What would you do if you got to live everyday twice!? For Danny, this is reality. When Danny’s family moves across the country, his unusual gift helps him make friends, outsmart bullies, and even take down a cheating ring, proving that second chances can make all the difference.
Explorer Academy series by Trudi Trueit
Cruz begins training at the Explorer Academy, an elite school for explorers. But for Cruz’s future could be in jeopardy after he discovers his family had a mysterious past with the organization. And the biggest question? Who is out to get him… and why? Embedded throughout the novels are puzzles and codes for the reader to solve. Since this series is an imprint from National Geographic, there is also section at the end of each book that profiles scientists from all over the world and does a compare and contrast with the science fiction in the book and the real science. It’s like a Harry Potter storyline with a lot of STEM elements.
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret
The winner of countless book awards – this memoir is both heartbreaking and deeply inspiring! Peg Kehret shares her true story of contracting polio at age twelve, facing paralysis, and fighting her way back to walking again.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
I first read Wonder about a decade ago and was blown away by how good it is. And, of course, I wasn’t the only one – it’s been a wildly popular book almost since the moment it was first released, both with parents and teachers and with young readers. My girls and I listened to it a few years ago and we all really loved it.
The Strangers: Greystone Secrets #1 by Margaret Peterson Haddix
You can always count on Margaret Peterson Haddix for a fun ride – her books are endlessly inventive and clever, plus high action!
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry
This gripping true-inspired story of a young wolf cub’s thousand-mile journey to find a safe home after his pack is scattered is full of danger, courage, and heart. It has beautiful black and white illustrations throughout as well as descriptions about each animal and the habitats included in the novel.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list of 5th grade books that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
I was hoping for a 5th grade list! My 5th grader has already made it halfway through her grade’s reading “challenge,” and it’s only a month into the school year. She will love diving into some of these! I would love a big like this for 7th grade level also!
I would LOVE a 7th grade list as well!! I’m having trouble finding age appropriate material with clean content, but that still has depth! Tricky! Please help! Thanks for all you do!