BESTbooks
Welcome to Amy’s Bookshelf! Here, teachers will find carefully curated book lists for each grade level from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Moving forward, new lists filled with book recommendations will be published weekly. Sometimes, these lists will be organized around a specific theme, like a holiday or seasonal event. Other times, they will feature rockstar books – books practically guaranteed to get your students reading.
Before jumping into reading recommendations, a few words about how books are selected.
First, it is so important that teachers prioritize reading interest over reading level. Students will often choose to read well above or below their reading level if they are particularly interested in a book or topic. Teachers only hurt students by limiting them to a specific selection of titles grouped according to an arbitrary number or level. Think of the books on these lists as starting places for you and your students, but if a student wants to read up (or down), that is a-ok.
Also, please note that these lists lean heavily toward modern selections as opposed to the classics many teachers are familiar with. A true renaissance is happening in children’s literature today, and the books coming out are truly exciting. One of the factors that makes this such an exciting time for kid lit is how diverse the selections are in terms of genre, characters and subject matter. These lists will feature fiction and nonfiction selection as well as graphic novels, novels written in verse, and more.
Any book list or classroom library worth its salt includes books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters, racially diverse characters, characters with disabilities, characters in the foster care system, characters from a wide variety of socioeconomic and religious backgrounds, and so on. Importantly, the diversity of the characters doesn’t always need to be the focus of the literature – in other words, a book featuring a black character or gay character doesn’t need to be about those individuals exploring their blackness or their gayness; those characters can have kid problems that apply to all children regardless of their race or sexual orientation. Similarly, students should be encouraged to read stories featuring people of diversity all year long – not just during a month set aside to celebrate a specific heritage.
One final note: today’s children’s literature does not shy away from frank discussions of gender, race, sex, sexuality, abuse, mental illness, and more – nor should it. I will not censor books from these lists based on these controversial areas. What books you recommend will depend on the specific district you work in and your clientele. I encourage you and your students to read widely without fear.
Just so you know, Bored Teachers may get a small share of the sales made through the Amazon affiliate links on this page.
Fifth grade
Fifth grade students are on the cusp of adolescence, so the selections on this list start including a number of powerful coming of age stories featuring pre-teens who exercise their independence for the first time. Fifth graders still long for picture books and to be read aloud to, so this list includes a number of selections geared toward read alouds, too.
1. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most-Famous Bear
by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Find it HERE.
This picture book is the true story behind Winnie-the-Pooh, and it’s completely deserving of the Caldecott medal it was awarded. In 1914, veternarian named Harry Colebourn, left his home of Winnipeg, Canada, to fight in World War I. Along the way, he rescued a baby black bear by buying her from a trapper, and named her Winnie. The bear lived with Colebourn’s unit until he shipped overseas. Then, Winnie went to live at the London Zoo, where author A.A. Milne took his son Christopher Robin. The rest, as they say, is history.
2. Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Find it HERE.
This book recalls the battle for the African American right to vote through the eyes of Lillian, a 100-year-old black woman. As Lillian makes her way up a steep hill to her polling place, she thinks back through her family’s – and the nation’s – history, from the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment to protests in Alabama.
3. The Promise
by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Laura Carlin
Find it HERE.
The Promise is an allegory for young children, delivering a powerful message about making a difference in the world. In this story, a young girl tries to snatch a purse from an older woman, who refuses to forfeit the badge without first extracting a promise. The young girl ends up living up to her promise, though the story defin
4. Show Way
by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Hudson Talbott
Find it HERE.
This story starts with Soonie’s great-grandmother, a seven-year-old slave, who sews quilt squares with secret meanings sewn in – secret meanings like the location of the North Star and a map through the Underground Railroad. The knowledge of sewing and family history is passed down from Soonie to future generations, and we soon find this is the story of author Jacqueline Woodson’s family’s journey to freedom.
5. Beyond the Bright Sea
by Lauren Wolk
Find it HERE.
This book won the 2018 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. This quiet book tells the story of Crow, who was placed in a boat and set adrift as an infant. She is rescued by Osh and befriends Miss Maggie in the 1920s Massachusetts setting of Cuttyhunk Island. A series of events leads Crow to question her own history in a young coming-of-age tale.
