Claire and I are groupies of Yapha Mason, an elementary school librarian who nurtured our kids until she left for colder weather in Massachusetts. We asked her to give us a list of her favorite books for elementary school readers and she agreed; now we love her even more. In addition to being librarian extraordinaire, Yapha served on the Newbery committee the year Louis Sacher’s Holes was picked the winner and then on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Committee when James Marshall was the winner. She is on top of all of the latest children’s literature and posts about these books frequently on Mrs. Mason’s Marvelous Monographs (say that five times quickly).
Here are her books picks for intermediate readers:
Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop Grace is thrilled to leave school and help her parents out by going to work in the 
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Follow Greg’s first year in middle school as a tries to be popular, but can’t always help what choices he makes. (Sequels: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book)
The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin What child doesn’t believe that their dolls come alive at night? These dolls do! Anabelle Doll and Tiffany Funcraft come alive at night to solve the mystery of Auntie Sarah Doll’s disappearance. (From Kim – I haven’t read this book and it sounded creepy, but Yapha assured me these are lovely dolls, not Chucky.) (Sequels: The Meanest Doll in the World and Runaway Dolls)
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis Elijah is the first child born free in Buxton, Ontario, a town founded by runaway slaves. Join him on his journey to help a family friend free his wife from slavery as well.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Brian is the only passenger on a small plane when the pilot suffers a massive heart attack. Brian manages to land the plane successfully, but how can he survive in the North Woods of Canada on his own? (Sequels: The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and Brian’s Hunt)
Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick Told through both words and pictures, this is the story of Hugo, an orphan living in the Paris train station. His life takes a drastic change when he becomes entangled with a strange girl and a bitter old man.
The Mother-Daughter Book Clubby Heather Vogel Fredrick Four sixth-grade girls, with seemingly nothing in common, learn about themselves and each other as they read Little Women in a book club set up by their mothers. (Sequel: Much Ado About Anne)
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall The four Penderwick sisters spend the summer in a guesthouse on the Tifton’s property. Mrs. Tifton wants nothing to do with them, but her son Jeffery becomes fast friends with the sisters. Their adventures together help them learn more about each other and themselves. (Sequel: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street)
Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix Jessie is living an ordinary life in a small-town in 1840, until her mother takes her aside and tells her that the year is 1990 and Jessie has to escape into the outside world to save the children in her “town.” She has never seen a car, a phone, or a television. Can she do it? Could you?
Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen Nolan Byrd is tired of being pushed around by Bubba Bixby, so he sets up a hidden camera and an anonymous webpage to bring down the bully. (Sequels: Attack of the Tagger, Meet the Gecko, and Enemy Spy)
Tags: children, gifts, recommended reading
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Can you suggest a book for a boy in 4th grade. Hes a slow reader and gets easily distracted. We need somehting over the winter school break.
Thank you! -
Look at the new 39 Clues books, the first two are out, Claire wrote about the first one a few weeks back, her son loves the books and they have a website component and clues on cards, so it might not feel so much like reading to your son. Boys who have been reluctant to read have loved Rick Riordan’s “The Lightening Thief” series. Also, send an e-mail to HearthFire books (they’re listed on our bookstore list), the manager specializes in finding books to encourage children just like your son, her name is Janet. The store ships books also. Let me know how it works out, I really want to hear.
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Also, look at the Invention of Hugh Cabot, discussed above, it is part pictures, some of the clues are in the pictures so they have to be looked at, and part book.
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(By “Hugh Cabot,” Kim means “Hugo Cabret.”) I have to ditto Kim’s recommendation of THE LIGHTNING THIEF books–all of my third-grade son’s friends raced through those. DELTORA QUEST (it’s six books, but I think you can buy it in two volumes–don’t worry, they’re all short and the print is big) is a fun, fast read for this age. Have you tried collections of comic strips, by the way? My kids can spend hours reading Foxtrot, Peanuts, Baby Blues, etc.–you’d be surprised at how sophisticated the language can get and they’re genuinely funny, but for a struggling reader, they’re easier to sit down with than a block of text. Let us know if you want more ideas–I have three boys and rooms full of books they loved.
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