Books for Boys Entering Fifth and Sixth Grade
 

(Summaries are taken from School Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and Amazon.com reviews and Library of Congress summaries.)

Fiction

The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones, by Helen Hemphill
Thirteen-year-old Prometheus Jones and his eleven-year-old cousin Omer flee Tennessee and join a cattle drive that will eventually take them to Texas, where Prometheus hopes his father lives, and they find adventure and face challenges as African Americans in a land still recovering from the Civil War.

The Big Splash, by Jack Ferraiolo
Matt Stevens, an average middle schooler with a glib tongue and a knack for solving crimes, uncovers a mystery while working with "the organization," a mafia-like syndicate run by seventh-grader Vincent "Mr. Biggs" Biggio, specializing in forged hall passes, test-copying rings, black market candy selling, and taking out hits with water guns.

The Boy Who Dared, by Susan Bartoletti
In October, 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hübener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people.

Footprints in Time, by Petru Popescu
While Jack is visiting his father, a research scientist in Tanzania, their plane goes down over the savanna, killing everyone but Jack, who meets a mysterious creature who helps him survive.

I Am A Taxi, by Deborah Ellis
A boy's parents are wrongly imprsioned, and he must live with them except when he goes out to try to earn a meager wage and ends up working in a jungle. A story of hardship and courage in Bolivia.

Kimchi and Calamari, by Rose Kent
Adopted from Korea by Italian parents, fourteen-year-old Joseph Calderaro begins to make important self-discoveries about race and family after his social studies teacher assigns an essay on cultural heritage and tracing the past.

Layups and Long Shots, by Joseph Bruchac
Tales of athletes in a variety of sports, including track, football, martial arts, Ping Pong, and dirt bike riding.

Libertad, by Alma Fullerton
A boy and his younger brother who set out to cross the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico to find their father after their mother is killed.

Operation Redwood, by Susannah French
In northern California, Julian Carter-Li and his friends old and new fight to save a grove of redwoods from an investment company that plans to cut them down.

Soldier Boys, by Dean Hughes
Two boys, one German and one American, are eager to join their respective armies during World War II, and their paths cross at the Battle of the Bulge.

The Ranger's Apprentice (series), by John Flanagan
Rejected for training as a warrior-knight, Will is apprenticed instead to the Ranger Corps – a mysterious group who act as the King’s eyes and ears throughout Araluen and beyond its shores.

Things Not Seen, by Andrew Clements
Fifteen-year-old Bobby thinks he knows what it's like to be invisible-he's used to being ignored by the popular kids at school (especially the girls). Even his parents hardly seem to notice whether he's home or not. Then one morning, Bobby wakes up to find that he really is invisible. For real. He can't stop wondering if he'll ever reappear-especially when his parents wreck their car and wind up in the hospital. Now Bobby is all alone. How can he survive in a world where he can't be seen?

Adam Canfield of the Slash, by Michael Winerip
Adam Canfield just can't cut a break. If it isn't quiz bowl, band, or homework, it's testing, annoying third-graders, or principals. Now that his friend Jennifer has roped him into being co-editor of the school paper, he stumbles upon a school scandal and must decide what to do.

Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back, by Michael Winerip
For overprogrammed middle-grader Adam Canfield, waking up to a snow day is a dream come true — a chance to sleep late, put off planning the next issue of THE SLASH, and make some quick cash with his shovel. But the dream turns into a nightmare when some high-school kids mug Adam for his shoveling money. Then not only does the media blast the embarrassing story, but Adam’s own co-editors plan a contest outing bullies at their school.

The City of Ember, by J. DuPrau
It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored. For 250 years the people of Ember have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness. What will happen when the generator finally fails?

So Far From the Bamboo Grove, by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
A true account that is filled with violence and death, yet one that is ultimately a story of family love and life. Eleven-year-old Yoko Kawashima had led a peaceful and secure life as the daughter of a Japanese government official stationed in North Korea near the end of World War II. Abruptly, all this changes as Yoko, her older sister Ko, and their mother flee the vengeance-seeking North Korean Communists and eventually make their way to an unwelcoming and war-ravaged Japan. Yoko often escapes death by mere chance; her brother, Hideyo, separated from the family, has an equally harrowing escape.

Private Peaceful, by Michael Morpurgo
In this World War I story, the terse and beautiful narrative of a young English soldier is as compelling about the world left behind as about the horrific daily details of trench warfare: the mud, rats, gas attacks, slaughter. At 15, Thomas lied about his age in order to follow his beloved older brother, Charlie, to fight in France. Now, nearly two years later, as Thomas sits waiting in the dark for the horror he knows will come at dawn, he remembers it all.

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, book 1), by John Flanagan
Like the other 15-year-old wards of Castle Redmont, Will is nervous about Choosing Day, when each of them will be assigned to a different master for training. Though his dearest wish is to enter the Battleschool, his small stature prevents it. Instead, Will is apprenticed to the grim-faced, mysterious Ranger. Soon Will learns that becoming a ranger is more difficult, dangerous, and worthwhile than he had imagined.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi
An action-packed historical narrative that follows the frantic flight of a 13-year-old peasant boy across 14th-century England. After being declared a "wolf's head" by his manor's corrupt steward for a crime he didn't commit (meaning that anyone can kill him like a common animal--and collect a reward), a timid boy has to flee a tiny village that's the only world he's ever known.

Football Genius, by Tim Green
Troy White has a lot of frustrations. His father abandoned the family when he was little, his beloved Atlanta Falcons team seems destined for another losing season, and, on his own football team, his gifts as a quarterback are ignored while he sits on the bench, watching the coach's son on the field. Troy's most unusual gift is his ability to predict coming football plays with uncanny accuracy. When his mother is hired for a PR job with the Falcons, Troy sees an opportunity, yet he can't convince anyone to recognize his talents.

