Book List

Recommended Books for 6th Grade Reading - Happy Reading! :)

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Cromer Byars

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Clearly

The School Secretary by Andrew Clements

Walk Two Moons by Sarah Creech

The Awesome Egyptians by Terry Deary

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Bearstone by Will Hobbs

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peek

Freak the Mighty by W.R. Philbrick

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Holes by Louis Sachar

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Recommended Challenge Books

(A synopsis is provided for each book as most of these books are aimed for a reader older than a 6th grader).

Anderson, Laurie Halse. FEVER, 1793

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. SPEAK

A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.

Angelou, Maya. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Autobiography covering the childhood of a woman who has been a professional dancer, actress, poet, journalist, and television producer

Bauer, Joan. RULES OF THE ROAD

Sixteen-year-old Jenna gets a job driving the elderly owner of a chain of successful shoe stores from Chicago to Texas to confront the son who is trying to force her to retire, and along the way Jenna hones her talents as a saleswoman and finds the strength to face her alcoholic father.

Baum, L. Frank. THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF Oz

After a cyclone transports her to the Land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great Wizard in order to return to Kansas.

Brashares, Ann. THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS

Carmen decides to discard an old pair of jeans, but Tibby, Lena, and Bridget think they are great and decide that whomever the pants fit best will get them. When the jeans fit everyone perfectly, a sisterhood and a memorable summer begin.

Christie, Agatha. MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solves a murder that occurred on the Orient Express.

Clancy, Tom. NET FORCE SERIES (any book)

Crichton, Michael. CONGO

Three adventurers trek into the Congo in search of the diamonds of the Lost City of Zinj.

Crutcher, Chris. WHALE TALK

Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school’s less popular students.

Goldman, William. THE PRINCESS BRIDE

Westley, a farm boy, goes off to seek his fortune shortly after declaring his love for Buttercup, the most beautiful woman in the world, but their relationship is put to the test when his ship is captured by pirates, and she is summoned to become the bride of the prince.

Hinton, S. E. RUMBLEFISH

A junior high school boy idolizes his older brother, the coolest, toughest guy in the neighborhood, and wants to be just like him.

Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki. FAREWELL TO MANZANAR

Biography of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston relating her experiences of living at the Manzanar internment camp during World War II and how it has influenced her life.

Jacques, Brian. CASTAWAYS OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

In 1620, a boy and his dog are rescued from the doomed ship, Flying Dutchman, by an angel who guides them in traveling the world, eternally helping those in great need.

Konigsburg, E. L. SILENT TO THE BONE

When he is wrongly accused of gravely injuring his baby half sister, thirteen-year-old Branwell loses his power of speech and only his friend Connor is able to reach him and uncover the truth about what really happened.

Lipsyte, Robert. THE CONTENDER

Seventeen-year-old Alfred Brooks tries to fight his way to the top of the boxing world.

Montgomery, L. M. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

Paolini, Christopher THE INHERITANCE CYCLE (ERAGON, ELDEST, BRISINGR)

Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia, the novels focus on a teenaged boy named Eragon and his dragon Saphira as he becomes one of the few remaining Dragon Riders, a legendary group who governed the land in times past but were almost completely destroyed by King Galbatorix, who betrayed his fellow Riders and claimed the crown.

Paulsen, Gary. THE TRANSALL SAGA

In the desert, thirteen-year-old Mark falls into a tube of blue light and is transported into a more primitive world, where he must use his knowledge and skills to survive.

Peters, Julie Anne. DEFINE "NORMAL": A NOVEL

When she agrees to meet with Jasmine as a peer counselor at their middle school, Antonia never dreams that this girl with the black lipstick and pierced eyebrow will end up helping her deal with the serious problems she faces at home and become a good friend.

Pullman, Philip. THE GOLDEN COMPASS

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North.

Riordan, Rick PERCY JACKSON and THE OLYMPIANS series (THE LIGHTNING THIEF,

THE SEA OF MONSTERS, THE TITAN'S CURSE. THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH)

After discovering that he is the son of Poseidon, a middle-schooler named Percy Jackson learns that the Olympians still exist, along with many other figures and monsters from Greek mythology like Titans, cyclopes, and other creatures that he and his other half-blood friends have to deal with in order to preserve the Olympians.

Soto, Gary. BASEBALL IN APRIL AND OTHER STORIES

A collection of eleven short stories focusing on the everyday adventures of Hispanic young people growing up in Fresno, California.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. KIDNAPPED

The story of young David Balfour, an orphan, whose miserly old uncle cheats him out of his inheritance, and schemes to have him kidnapped and sold into slavery.

Tolkien, J. R. R. THE HOBBIT, or, THERE AND BACK AGAIN

The adventure of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, in a land inhabited by dwarfs, elves, goblins, dragons, and humans. He sets off to recover a stolen treasure from a dragon hidden in the Lonely Mountain.

Verne, Jules. 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

An American frigate tracks down a ship-sinking submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo.