Summer Fun Reading List

1999

Entering Fourth / Fifth Grade

Entering Kindergarten / First Grade | Entering Second / Third Grade

Summer reading is for fun! Some kids will want to read these books to themselves, but some of the books may be more fun if the whole family reads them aloud.

You can get any of these books free! Take this list to a public library and they will either find the books or order them from another library for you. (*Starred books are new on the list this year.)

Divisions: Poetry, Picture Books, Folktales, Fiction, 4-5 Advanced Fiction, Classic Fiction to Read Aloud to the Whole Family, Factual, Biography. This list is only a taste of all the choices there are. Happy reading!

4-5 Poetry

Doodle Dandies: Poems at a Glance, Lewis*

Clever shape poems form into baseballs, a skyscraper, a snake, an umbrella and other objects.

Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings, Florian*

Science and silliness join together in Douglas Florian's colorful insect zoo.

Sad Underwear and Other Complications, Viorst

Like her earlier collection, If I Were In Charge of the World.

Where the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein*

Funny poems. Very popular.

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4-5 Picture Books for Older Kids

Baseball Saved Us, Mochizuki

A boy's baseball team in a Japanese-American internment camp.

Bobbin Girl, McCully

A girl working in a weaving mill in 1830 supports the fight for women's rights.

Gulliver in Lilliput, Hodges

Cast ashore, Gulliver awakes to find himself captured by six-inch manikins.

Legend of Sleepy Hollow, San Souci

A superstitious teacher's courtship is spoiled by a headless horseman.

Marven of the Great Woods, Lasky*

Marven, 10, after a 5 hour train ride, skiis 5 miles to become a logging camp's bookkeeper. Early 20th c.

Pink and Say, Polacco

Friendship between a black Union soldier and a wounded white boy.

Smoky Night, Bunting

Evicted by riots, Daniel and his mother help their neighbor, Mrs. Kim.

To Everything There is a Season, Dillon*

Bible verses with striking pictures reflect art and life around the world and through the centuries.

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4-5 Folktales

Baba Yaga and Vasilissa the Brave, Mayer

Vasilissa is sent on an errand to a fearsome witch.

Big Men, Big Country: A Collection of Tall Tales, Walker

Outlandish, daring American heroes.

Cut from the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale, San Souci

Strong, brave, sometimes humorous women from many cultures and regions.

Favorite Norse Myths, Osborne

Tales of the gods and heroes of ancient Scandinavia.

Iroquois Stories, Bruchac

Fearsome, strange, thoughtful stories from the Indians of New York.

The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales, Hamilton*

Rich variety of stories about animals, slaves, ghosts, and a king/princess tale.

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4-5 Fiction

Aliens Ate My Homework, Coville

Kidnapped by aliens! The sequel: I Left my Sneakers in Dimension X.

Amber Brown Sees Red, Danziger*

Amber's divorced parents are a challenge to her when her father plans to return from France.

Bandit's Moon, Fleischman*

In California Gold-Rush days Annyrose teaches the bandit Joaquin to read from her cookbook. Humorous fictional history.

Best School Year Ever, Robinson

Those terrible kids return with more wild behavior and outrageous lies.

Cam Jansen and the Triceratops Pops Mystery, Adler*

Cam and Eric crack the case of the Missing CDs of a popular rock group, the Triceratops Pops.

Castle in the Attic, Winthrop

A toy castle comes to life when our hero steps into it.

Dinotopia, Gurney

Will is shipwrecked on a remote island where dinosaurs still roam.

Disappearing Acts: A Herculeah Jones Mystery, Byars*

Meat (Albert) finds a dead body in a restaurant; meanwhile Herculeah looks for Meat's missing father.

Faraway Summer, Lasky*

Dossi from NYC spends 2 weeks on a Vermont farm; meets Snowflake Bentley. Early 20th century.

Frindle, Clements*

What's a "frindle?" A boy tries to confuse his teacher by getting the class to use made-up words.

A Ghost in the Family, Wright*

Chad vacations in a boarding house where a mummy appears and a diamond bracelet vanishes. Is a ghost responsible?

