Because of Mr. Terupt - by Rob Buyea

 Seven 5th graders from Connecticut get a new, rookie teacher. There's Jessica, the new girl, Alexia, the bully, Peter, the class prankster, Luke, the brain, Danielle, who doesn't stand up for herself, shy Anna, and there's Jeffrey, who hates school. Mr. Terupt, the new teacher, seems to know how to handle it all. All of their lives are changed by their new, energetic teacher. Then the accident changes everything...

I like this book because it's relatable. The characters alternate, so somebody different is telling the story in each chapter. The students discover and learn throughout the entire book.

DRA Level: N/A
Lexile: 560

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser

When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbor, the Vanderbeekers must band together to do what they do best:  make a plan.  They have nineteen days to turn the ivy-ridden, possibly haunted, abandoned lot down the street into the best community garden in Harlem.

But creating a garden from scratch is not as easy as it seems, and with no money, absolutely zero gardening experience, and the threat of a slick real estate developer eyeing the land, the Vanderbeekers face their greatest challenge yet.

DRA N/A
Lexile 810

Fun story!  This is the second book about the Vanderbeekers.

Swindle By Gordon Korman

Swindle

By Gordon Korman

After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way- a menacing guard dog, a high tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their general inability to drive- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his... even if hijinks ensue.

This is a great book especially great if you are ready for a hoot, howl and heist!

DRA Level 50

Lexile 710L

Restart By Gordon Korman

Restart

By Gordon Korman

WOW! This book was awesome! 

Chase Ambrose doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. Actually, he doesn't remember anything. Chase wakes up in a hospital feeling very alone. He has to learn his whole life all over again. He knows he is Chase, but who is Chase? 

When he returns to school he sees some kids treat him like a hero and some kids are VERY afraid of him. As Chase explores who he was he starts to question who he wants to be.

DRA 50

Lexile 730L

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

              Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

If you enjoy reading historical fiction, this is a book you may enjoy. It's written in stanzas like poetry, so the pages read quick. It is written by an author who at age 10 experienced the Vietnam War and fled to Alabama with her family, watching her homeland (Saigon) fall before their eyes as they're leaving. Much of what happens to the character in the book happened to the author as a young girl. She writes about traditions and friends she misses deeply, while moving to a new place so foreign to her. Hà, the main character in the story describes the cold experiences she has with strangers and how she finds the strength of her own family.

DRA Level: 50
Lexile: 800 L
Age: 8-10

Pax By Jon Klassen and Sara Pennypacker

Pax

By Jon Klassen and Sara Pennypacker

Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.

At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.

Meanwhile Pax steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own...

DRA Level 50

Wonder - by RJ Palacio

 

Wonder is a story about a boy named Auggie. He loves Star Wars and his dog, is great at science, and he has a great sense of humor. Auggie has only ever been home schooled because he was born with a facial deformity.

Just as Auggie's getting ready to start his fifth grade year, his parents decide to send him public school with other kids his age. It's the start of middle school, so everyone will be going to a new school with different kids. However, Auggie has to deal with so much more than just being new. He struggles to make friends and has to deal with a bully. Can the other kids manage to look beyond his deformity to see who Auggie really is?

I like this story because it is told from multiple perspectives. Auggie, his sister, and his classmates all get a chance to tell the story from their perspective. I also love how one person can positively impact so many people.

DRA level 40-50

Crenshaw By Katherine Applegate

Crenshaw By Katherine Applegate

Primary school boy Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. They're out of money and may have to start living in a van, again ... and leave a town Jackson loves. Then Jackson is visited (and not for the first time in his life) by a huge, imaginary cat named Crenshaw who wants to help him make things right.

This book was an interesting read. It made me think of a time I had a student living in his car with Dad. :( It is told from Jackson's perspective and that helped me understand some of the emotions one might experience when dealing with such hard times.

