Special Collections
Teacher Recommended Reading: Grades 3-5
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Babe
by Dick King-SmithFarmer Hoggett and his wife discover that their new piglet Babe is no ordinary pig (made into a movie called Babe).
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao LordA young Chinese girl in 1947 comes to Brooklyn and discovers her love for baseball while adjusting to new life in America.
Knots on a Counting Rope
by John Archambault and Bill Martin Jr.Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses and his grandfather reminisce about the young blind boy's birth, his first horse, and an exciting horse race.
The Book of Three
by Lloyd Alexander(From the Book Jacket) Blending rich elements of Welsh legend and universal mythology, Lloyd Alexander creates the imaginary kingdom of Prydain to tell a tale of enchantment, both good and evil, and of the Assistant Pig-Keeper who wants to become a hero...Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper to a famous oracular sow, sets out on a hazardous mission to save Prydain from the forces of evil. He meets adventures in which humor and high valor are blended in a way that will keep readers of many ages completely absorbed-for this is fantasy that is rooted in reality and truth. For, as Mr. Alexander says..."Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we believe we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart."
The Cay
by Theodore TaylorPhillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it firsthand–until the freighter he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.
When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle of the sea. Besides Stew Cat, his only companion is an old West Indian, Timothy. Phillip remembers his mother’s warning about black people: “They are different, and they live differently.”
But by the time the castaways arrive on a small island, Phillip’s head injury has made him blind and dependent on Timothy.
· A New York Times Best Book of the Year
· A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
· A Horn Book Honor Book
· An American Library Association Notable Book
· A Publishers Weekly Children’s Book to Remember
· A Child Study Association’s Pick of Children’s Books of the Year
· Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
· Commonwealth Club of California: Literature Award
· Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award
· Woodward School Annual Book Award
· Friends of the Library Award, University of California at Irvine
· Jane Addams Book Award
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl and Quentin BlakeA little magic can take you a long way.
After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends -- Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins!
Amazing Grace
by Mary HoffmanAlthough classmates say that she can't play Peter Pan in the school play, because she's black and a girl, Grace discovers that she can do anything she sets her mind to do.
Homesick
by Jean FritzThis heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place.
While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment's notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly ClearyBeverly Cleary's Newbery Medal-winning book explores the thoughts and emotions of a sixth-grade boy, Leigh Botts, in letter form as he writes to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw.
After his parents separate, Leigh Botts moves to a new town with his mother. Struggling to make friends and deal with his anger toward his absent father, Leigh loses himself in a class assignment in which he must write to his favorite author. When Mr. Henshaw responds, the two form an unexpected friendship that will change Leigh's life forever.
Hatchet
by Gary PaulsenThis award-winning contemporary classic is the survival story with which all others are compared--and a page-turning, heart-stopping adventure, recipient of the Newbery Honor.
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present--and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent's divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair--it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
Muggie Maggie
by Beverly ClearyIn this humorous and relatable novel from Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary, a girl must overcome her rebellious attitude toward learning cursive. At first, Maggie is just feeling stubborn when she declares she won't learn cursive. What's wrong with print, anyway? And she can easily type on a computer, so why would she need to know how to read those squiggly lines? But soon all her classmates are buzzing about Maggie's decision, especially after her teacher, Mrs. Leeper, says Maggie's cursive is so sloppy that her name looks like "Muggie."With "Muggie Maggie" ringing in her ears, Maggie absolutely, positively won't back down...until she's appointed class mail messenger. All the letters that Mrs. Leeper sends to the office are in cursive, and Maggie thinks they are written about her. But there's only way to know for sure...so what's Maggie going to do?For generations, Beverly Cleary has captivated readers of all ages with beloved characters such as Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse. Muggie Maggie follows suit with what School Library Journal calls "a likable, funny heroine whom readers will want to know."
The Land I Lost
by Huynh Quang NhuongA collection of personal reminiscences of the author's youth in a hamlet on the central highlands of Vietnam.
The Paper Bag Princess
by Michael Martchenko and Robert N. MunschThe Princess Elizabeth is slated to marry Prince Ronald when a dragon attacks the castle and kidnaps Ronald. In resourceful and humorous fashion, Elizabeth finds the dragon, outsmarts him, and rescues Ronald --- who is less than pleased at her un-princess-like appearance. Images and image descriptions available.
The Pinballs
by Betsy ByarsFrom Newbery-winning author Betsy Byars comes a story full of "poignancy, perception, and humor" (The Chicago Tribune), about three foster kids who learn what it takes to make a family. You can't always decide where life will take you—especially when you're a kid.Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again.But against her will and her better judgment, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own lives.
Catwings
by Ursula K. Le GuinMrs. Jane Tabby could not explain why all four of her children had wings. But it meant that her dreams for her kittens would someday come true. Thelma, Harriet, Roger, and James could fly away from the dangerous city slum and find a safer place to live. The day came. But who could have known what the four kittens would find in the woods?
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
by Eleanor CoerrThe hardest race of Sadako's life... the race against time. Hiroshima-born Sadako is lively and athletic the star of her school's running team. And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, an aftereffect of the atomic bomb that fell on her city when she was only an infant, Sadako approaches her illness as she did her running with irrepressible spirit. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan. "An extraordinary book, one no reader will fail to find compelling and unforgettable." Booklist
The Egypt Game
by Zilpha Keatley SnyderThe first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she’s not sure they have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard, Melanie and April decide it’s the perfect spot for the Egypt Game. Before long there are six Egyptians, and they all meet to wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on their secret code. Everyone thinks it’s just a game until strange things start happening. Has the Egypt Game gone too far?
Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie BabbittThe Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 4-5 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
The Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George SpeareAlthough he faces responsibility bravely, thirteen-year-old Matt is more than a little apprehensive when his father leaves him alone to guard their new cabin in the wilderness. When a renegade white stranger steals his gun, Matt realizes he has no way to shoot game or to protect himself. When Matt meets Attean, a boy in the Beaver clan, he begins to better understand their way of life and their growing problem in adapting to the white man and the changing frontier.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Shoeshine Girl
by Clyde Robert BullaA self-centered, troubled, ten-year-old girl finds solutions to her problems when she finds employment at a shoeshine stand.
Freckle Juice
by Judy Blume and Debbie OhiNicky has freckles--they cover his face, his ears, and the whole back of his neck. Sitting behind him in class, Andrew once counted eighty-six of them, and that was just a start! If Andrew had freckles like Nicky, his mother would never know if his neck was dirty.
One day after school, Andrew works up enough courage to ask Nicky where he got his freckles. When know-it-all Sharon overhears, she offers Andrew her secret freckle juice recipe--if he pays. Andrew is desperate and feels it's worth it. At home he carefully mixes the strange combination of ingredients. Then the unexpected happens...
Pippi Longstocking
by Astrid LindgrenTommy and his sister, Annika, have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She is spunky with crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson. Whether Pippi's scrubbing floors, doing arithmetic, or stirring things up at a fancy tea party, her flair for the outrageous always seems to lead to another adventure.
Class President
by Johanna HurwitzA fifth-grade class election is full of surprises when Julio nominates his best friend but ends up becoming much more involved!