How Come the Best Clues Are Always in the Garbage? Bailey

A Stevie Diamond mystery. Stevie and her friend Jesse investigate a $1000 heist.

Indian in the Cupboard, Banks

A magic cupboard turns toys into live people and animals.

Jelly Belly, Smith

Overweight boy has funny adventures at a summer diet camp.

Junie B. Jones is a Beauty Shop Guy, Park*

After her first professional cut, Junie creates hair disasters on her dog, her slippers and herself. Short, silly story.

Marvin Redpost: Alone in his Teacher's House, Sachar*

Marvin dog-sits for his teacher. Short, funny book.

Matilda, Dahl

Matilda applies her mental powers to foil the evil headmistress.

Mick Harte Was Here, Park*

Phoebe grieves her brother's accidental death caused by not wearing his bike helmet. A healing story.

Number the Stars, Lowry

Annemarie saves a Jewish family from the Nazis in World War II.

On Board the Titanic, Tanaka

Fictional boy Jack sails on the ill-fated Titanic in this informative, exciting novel.

Penalty Shot, Christopher

Jeff can't make the hockey team til he discovers who ruined his English paper.

Shiloh, Naylor

Marty tries to rescue a beagle who is abused by its owner.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Sachar

Hilarious happenings in a wacky school. Good for belly laughs.

Skull of Truth, Coville

Disaster strikes when Charlie's Magic Shop skull makes him tell the truth.

Soup, Peck

Two country boys, Rob Peck and Soup, get in and out of mischief.

Space Brat, Coville*

A spoiled space child meets a spaceman with even worse tantrums. Easy science fiction series.

Stone Fox, Gardiner*

Rocky Mountain legend of a boy and an old Indian who compete in a dog sled contest.

Summer Reading Is Killing Me ("Time Warp Trio"), Scieszka*

Joe, Sam and Fred are trapped inside their summer reading list. Short, funny novel.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blume

Peter has a challenge: his two-year-old brother.

Three Terrible Trins, King-Smith*

Three downstairs mice have fun and make trouble for the cats of the house.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963, Curtis

A Northern black family sees the violence of whites against blacks in the South.

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4-5 Advanced Fiction

Bat 6, Wolff*

Annual softball game between sixth grade girls in rival towns turns nasty when prejudice flares.

Beyond the Western Sea: 1. Escape from Home & 2. Lord Kirkle's Money, Avi

A stowaway lord's son and two Irish peasants flee to America and freedom.

The Book of Three, Alexander

Taran, assistant pig-keeper, and some magical companions go on a quest.

Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of...a Jewish Immigrant Girl, NYC 1903, Lasky*

Coming from Russia to the U.S., Zippy, 12, struggles to learn English & hopes to act on the stage. ("Dear America" series).

Ella Enchanted, Levine

Ella's two fairy godmothers rule her life until Prince Char comes along.

The Giver, Lowry

The Elders choose Jonas to receive the memories of the community.

The Golden Compass (Book 1 of "His Dark Materials"), Pullman*

Lyra, 12, a wild, magical child, sees the future in a compass and fights a "dark principle" she cannot see. Fantasy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Rowling*

Harry, 11, learns to fly a broomstick and use a magic wand while fighting evil forces at wizard school.

Hatchet, Paulsen

After his plane crashes, Brian lives 54 days alone in the wilderness.

Holes, Sachar*

Wrongly imprisoned, Stanley digs holes for the treasure-seeking warden, then escapes into a waterless desert.

The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot, Denenberg*

Will, an orphan, spies for the patriots in 1774 Boston just before the war begins. ("My Name Is America" series)

A Long Way from Chicago, Peck*

City kids Joey and Mary Alice spend summers with their bossy, funny grandmother who plays tricks on phony people.

Lyddie, Paterson

Lyddie works in a factory to help feed her family on the farm.

Perloo the Bold, Avi*

Perloo is the unwilling leader of an animal society at war. Redwall fans might like this tale.

Redwall, Jacques

Matthias the Mouse seeks a sword to smite Cluny the Rat and his followers.

The Shakespeare Stealer, Blackwood*

Can Widge, whose master wants him to steal a play from the Globe Theater, betray his friends? Historical fiction, 16c.