6. Holes
Find it HERE.
Holes is a modern classic at this point, as it
7. The Liberation of Gabriel King
by K.L. Going
Find it HERE.
Gabriel King is afraid of just about everything. His best friend, Frita Wilson, thinks he needs to overcome his fears, and she’s just the person to help. After all, Frita knows a thing or two about fear, having grown up as the only black child in school in a racist community.
8. Circus Mirandus
by Cassie Beasley
Find it HERE.
Micah is enthralled with his grandfather’s tales of the mightly Circus Mirandus and its master, the Man Who Bends Light. Grandfather is dying, and the Man Who Bends Light owes him a favor. Micah sets out to find this man and save his grandfather.
9. Crow Call
by Lois Lowry and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Find it HERE.
Crow Call is a lovely picture book by Lois Lowry, well-known author of The Giver. In this story, a young girl’s father has returned home from World War II, but she hardly remembers him, so they must rebuild their relationship. It’s a simple, visceral story filled with homespun details many children will relate to.
10. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
by Dusti Bowling
Find it HERE.
Aven Green was born without arms, though she tells wild and outlandish tales to the contrary. Aven meets Connor, a boy with his own disability, and they form a powerful friendship, especially when they stumble across a mystery and set out to solve it.
11. Awkward
by Svetlana Chmakova
Find it HERE.
This is the first in a trilogy about surviving middle school. In this story, Penelope is just trying to survive her first day in her new school when she accidentally trips into a boy named Jamie. She panics and shoves him, then runs away, only to find out that he is in the science club, rivals to the art club with which Penelope has aligned herself.
12. Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
Find it HERE.
Hatchet is a perennial favorite. Thirteen-year-old Brian is the lone survivor of a plane crash on his way to visit his dad. He is stranded and alone with nothing but a hatchet and his jacket. Slowly but surely, Brian learns to survive the harsh wilderness, teaching himself to fish, hunt, and build shelter.
13. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
Find it HERE.
Thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is the only passenger on a ship traveling from England to Rhode Island. She quickly discovers they are sailing under a cruel captain and a crew plotting mutiny. Circumstances get bad fast for Charlotte. The first mate is murdered, and Charlotte is accused of the crime. This is an extremely engaging, empowering story and it begs to be read aloud.
14. Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates
Find it HERE.
At fifteen, Amos is captured by slave traders and spends his life as a slave, until emancipation comes to the country. Finally, Amos finds himself a free man. This book is a good piece of historical fiction that is also a powerful character study.
15. Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back
by Shel Silverstein
Find it HERE.
Lafcadio is Shel Silverstein’s debut book, and it will be familiar in both tone and illustrations to Silverstein fans. In this story, Lafcadio is taken from his home in the jungle and conscripted to the circus, but as he becomes more civilized, he becomes more unhappy.
16. Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Find it HERE.
Wayside School was built in a wacky way – that is to say, 30 classrooms right on top of each other. So, things happen at the school that are a little sideways. This is a collection of stories about the goings-on at Wayside. Some will make you laugh and some are quite a bit darker.
17. Matilda
by Roald Dahl
Find it HERE.
Matilda is a young genuis who has the very bad misfortune of living with a decidedly boring family. Matilda finds a mentor in her teacher Miss Honey, and while school should be a sanctuary for Matilda, the children at her school are terrorized by Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress who rules with an iron fist. Matilda decides to exact her revenge on the dreaded Trunchbull.
18. Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics
by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael Lopez
Find it HERE.
This book is a series of biographical poems written about, as the title suggests, notable hispanics and their contributions to the world. Many different people from a variety of walks of life are represented, as are many countries.
19. The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery
by Graeme Base
Find it HERE.
This is an interactive picture book that requires engagement from the reader. In it, Horace the elephant is celebrating his birthday, but the guests discover that a thief has stolen the birthday feast. A keen reader will search the intricate pictures and texts for clues and can, in the end, solve the mystery.
20. Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Find it HERE.
Bud, who never knew his father and whose mother died when he was six, has spent enough time in orphanages and foster care. He takes his fate into his own hands and follows clues his mother left him to search for his father. This book won the Newbery, the Coretta Scott King Award, and many others.
21. Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Find it HERE.
As the holocaust begins sweeping across Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie tells the story of the Danish resistance and how 7,000 Danish Jews are smuggled to Sweden.
22. The Magician’s Elephant
by Kate DiCamillo
Find it HERE.
An orphan boy asks a fortune teller if his sister still lives and he is told to follow an elephant. This sets off a chain of events that are handled magically by author Kate DiCamillo.
23. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
by Bruce Coville
Find it HERE.
Jeremy Thatcher, while being pursued by Mary Lou Hutton (who has an unrequited crush on Jeremy), runs down an alleyway and stumbles into a shop he’s never seen before. He purchases an egg and soon finds out that it is quite real. The egg hatches a dragon and now 12-year-old Jeremy must figure out how to care for – and hide – a dragon.
24. The Door in the Wall
Find it HERE.
Robin is destined to become a knight. That is until he falls ill and loses the use of his legs. Everyone fears the plague, and his servants abandon him. Robin is taken in by a monastery and he learns some important lessons about duty and honor.
25. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith
Find it HERE.
This is the story of the three little pigs from the perspective of the wolf as the protagonist. In his retelling, he was simply seeking to borrow a cup of sugar from the three little pigs, and a sneeze made him blow the houses down. This is brilliant satire and funny to boot.
26. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
by Judy Blume
Find it HERE.
In this iconic classic, 12-year-old Margaret moves to New Jersey and finds her place with a new group of friends. They talk about everything, including who their crushes are and who has gotten her first period. But Margaret doesn’t quite fit in, because while her new friends are all religious, she doesn’t go to church. But, she talks to God in her own way.
27. Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Find it HERE.
Little Women is about the four March sisters – Amy, Jo, Meg, and Beth – and their journey from childhood to adulthood. It reads a lot like Anne of Green Gables and is a classic that has been adapted into multiple films.
28. The Secret of the Old Clock: Nancy Drew Book 1
by Carolyn Keene
Find it HERE.
This is the first in the iconic Nancy Drew canon, which started with a series of highly recognizable hardcover yellow novels published between 1930-2003. In this series, Nancy Drew lives with her father. She is an amateur detective and solves mysteries around town with her friends.
29. The Tower Treasure: Hardy Boys Book 1
by Franklin W. Dixon
Find it HERE.
The Hardy Boys series is basically the same as the Nancy Drew series, but with male protagonists instead of female leads. The Hardy Boys solve mysteries in these blue hardcover novels that are still popular today.
30. The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 1
by Lemony Snicket
Find it HERE.
Horrible things happen to the Baudelaire orphans. They are placed in the care of Count Olaf, who conspires to inherit their fortune. Olaf is not nice to the Baudelaire children. These stories are dark and oh-so-fun.
31. Frindle
by Andrew Clements
Find it HERE.
Troublemaker Nick Allen decides one day to start calling a pen a frindle. The new word spreads like wildfire and soon everyone is using the new vernacular. The school is in an uproar, and Nick’s teacher tries to get him to put a stop to the nonsense. But, it’s too late – the word is spreading out of Nick’s control.
32. The Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
Find it HERE.
This is a survival story in the same vein as Hatchet that was named a Newbery Honor book. 13-year-old Matt is left to guard his family’s cabin in the woods, but his gun is stolen by a stranger. He must rely on his own wits to survive.
33. Stella By Starlight
by Sharon M. Draper
Find it HERE.
In the segregated South, Stella learns that she can go into some stores and can’t go into others. This isn’t something she spends an awful lot of time worrying about until the KKK resurfaces, forcing her to take a side and a stand.
34. Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper
Find it HERE.
Melody is 11, and she has cerebral palsy. She also has a photographic memory. This makes her the smartest kid in school but means she has no way to communicate this. Melody is determined to find a way, and a powerful story emerges.
35. The Wolves in the Walls
by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean
Find it HERE.
This is a powerful picture book that is both funny and contains a powerful message about ignoring the writing on the wall. Lucy is convinced there are wolves living inside her walls, but no one believes her until the wolves escape and run loose. It’s atmospheric, as all of Neil Gaiman’s writing is.
