Book Selections
2011-2012
Grades 3-5

2011-2012 Brief book list for grades 3-5 [.pdf, 2 pages, 60K]
2011-2012 Annotated book list for grades 3-5 [.pdf, 3 pages, 133K]

Barrett, Tracy. The 100-year-old Secret Henry Holt, ©2008.

Imagine finding out that you’re related to Sherlock Holmes! Xena and Xander, a brother and sister who have just moved to England from Florida, are playing in front of their hotel when they are handed a note written in disappearing ink. Following the clues written in the note, they come into possession of Sherlock Holmes’ “Unsolved Cases” notebook. With the help of Watson’s great-great-great-grandson Andrew, they set out to solve the cases their famous ancestor couldn’t.

HB ISBN 978-0-8050-8340-8 PB ISBN 978-0-312-60212-3 Audiobook ASIN B001G8MAGC Kindle ASIN B003DWC6SG eBook ISBN 978-1-429-93049-9 AR 4.4 Lexile 650

Barrows, Annie. The Magic Half Bloomsbury Children's Books ©2008.

Have you ever wished you could travel in time? Soon after moving into their new house, Miri is sent to her room for hitting her annoying brother. Spotting a piece of glass taped to her bedroom wall, she realizes it is a single glasses lens. Looking through it, Miri finds herself back in her room in 1935 where she meets a girl called Molly who believes that Miri has come to rescue her from her abusive family.

HB ISBN 978-1-59990-132-9 PB ISBN 978-1-59990-358-3 Kindle ASIN B00413PHUU eBook ISBN 978-1-599-90584-6 AR 4.1 Lexile 640

Buckley, Michael. NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society Amulet Books ©2009.

Jackson Jones is a very popular 5th grader, until he gets braces with headgear. Overnight is labeled a nerd and shunned by his previous friends. Trying to solve the puzzle of a group of kids he labels the “nerd herd”, Jackson discovers that they are really secret agents whose weaknesses have become strengths with the help of technology “upgrades”. Can Jackson and the “nerd herd” manage to save the world and make it through 5th grade?

HB ISBN 978-0-8109-4324-7 PB ISBN 978-0-8109-8985

Clements, Andrew. Extra Credit Atheneum Books for Young Readers, ©2009.

Abby Carson is about to fail 6th grade unless she can do well on an extra credit project which involves writing to a pen-pal in another country. From the list of countries the teacher provides, Abby chooses Afghanistan and starts a correspondence with a girl called Amira. However, the letters are really being written by Amira’s brother who is the best writer in the village. When he lets Abby know the truth it causes serious problems in his community.

HB ISBN 978-1-41694-929-9 PB ISBN 978-1-41694-931-2 Audiobook ASIN B002DGZCSY AR 5.3 Lexile 830

Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Mind Atheneum Books for Young Readers, ©2010.

How would you feel if you were trapped inside your head, not able to communicate with anyone? Meet Melody, a very clever 5th grader who has cerebral palsy and cannot speak or control her movements. New technology finally enables her to “talk”, but will her family and school friends be able to look past her disability to see Melody for who she really is?

HB ISBN 978-1-41697-170-2 Audiobook ASIN B003IX37LA Kindle ASIN B003ATPRNI eBook ISBN 978-1-41698-045-2 AR 4.3 Lexile 700

Graff, Lisa. Umbrella Summer Laura Geringer Books, ©2009.

Ever since her brother’s death Annie has been extra careful. After all, nobody knew that her brother was sick until it was too late. Being so careful has stopped Annie doing a lot of the things she used to enjoy, like racing her bike and eating hot dogs. What will it take for Annie to stop worrying and start to lead a normal life?

HB ISBN 978-0-06-143187-6 PB ISBN 978-0-06-143189-0 Kindle ASIN B002BD2UYI eBook ISBN 978-0-0619-1259-7 AR 4.6 Lexile 820

Jonell, Lynne. The Secret of Zoom Henry Holt & Co., ©2009.

Locked up in the house and forbidden to talk to strangers, especially the children from the nearby orphanage, Christina is bored. All she wants to do is explore outside her house and go to school with other children. One day, a boy from the orphanage named Taft manages to talk to her and helps her find a secret tunnel that lets her escape. With the help of Taft, Christina discovers what really is happening at the orphanage and how her family is involved in the sinister events on Starkian Mountain.

HB ISBN 978-0-8050-8856-4 PB ISBN 978-0-312-65933-2 Kindle ASIN B002OP3EH0 eBook ISBN 978-1-4299-5153-1 AR 5.1 Lexile 770

Klise, Kate. Dying to Meet You Harcourt Children's Books, ©2009.

Famous children’s author I.B. Grumply is finding it hard to write the latest book in his “Ghost Tamer” series. Deciding he needs peace, quiet, and a change of scenery, he rents an old Victorian mansion. When he arrives, he finds the house occupied by a young boy who has been abandoned by his parents, a cat and the ghost of an unpublished author. Will Grumply be able to come to terms with the house’s residents and finish writing his book?

