To help you select just the right book for your child, the
Morgan Hill Library has special reading lists by grade level.
To help you select just the right book for your child, the Morgan Hill Library has special reading lists by grade level. Here is a selection of books for your sixth grader, both current titles and old favorites:
New books:
Auch. Ashes of Roses. After the long voyage in steerage, Rose Nolan is looking forward to a new life with her family in New York. But first her Dad and brother are sent back to Ireland, and now her Mom and youngest sister are going back. She and her sister Maureen are determined to stay.
Bauer. Stand Tall. “Grow up,” his family tells him. His parents are divorcing. And his beloved grandfather, a Vietnam vet, loses his leg. In the toughest year of his life, 12-year-old Tree learns that even when you’re 6 foot 3 inches – tall is as tall does.
Clements. A Week in the Woods. Mark is the new, rich kid in town who is bored and lonely. Mr. Maxwell, the science teacher, is sure of himself and loves the outdoors. Who is better prepared for a Week in the Woods?
Funke. The Thief Lord. Ever wish you were an adult and no longer a child? Prosper, Scipio and the rest of a gang of street children certainly dream of it while hiding in the underworld of Venice. One night, fantasy becomes reality for one of them.
Honey. Remote Man. Ned and his mother travel from Australia to America for a rest. Unfortunately, a rest is not in the picture. Ned finds out that he has accidentally revealed the location of a rate Australian python to a poacher and attempts to put the “sting” on this criminal once and for all.
Keehn. Anna Sunday. When Anna and her brother Jed learn their father has been shot and is near death, they decide to find him and bring him home. But the Civil War is being fought and their father is 108 miles away. Since it is not safe for a girl to travel, Anna becomes Adam, and the two children begin their journey.
McCaughrean. The Kite Rider. In 13th century China, the Great Miao, master of the Jade Circus, offers 12-year-old Haoyou the chance to change his life – to escape from his family’s poverty and the pain of his father’s recent death by becoming a kite rider.
Reiss. Riddle of the Prairie Bride. Twelve-year-old Ida Kate and her widowed father welcome a mail-order bride to their Kansas home. The bride doesn’t seem anything like her letters that she wrote to Ida Kate’s father. So, who is this impostor?
Tolan. Surviving the Applewhites. E.D. is unschooled, like the rest of the Applewhite family, but she is different because she likes order and isn’t artistic. Then Jake comes. He wants to break the rules. How can he when there aren’t many?
Van Draanen. Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes. Taking care of a helpless infant – how in the name of Nancy Drew did Samantha get stuck in this mess? This time she was minding her own business – really. Now she’s searching for the baby’s mother who may belong to a gang.
Classics too good to miss
Armstrong. Sounder.
Babbitt. Tuck Everlasting.
Cushman. The Midwife’s Apprentice.
Fitzgerald. The Great Brain.
Gipson. Old Yeller.
Jacques. Redwall.
Konigsburg. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Lowry. The Giver.
Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables.
O’Dell. Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Taylor. The Cay.
Tolkien. The Hobbit.
All of these books are in the library’s J FICTION area. Ask a children’s librarian to show you where to find these books the next time you visit the library. And, don’t forget to pick up a reading list for your child, grades 1 through 8. You can see a variety of reading lists on our web site at: http://www.santaclaracountylib.org/kids/lists/
Questions and suggested topics for At the Library, which appears in Tuesday editions, should be directed to Nancy Howe, community librarian, at nh***@**********************ca.us or by calling 779-3196. This week’s column was written by Rosanne Macek. The Morgan Hill Library, located at the corner of Peak and West Main avenues next to City Hall, is open every day but Sunday.
