The following is a list of selected titles that have been recommended by New York State teachers for grade 5 students. The reading levels range from 3rd to 6th grade to accommodate both below and above average readers.
Fiction & Nonfiction
| Title | Author |
| Adams, Richard | Watership Down |
| Adler, David | Cam Janson |
| Armstrong, William | Sounder |
| Atwater, Richard & Florence | Mr. Popper’s Penguins |
| Avi | True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle |
| Baum, Frank L. | Wizard of Oz |
| Patricia Beatty | Charley Skedaddle |
| Blume, Judy | Freckle Juice |
| Blume, Judy | Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing |
| Burnett, Frances Hodgson | The Secret Garden |
| Burnford, Sheila | The Incredible Journey |
| Byars, Betsy | The Pinballs |
| Byars, Betsy | Summer of the Swans |
| Cameron, Ann | Stories Julian Tells |
| Carlson, Natalie Savage | The Family Under the Bridge |
| Cleary, Beverly | Ramona Forever |
| Coerr, Eleanor | Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes |
| Cole, Joanna | Magic School Bus Series |
| Collier, James and Christopher | My Brother Sam is Dead |
| Cooper, Susan | The Dark is Rising |
| DeFelice, Cynthia | Weasel |
| DiCamillo, Kate | Because of Winn Dixie |
| Edmonds, Walter | The Matchlock Gun |
| Estes, Eleanor | The Hundred Dresses |
| Ferris, Eleanor |
Walking to the Road of Freedom |
| Fitzhugh, Louise | Harriet the Spy |
| Freedman, Russell | Confucius:The Golden Rule |
| Freedman, Russell | Lincoln, A Photobiography |
| Gardiner, John Reynolds | Stone Fox |
| George, Jean Craighead | My Side of the Mountain |
| Giff, Patricia Reilly | Polk Street |
| Hamilton, Virginia | M.C. Higgins, The Great |
| Henry, Marguerite | Misty of Chincoteague |
| Holling, Hollis | Pagoo |
| Hurwitz, Johanna | Class Clown |
| Irving, Washington | Rip Van Winkle |
| Juster, Norton |
The Phantom Tollbooth |
| Keller, Helen | Helen Keller |
| Kellogg, Steven | Wump Ward |
| Konigsburg, E.L. | From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler |
| Langton, Jean | The Fledgling |
| Lawson, Robert | Ben and Me |
| Lee, Dennis | Jelly Belly |
| Lindgren, Astric | Pippi Longstocking |
| Little, Jean | Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution |
| London, Jack | The Call of the Wild |
| Lourie, Peter | The Hudson River |
| Lowry, Lois | Number the Stars |
| MacLachlan, Patricia | Sarah, Plain and Tall |
|
MacLachlan, Patricia |
Skylark |
| McLachlan, Patricia | Baby |
| Melville, Leslie | Daisy Rothschild |
| Montgomery, Lucy Maud | Anne of Green Gables |
| Nixon, Joan Lowery | Orphan Train Quartet |
| O’Dell, Scott | Island of the Blue Dolphins |
| Paterson, Katherine | Bridge to Terabithia |
| Paulsen, Gary | The Foxman |
| Peck, Robert Newton | Soup |
| Reeder, Carolyn | Shades of Grap |
| Reid-Banks, Lynn | The Indian in the Cupboard |
| Robinson, Barbara | Best Christmas Pageant Ever |
| Rylant, Cynthia | Appalachia: Voices of the Sleeping Birds |
| Sacher, Louis | Wayside School |
| Scieszka, Jon | Knights of the Kitchen Table |
| Scieszka, Jon | Time Warp Trio Series |
| Sharmat, Marjorie | The Nate the Great Series |
| Smith, Robert Kimmel | Mostly Michael |
| Speare, Elizabeth George | Sign of the Beaver |
| Spinelli, Jerry | Maniac Magic |
| Steig, William | Abel’s Island |
| Steinbeck, John | The Pearl |
| Taylor, Cora | July |
| Twain, Mark | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
| Twain, Mark | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
| Van Allsburg, Chris | The Widow’s Broom |
| White, E.B. |
Charlotte’s Web |
| White, E.B. | Stuart Little |
| Wilder, Laura Ingalls | Little House on the Prairie |
| Wilder, Laura Ingalls | Little House in the Big Woods |
| Williams, Marjorie | The Velveteen Rabbit |
| Yep, Laurence | Dragonwings |
Folklore
| Title | Author |
| Brooke, William J. | A Telling of the Tales |
| Bruchac, Joseph | The First Strawberries |
| Cohen, Barbara | Molly’s Pilgrim |
| Cohn, Amy T. | From Sea to Shining Sea |
| DeFelice, Cynthia | Three Perfect Peaches |
| Hamilton, Virginia | The People Could Fly |
| Irving, Washington | The Legend of Sleepy Hollow |
| Keats, Ezra Jack | John Henry |
| Kellogg, Steven | Paul Bunyan |
| Martin, Rafe | Rough Faced Girl |
| San Souci, Robert D. | The Talking Eggs |
| Steptoe, John | Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters |
| Yolen, Jane | Favorite Folktales from Around the World |
| Young, Ed | Lon PoPo: A Red Riding Hood Story from China |
Fantasy & Science Fiction
| Title | Author |
| Asimov, Isaac | I, Robot |
| Asimov, Isaac | The Foundation Series |
| Avi | Poppy |
| Barrett, Jan | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs |
| Carroll, Lewis | Alice in Wonderland |
| Christopher, John | The White Mountains |
| Coville, Bruce | The Monster’s Ring |
| Dahl, Roald | George’s Marvelous Medicine |
| Dahl, Roald | James and the Giant Peach |
| Dahl, Roald | Matilda |
| Danziger, Paula | This Place Has No Atmosphere |
| Farmer, Nancy | The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm |
| Hahn, Mary | Wait Till Helen Comes |
| L’Engle, Madeleine | A Wrinkle in Time |
| Langton, Jean | The Fledgling |
| Le Guin, Ursula | Cat Wings |
| Lowry, Lois | The Giver |
| McCaffrey, Anne | Dragonquest |
| O’Brien, Robert C. | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH |
| Rylant, Cynthia | Gooseberry Park |
| Verne, Jules | Journey to the Center of the Earth |
| Verne, Jules | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
| Wells, H.G. | Time Machine |
Poetry
| Title | Author |
| Cohn, Amy T. | From Sea to Shining Sea |
| de Regnier, Beatrice Schenk | Sing a Song of Popcorn |
| Fleischman, Paul | Joyful Noic: Poems for Two Voice |
| Frank, Josette | In a River Valley |
| Greenfield, Eloise | Nathaniel’s Talking |
| Hopkins, Lee Bennett |
An American History Through Poetry |
| Longfellow, William Wadsworth | The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere |
| O’Neill, Mary | Bringing Me News |
| Prelutsky, Jack | The New Kid on the Block |
| Sendak, Maurice | Pierre |
| Silverstein, Shel | Where the Sidewalk Ends |
| Yolen, Jane | Bird Watch |
Publications
Cobblestone
Cricket
Highlights
Kids Discover
Odyssey
Sports Illustrated for Kids
World Magazine
Pizza Hut
Book It! Program
Recommended Reading for Ages 9 - 12
http://www.bookitprogram.com/teachers/goodbooks9-12.asp*
ATN Book Lists has grown significantly since its
birth in 1996. There are now close to 1,000 lists on the site!
http://nancykeane.com/rl/*
*Clicking this link will take you away from the CCSD website.