Mrs. Thomas's Fourth Grade Website 
Grade 5
2011
Appelt, Kathi. The Underneath. Atheneum, 2008. An old hound that has been
chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack, and two kittens born
underneath the house, endure separation, danger, and many other tribulations
in their quest to be reunited and free. Newbery Honor 2009. National Book
Award Finalist 2008
Bolden, Tonya. George Washington Carver. Abrams Books, 2008. Born a slave
during the Civil War and raised by his mother’s owners, George Washington
Carver, also known as the “Peanut Man,” became an important African
American conservationist, scientist, researcher, and teacher.
Breathed,
Philomel, 2009. After being framed by a jealous poodle, a dachshund is left for
dead, but comes back with a group of mutts from the National Last Ditch Dog
Depository to disrupt the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show and
exact revenge on Cassius the poodle.
Broach, Elise. Masterpiece. Holt/Christy Ottaviano, 2008. Marvin, a beetle, and his
family live in the home of eleven-year-old James and his family. When James’
birthday party fails miserably, Marvin surprises James with an elaborately
intricate pen and ink drawing Marvin has created. Trouble begins when the
drawing is mistaken for James’ work, which sets off action that leads to a fastpaced
mystery featuring an unlikely friendship, the discovery of art forgery, and
thievery.
Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Shines My Shoes. Dial Books, 2009. Moose
Flanagan, who lives on
other prison guards, is frightened when he discovers that noted gangster Al
Capone, a prisoner there, wants a favor in return for the help that he secretly
gave Moose. Sequel
Colfer, Eoin. The Atlantis Complex. Disney-Hyperion, 2010. When an army of fairy
space probes programmed to destroy Atlantis return to Earth, Artemis Fowl
attempts to stop the destruction of the city while dealing with his delusional
and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Series
Creech, Sharon. Heartbeat. Joanna Cotler, 2004. Twelve-year-old Annie ponders
the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her
grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes
distant.
Keller's Teacher. National Geographic, 2008. Annie Sullivan grew up in
extreme poverty with her own eye problems. Her first and only job was teaching
Helen Keller how to “see” despite the fact that she was blind, deaf, and mute.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Magician’s Elephant. Candlewick, 2009. Orphan Peter
Augustus Duchene sees a fortune teller that leads him on an adventurous
journey involving an elephant and a magician in order to find his long lost
younger sister Adele.
DiTerlizzi, Tony. The Search For WondLa. Simon & Schuster, 2010. Living in
isolation with a robot on what appears to be an alien world populated with
bizarre life forms, a twelve-year-old human girl called Eva Nine sets out on a
journey to find others like her. Features “augmented reality” pages in which
readers can access additional information online about Eva Nine’s world.
the Animal Planet series uses a variety of scientific principles to imagine how
life on planet Earth may evolve over the next 200 million years.
Feldman, Jody. The Gollywhopper Games. Greenwillow, 2008. When the Golly Toy
& Game Company announces the Gollywhopper Games, Gil Goodson wants to
be the lucky winner; this could be the perfect opportunity for his family to move
away from
This may remind you of a modern day Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
Flanagan, John. Halt’s Peril. Philomel, 2010. Tennyson, the false prophet of the
Outsider cult, has escaped and Halt is determined to stop him before he crosses
the border into Araluen, but Genovesan assassins put Will and Halt's
extraordinary archery skills to the test. Series
Florian, Douglas. Omnibeasts. Harcourt, 2004. In this treasure chest of wit and
charm, the author weaves information into each poem, combining fun and fact.
This collection of poems and art is selected from the author's whimsical, punfilled
previous books.
Forester, Victoria. The Girl Who Could Fly. Feiwel and Friends, 2008. “Piper
decided to jump off the roof. It wasn’t a rash decision on her part.” And so we
meet a strong-willed, generous girl with extraordinary talents.
Golding, Julia. Secret of the Sirens. Marshall Cavendish, 2006. Upon moving to
her aunt's seaside home in the
society that shelters mythical creatures and must use her ability to
communicate with these beings to protect them from evil and the incursions of
humans. Series
Gutman, Dan. Satch and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. HarperCollins, 2006.
With his ability to travel through time using vintage baseball cards, Joe takes
Flip with him to find out whether Satchel Paige really was the fastest pitcher
ever. Series
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Just Ella. Simon & Schuster, 1999. Fifteen-year-old
Ella finds that accepting Prince Charming’s proposal ensnares her in such a
suffocating tangle of palace rules and royal etiquette that she plots her escape.
Hale, Shannon. Rapunzel’s Revenge.
Rapunzel, having grown up in a lovely castle with the woman she thought was
her mother, is placed in a very tall hollow tree as punishment after her curiosity
prompts her to climb the castle wall and look at the ruin of the world beyond
her home. She is able to escape and, with the help of Jack, embarks on a plan
to free the land and find her true mother.
Halls, Kelly Milner. Tales of the Cryptids.
many mysterious and legendary animals, including Bigfoot and assorted sea
serpents, real based on the descriptions, photographs and drawings?
Holm, Jennifer L. Turtle in
moves to the
new friends.
Karr, Kathleen. Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel. Marshall Cavendish, 2004. This first
person narrative is told from a camel's viewpoint. He tells how he was sent from
Desert before and during the Civil War.
Kerley, Barbara. Walt Whitman: Words for
biography of the American poet whose compassion led him to nurse soldiers
during the Civil War, to give voice to the nation’s grief after
assassination, and to capture the true American spirit in verse.
Klise, Kate. Dying to Meet You. Harcourt, 2009. A cranky, burned-out children’s
mystery writer moves into a dilapidated, old Victorian house, searching for
peace and quiet to help him get over writer’s block; unbeknownst to him, the
house is already occupied by a boy, his cat, and the ghost of the house’s
original owner. Series
Lasky, Kathryn. The Man Who Made Time Travel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
2003. The need for sailors to be able to determine their position at sea led to
the efforts of John Harrison, an eighteenth-century man who spent his life
refining instruments to enable them to do this.