DRA Level 40
Lexile 540L

Al Capone Does My Shirts By Gennifer Choldenko

Al Capone Does My Shirts

By Gennifer Choldenko

This is a historical fiction book about a boy named Moose who moves to Alcatraz with his family. His dad works as an electrician and guard for the prison. In addition, there are a ton of murderers, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two. The convicts are the kind other prisons don't want. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're Moose. He came here because my mother said he had to.

DRA Level 60

Lexile 600L

This book pairs well with Where is Alcatraz?

By Nico Medina

Somewhere There is Still a Sun by Michael Gruenbaum

In this memoir, Michael, or Misha, recounts what it was like to be a Jew during the Holocaust. Misha, his mom, and his sister have to go live in a camp with other Jews. While they experience many hardships throughout the book, they also manage to stick together. Misha also meets many boys that become friends while they are living in the Terezin concentration camp.

I really like how the author chose to write this book from the perspective of his younger self. The book reads like it's from a person living through those events at that time. This makes it easy for readers to connect to Michael. If you're interested in learning more about the Holocaust, this book is a great way to educate young readers about what happened from a personal account.

DRA Level 60

The Christmas Spurs by Bill Wallace

One of my all-time favorite books read to me while I was in elementary school was The Christmas Spurs by Bill Wallace. It was read to me when I was in 3rd grade by my teacher, Mrs. Sexton. This realistic fiction book is both sad and heart-warming, a book you won't forget after reading it!

A poignant, unforgettable story of a very special Christmas. When you're a big brother you don't cry, no matter how scared you are, and I'm scared. My little brother, Jimmy, is sick. Little brothers can be a pain, but all I want for Christmas is for him to get well. Santa seems to be listening when we get Buck, the best horse ever! I get spurs, and Jimmy gets a new cowboy hat, a real Stetson. He's so happy it almost makes us forget...until Jimmy's in the hospital again. 

Lexile: 720L

Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow

A risky secret. All non-sheepherding dogs have been outlawed from the rocky coastal village where Maggie lives. Unwilling to give up her beloved Newfoundland, Sirius, Maggie defies the law and hides him away.

However, an emergency situation arises with a steamer during a violent storm, and Maggie has to face a difficult choice. She knows her dog can help, but bringing him out of hiding would put his own life in jeopardy. Is Maggie's brave dog a big enough hero to save others and himself?

If you are a dog lover, you won't want to put this story down once you get into it. This book tells an awesome story of a strong bond between a girl and her dog. The loyalty and strength of the Newfoundland breed is remarkable. I really enjoyed this historical fiction book as I love to read about actual events in our history, with made up characters. 

DRA: 40
Lexile Level: 680L

About Average By Andrew Clements and Mark Elliott

DRA Level 50
Lexile 860L
Grade Level Interests 3-8

Love That Dog By Sharon Creech

DRA 50
Lexile 1010L

Everything For a Dog By Ann M. Martin

Everything For a Dog

By Ann M. Martin

One of my small reading groups read this book, so I asked them to rate it. Most students gave it 4 or 5 stars. Their reasons why it wasn't given 5 stars... It is a sad book or is written from three different perspectives. Books that are written from different perspectives can be confusing to students. At the beginning, we mapped out each character so the kids knew who was who. This is a high reading group, and I wanted to challenge them. If you can get the characters straight... it is a great read! 

Bone is a stray dog looking for a place to call home. Charlie is a boy dealing with the loss of his brother. Henry is boy that desperately wants a dog. Bone, Charlie and Henry do not know each other but their lives are about to connect in a way you NEVER saw coming. 

DRA 50

Lexile Level 890L

Zane and the Hurricane By Rodman Philbrick

 Zane and the Hurricane

By Rodman Philbrick

Zane Dupree and his dog get stuck in New Orleans during the tragic Hurricane
Katrina. As Zane battles wind, rain and flooding he meets up with a kind, elderly
musician and a scrappy young girl. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina leaves behind struggles for food, clean water, shelter and safety from others.

