Grades 5 – 6
Summer Reading

 The Hollow Bettle by Susannah Appelbaum
The evil king in the kingdom of Caux rules the land with tyranny and the famous healer has disappeared.  This title is the first in the Poisons of Caux  trilogy, a tale of herbs and magic tasters and poisoners.

Murder At Midnight by Avi
Scholarly Mangus the Magician and his street smart servant boy, Fabrizio, are falsely accused of plotting to overthrow the king and face deadly consequences unless they discover who the real traitor is.

Wild Card by Tiki Barber
The Hidden Valley’s season is looking strong, but the team’s star kicker is put on academic probation for poor grades in a couple of his classes.

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett
When twelve-year-old Steve Brixton, who enjoys reading Bailey Brothers detective novels, is mistaken for a real detective, he has to find a missing quilt that contains coded information.

Science Fair by Dave Barry
The evil president of Kprshtskan is plotting to take over the U. S. Government by infiltrating a Middle School located in a Maryland suburb outside of Washington.

Tumtum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn
Married mice Tumtum and Nutmeg secretly try to help two human siblings who live in a rundown cottage with their absentminded father.

The Princess Plot by Kirsten Boie
Fourteen-year-old Jenna is tricked into believing that she is taking the role of the princess in a film, when she in fact becomes the unsuspecting pawn in a royal conspiracy.

The Name of This Book Is by Pseudonymous Bosch
Eleven-year-old heroes Cass and Max-Ernest, go on a trail of a magician who has vanished under strange circumstances.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Marvin, a beetle, makes a miniature drawing of a famous painting as an 11th birthday gift for James, a human with whom he shares a house.  The two new friends work together to recover the original which was stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Everafter War by Michael Buckly
After their parents wake up from a sleeping spell, Daphne and Sabrina are caught in the middle of a war between the Scarlet Hand and Prince Charming’s Everafter army in this 7th book of the Sisters Grimm series.

Stage Fright by Meg Cabot
Allie’s class is putting on a play and she is sure that she will get the coveted role of the princess.  Her part, that of the evil queen, is actually the starring role.  This is book 4 of the Allie Finkle’s Rules For Girls series.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
Moose Flanagan, who lives on Alcatraz with his family and the families of the other prison guards, is worried when Al Capone, a prisoner there, wants a favor in return for the help that he gave Moose.

The Runaway Dragon by Kate Coombs
Princess Meg’s beloved dragon Laddy runs away from the castle and she and some of her friends go on a quest to find him and bring him home.

Spellbound by Anna Dale
Athene and her younger brother Zach find themselves caught up in the middle of a skirmish between two groups of magical, gnome-like creatures in a small country village.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim visits and when Salim mysteriously disappears from a sealed pod on the London Eye, Ted and Kat become sleuthing partners to try to figure out where he disappeared to.

News For Dogs by Lois Duncan
Andi starts a newspaper for dogs which attracts the attention of some dognappers.  This is the sequel to Hotel For Dogs.

The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
Will is now a full-fledged Ranger and he must rescue his friend Alyss from a rogue knight.  This is the 6th title in the Ranger’s Apprentice series.

Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff
Twelve-year-old Lidie leaves Brazil to join her father and brother on a horse ranch in New York and has a hard time adjusting to her new life.

Football Champ by Tim Green
Troy White can predict winning football plays, so he is hired to be the team consultant for the Atlanta Falcons.  A reporter is intent on smearing as much mud on the Falcons as he can, so Troy’s job is threatened.

Return of the Homework Machine by Dan Gutman
Four friends, now in sixth grade, find out that the most powerful part of the infamous homework machine, the part that lets you cheat on homework – was never destroyed and there is someone who wants to use it for more than cheating.

Crows & Cards by Joseph Helgerson
In 1849, naïve twelve-year-old Zeb becomes involved with a cheating riverboat gambler, a slave and an Indian medicine man.

Waggit’s Tale by Peter Howe
Waggit is abandoned by his owner as a puppy and he must learn how to survive in the city park.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
In 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate wants to study the natural world with her grandfather, but she also has to learn how to be a lady.

The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes by Marlane Kennedy
Twelve-year-old Charlotte feels sorry for her family’s Saint Bernard dog and plans a way for the dog to be adopted by a family that could provide for a very large animal.

Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum
Amelia moves to San Francisco in 1851 with her family and discovers that she can disguise herself as a boy and make money selling newspapers.

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen
A mage’s apprentice, a princess, and a dragon combine their strength and magic to bring down a secret traitor before it is too late.

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R. L. LaFevers
Theodosia Throckmorton stumbles across Mr. Tetley of the British Museum which could only mean that the Serpents of Chaos are back.

The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy
Fourteen-year-old Valkyrie and Skulduggery Pleasant the skeleton mage, try to stop a plot to open the gate that will allow the Faceless Ones to return.  This continues the series that started with Skulduggery Pleasant.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Minli, a girl from a poor village, goes on a magical journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how her family can change their fortune.

Carolina Harmony by Marilyn McDowell
After Carolina’s beloved Auntie Shen has a stroke, Carolina is sent to an unpleasant foster home.  She runs away and finds herself at Harmony Farm where she finds love, but unhappiness always seems to follow her.

The Squire’s Quest by Gerald Morris
Terence is sure something is rotten in King Arthur’s court in the ninth adventure in The Squire’s Tales series.

Faith, Hope and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Two girls from different regions of Kentucky are brought together in an exchange program and discover that they find strength in each other.

The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson
Thirteen-year-old Meli, an ethnic Albanian, is forced to move from refugee camp to refugee camp with her family during the Kosovo hostilities, until they are able to immigrate to America.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
This book, the 5th and final title in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, is concerned with the prophecy surrounding Percy’s 16th birthday.  The battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, and Percy thinks that he might be fighting against his own fate.

Desperado Who Stole Baseball by John Ritter
The rough and tumble baseball team in a California mining town enlists the help of a twelve-year-old orphan and the outlaw Billy the Kid in an 1881 game against the National League champions.

Freaky Monday by Mary Rodgers
Overachieving Hadley switches places with her teacher in this sequel to Freaky Friday.

Syren by Angie Sage
Wolf Boy is sent on a Task by Aunt Zelda and Septimus and his dragon Spit Fyre, fly off to bring their friends home in the fifth book of the Septimus Heap series.

Elephant Run by Roland Smith
Nick’s mother sends him to live with his father in Burma during the bombing of London in 1941.

Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder
Four children find a magic wall in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa which allows them to travel through time and space.

William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Twelve-year-old William S. Baggett, trapped in an awful family, saves money to get ready to run away.  Encouraged by his sister to leave sooner, he takes three of his siblings with him.

Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance of the Mysterious Benedict Society have to find out why Stonetown has an unexplained blackout.

In Too Deep by Jude Watson
Dan and Amy Cahill were saved from a terrible fire, but both of their parents died.  Was the fire accidental or murder?  This book is in the 39 Clues series.

Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede
Eff, the twin of the seventh son of a seventh son, has to get over believing she is bad luck, and use her extraordinary powers to combat magical creatures that threaten the settlements on the western frontier.