{"id":85281,"date":"2024-10-23T02:35:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T06:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmiddlegrade.com\/?p=85281"},"modified":"2024-10-25T08:21:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T12:21:04","slug":"readaloud-books-for-5th-grade-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingmiddlegrade.com\/readaloud-books-for-5th-grade-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Readaloud Books for 5th Grade Classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Readalouds are so special, whether you’re doing them in the classroom or at home as a family. However, not every good book makes for a great readaloud. Any book you choose to read aloud should be engaging, fast-paced, and well-written while remaining accessible in terms of language for the target audience. That’s a tall order! I’m sure that the books on this list will deliver wonderful results for your next 5th grade readaloud.<\/p>\n\n\n

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15 Books to Readaloud in Your 5th Grade Classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are 15 books I recommend for your next 5th grade readaloud:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Split Second<\/h2><\/div>
By Janae Marks<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: October 1, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a memorable birthday sleepover with her two best friends, Elise wakes up to realize that time has jumped by six months and her best friends no longer speak to her. With the help of an old friend, she works to figure out what happened and how to undo it. This is more fantasy time travel than sci-fi and has a slightly spooky feel for kids who like books about magic with a touch of mystery. I love that it’s short, highly accessible, and written from two points of view, while tackling hugely relatable themes like friendship and being brave.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Drawing Deena<\/h2><\/div>
By Hena Khan <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: February 6, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deena is an anxious artist with two best friends, Lucia and Nisha. She\u2019s also close to her cousin Parisa who loves social media, makeup, and being famous. Deena doesn\u2019t know it yet, but the knot in her stomach and nausea she feels every morning is thanks to anxiety. One of the main sources of her anxiety is her parents\u2019 bickering about financial issues. When Deena has an idea to promote her mom\u2019s business on social media and help them earn more, she hopes it will reduce her parents\u2019 bickering. But her social media use comes with its unique issues, even as Deena realizes she needs more support for her anxiety. Drawing Deena <\/em>is an inspiring, feel-good story about a young artist surmounting creative challenges and managing anxiety.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Averil Offline<\/h2><\/div>
By Amy Noelle Parks <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: February 13, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Averil\u2019s mom and several parents of kids in her school and neighborhood use an app called Ruby Slippers to track their kids\u2019 location, request video and photos from them on demand, and generally monitor their behavior and actions all day and Averil and Max, another classmate, are sick of it. Especially when they find out that the app will be updated soon to let parents remotely turn on their kids\u2019 cameras at will. Both kids make a plot to ditch a camping trip and spend the weekend hunting down the original app developer, Rider Wollybeck, in hopes of asking him to rescind the update. Averil Offline<\/em> is a clever, outside-the-box mystery-adventure story about childhood autonomy and women in STEM (coding)<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Olivetti<\/h2><\/div>
By Allie Millington<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: March 26, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this exceptional debut novel, a boy and a typewriter work together to solve the mystery of his missing mother. The Brindley family has been through the wringer but seem to be on the mend after \u201cEverything that happened before\u201d when all of a sudden, their mother leaves the house in tears, witnessed only by her Olivetti typewriter, which she pawns immediately for the precise sum of $126. The pawn shop owner\u2019s daughter accosts Ernest, the third out of four Brindley kids, right after he steals back the Olivetti, which he discovers can type back in response. The two work together, Ernest, reluctant, Quinn confident and opinionated, to retrace his mother\u2019s steps and figure out why she ran away. This reads like an instant classic, and although some readers may be dubious about the talking typewriter element, it is excellently executed \u2014 better than many anthropomorphized animals and creatures have been in books. <\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ghost <\/h2><\/div>
By Jason Reynolds<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: August 30, 2016 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This book is about Castle Crenshaw (aka Ghost), who has PTSD from a dad who tried to fire a gun at him as a child. When he meets Coach and the rest of the team, he can finally harness his talent as a sprinter and stop running away from his problems. I love how powerful these kids\u2019 stories are (in the Track<\/em> series) and that they\u2019re super short \u2014 this one is only 185 pages long. <\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Stranded<\/h2><\/div>
By Nikki Shannon Smith<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: September 17, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava loves nature and wishes she could spend more time in the woods instead of her family\u2019s Manhattan apartment. Fortune seems to smile on her when her auntie Raven, who is estranged from her mom, allows her to come spend the summer in the Adirondacks with her. A summer stay turns into a year-long stay with Ava\u2019s parent\u2019s permission. However, a miscommunication leads to Ava being stuck at the cottage in the winter and having to survive on her own before help comes. Stranded <\/em>is a riveting survival story with major appeal for upper elementary and younger middle schoolers who love survival stories like Hatchet <\/em>and Alone<\/a><\/em>.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Popcorn<\/h2><\/div>
By Rob Harrell<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: September 3, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew is having the WORST day. His shirt\u2019s been torn by his class bully, a basketball has slammed into his face, leaving him with a black eye, and his grandmother with dementia has gone missing \u2014 all on his class picture day. It doesn\u2019t help that Andrew has generalized anxiety. In his trademark humor, Harrell takes readers through Andrew\u2019s day with spot illustrations, relatable storytelling, and plenty of heart. <\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Answers to Dog<\/h2><\/div>
