SUGGESTED SUMMER READING for students entering fifth & sixth grades Saint Ann’s School Library, 2017 Fiction ⓔ Alexander, Kwame. Booked. Nick loves soccer. His dad, a linguistics professor, loves words. Sometimes they clash. On top of that, Nick’s best friend now plays for a rival team, Nick is being bullied on a regular basis, and his mom is off to pursue her dream—without him. He tells his story in verse. Also consider Alexander’s ⓔ The Crossover. ⓔ Anderson, John David. Posted. After cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and three of his friends come up with a new way to communicate: sticky notes. Then, things turn mean and a sticky note war breaks out. Explores the meaning of friendship and belonging, and celebrates the bravery to speak up. ⓔ Bajaj, Varsha. Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood. Abby’s life in Texas is fine, if a bit dull. It’s just her and her mom. All that changes when she heads to India to meet her father for the first time (It turns out he’s a famous Bollywood star!) This book gives glimpses into both the beauty and the poverty of Mumbai as Abby figures out her place in the world. ⓔ Barnhill, Kelly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Once a year the Elders of the Protectorate sacrifice the youngest baby to Xan, the evil witch who lives in the forest. Unbeknownst to the Elders, Xan is actually kind. She nourishes the babies with starlight until delivering them to parents on the other side of the forest. When Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of Use the Saint Ann’s starlight, she decides to raise this baby herself. As Luna Digital Library grows, her magic becomes clear, as does the danger around her. Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal. All Summer Long! With our digital library, you can check out Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss. The Book Scavenger. e-books any time. Emily’s family moves all the time. When they alight in San Access the digital library at: Francisco, she’s thrilled, because it’s the headquarters of http://saintannsny.lib.overdrive.com. Book Scavenger, an online game she loves that’s run by Read our e-books with a Kindle or Kindle the eccentric genius Garrison Griswold. Emily is desperate app, with the Overdrive app, or in your to meet him. Then, he is attacked, and the game gets computer’s browser. serious. Fun, filled with puzzles, codes and book trivia. Titles that are available through Don’t miss the sequel: ⓔ The Unbreakable Code. the digital library are noted with this symbol: ⓔ Bird, Betsy (editor). Funny Girl: Funniest Stories ⓔ Ever. Humorous short takes from 25 female children’s authors including graphic novelists Cece Bell and Raina For instructions and tips for using the Telgemeier, as well as novelists Libba Bray and Lisa Graff. digital library, see the last page of this list. Saint Ann’s 2017 Summer Reading, for entering 5th and 6th graders More Fiction! ⓔ Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War that Saved My Life. Ada was born with a twisted foot and her mother is so ashamed that she has never let Ada outside. World War II begins and it turns out to be a blessing for Ada. Because of bombing, she and her brother leave London for the countryside. Her life expands, and she begins to understand all she’s been missing. ⓔ Brown, Peter. The Wild Robot. Roz, a resourceful robot, finds herself on an island full of wild animals. She sets out to analyze, understand, and live with them. Everyone benefits! ⓔ Carroll, Emma. In Darkling Wood. Looking for something that feels modern and realistic...and magical? Then pick up this emotional tale of Alice, her mysterious friend Flo, and the struggle to save Darkling Wood from destruction. ⓔ Cheng, Jack. See You in the Cosmos. Alex has a golden iPod that he wants to launch into space to teach alien life forms about life on Earth. With his dog, Carl Sagan (named for the astronomer who sent a tape into space in the 70s), he sets out for a rocket festival to launch the iPod. The trip turns into a search for Alex’s possibly-not-dead father, and Alex learns more about his own universe than he thought possible. ⓔ De la Cruz, Melissa. Alex and Eliza: A Love Story. Do you listen to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat? Have you tried to envision exactly how Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler met up and fell in love? If so, this is a book for you! It’s historical fiction, meaning the setting and characters are real but some of the details are spun from the author’s imagination. ⓔ Draper, Sharon. Stella by Starlight. The year is 