Soldier's Heart, Paulsen*

Charley leaves his Minnesota farm in 1861 to fight in the Civil War. Historical fiction.

Trouble's Daughter: The Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive, Kirkpatrick*

Susanna, captured in 1643, learns to love the people who massacred her family. Based on a true story.

Weasel, DeFelice

Nathan, caring for his sister alone, is stalked by a killer.

Where the Red Fern Grows, Rawls

A boy and his two hound dogs.

Wringer, Spinelli*

Palmer pals around with bullies but he won't kill the pigeons even though it's the town's tradition.

Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle

Science fiction, ESP, in a quest story that travels through time.

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Classic Fiction to Read Aloud to the Whole Family

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll

Alice finds strange characters when she falls down a rabbit hole.

The Hobbit, Tolkien

Various companions join forces to steal a ring from a dragon.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis

Four children go through a cupboard to a land ruled by a wicked witch.

The Secret Garden, Burnett

Selfish Mary and sickly, pampered Colin restore an abandoned garden.

Treasure Island, Stevenson

A boy sails with a treasure map to find a pirate's hidden gold.

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4-5 Factual Books

This list is just a taste. What do you want to read about: billiards? guitars? boating? Go to your local library and find your favorite non-fiction topics.

Apollo 13: Space emergency, Cole

The exciting true story of the astronauts who were nearly lost going to the moon.

Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters ("We Are Still Here" series), Swentzell*

A modern Tewa Indian family in New Mexico use the old ways to make clay objects.

Fossil ("Eyewitness Books" series), Taylor*

Great photos and information about the fossils of ancient birds, mammals and tiny bacteria.

Inside the Titanic, Marshall

Extraordinary pictures and narrative about the famous ship.

Janice Van Cleve's Rocks and Minerals, Van Cleve

Easy-to-do projects.

Pond Life, Reid

A thorough field guide to animals and plants in ponds and rivers.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton, Armstrong*

Shackleton's Antarctic trek with 27 men across the ice and over storm-swept seas after his ship sank.

Tae Kwon Do, Gutman

Text and photos explain the theory and techniques of this martial art.

Walter Wick's Optical Tricks, Wick*

3-dimensional objects, mirrors and carvings trick the eye. Great fun to pour over.

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4-5 Biography

Artist in Overalls: The Life of Grant Wood, Duggleby*

Wood, a self-taught artist, painted in a realistic, unfashionable style in the early 20th century. Pictorial narrative.

Chuck Close Up Close, Greenberg*

Pictorial account showing the dot-painted, colossal canvasses of this artist who paints from a wheel chair.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Freedman

Wife of a great U.S. president, she fought hard for minority rights.

Escape from Slavery: Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words, Douglass

Excerpts from his longer autobiography.

Good Queen Bess, Stanley

Pictorial account of the amazing life of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Journey for Peace: The Story of Rigoberta Menchu, Brill and Menchu

Guatemala Indian who won the Nobel Peace Prize tells of her fight for basic rights.

Last Princess: The Story of Princess Kaiu'lani of Hawaii, Stanley

The princess whose 19th century throne was lost by U.S. government fiat.

Leon's Story, Tillage

Amazing autobiography of a black child growing up in the South of the 1930's.

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, Kehret*

Paralyzed from the neck down, author Peg Kehret at age 13 started her lifetime struggle with polio.

Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy, Murphy

Gripping account of a soldier's life in war with some humor thrown in.

Zlata's Diary, Filipovic

Young Zlata Filipovic reveals the trials of citizens during the Bosnian war.

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This summer reading list was compiled by Joan Kimball, elementary school librarian, and formatted for the Web by Dale Copps, founder and webmaster of All Together Now. The list represents many children's authors, incorporates many types of books, and appeals to many interests. We hope it will provide fun summer reading for the whole family.

Copyright 1999 by Joan Kimball. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright forbids any commercial use of this list, but teachers and librarians may copy it as a whole for their own students at no charge, as long as they include all the above notes of authorship and copyright.

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Document Notes

Title: Summer Reading List 1999 (4-5)
Compiler: Joan Kimball
Design: Dale Copps
Date Created: May 9, 1997
Last Updated: April 28, 1999