Leal, Ann. Also Known as Harper. Holt, 2009. Harper Lee Morgan’s family is
struggling, but she holds close to her passion for writing poetry and this
provides her with an opportunity to express her feelings, even as she must skip
school to take care of her younger brother Hemingway.
Lin, Grace. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Little, Brown, 2009. A magical
story of a young girl who wishes for fortune and happiness for her village and
leaves her family to find the mysterious Old Man of the Moon. Newbery Honor
2010
Lowry, Lois. The Willoughbys. Houghton Mifflin, 2008. The four
children devise a plan to become orphans, unaware that their despicable
parents are trying to lose them. The humorous glossary and annotated reading
list of classic children’s literature are not to be missed.
Lutes, Jason. Houdini: The Handcuff King. Hyperion, 2007. In bold graphics,
author and artist formulate a living picture of this amazing escape artist and
show how time and morals shaped him and his art.
Malone, Marianne. The Sixty-Eight Rooms. Random House, 2010. An adventure
about the Thorne Rooms, sixty-eight miniature rooms made by Mrs. James
Ward Thorne in the 1930s, and a magic key that allows a person to shrink
down small enough to explore the rooms' secrets.
Marino,
Told Me. Roaring Brook, 2009. Set in 1969, Tammy has a difficult summer
when her best friend suddenly moves away and a new, know-it-all boy moves
into the neighborhood.
Mass, Wendy. 11 Birthdays. Scholastic, 2009. Best friends since their mothers met
at the hospital when they were born, Amanda and Leo always celebrate their
birthdays together. However, now that they are turning 11, they are no longer
speaking to each other and everything is not as normal as it may appear. This
is one birthday that does not seem to end!
Montgomery, Sy. Quest for the Tree Kangaroo. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Wonderful
color photographs and an excellent text provide details of the search for the tree
kangaroo in
Morpurgo, Michael. Beowulf. Candlewick, 2006. An illustrated retelling of the oldest
English epic, Beowulf, in which a Norse hero saves
monsters, and then his own house from dragons.
old Beniamino, a Jewish boy from
assumes his mother is also on the ship. When he ends up alone in
he has to deal with his fear and sadness on the one hand and figure out how to
get food and shelter on the other as he makes his way in the
Nelson, Peter & Rohitash Rao. Herbert’s Wormhole. Harper, 2009. While Alex is
getting to know his inventive neighbor Herbert they unexpectedly travel to the
twenty-second century through a space-time wormhole where they encounter
aliens, jet packs, and their future selves.
O’Connor, George. Zeus: King of the Gods. First Second, 2010. An illustrated
retelling of the Greek myth that details the story of Zeus, describing his
boyhood through his reign as the ruler of the Olympian Pantheon. Series
Peck, Richard. On the Wings of Heroes. Dial Books, 2007. Set in the time period of
World War II, Davy Bowman has two heroes: his dad who fought in World War I
and his brother who is currently in the Air Force.
Philbrick, Rodman. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. Blue Sky Press,
2009. Homer P. Figg escapes from his wretched foster home in
illegally sold into the Union Army. Newbery Honor, 2010
Riordan, Rick. The Lost Hero. Disney-Hyperion, 2010. Jason, Piper, and Leo, three
students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at
where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who
has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself. Series
Rutkoski, Marie. The Cabinet of Wonders. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
Twelve-year-old
hoping to retrieve the enchanted eyes the Prince of Bohemia took from her
father, and is aided in her quest by a Roma boy and his sister. Series
Springer, Nancy. The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery.
Philomel, 2006. Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock
Holmes, escapes to
way, she uses her considerable deductive skills to determine the whereabouts of
a young Viscount. Series
St. John, Lauren. The White Giraffe. Dial Books, 2006. After losing her parents in
a tragic fire, eleven-year-old Martine must live with a grandmother she has
never met on a wildlife preserve in
white giraffe.
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach
to be a contestant on the 1980’s television game show “The $20,000 Pyramid,” a
twelve-year-old
notes received from an anonymous source that seem to defy laws of time and
space. Newbery Award, 2010
Stewart,
Little, Brown, 2008. Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance, all graduates of the
Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and members of the Benedict
Society, embark on a scavenger hunt that turns into a desperate search for the
missing Mr. Benedict. Series
Stone, Jeff. Eagle. Random House, 2008. After attacking and killing his former
grandmaster, sixteen-year-old Ying realizes he has been betrayed in addition to
being wanted for treason, and consequently is forced to turn to Hok, his old
temple sister, for help. Series
Townley, Roderick. The Great Good Thing. Atheneum, 2001. Nothing ever changes
inside the storybook kingdom inhabited by twelve-year-old Princess Sylvie, her
parents, and many other characters until Sylvie discovers that by allying herself
with the Reader she can experience new adventure beyond the confines of the
book. Series
Walker,
illustrated biography of the
pain of the black experience in
Weston, Robert Paul. Zorgamazoo. Razorbill, 2008. Imaginative and adventurous
Katrina eludes her maniacal guardian to help Morty, a member of a vanishing
breed of zorgles, with his quest to uncover the fate of the fabled zorgles of
Zorgamazoo as well as of other creatures that seem to have disappeared from
the Earth.
Wiles, Deborah. Each Little Bird that Sings. Harcourt, 2005. Comfort Snowberger
is well acquainted with death since her family runs the funeral parlor in their
small southern town; but even so, the ten-year-old is unprepared for the series
of heart-wrenching events triggered by the sudden death of her beloved great
uncle
