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Grade 6 - Adventure

The wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken - Set in the countryside of Victorian England, this novel tells of two children, their helpful friend, Simon, a tyrannical governess, and her strict sister
The true confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi - As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious
Julie of the wolves by Jean Craighead George - While running away from home and an unwanted marriage, a thirteen-year-old Eskimo girl becomes lost on the North Slope of Alaska and is befriended by a wolf pack
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg - Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home
The book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - In 1350, a boy with a large hump on his back becomes the servant of a shadowy pilgrim on his way to Rome, who pulls the boy into a dangerous expedition across Europe
Wonderstruck : a novel in words and pictures by Brian Selznick - Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City
The adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - The adventures of a mischievous young boy and his friends growing up in a Mississippi River town in the nineteenth century
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool - Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters
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Grade 6 - Animals

The nine lives of Jacob Tibbs by Cylin Busby - The story of cat Jacob Tibbs, runt of the litter, and his exploits on the high seas as a ship's mouser
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson - Young Travis faces a test of manhood when his heroic dog is bitten by a mad wolf
Pax by Sara Pennypacker - After being forced to give up his pet fox Pax, a young boy named Peter decides to leave home and get his best friend back
Where the red fern grows by Wilson Rawls - A young boy living in the Ozarks achieves his heart's desire when he becomes the owner of two redbone hounds and teaches them to be champion hunters
The trouble with Tuck by Theodore Taylor - Helen and her dog, Friar Tuck, are inseparable for three years, but as Tuck begins going blind, Helen trains him to trust in his own seeing-eye dog
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Grade 6 - Realistic Fiction

Joey Pigza swallowed the key by Jack Gantos - To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription meds wear off and he starts acting wired
Wonder by R.J. Palacio - Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan
The higher power of Lucky by Susan Patron - Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman - A number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city lot into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed
Turtle in paradise by Jennifer L. Holm - In 1935, when her mother gets a job housekeeping for a woman who does not like children, eleven-year-old Turtle is sent to stay with relatives she has never met in far away Key West, Florida
Holes by Louis Sachar - Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli - After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser - Told that they will have to move out of their Harlem brownstone just after Christmas, the five Vanderbeeker children, ages four to twelve, decide to change their reclusive landlord's mind
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The view from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg - Four students develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition
The Losers Club by Andrew Clements - Alec, a sixth-grade bookworm always in trouble for reading instead of listening and participating in class, starts a book club and discovers that real life can be as exciting as the stories in his favorite books
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Grade 6 - Science Fiction and Fantasy

The wonderful wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - Dorothy thinks she is lost forever when a terrifying tornado crashes through Kansas and whisks her and her dog, Toto, far away to the magical land of Oz
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer - When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll
The city of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions
The dark is rising by Susan Cooper - On his eleventh birthday Will Stanton discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, destined to seek the six magical Signs that will enable the Old Ones to triumph over the evil forces of the Dark
Redwall by Brian Jacques - When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior
A wrinkle in time by Madeleine L'Engle - Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government
Ella enchanted by Gail Carson Levine - Based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her
The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch
The giver by Lois Lowry - Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann - In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths learn magic
Keeper of the lost cities by Shannon Messenger - At age twelve, Sophie is brought to Eternalia to hone her elf skills and discovers that she has secrets buried in her memory for which some would kill
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The dark side of nowhere by Neal Shusterman - Fourteen-year-old Jason faces an identity crisis after discovering that he is the son of aliens who stayed on earth following a botched invasion mission
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Grade 6 - Historical Fiction

Crispin : the cross of lead by Avi - Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret
The war that saved my life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother
The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis - The ordinary routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan - Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny
Brother's keeper by Julie Lee - Twelve-year-old Sora and her eight-year-old brother, Youngsoo, must try to escape North Korea's oppressive Communist regime on their own in 1950
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis - In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring justice for his family
The Shakespeare stealer by Gary Blackwood - A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's acting troupe in order to steal the script of "Hamlet," but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty
Heart of a samurai : based on the true story of Nakahama Manjiro by Margi Preus - In 1841, rescued by an American whaler, fourteen-year-old Manjiro, who dreams of becoming a samurai, becomes the first Japanese person to set foot in the United States
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Grade 6 - Humorous

The strange case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger - Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight
How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell - Chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan by catching and training a dragon
The great turkey walk by Kathleen Karr - In 1860, a somewhat simple-minded fifteen-year-old boy attempts to herd one thousand turkeys from Missouri to Denver, Colorado, in hopes of selling them at a profit
No more dead dogs by Gordon Korman - Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey - Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage
Middle school. The worst years of my life by James Patterson - When Rafe Khatchadorian enters middle school, he teams up with his best friend to create a game to make school more fun by trying to break every rule in the school's code of conduct
Max Quigley : technically not a bully by James Roy - After playing a prank on one of his "geeky" classmates, sixth-grader Max Quigley's punishment is to be tutored by him
Spy school by Stuart Gibbs - Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley leaves his public middle school to attend the CIA's highly secretive Espionage Academy, which everyone is told is an elite science school
Ungifted by Gordon Korman - Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school
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Grade 6 - Mystery

The name of this book is secret by Pseudonymous Bosch - Two eleven-year-old misfits try to solve the mystery of a dead magician and stop the evil Dr. L and Ms. Mauvais, who are searching for the secret of immortality
Assassin by Grace Cavendish - Thirteen-year-old Lady Grace Cavendish, favorite maid of honor of Elizabeth I, must solve a murder mystery and clear the name of her betrothed
The wig in the window by Kristen Kittscher - When their game of neighborhood spying takes a dark turn one night, pre-teen sleuths Sophie Young and Grace Yang find themselves caught in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with their bizarre guidance counselor
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The view from the cherry tree by Willo Davis Roberts - Rob admits having seen a murder, but no one believes him—except the murderer
The Westing game by Ellen Raskin - The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance
The mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened
The Egypt game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder - A group of children, entranced with the study of Egypt, play their own Egypt game, are visited by a secret oracle, become involved in a murder, and befriend the Professor of the local junk shop