Top 10 Chapter Books Every Kid Should Read BEFORE Middle School--What's on YOUR list?

[ereks mom]

I'm assuming an average reader, not advanced and not struggling, so please list only chapter books that would be on a 4th, 5th, or 6th grade reading level.

 

Here is my list, off the top of my head:

 

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The BFG

Charlotte's Web

Little House on the Prairie (and others from the series)

A Wrinkle in Time

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Shiloh

something by Beverly Cleary (Beezus and Ramona? Ribsy? Henry and Ribsy? Ramona the Pest?)

 

[Disclaimer: This list is subject to change, depending on whether I look at your list and go, "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that one!" ;)]

Edited April 26, 2011 by ereks mom

[Stacy in NJ]

Cricket in Time Square

The Moffats and/or Ginger Pye (same author)

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency

James and the Giant Peach

Narnia (one or more)

Little House - Farmer Boy

The Graveyard Book

A Wrinkle in Time

By the Great Horn Spoon

 

This is not a complete list either. These were all read by both of my ds and enjoyed.

 

ETA: I have only boys so my selections are somewhat boy focused. I'm sure if I had a girl I'd have other selections.

 

 

I'm assuming an average reader, not advanced and not struggling, so please list only chapter books that would be on a 4th, 5th, or 6th grade reading level.

 

Here is my list, off the top of my head:

 

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The BFG

Charlotte's Web

Little House on the Prairie (and others from the series)

A Wrinkle in TimeThe Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Shiloh

something by Beverly Cleary (Beezus and Ramona? Ribsy? Henry and Ribsy? Ramona the Pest?)

 

[Disclaimer: This list is subject to change, depending on whether I look at your list and go, "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that one!" ;)]

Edited April 26, 2011 by Stacy in NJ

[meldamo]

I could never, ever narrow it down to 10! It raises my blood pressure just thinking of having to exclude so many favorites!

[Testimony]

Here is what I think is my list:

 

1. A Wrinkle in Time

2. The Chronicles of Narnia Series

3. Tom Sawyer

4. Kim by Rudyard Kipling

5. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

6. Carry On Mr. Bowditch

7. The Whipping Boy

8. Detectives in Togas

9. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

10. A Cricket in Times Square

11. Homer Price

12. Jungle Book

13. Johnny Tremain

14. Just So Stories

I guess this is my list. I believe that I have more, but I could not remember everything. Also, I have boys. So, I did a diligent effort to find boy books. So, these are the books that my older son has read or it has been read to him.

 

Blessings,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

Edited April 26, 2011 by Testimony
forgot a few

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Off the top of my head...

 

1. Charlotte's Web (and others) by White

2. The Chronicles of Narnia (OK technically not one book, but assign one and offer the rest for free reading)

3. Heidi by Spyri

4. The Secret Garden (and others) by Burnett

5. Swiss Family Robinson by Wyss

6. Pollyanna by Porter

7. Little Pilgrim's Progress by Taylor

8. Vinegar Boy by Hawse

9. Black Beauty by Sewell

10. The Blue Fairy Book (and others) by Lang

[Ann.without.an.e]

I could never, ever narrow it down to 10! It raises my blood pressure just thinking of having to exclude so many favorites!

 

 

Yeah, I was thinking this too.

 

Seeing it on someone's list reminded me of this book though

By the Great Horn Spoon - oh my gosh, they have all adored that book.

[elegantlion]

My 10:

 

1. Stuart Little or Charlotte's Web

2. Little House on the Prairie or Caddie Woodlawn (we liked the latter better)

3. Johnny Tremain

4. Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

5. Phantom Tollbooth

6. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

7. Tom Sawyer

8. Narnia series

9. Robin Hood

10. Something about King Arthur- Green's version would be my suggestion

[scrapbabe]

I'd add to the other lists:

 

Little Britches

[helena]

1)Milly Molly Mandy

2)Betsy-Tacy

3)The Witches

4)Bat Poet/Animal Family

5)Homer Price

6)Baby Island

7)Emily's Runaway Imagination

8)Half Magic

9)Wind in the Willows

10)Island of the Blue Dolphins

 

It's hard to stop at 10!

[Farrar]

Ooh, what a good question. I can't resist. Of course... define "read." Do read alouds count or is this focused on reading? I'm going to go with read independently. I actually think my list would be very different if it was read alouds...

 

Okay, off the top of my head, in no particular order...

 

1. The Thief Lord

2. A Wrinkle in Time

3. Charlotte's Web

4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

5. Harriet the Spy

6. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

7. Because of Winn-Dixie

8. Holes

9. Bridge to Terabithia

10. My Side of the Mountain

11. *a challenging book chosen all on their own!*

[Farrar]

Cricket in Time Square

The Moffats and/or Ginger Pye (same author)

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency

James and the Giant Peach

Narnia (one or more)

Little House - Farmer Boy

The Graveyard Book

A Wrinkle in Time

By the Great Horn Spoon

 

 

Okay, I just had to say that I love that you have a Daniel Pinkwater on your list!

[HSDCY]

These are my favorite, in no particular order:

 

By the Great Horn Spoon

The Great Turkey Walk

Cricket in Time Square

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Just So Stories

The Trumpet of the Swan

Homer Price

My Side of the Mountain

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Johnny Tremain

[Jilly]

1. Heidi

2. The Jungle Book

3. Secret Garden

4. Five Children and It

5. Wrinkle in Time

6. Bambi

7. The Twenty-One Balloons

8. Half Magic

9. A Cricket in Time Square

10. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodle

 

It is hard to choose just ten, but these are the first ten to come into my mind.