The Name of This Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch
Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch. As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret.

Among the Hidden (The Shadow Children, book 1), by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Born third at a time when having more than two children per family is illegal and subject to seizure and punishment by the Population Police, Luke has spent all of his 12 years in hiding. His parents disobeyed once by having him and are determined not to do anything unlawful again. At first the woods around his family's farm are thick enough to conceal him when he plays and works outdoors, but when the government develops some of that land for housing, his world narrows to just the attic. Gazing through an air vent at new homes, he spies a child's face at a window after the family of four has already left for the day. Is it possible that he is not the only hidden child?

Travel Team, by Mike Lupica
Danny Walker is crushed when he doesn't make the Vikings, the seventh-grade basketball team. He is told that he is too short, but he suspects that the real reason has something to do with the bad blood between his divorced father (a former NBA star whose career was cut short by a car accident) and Mr. Ross, the father of the team's best player.

Summer Ball, by Mike Lupica
This novel continues the story of Danny Walker, the basketball-obsessed hero of Travel Team (Philomel, 2004). In the interval between the two books, the 13-year-old and his friends went on to win the travel-team championship. Now that they are heading off to summer basketball camp, Danny is feeling the pressure of being number one. He plays as well as ever, but he's still the smallest boy on the court and anxiously hoping for a growth spurt.

The Akhenaten Adventure: Children of the Lamp Trilogy, book 1, by P.B. Kerr
One day, 12-year-old twins John and Philippa Gaunt discover that they're descended from a long line of djinn. All of a sudden, they have the power to grant wishes, travel to extraordinary places, and make people and objects disappear. They are about to embark on a search to locate a monstrous looking (but supposedly dead) pharoah named Akhenaten and his tomb, which may be holding 70 lost djinn.

Wolf Brother (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, book 1), by Michelle Paver
Set 6000 years ago, this fast-paced adventure delves into a world of spirits and mysticism. Torak, 12, witnesses his father's brutal attack by a giant, demon-possessed bear and promises to find his way to the Mountain of the World Spirit. Before dying, his father instructs him to avoid other men and tells him that his guide will find him.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, by Rick Yancey
Astonishingly tall 15-year-old Alfred is plunged into a world of adventure, assassination, and Arthurian legend when he agrees to help his uncle filch an ancient sword from the office of a CEO who just happens to be a descendent of the Knights of the Round Table. Of course the sword turns out to be none other than Excalibur, and the guy Alfred swiped it for is Mogart, a knight-gone-bad who hopes to use its magical powers to take over the world. Enter Bennacio, another descendant of the Round Table, who then takes Alfred under his wing on a quest across the Atlantic to rescue the sword from Mogart.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, by James Patterson
A group of genetically enhanced kids who can fly and have other unique talents are on the run from part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers. Max, 14, and her adopted family–Fang and Iggy, both 13, Nudge, 11, Gazzy, 8, and Angel, 6–were all created as experiments in a lab called the School. Jeb, a sympathetic scientist, helped them escape and since then, they've been living on their own. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never find out they exist. Max's old childhood friend, Ari, now an Eraser leader, tracks them down, kidnaps Angel, and transports her back to the School to live like a lab rat again. The youngsters are forced to use their special talents to rescue her as they attempt to learn about their pasts and their destinies.

Graphic Novels

Runaways, by Brian K. Vaughn
Six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-villains! Finding strength in one another, the shocked teens run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives - vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

Beowulf, by Gareth Hinds
The epic tale of the great warrior Beowulf has thrilled readers through the ages — and now it is reinvented for a new generation with Gareth Hinds’s masterful illustrations. Grendel’s black blood runs thick as Beowulf defeats the monster and his hideous mother, while somber colors overcast the hero’s final, fatal battle against a raging dragon. Speeches filled with courage and sadness, lightning-paced contests of muscle and will, and funeral boats burning on the fjords are all drawn in glorious and gruesome detail. Readers beware: this book includes some scenes of extremely graphic violence.

The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, adapted by Wayne Vansant
Young Henry Fleming had always dreamed of performing heroic deeds in battle. But as a raw recruit in the Civil War, Henry experiences fear and self-doubt. Will war make him a coward, or a hero? Artist Wayne Vansant faithfully illustrates Stephen Crane’s action-packed novel.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, adapted by Gary Reed and Frazer Irving
A comic-book version of the classic tale of Dr. Victor Frankenstein's ill-fated quest to create life.

Non-Fiction
Battling in the Pacific: Soldiering in World War II, by Suzanne Beller
This book brings the daily struggles of World War II soldier in the Pacific arena to life with first-person accounts of battles in island jungles, submarine escapes from depth charges, and attacks by kamikaze pilots.

Encyclopedia Horrifica: The Terrifying Truth About Vampires, Ghosts, Monsters, and More, by Joshua Gee
The true stories behind real-life nightmares—vampires, aliens, werewolves, ghosts, and more. With exclusive horrific content such as original interviews, obscure photographic evidence, and chilling eyewitness accounts, here’s proof that truth is not just stranger than fiction...it’s also scarier!

Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savannah, by J.L. Lekuton
Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, by John Fleischman
The incredible story of the railroad worker who, in 1848, survived the piercing blast of a 13-pound iron rod as it entered below his cheekbone and exited the front of his skull.

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, by Ingri & Edgar D'Aulaire
This best-loved children's book about the gods and goddesses, kings and heroes of ancient Greek mythology offers a whirlwind introduction to Zeus, Hera, Hermes and the other gods, and their often rascally behavior on Mount Olympus and among mortals on Earth.