My Daughter’s Summer Reading Picks –The Best Books for Fifth and Sixth Grade Girls

I wrote one of these posts last year (see my daughter’s reading picks for fourth and fifth grade girls here) and it’s been a consistently popular post, so I figured I would post another list this summer.  My son’s list for eighth and ninth grade boys will be coming up early next week (click here to sign up for email updates if you want to know when that post comes out)!  Update:  click {here} for that post.

My children now attend a Classical Christian school after several years of homeschooling, and my daughter’s reading list for school this past year included fifty books, so we obviously spend lot of time reading in our house.  My kids are both huge bookworms–we go to the library weekly and they check out dozens and dozens of books every time.  They carry a book or their Kindlesaround constantly (but I do, too–so I guess they come by it honestly!).

My daughter, Annabelle, compiled this list herself.  Quite a few of the books from her school list made the cut.  She wanted me to tell you that some of the books are a little violent (history can be violent, after all), but that she doesn’t think it’s an unreasonable amount or out of context with the story.  She’s included a few books again that were on last year’s list, because she feels quite strongly that everyone should read the Little House series EVERY year.  I have to say that I agree!

If you need additional ideas, I highly recommend that you visit Sonlight for their summer reading lists.  Sonlight is by far my favorite homeschool curriculum, but you don’t have to be a homeschooler to access their website and their reading lists.  Every year, they publish a list of summer readers categorized by age and gender, and every year, my kids read every book on their list.  You can also access the reading list for all of their curricula, and if you have children who enjoy reading history and historical fiction or you want to supplement what they’re learning in school, this is a must-visit site, rich with Newbery winners!

So without further ado, here are her picks for fifth and fifth grade girls.  And between you and me, most of these books would be good for boys, too–just don’t tell them that you got them off of a “girls’ list”!

1.  The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

2.  Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines by Deborah Mazzotta Prum

3.  The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge

4.  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

5.  The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg

6.  I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth De Trevino

7.  Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer

8.  Cleopatra by Diane Stanley Alonso

9.  D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire

10. Theras and His Town by Caroline Snedeker

11. The Apprentice by Juan Ramon Alonso

12. The Adventures of Robin Hood by E. Charles Vivian

13.  The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder*

14. The Castle in the Attic by E. Winthrop

15. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

16. The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

17. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

18. Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld

19. The Golden Goblet by Eloise McGraw

20. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

21. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gray

22. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

23.  The Sisters Grimm (series) by Michael Buckley

24.  A Series of Unfortunate Events (series) by Lemony Snicket*

25. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis*

26. The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney

27. The Goddess Girls (series) by Joan Holub

* indicates a repeat from last year’s list

 

I asked her which one was her favorite.  She said, ‘That’s like asking me to choose a favorite child!”  Fair enough! 🙂

Here’s the post for 4th and 5th grade girls:

Here’s the post for 7th to 9th grade boys:

What are your daughter’s favorite books?  Please add them to the list in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by-