By Pete Hautman<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: October 1, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about Evan, a moody middle schooler whose days consist of trying to figure out why his mom is always grumpy, defending his besties from the school bully, and trying to bond with his artist father. Until he meets a dog, or rather, the dog finds him. Told from the perspectives of Evan and the dog, a clever border collie with a love for running, this soaring, heartwarming adventure about friendship, family, and the healing power of dogs is perfect for fans of Silvey\u2019s The Underdogs of Upson Downs<\/em>. Bonus points for disability representation.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fast Pitch <\/h2><\/div>
By Nic Stone<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: August 31, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast Pitch <\/em>is a companion title to Nic Stone\u2019s Clean Getaway<\/em>, which I really enjoyed! It stars Scoob\u2019s crush Shenice, an U12 softball team captain whose concentration is shot when she stumbles upon a decades-long family mystery. Shenice and her team are preparing to win the Fastpitch World Series, when she discovers that a crime her great-grand father was accused of \u2014 which cost him his reputation and place in the Negro leagues \u2014 may have actually been a set-up all along. And now, Shenice is the only one who can clear his name. This is a fast-paced, poignant sports mystery about family, racism, and community.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Bea and the New Deal Horse<\/h2><\/div>
By L. M. Elliott<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: March 28, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the 1930s, and Bea wakes up in a hayloft to a note from her dad, who\u2019s abandoned her and her little sister Viv to a family friend they\u2019ve never met. There, Bea works hard to be helpful to Mrs. Scott, in the hopes that the farm owner will keep her and her sister forever. She also forms a bond with a wild horse on the farm, which may just be the key to keeping the failing farm afloat. Bea and the New Deal Horse<\/em> is an inspiring historical fiction book about life in the Great Depression, community, and the animal-human bond.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Buffalo Dreamer<\/h2><\/div>
By Violet Duncan<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: August 27, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer and her family are on their yearly visit to her grandparents in the reservation in Alberta Canada where they live. But in the midst of spending time together, she begins to have strange vivid dreams about a girl escaping a residential school decades ago. At the same time, there’s a lot of uproar about more unmarked graves discovered in the area. This is a slim middle grade book that sheds light on a horrifying part of Indigenous history and will be eye-opening to kids and adults alike. It’s a mix of historical, realistic, and magical realism. It’s a solid debut regardless and with few books about the residential schools, this is worth a library purchase esp for schools in the US & Canada looking for Indigenous fiction. <\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Duet <\/h2><\/div>
By Elise Broach (Author), Ziyue Chen (Illustrator)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: May 10, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Duet<\/em>, we meet a young goldfish, Mirabelle. Mirabelle lives with her mother and brothers in a nest next to a piano teacher\u2019s house. Mr. Starek, the piano teacher, is now aged but has received a new student, Jin, who does not seem pleased to be taking lessons from Mr. Starek. After weeks of reluctance, Jin starts to play, and surprisingly, Mirabelle joins in, forcing Jin to notice her. Soon, the two begin to create duets together during Jin\u2019s practice sessions. When Jin and Mirabelle find out that Mr. Starek\u2019s late sister might have a special piano in her foreclosed home, they band together in a new way to investigate and solve a decades-old mystery about Frederick Chopin\u2019s piano. This is an enrapturing, unique story about music<\/a>, friendship, history, and birds<\/a> \u2014 especially goldfinches.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Birdie\u2019s Billions<\/h2><\/div>
By Edith Cohn <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: December 14, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sixth-grader Birdie Loggerman\u2019s life becomes complicated when she finds half a million dollars \u2014 cash \u2014 in an abandoned house. Her mom is a cleaner currently out of work because Birdie\u2019s damaged property in her last client\u2019s house. And Birdie\u2019s best friend\u2019s mother views her with disdain because she\u2019s one of the poorer kids living in their highbrow area. So when Birdie finds all this money (she\u2019s been praying for, no less), should she keep it? Or does finders, keepers not apply in this case? This is a super fast-paced, albeit slightly anxiety-inducing story about poverty<\/a>, moral dilemmas and class privilege. <\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Secondhand Dogs<\/h2><\/div>
By Carolyn Crimi <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: July 6, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Lottie owns several \u201csecondhand dogs\u201d \u2014 dogs to whom she\u2019s given a second chance. There\u2019s Gus, the scraggly insecure pack leader, Tank the protective bulldog, nervous three-legged hunting dog, Roo, and the youngest pack member, Moonpie. She also has a cat named Ghost. When Miss Lottie brings home a new dog who wants to become the center of attention \u2014 and the only dog at home for that matter \u2014 the peace at home is threatened.The story is told from each of the dog\u2019s perspectives \u2014 in the before (Miss Lottie) and after \u2014 as well as Miss Lottie\u2019s and Quinn\u2019s (the tween who cares for the dogs), also in the before and after. Secondhand Dog<\/em>s is a sweet, heartwarming story about second chances and finding and protecting your pack \u2014 whether human and animal.<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Unteachables<\/h2><\/div>
By Gordon Korman<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Published: January 8, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unteachables <\/em>are a group of misfits deemed so hopeless (academically and in terms of behavior) that the school has isolated them in a class of their own. Mr. Zachary Kermit started off as an enthusiastic schoolteacher, but after a cheating scandal 25 years ago, he\u2019s exactly the opposite. He\u2019s coasting along, barely investing in his students and waiting for retirement. Until the school assigns him to teach Room 117 \u2014 The Unteachables. The kids nickname him Ribbit and as the school year progresses, both the kids and Mr. Kermit learn a lot from each other \u2014 and maybe the kids aren\u2019t quite unreachable? The Unteachables<\/em> is a funny, endearing middle-grade book full of hijinks and memorable characters. This one is on the longer side but such a favorite!<\/p> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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More Readaloud Picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n