[Stacy in NJ]

He's a funny guy. We also like Neil Gaiman, Sid Fleischman, and Roald Dahl. All a bit strange but funny.

 

Okay, I just had to say that I love that you have a Daniel Pinkwater on your list!

 

ETA: Cornelia Funke (The Thief Lord) is also a favorite in our house.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Stacy in NJ

[melmichigan]

I could never, ever narrow it down to 10! It raises my blood pressure just thinking of having to exclude so many favorites!

 

:iagree:We have a list of about 75 Classics for 5th and 6th grade summer reading. We try and work through as many of them as possible for free reading (excuding ones that are covered in detail in our lit. or history). We then move to the list for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade summer reading. :)

[yvonne]

Melissa,

 

I'd love to see your list of classics for 5th/6th and your list for 7th-9th summer reading, if you wouldn't mind sharing! I'm always looking for more ideas.

 

yvonne

[ereks mom]

:iagree:We have a list of about 75 Classics for 5th and 6th grade summer reading. We try and work through as many of them as possible for free reading (excuding ones that are covered in detail in our lit. or history). We then move to the list for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade summer reading. :)

 

Oh, yes, please share!

[KarenNC]

:bigear:

[DianeJM]

:iagree:We have a list of about 75 Classics for 5th and 6th grade summer reading. We try and work through as many of them as possible for free reading (excuding ones that are covered in detail in our lit. or history). We then move to the list for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade summer reading. :)

 

I also would love to have that 5th-6th list. I have to admit my two youngers hate reading and avoid it at all costs. DD has disabilites so that's understandable, but ds 12 is another story altogether. He hates reading because he has to sit still for it and it takes too long :banghead:. I really have to step up the reading for him and have been compiling my own list of books; I need to start at a lower level, because he won't tolerate otherwise. If we get interesting enough material, he will read it. Have had only a few successes, but will keep trying, looking at some of the SL titles for now.

 

Thanks for sharing your list, I'll be on the lookout for it.

[BlsdMama]

Loving the lists but DD is reading over my shoulder and saying, "WHERE is Peter Pan?! What about Peter Pan?" :D

 

Her lists for 4th, 5th, 6th grade are here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3338449-anajoy-rusticgirl?shelf=5th-grade

 

But the top favorites are:

 

Wizard of Oz

My Side of the Mountain (for boys)

Peter Pan

Swiss Family Robinson

Narnia Books

Little House in Big Woods & Farmer Boy but they're a series so I'm counting them as one.

The Borrowers (that's HER vote, not mine)

Black Ships Before Troy

Calico Captive

Redwall

 

:)

 

We're reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch right now as a family so I have high hopes!

[mom2boys030507]

These are great lists. Thank you for taking the time to list them. Now, I need to take the time to create my own list so I have it as a reference for all my boys. My oldest has read some of these titles and I look forward to introducing more. He gets stuck on rereading the same books so I want to make sure they are good books.

[melmichigan]

Melissa,

 

I'd love to see your list of classics for 5th/6th and your list for 7th-9th summer reading, if you wouldn't mind sharing! I'm always looking for more ideas.

 

yvonne

 

I posted these in seperate threads so they can be searched easily. Please remember these are summer reading compiled mostly from private schools, not the reading tied to our literature studies, a large portion of which follow our history rotations. That a whole different set of lists. :lol: I had some great links but lost them when my last computer crashes so I'm relying on my print copies, I'm still searching and will post if I find them.

Edited April 30, 2011 by melmichigan

[melmichigan]

I also would love to have that 5th-6th list. I have to admit my two youngers hate reading and avoid it at all costs. DD has disabilites so that's understandable, but ds 12 is another story altogether. He hates reading because he has to sit still for it and it takes too long :banghead:. I really have to step up the reading for him and have been compiling my own list of books; I need to start at a lower level, because he won't tolerate otherwise. If we get interesting enough material, he will read it. Have had only a few successes, but will keep trying, looking at some of the SL titles for now.

 

Thanks for sharing your list, I'll be on the lookout for it.

 

We add a large majority of the SL books to our TOG rotations. My DD11 has finished Core 6 and is working through Core 7 and 100 chronologically (with Core 5 books where they fit), we will add in some of the Literature from Core 200 (about 12 books that are more middle school level) next year. My DD loves historical fiction, a love I credit to SL.

 

Until three years ago my DD would only read non-fiction, now it's a challenge to keep her in books, so things do change as they mature. I started having her listen to books on tape while reading along the first year she came home from PS, she says it helped, who knows. I started by trying to have her read animal based books since that is a big interest for her. I also read aloud to everyone every day of the week. :)

[mmasmommy]

Links to Mel's threads -

 

5th/6th - http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269446

 

7th/8th/9th - http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269457

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm assuming an average reader, not advanced and not struggling, so please list only chapter books that would be on a 4th, 5th, or 6th grade reading level.

 

Here is my list, off the top of my head:

 

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The BFG

Charlotte's Web

Little House on the Prairie (and others from the series)

A Wrinkle in Time

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Shiloh

something by Beverly Cleary (Beezus and Ramona? Ribsy? Henry and Ribsy? Ramona the Pest?)

 

[Disclaimer: This list is subject to change, depending on whether I look at your list and go, "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that one!" ;)]

 

Homer Price

Half Magic

Redwall

The Endless Steppe

 

I'll have to think of the others.

[yvonne]

Thank you so much, Melissa!

 

And thanks, Amy, for the links!

 

Off to check them out...

yvonne