Do you want to find out what the 2003-2004 Newberry Award books are? Go ahead and click on this link to the ALA site! 

1. One of the best publications that I have found to ferret out good books for children is The Horn Book. This venerable site has great listings for parents, current books which are judged by experts in the field of children's literature to be worthy of reading, and other informational sites. I have gone ahead and linked to some of them below.

2. The American Library Association is the work horse of American literature. Their site provides a vast range of services- adult through pre-school. In their children's section they have many terrific cross links. The ones that I found to be the rest for our needs are linked below. 

3. The Children's Book Awards from the Children's Literature Web Guide is a listing of good books throughout the English speaking world. Getting a differing perspective is always a useful thing to do. The criterion for selection is given, some more complete than others, along with the book listings. Most of the listings end in the late 1990's.  

4. This section of books comes from the Houston Public Library. It is a section of recommended fifth and six grade fiction that would be just about right for our kids here. The first is a list of books with bibliography notes. The second is a list of classic books. Upon reading both, I think each has authors that are a good mesh for the children here in 4-F.  

This is a representative list of books that are suitable for fifth and sixth graders. The authors listed have written many other books and the others are just as good as these that have been selected. This is a combination of classics, award winners and popular titles that young people this age will enjoy reading.
 
 Bunting, Eve. Our Sixth Grade Sugar Babies.
Vicki and her best friend think they will look ridiculous to the seventh grade boy, that they both have a crush on, when having to caring around five-pound bags of sugar for a school project.

Bunting, Eve. The Hideout.
Andy runs away for his mother and step-father. Living in a luxury hotel apartment, he fakes his own kidnapping so he can have money to visit his father in England.

Byers, Betsy. Bingo Brown and the Language of Love.
Bingo has to cook 36 dinners, with humorous results, to pay for the long distance call to his girl friend who has just moved away.

Cleary, Beverly. Strider.
Leigh, using diary format, tells of finding a stray dog and sharing it with a friend, adjusting to his parents divorce and joining the track team. Sequel to Dear Mr. Henshaw.

Danziger, Paula. Thames Doesn’t Rhyme With James.
Kendra finds herself in a scavenger hunt while on Christmas vacation in London with her boyfriend’s family.

DeClements, Barthe.. Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You.
Being a non-reader, Helen, dreads starting sixth grade. She causes trouble to disguise her learning disability.

George, Jean Craighead. Julie
Sequel to Julie of the Wolves. After returning home, Julie struggles to save her beloved wolves against the changes in her father’s Inuit village.

Hahn, Mary Dowling. Time for Andrew.
Drew, spending the summer with his great aunt, changes places with his great-great uncle who died of diphtheria eighty years before.

Hamilton, Virginia. Cousins.
Cammy faces both guilt and grief when her cousin Patty Ann drowns.

Jennings, Paul. Unreal! Eight Surprising Stories.
Funny, scary and bizarre these stories have ghosts, superhuman powers and other unusual happenings that are attention getting.

Korman, Gordon. Twinkle Squad.
Sentenced to the school’s "Special Discussion Group", two completely opposite kids find they have lots of things in common.

L’Engle, Madeleine. Wrinkle in Time.
A brother and sister go in search of their father who is lost in the fifth dimension. They are able to rescue him after many exciting adventures. A Newbery award winner.

Lowery, Lois. Anastasia’s Chosen Career.
Anastasia, at thirteen, wants to go to charm school to change her "freaky" looks but she has a few surprises along the way. Part of the "Anastasia" series.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Agony of Alice.
Alice is looking for a female role model now that she is in the sixth grade. Since she is motherless, Alice finds an unlikely one in her teacher that she dislikes. Part of the "Alice" series.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynold. Shiloh.
When an abused dog follows Marty home, he learns a hard lesson about right and wrong. A Newbery award winner.

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia.
Jess become friends with a new girl at school and suffers after her accidental death. A Newbery Award winner.

Paulson, Gary. Mr. Tucket.
Frances Tucket, at age fourteen, is kidnaped by the Pawnee tribe from a wagon train. He ends up with an one-armed trapper and learns to live in the wilderness.

Roberts, Wilo Davais. Scared Stiff.
An abandoned amusement park leads to adventure and danger for two boys who are searching for their missing mother. 

Sachar, Louis. There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom.
Bradley maintains his reputation as a "behavior problem", in the fifth grade, but a new counselor sees more than meets the eye.

Soto, Gary. Taking Sides.
Basketball player, Lincoln Mendoza, moves from the Hispanic inner city to the suburbs and faces changes in his life and new prejudices.

Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Cassie Logan tells the story and struggles of her family in rural Mississippi during the depression of the 1930's.

Taylor, Theodore. The Cay.
A young, blind Anglo-American boy and an old West Indian native struggle to survive while stranded on a Caribbean cay.

Wallace, Bill. Beauty.
Luke, unhappy about his parents divorce and having to move to his grandfather’s farm, finds relief in riding and caring for the horse, Beauty,

Wright, Betty Ren. Ghosts of Mercy Manor.
A twelve- year old orphan moves in with the Mercy family where she finds the house is haunted by a sad-faced girl.

Key Authors from Grades 4 through 6

Page constructed and maintained by Bridgette Fincher.

August 23, 2003