November
30
Books My Fifth Graders Are Reading by Colby Sharp
I cannot believe we have already been in school for more than three months. It has been so much fun watching my students find new authors to love, series to devour, and genres to explore. I thought making a video sharing the books we are reading would be a fun way to share what we’re up to, and celebrate all the awesome readers I have in my class.
Please let me know in the comments below the books that your students are reading.
Colby Sharp is a fifth grade teacher in Michigan. He is the editor of The Creativity Project. His latest book, co-written with Donalyn Miller, Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids, was released a couple of weeks ago.
Nerdy Book Club 
My 9th graders are reading The Hunger Games.
In eighth grade, my students are reading Grenade by Alan Gratz – AND every other book he’s ever written. The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones is flying off the shelf – typically, it’s a one-night read. Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes doesn’t stay in the classroom. Here to Stay by Sara Farizan is WILDLY popular. Finally, Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel has been a top choice this fall.
Thank you for this! My 5th graders are reading: Serafina and the Black Cloak; Hello, Universe; The Serpent’s Secret; Echo; Sheets; Amulet #6 (this is a very popular series in my class right now); The Night Gardener.
Wow! I taught fifth grade for many years. I retired last May. I was known as the book lady at school. At this time of the year my kids would have been reading still Junie B Jones, lots of graphic novels, maybe a few Harry Potter books since I always read that with them. I taught second language learners and the low readers. I dreamed of having a class that would read my Owlcrate books and all the wonderful novels I would book talk.
I love seeing what your students are reading! We are in the middle of our 40 book challenge right now with over 500 books read amongst 97 kids. I think a couple are very close to the 40 already. They’re reading Kwame Alexander, Alan Gratz (all the ones by Scholastic), The 14th Goldfish and The Third Mushroom, the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Seige, Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales, Resistance, anything Rick Riordan, All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook.
We’ll be starting our “Wallbery’s” soon (Walled Lake’s version of the Newbery, so I know Front Desk and Ghost Boys will be popular.
We are reading: The War That Saved My Life, The Warrior series, Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race, A Dog’s Purpose, Who Would Win series, North Mystic, Fablehaven series, Echo’s Sister, Wings of Fire, The Collector, Paint the Wind, The Hour of the Bees, Scar Island, Stay Alive, Max’s Story, Harry Potter, Prisoner B-3087, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Truth About Martians.
This is exactly the post I needed to read today! My granddaughter is in the fifth grade and is a big reader. She loves Fantasy and is reading at a 8th grade level. What books or series would y’all recommend?
My kids are reading The Last Kids on Earth, Harry Potter, Old Yeller, Shiloh, Whatever After series, Inkheart, DOAWK, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, The Keeper of Lost Cities series ( this is a big new favorite!), and
a lot of the Who Was/ What Was.
Fifth grade students in our school are loving The 52 Story Treeehouse, Amulet, Harry Potter, several are reading Kwame Alexander books, Svetlana Chmakova books like Crush and Brave, Babysitters Club, Genuis Files, and many others!
I love The Fourteenth Goldfish!!! I also recently read Max Einstein and shared that title with my school. It’s such a great read and I love how it empowers young minds to be helpful and work for the greater good!!!
Has your student who likes Bigfoot read the fiction book Lemons by Melissa D. Savage? It’s a great story that shares another characterlove of Bigfoot. Great story, on Oklahoma’s Sequoyah Book Award list for this year.
Was also thinking they might like Roland Smith’s Cryptid Hunters series…those are popular in our library. I read (I think) the second one in the series, Tentacles – about a search for a giant squid. It’s an adventure series w/ the requisite Eccentric Rich Scientist Uncle, sibling b/g protagonists, and tons of action.
I love this! I have lots of 3rd graders reading Amulet books, as well as Dogman and Wimpy Kid books. Also, the I Survived series is really popular. I have some voracious readers who are reading The Hotel Between, The Boy The Boat and the Beast, The Unlikely Storybook of a Pig in the City, and One Crazy Summer. And Beatrice Zinker, Shelby Holmes, and Enginerds are always popular choices! I really loved Blended too, and Endling! We are reading the first Vanderbeekers book as our readaloud, and they LOVE it!
Colby,
Can you share more about how your district uses Audible? I’m a school librarian and the topic just came up this week with a secondary teacher.
Thank you!
Kelly
Wow! I love this idea of making a video of what your students are reading. I would love to do this for my 3rd graders. Can you tell me how you use the little stickers that are placed on the top right side of the book?
“Maps sometimes stress me out…” Omg will you please explain this to my family? I’ve been known to dq books from my personal list because they have a map. I get mocked for this all the time.
Great list! Many favorites, and I added 6 or 7 to my winter order for the library (and several of those went on my own TBR too!) Thanks!
This was awesome. I shared it with my daughter, who is also in fifth grade. She’s currently reading Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn.
My 5th grader is loving Artemis Foul. Maze Runner Series, Jason Reynolds Track Series. We loved the Madman of Pinney Woods. Or course Percy Jackson & Potter. Personally I’ve been impressed with Way of The warrior kid!
Got some great recommendations from your video! My class is reading The War that Saved My Life, Bob, Harry Potter, Mockingbird, Al Capone Does My Shirts, Save Me a Seat, and Pax. That’s all I can remember! Lol
My kindergarteners and I are currently doing an author study on Eric Carle. They are also loving anything by Ryan T. Higgins or Dan Santat. So excited to share Santa Bruce with them on Monday.
My fifth graders are reading the Land of Stories series, Out of My Mind, Murder at Midnight, Wishtree, Crenshaw Flora and Ulysses, and Eragon have been floating from reader to reader.
I love your book talks videos I love to read some those books for myself. I would like to recommend Essapruza rising and Star Girl because they heart warming story’s