ENTERING GRADE 5 or GRADE 6
"Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
Suggested Reads
Raising Lumie
by Joan Bauer
Moving to a new town with her older sister is enough of a challenge for Olive. Throw in training a sweet new puppy to be a seeing eye dog, and Olive has her hands full. How will she manage it all?
Scritch Scratch
by Lindsay Currie
After Claire starts being haunted by a real ghost while helping her dad with his ghost tour business, she knows she needs to investigate! In her investigation, she learns about Chicago’s history while also learning about a little boy, eerily similar to the ghost on the bus.
Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse
When a famous star shows up at your house asking for help, you have to answer the door, right? But what happens when reality interrupts perception-it’s witches to the rescue!
Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein
How can yIou be yourself when no one sees the real you?
Five students meet in the school cafeteria when they’re forced to complete their school community service hours.
There’s George: the brain
Sara: the loner
Dayara: the tough kid
Nico: the rich kid
Miguel: the athlete
Although they’re sure they have nothing in common with each other, some people see them as all the same… just five Spanish-speaking kids. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help… or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.
Past Intermediate Grades 4-6 Winners
2025: Invisible bu Christina Diaz Gonzalez
2024: Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
2023: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
2022: Wink by Rob Harrell
2021: Restart by Gordon Korman
2020: Ban this Book by Alan Gratz
One of the best exercises for the brain is reading. Students are encouraged to read every day, and besides the assignments their teachers give them, they can read anything they would like. There are some great choices on the book lists, but there are other books that students may just find interesting. Read those! Have fun exploring this site and some of the activities.