HB ISBN 978-0-15-205727-5 PB ISBN 978-0-547-39848-8 AR 4.9 Lexile 730

LaFevers, R.L. Flight of the Phoenix Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, ©2009.

Nathaniel is a quiet boy who likes nothing better than to draw. When his parents are declared lost at sea, he finds himself sent to live with a cousin he never knew he had. It turns out that his Aunt Phil (short for Philomena) is a beastologist (someone who studies supposed mythological creatures) and so were Nathaniel’s parents. Soon Nathaniel finds himself on a wild adventure. When Aunt Phil is kidnapped, it’s up to Nathaniel to help the world’s only phoenix egg hatch.

HB ISBN 978-0-547-23865-4 PB ISBN 978-0-547-40845-3 Kindle ASIN B003WUYOZW eBook ISBN 978-0-547-39423-7 AR 4.2 Lexile 640

Lin, Grace. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, ©2009.

Minli’s family is very poor, but her father is a wonderful storyteller and every night delights Minli with Chinese folktales. Minli’s mother gets angry at her for spending one of her family’s only two coins on a goldfish that a seller says will bring the family luck. So, Minli decides to set out to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him to change her family’s fortune.

HB ISBN 978-0-316-11427-1 PB ISBN 978-0-316-03863-8 Audiobook ASIN B003CN7DYI Kindle ASIN B0029KHT80 eBook ISBN 978-0-316-11427-1 AR 5.5 Lexile 820

Look, Lenore. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things Schwartz & Wade, ©2008.

Alvin is afraid of just about everything, except things that explode! In order to help him cope with life he arms himself with a PDK (Personal Disaster Kit). This comes in especially useful as his anxieties mean that while at school and at his piano lessons Alvin is unable to talk – he tries but just can’t get words out. How will Alvin manage to make friends and get through second grade?

HB ISBN 978-0-375-83914-6 PB ISBN 978-0-375-84930-5 (Sept) Audiobook ASIN B002HF5S8K Kindle ASIN B001C4NXMA EBOOK ISBN 978-0-375-84965-7 AR 3.8 Lexile 600

Mills, Claudia. How Oliver Olson Changed the World Farrar, Staus & Giroux, ©2009.

Oliver’s parents are overprotective; he isn’t allowed to go to a sleepover or ride his bike out of the cul-de-sac, and they insist on helping him with all his homework. Oliver gets partnered with Crystal to create a diorama of the solar system, and has to come up with an idea to change the world. Will he do what his parents want or will he finally find the courage to assert his independence?

HB ISBN 978-0-374-33487-1 PB ISBN 978-0-312-67282-9 Audiobook ASIN B003SRWEGU Kindle ASIN B0050IE46S eBook ISBN 978-1-429-93592-0 AR 4.7 Lexile 730

Pitchford, Dean. Captain Nobody Putnam, ©2009.

Nobody pays much attention to 10 year old Newt. His older brother Chris is headed to football stardom and his parents are workaholics. When Chris is injured and ends up in a coma, Newt’s friends try to take his mind off things by helping him get dressed for Halloween. Using some of Chris’s old clothes they create Captain Nobody. Newt’s new persona gives him confidence and he ends up doing some heroic things. Will he be able to find the courage to tell what he knows about the accident and help his brother?

HB ISBN 978-0-399-25034-7 PB ISBN 978-0-14-241667-9 Audiobook ASIN B002KII728 Kindle ASIN B001TI4YZY eBook ISBN 978-1-101-02484-3 AR 4.7 Lexile 750

Thomson, Sarah L. Dragon's Egg Greenwillow Books, ©2007.

Dragons are small farm animals that are kept for their eggs. Mella, just like her Grandmother, has the ability to look after the little dragons but dreams of the gigantic fire-breathing dragons that legend says once soared in the skies. Then one day in the forest she comes across a dying dragon and promises to take its egg to the hatching grounds in the mountains. Setting off with a squire called Roger; the two companions have to battle through many challenges and find that they may be the only ones who can stop a war!

HB ISBN 978-0-06-128848-7 Kindle ASIN B0036F6WZ8 eBook ISBN 978-0-06-199588-0 AR 4.9 Lexile 770

Yee, Lisa. Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) Arthur A. Levine Books, ©2009.

Bobby and Holly have always been friends, but when Holly starts painting her nails and wearing dresses things start to get awkward between them. A series of mishaps and misunderstandings cause the boys and the girls in Rancho Rosetta Elementary School fourth grade to band against each other. Holly and Bobby both end up running for student council. Will they ever manage to be friends again?

HB ISBN 978-0-545-05592-5 PB ISBN 978-0-545-05593-2 AR 4.1 Lexile 650