36. Nest
by Esther Ehrlich
Find it HERE.
Naomi Orenstein, aka “Chirp,” lives in Cape Cod. She loves her cozy life, but everything changes when her mother develops a serious illness. Naomi finds comfort in both the wild birds outside her house and in her friend Joey, who promises adventure. This is a beautiful coming-of-age story written with lyrical language.
37. Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
Find it HERE.
Salamanca, or Sal, is traveling across the country with her grandparents. Along the way, she spins a tall tale of a girl named Phoebe Winterbottom, whose mother disappeared. In the end, Sal’s story of Phoebe searching for her mother becomes her own as Sal tries to find her place in the world.
38. Smile
by Raina Telgemeier
Find it HERE.
This popular autobiographical graphic novel is the author’s story of severely injuring her two front teeth. This results in braces and surgery and all the while little Raina just wants to be a normal kid.
39. Counting By 7s
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Find it HERE.
Willow, a girl genius, has her world toppled when her parents are killed in a car crash. Willow must come to terms with this and reinvent her life. This book, while certainly about tragedy, manages to be both hopeful and humorous.
40. The Wall
by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ronald Himler
Find it HERE.
This picture book is quite simply about a father and son visiting the Vietnam Memorial to find the name of their relative. It’s powerful in its simplicity.
41. Tiger (The Five Ancestors, Book 1)
by Jeff Stone
This is the first in a five-book series about temple brother Fu, Malao, Seh, Hok, and Long. The five boys were raised together as brothers in the temple. The temple is destroyed, leaving the boys as the lone survivors with the templemaster’s final command – uncover their past. The boys go their separate ways to do so. This is Fu’s story.
42. I Am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley
Find it HERE.
Allison is traveling to Alaska when her plane crashes, leaving her as the only survivor. She is taken in by an I-
43. Skellig
by David Almond
Find it HERE.
Young Michael’s world is in upheaval when his baby sister falls deathly ill. Looking for escape, Michael finds a strange being in the garage that he calls Skellig. The exact nature of Skellig isn’t ever defined, because it’s not as important as Michael’s own internal journey. This is really good children’s fantasy.
44. The Lions of Little Rock
by Kristin Levine
Find it HERE.
Marlee meets Liz, the new girl at school, and everything changes. But one day, Liz isn’t there anymore, and rumor has it that Liz was passing for white. Marlee decides that friendship is the most important thing in the world and takes a stand on segregation.
45. Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know
by David Roberts, Philip Wilkinson, Roger Bridgman
Find it HERE.
This is a nonfiction reference text for kids but in
46. My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World
by Margriet Ruurs
Find it HERE.
Libraries work differently in other countries, often delivering books to families, bookmobile-style. This book is a collection of descriptions and vivid photos of people accessing books around the world.
47. The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School
by Ken Derby
Find it HERE.
Anthony Madison’s life goal is to be on the Late Show David Letterman and he will stop at nothing to get there. No stunt is too wacky, and Anthony goes to great lengths to go viral and get Letterman’s attention. His friends and family are in for a wild ride.
48. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Find it HERE.
Lina and Doom are residents of the last sanctuary of the human race, the city of Ember. Lina discovers a message from an ancient civilization just as the lights of Ember begin to flicker. The two children are convinced that the message will save the city.
49. Haroun and the Sea of Stories
by Salman Rushdie
Find it HERE.
Twelve-year-old Haroun wants to bring back his father’s gift for storytelling, and he sets out to do so by reviving the poisoned Sea of Stories. This is a great collection of related tales that is reminiscient of Canterbury Tales and The Arabian Nights.
50. Airborn
by Kenneth Oppel
Find it HERE.
This is quality steampunk for the middle-grade set. In a world where airplanes have never been invented, airships dominate the skies. The two main characters, Matt and Kate, set out to prove the existence of fabled flying panther-like creatures. Air pirates are encountered along the way, making this a swashbuckling steampunk high adventure. It’s the first in a trilogy.
Other book lists from Amy’s bookshelf you’ll love:
- 50 Must-Read Books for Kindergarteners
- 50 Must-Read Books For First Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books for Second Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books For Third Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books for Fourth Graders
