A collection of book covers of select books for 5th graders

Fifth Grade Picks

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Book cover of Rez Dogs.

Rez Dogs

by Joseph Bruchac
Malian must stay with her grandparents on the
Wabanaki reservation because of COVID-19.
Everything is more difficult, but one day a large dog
shows up as her protector.

Book cover of Premeditated Myrtle.

Premeditated Myrtle

by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Myrtle’s grouchy, rich next-door neighbor Miss Wodehouse is found dead. Good thing Myrtle is a brilliant young investigator! (series)
 

Book cover of Santiago’s Road Home.

Santiago’s Road Home

by Alexandra Diaz
Left alone in Mexico, Santiago, 12, accompanies a woman and her child to the U.S. illegally. ICE intercepts them and Santiago is locked away in a harsh immigration center.

Book cover of Wishing Upon the Same Stars.

Wishing Upon the Same Stars

by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman
Yasmeen’s Arab American (Palestinian) family is new in town. Their friendly neighbors turn out to be Jewish Israeli Americans. Will the tensions of the Middle East find their way to Texas?
 

Book cover of The School for Whatnots.

The School for Whatnots

by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Max’s rich parents hire “Whatnots” (androids) to be his friends so he’s never bullied. After 5th grade, his pal Josie disappears, leaving a note that reads: “No matter what anyone tells you, I’m real.”

Book cover of The Last Cuentista.

The Last Cuentista

by Donna Barba Higuera
Just before Earth is destroyed by a comet, Petra's family boards a generation ship to journey to a new planet. When things go wrong, her love of storytelling just might save the day.

Book cover of Saucy.

Saucy

by Cynthia Kadohata
Becca is the least focused of the quadruplets; her brothers are passionate about hockey, science, and music. Then she finds a tiny, sick piglet that will someday weigh 600 pounds.
 

Book cover of Linked.

Linked

by Gordon Korman
When a swastika is painted on a wall in Link’s middle school, the community is thrown into
pandemonium. As the town’s past is unburied, Link transforms from being just a popular kid to someone
else entirely.

Book cover of Pony.

Pony

by R.J. Palacio
In 1860s Ohio, Silas, 12, follows the gang of counterfeiters who have kidnapped his genius father, aided by a mysterious horse and his companion (a ghost that only Silas can see).

Book cover of Fast Pitch.

Fast Pitch

by Nic Stone
As a U12 softball team captain, Shenice should be focusing on the upcoming state tournament. Instead, she digs into the scandal that ruined her Great-Grampy's major-league career.

Book cover of The Last Mapmaker.

The Last Mapmaker

Christina Soontornvat
Assistant to a master mapmaker, Sai hides her father's profession (thief) and lowly social standing. She jumps at the chance to join a dangerous expedition to find the Sunderlands.
 

Book cover of The Elephant in the Room.

The Elephant in the Room

by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Sila and her father wait for her mother to return from trying to solve her immigration issues overseas. Meanwhile, they befriend a lonely man who purchases an elephant. New friendships result — human and animal alike.

Book cover of Sisters of the Neversea.

Sisters of the Neversea

by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Lily, who is Muscogee Creek, and her step
siblings, Wendy and Michael, fly themselves to
Neverland with their new friend named Peter Pan
in this modern retelling of an old classic