1932. Stella lives in a tiny town in the segregated South. One night she and her brother are awakened by light from the flames of a Ku Klux Klan rally. What will it mean for her tight-knit African-American community? Inspired by family stories Draper heard as a child. ⓔ Emerson, Kevin. Last Day on Mars. The year is 2213. Earth is a distant memory. The few humans remaining in our solar system live on Mars. As Liam Saunders-Chang and his friend Phoebe are about to board the last starship out of the red planet, they make an amazing discovery—about space, time and life itself. Awesome, hard-core sci-fi. ⓔ Federle, Tim. Better Nate Than Ever. Nate steals away from small-town Pennsylvania to try out for ET, the Broadway musical. His first impressions of New York are hilarious, as are his observations about Broadway culture and his overly-prepared competitors. Nate is out of his league, but his quirkiness— and photographic memory—may be enough to land him a spot in the show. Smart and laugh-out-loud funny. Sequel: Five, Six, Seven, Nate! ⓔ Gidwitz, Adam. The Inquisitor’s Tale; Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. Kids in medieval France on a pilgrimage to save themselves and save a book. Are they saints or heretics? Illustrations in the margins evoke illuminated manuscripts. Winner of a Newbery Honor this year. The author, a former Saint Ann’s teacher, visited the library this year and spoke to our fourth and fifth graders about the book, and about life in the Middle Ages. Gino, Alex. George. People look at George and think they see a boy, but George knows she’s a girl. When George’s class puts on a play version of Charlotte’s Web, she becomes convinced that if she can just play the role of Charlotte, her mom and others will see her as the girl she really is. A funny, touching story about a transgender fourth grader. 2 Saint Ann’s 2017 Summer Reading, for entering 5th and 6th graders Fiction, Continued! Gonzalez, Christina Diaz. Moving Target. Cassie Arroyo, an American studying in Rome, has her world ripped apart when someone tries to kill her father, a professor at an Italian university. Is Cassie next? She sets out to solve the mystery, only to learn that she is a member of an ancient bloodline that enables her to use the Spear of Destiny—which has the power to alter the future. Sequel: Return Fire. ⓔ Goodman, Carol. The Metropolitans. As the bombing of Pearl Harbor takes place across the continent, four kids converge on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to foil a Nazi plot. Magic, history, and friendship come together in this gripping adventure. ⓔ Green, Tim and Derek Jeter. Baseball Genius. Jalen’s family can’t afford the fees for his travel baseball team, so he decides to sneak into the home of a New York Yankees player to steal some balls that he could then sell. Surprise! He gets caught. But Jalen convinces the player to stay quiet—by demonstrating his incredible ability to predict what kind of pitch a pitcher is about to throw. Awesome baseball adventure! ⓔ Griffin, Paul. When Friendship Followed Me Home. Uplifting tearjerker about Ben, a former foster kid who loves science fiction but shies away from human connection—until he rescues a homeless mutt from behind a Brooklyn library and new worlds open for him. ⓔ Holm, Jennifer. Full of Beans. Prequel to the beloved Turtle in Paradise (a book we read aloud to many fourth-grade library classes), about an exuberant gang of kids in Key West during the Great Depression. Heartwarming laughs, plus history and adventure. ⓔ Howe, James. Also Known As Elvis. If you liked Totally Joe (a read-aloud in our fifth- grade library classes) don’t miss this book. In it, Skeezie, who is about to have his first child at the age of 25, recalls the very important summer he spent in Paintbrush Falls between seventh and eighth grades—when Joe, Addie, and Bobby were off having adventures. Other books about the gang: Addie on the Inside (Addie Carle’s story told in verse), and The Misfits (before the events of Totally Joe). ⓔ Kelly, Erin Entrada and Isabel Roxas. Hello Universe. Meet four middle schoolers who couldn’t be more different from each other. In this magical book, they wind up connected for a day as they find themselves thrown together and solving a problem that one of them—a bully named Chet—has created. Unlikely friendships form, and unlikely heroes emerge. ⓔ Knowles, Jo. See You at Harry’s. Do you love sad books? If so, this one’s for you. Tragedy strikes the family. How does Fern handle the grief and guilt? Heartbreaking, yet hopeful. (In case you’re wondering, Harry’s is a diner.) ⓔ Konigsburg, E.L.