This is an unforgettable novel that shares the lawlessness and lack of government support as well as those who risked their lives and safety to help others. GREAT READ! (I read the I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 after this book to build more schema.)

DRA 50

Lexile Level 860L

Who Would Win? Series By Jerry Pallotta Illustrated by Rob Bolster

Who Would Win? 

By Jerry Pallotta 

Illustrated by Rob Bolster
https://jerrypallotta.com/

The amount of nonfiction reading our kids do has increased SO much! This is a series that my son and I read together and ABSOLUTELY loved! He prefers nonfiction reading. It amazes me what he remembers from these books when we are out and about.

Jerry Pallotta does a great job talking about the two animals and comparing their features. Before we go on vacation I try to read about some of the animals that are found there. In fact, my son has some ideas on how he can help his aunt and uncle with their rattlesnake problem. ;)


DRA Level 38
Grades 3-5 (This is an independent reading suggestion. I have been reading these to Davis since he was in preschool. When a child is interested in a topic they can comprehend at a higher level.)

Touchblue By Cynthia Lord

Touchblue

By Cynthia Lord

The state of Maine plans to shut down eleven year-old Tess's island

schoolhouse, which would force her family to move to the mainland. The

islanders have a plan to increase the number of students by having

several families take on foster children. Tess and her family are taking

a chance with 13 year-old trumpet player Aaron. Aaron has been bounced

around from home to home and isn’t exactly what Tess had imagined.

Will Tess’s wish come true or will her luck run out?

This is especially a great book to read if you plan on taking your child on a trip to the beach! I had just
read this book and then went on a trip to Panama City, Panama. While there I found oodles of sea
glass. This prompted a lesson on sea glass for my husband. I tell this story to my students and
explain to them how reading teaches us about the world. I had never seen sea glass before but
because of this book I was an "expert" on the topic. ;)

DRA Level: 40

Interest Level: Grades 3-8

Lexile: 750L

The War that Saved My Life By Kim Brubaker Bradley

The War that Saved My Life

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

This book gave me a different perspective on life during WWII. It made me ache for Ada and those who dealt with similar conditions. I had a hard time putting this book down; very well written!

Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

Interest level: Grades 3-8
Lexile: 580L

The War that I Finally Won

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Just in case you loved The War that Saved My Life as much as I did this is the sequel!

World War II continues, and Ada and her brother Jamie are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorton - now along with Lady Thorton herself and her daughter Maggie. Life in the crowded cottage is tense enough, and then, quite suddenly, Ruth, a Jewish girl from Germany, moves in. A German? The occupants of the house are horrified. But other impacts of war are far more intrusive and frightening. As death creeps closer to their door, life and morality during wartime grow more complex.

Save Me a Seat By Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks

 Save Me a Seat

By Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks

Perspective. Sometimes that is what everyone needs. This book is written from two different kids’ point of view. One boy named Ravi is transitioning from India to New Jersey. He went from the top of his class, athletic and most popular boy to sitting alone at lunch. Joe is a 5th grade boy who just lost his two best friends. These two could not be any more different. Now they are both the victim of a school bully.

This book is so good for kids to read. Hopefully, it forces them to think about how their words and actions can impact others.

Ages: 8-12

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Number the Stars

By Lois Lowry

I have read this book at least once for every year I've been alive. It is my favorite book of ALL time! I used to pretend the two girls were myself and my best friend. I actually remember the day my high school English teacher told me this book was fiction. It killed me! :)

This book takes place in Denmark when all the German troops were invading. Jews were being forced out of their homes. In this incredible tale you learn about how people fought back. It makes such a horrific time in our country a little more kid friendly. We see through Annemarie's eyes what it was like to watch the Danish Resistance try to move the Jewish people across the sea to Sweden. What will happen to Annemarie and her best friend Ellen?

Interest Level: Grades 3-8
DRA Level: 50