Best Books

As part of our end-of-year wrap up in 5th grade, I asked my students to compile their own #BestBookList. They could choose an overall theme or not. You can see all of their recommendations at #BestBookList. For individual book recommendations, check out our  #iLoveMG posts. If you are looking for younger readers, #3rdfor3rd features recommendations from when I taught third grade.

Best Books

Recommended by Hope

Fighting Words is a really important book about a really important topic (abuse).  

Maybe He Just Likes You is about a girl who was getting attention that she did not appreciate. The basketball boys decided to make a game about her. 

The Girl from the Sea is about how a girl called Morgan is ready to escape the big world into her own little one she was dealing with too much and just kept bottling up her feelings. One night when Morgan was drowning she was saved by and girl named Keltie. After a while Morgan starts to fall in love. Keltie wanted everything that had been hidden to find a way to open. 

Unstuck and My Life in the Fish Tank are about a girl who is dealing with anxiety and a bunch of other challenges and this is about how she deals with them.

Click here for all of our #BestBooks posts. What is your favorite middle grade book for 5th graders?

The Best 5 Books that You Will Read

Fifth grader Elliot smartly snuck 31 -- THIRTY-ONE -- books into his Best Book list by sharing his top five favorite book series. 

As part of our end-of-year wrap up in 5th grade, I asked my students to compile their own #BestBookList. They could choose an overall theme or not. You can see all of their recommendations at #BestBookList. For individual book recommendations, check out our  #iLoveMG posts. If you are looking for younger readers, #3rdfor3rd features recommendations from when I taught third grade.

The Best 5 Books that You Will Read

Recommended by Elliot

Alex Rider Stormbreaker is about a boy named Alex, and after his uncle dies he is drafted in by MI6, where his uncle worked, and sent on a mission of his own. (14 book series) 

The False Prince is about a orphan named Sage who has to compete against three other orphans to rule the kingdom. (5 book series) 

Eragon is about a boy named Eragon who finds a mysterious stone… Or maybe it’s a dragon egg (4 book series) 

The Hunger Games is about a girl named Katniss who is forced to compete in a battle to the death between 24 children. (3 book series) 

Gregor the Overlander is about a boy named Gregor and his baby sister when they fall into a mysterious underland miles beneath New York City (5 book series) 

Click here for all of our #BestBooks posts. What is your favorite middle grade book for 5th graders?

Spooky Stories for Middle Grade

With Halloween fast-approaching, I thought I'd revisit my Scary Stories for Middle Grade post from two years ago. Spooky stories (horror, ghost stories, scares, and creepy mysteries) continue to be a big hit with my 5th graders. I started a whole bin just for 'Scary Stories,' and students have been grabbing them since school started. 

Get in a spooky mood with any of these incredible Spooky Stories for Middle Grade readers. Want more middle grade? Check out #iLoveMG for more books that my fifth graders recommend. (Please note that my fifth graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for fifth graders.) Or check out #3rdfor3rd for recommendations from when I taught third grade.

Spooky Stories for Middle Grade

(Whenever possible, I like to include author photos along with book covers when sharing books with kids. It helps reinforce the idea that authors are real people!)

• This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko. The teeth scene. Enough said. (Seriously, so many of my students shoved this book into another unsuspecting-student's hands as soon as they finished with it.)
• It Found Us by Linday Currie. Honestly, that cover is too much for me, yikes!
• Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley. This one is the most tame of the bunch but has a strong mystery element to hook readers. Big Westing House vibes.
• Daybreak at Raven Island by Fleur Bradley. Mystery inspired by Alcatraz. Enough said.

• The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
• Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega
• Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow
• The Clackity by Lora Senf -- now a three-book series with The Nighthouse Keeper (2) and The Loneliest Place (3)

• Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian Heidicker (and the sequel Scary Stories for Young Foxes: the City)
• The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie
• Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
• The Ghost of Spruce Point by Nancy Tandon
• The Jumbies (series) by Tracey Baptiste

Click here for all of our #iLoveMG posts. What are your favorite spooky stories for middle grade readers?

World's Greatest LGBTQIAP2S+ Novels and Graphic Novels

As part of our end-of-year wrap up in 5th grade, I asked my students to compile their own #BestBookList. They could choose an overall theme or not. You can see all of their recommendations at #BestBookList. For individual book recommendations, check out our  #iLoveMG posts. If you are looking for younger readers, #3rdfor3rd features recommendations from when I taught third grade.

World's Greatest LGBTQIAP2S+ Novels and Graphic Novels

Recommended by Anonymous

(Top Left) Melissa: A story of how a young kid comes out to the world 

(Bottom Left) Drama: A young girl find out that she likes to be a set designer 

(Bottom Right) Heartstopper: A story of how 2 young boys find each other 

(Top Right) The Prince and the Dressmaker: The prince of his kingdom discovers he likes dresses and has them made in secret 

(Top middle right half) Laura dean keeps breaking up with me: Is about a kid with her girlfriend who keeps ditching her, then she eventually seeks help 

(Top middle left half) The Girl from the Sea: Is about a girl with a secret

Click here for all of our #BestBooks posts. What is your favorite middle grade book for 5th graders?

GOOOOOOOOOD books

As part of our end-of-year wrap up in 5th grade, I asked my students to compile their own #BestBookList. They could choose an overall theme or not. You can see all of their recommendations at #BestBookList. For individual book recommendations, check out our  #iLoveMG posts. If you are looking for younger readers, #3rdfor3rd features recommendations from when I taught third grade.

GOOOOOOOOOOD Books

Recommended by DJ

Wings of Fire is about dragons. Keeper of the Lost Cities is about elves. The Wild Robot is about a wild robot, surprise! Eragon is a fancy story about a fantasy kingdom. What If is a great nonfiction book. 

Read these books ... or else!

Click here for all of our #BestBooks posts. What is your favorite middle grade book for 5th graders?

Publication News!

Jumping in to share some personal news - since it is book related: I published a story! A short story of mine, Faster, Higher, Stronger, was published this month as part of a middle grade anthology of history and history-inspired stories called Clio's Curious Dash Through Time. I decided to celebrate with cheesecake, yum!

If you are interested in following along on my publishing journey, please sign up for my author newsletter. Best-case scenario, you will hear from my only four times a year, with book news, book recommendations, and cool archaeology stories. 

Subscribe

Sign up for my newsletter or book news only

Book News Only

Newsletter

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Thanks for reading!

Books Just Books

As part of our end-of-year wrap up in 5th grade, I asked my students to compile their own #BestBookList. They could choose an overall theme or not. You can see all of their recommendations at #BestBookList. For individual book recommendations, check out our  #iLoveMG posts. If you are looking for younger readers, #3rdfor3rd features recommendations from when I taught third grade.

Books Just Books

Recommended by Conrad

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series) makes your life look like eating a slice of cake.

Super Boba Cafe is good.

Big Nate is funny.

Bad Guys is just wacky.

Minecraft Guide to Redstone is helpful-ish. Come on, it's Minecraft, it has to be great.

Click here for all of our #BestBooks posts. What is your favorite middle grade book for 5th graders?