Mrs. Dursteler’s
Summer Reading List
For Students Entering 5th Grade
Author: Roald Dahl
Titles/Series: Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, James
and the Giant Peach
Annotations: Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory - Charlie Bucket, so poor that he can only
afford one
candy bar a year, wins candy for life and a tour of Willie
Wonka's top-secret chocolate factory. There
are four other prizewinners, each a selfish child with a
nasty personality. The story is filled with
excitement, fantasy, humor, and moral lessons. This selection
is the first of a series about Charlie
Bucket.
James and the Giant Peach - This
classic tale of fantasy and wonder appeals to readers of
all ages.
Everyone is rooting for James as the magic peach grows in
his yard, enabling him to escape "the
aunts."
Author: E. L. Konigsburg
Titles/Series: From
the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Annotations: Claudia decides to
run away to teach her parents a lesson in "Claudia
appreciation."
She takes her brother along and, together, they hide and
live for a week in New York's Metropolitan
Museum of Art. While there, Claudia discovers a statue so
beautiful that she must find out the identity
of the artist. Her quest leads her to the statue's former
owner, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Author: Kenneth Grahame
Titles/Series: Wind
in the Willows, The
Annotations: The humorous adventures
of four animal friends, resourceful Rat, loyal Mole,
exasperating Toad of Toad Hall and stern but wise Badger
are related as they share life and habitat
along a river in the English countryside.
Author: Avi
Titles/Series: Poppy
Annotations: When the deer mice
that live in the Gray house want to move to a better location
for
food and shelter, they must secure permission from a powerful,
controlling owl that rules Dimwood
Forest. Brave Poppy and her friend Ragweed attempt to defy
the owl and strike out on their own. An
adventure of good versus evil ensues.
Author: Eve Bunting
Titles/Series: How
Many Days to America?
Annotations: Forced to leave everything
behind when they escape to America, a Caribbean family
suffers many days of hardship, sickness, hunger, and thirst
before safely arriving on Thanksgiving
Day. This very meaningful story focuses on Thanksgiving
Day as a holiday for celebrating freedom,
faith, and courage. California author.
Author: Clyde Bulla
Titles/Series: Shoeshine
Girl
Annotations: A summer job at her
aunt's helps ten-year-old Sarah to become more self-reliant
and
understanding. California author.
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Titles/Series: Al
Capone Does My Shirts
Annotations: A twelve-year-old
boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 (when guards'
families were housed there). He has to contend with his
extraordinary new environment in addition to
life with his autistic sister.
Annotations copied from
the California Department of Education's recommended K-12
reading list.
Thank you to the
Mendocino Book Company and Ann Kilkenny!
If you purchase any of the books on these lists from Mendocino
Book Company, Ann will donate 10%
of the purchase price to St. Mary's School.
