Great Books for 5th Graders

This was supposed to go up yesterday, but I was sick, so today it is! This post is in honor of one of the girls that I mentor. She wanted to know what I recommended for her to read. She loves The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and some other fantasy-style books. This list is skewed toward that kind of book, because that seems to be her favorite genre. I have created a few other lists with some other styles of books, for middle schoolers, for girls, and for boys.

So, without further ado, a non-comprehensive list of great books for 5th graders:

Artemis Fowl: What do you do if you are a genius, millionaire teen who has absent parents? Become a criminal of course. This is one of my favorite fantasy/real world mash ups.
The Mysterious Benedict Society: Why are these smart kids called together? What is the purpose of the society, and how can intelligence save the world?
Chronicles of Narnia: Classic for a reason. I always wanted to go there myself.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: One unfortunate event after another afflict this poor family. Plus, builds vocabulary!
The Chronicles of Prydain: Classic children’s fantasy at its finest.
Inkheart Trilogy: Another good fantasty/real life mashup. Some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read.
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh : Rats can be people too!
Books of Ember: An interesting series about an underground society. What will happen when they run out of electricity?
The Underland Chronicles: Another story based on an underground world. This universe is full of giant bats, rats, roaches, mice, and other creatures. Rather violent, in some spots.
The Spiderwick Chronicles: Children discover they live in a house with fairies, sprites, goblins, and all manner of fantastic creatures. A little on the young side, but I enjoyed it as an adult as well.
Howl’s Moving Castle: Humorous fantasy at it’s best. Mostly in its own universe, but does have a tiny amount of crossover to real life.
Redwall Series: Formulated fantasy stories about animals living in a monastery. Love the imagery in this series. The books are even better on CD with the author reading it. You won’t be able to read it without getting inspired to cook.