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Welcome to Fifth Grade!

One of our fifth-grade goals in language arts will be to read books featuring diverse people from a variety of backgrounds and with different points of view. The American Library Association gives many awards each year that celebrate talented authors and their work. You may want to use these awards to guide your reading selections.
 
We would like for every girl to read at least 3 books this summer and record what they’ve read on the attached reading log. Audiobooks are completely fine.

 

Recommended Books for the Summer

Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Before the Ever After, by Jacqueline Woodson
Finding Langston, by Lesa Cline-Ransome
The Season of Styx Malone, by Kekla Magoon
Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson

Schneider Family Book Award
Show Me a Sign, by Ann Clare LeZotte
The Collectors, by Jacqueline West
The Truth As Told By Mason Buttle, by Leslie Connor
As Brave As You, by Jason Reynolds

Asian Pacific American Awards for Literature
Stargazing, by Jen Wang
The House that Lou Built, by Mae Respielo
Front Desk, by Kelly Yang

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies, by Joyce Sidman
12 Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961, by Larry Dane Brimner

Pura Belpré Award
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems, by David Bowles
The Only Road, by Alexandra Diaz

John Newbery Award and Honor Books
When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
Merci Suárez Changes Gears, by Meg Medina
Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
Hello, Universe, by Erin Entrada Kelly
Our Own May Amelia, by Jennifer Holm
Amina's Song, by Hena Khan
The Parker Inheritance, by Varian Johnson
Wolf Hollow, by Lauren Wolk
Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan
El Deafo, by Cece Bell
The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander
Roller Girl, by Victoria Jamieson
The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate
Splendors and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz
The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The War I Finally Won, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi

Other Interesting Books
Blended, by Sharon Draper
Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper
Amal Unbound, by Aisha Saeed
City Spies, by James Ponti

We Need Diverse Books, 1000 Black Girl Books, and A Mighty Girl are also excellent resources for selecting books to read over the summer or any time! Of course, there are also many wonderful books that have not won awards. The soon-to-be fifth-graders are welcome to read anything that captures their attention. In the opening days of the school year, we will do several activities which give our students the chance to share what they read over the summer with the group. We can’t wait!

While we never want to discourage anyone from picking up a book, there are several books that the fifth-grade teachers will preview over the summer, to see if they would be a good fit in next year’s language arts curriculum. In class next year, we will spend a lot of time analyzing the clues that authors give readers to make predictions and draw inferences about the characters and events in a novel. We will spend 4-6 weeks thinking deeply about each book. As you can imagine, this is far less engaging when one already knows how a story ends! For this reason, we ask that you consider avoiding the following books this summer. Of course, if your child has already read one or two of them, this is not a big deal! We will work with every child to make sure that they are excited and interested in what we are reading in language arts.

Please consider holding off on reading the following books this summer:
  • The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani
  • The Inquisitor’s Tale, by Adam Gidwitz
  • The Giver, by Lois Lowry
  • The House with Chicken Legs, by Sophie Anderson
  • Flying Lessons and Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh
  • Stella by Starlight, by Sharon Draper