JF Blume  Blubber  by Judy Blume 153p. 
Jill goes along with the rest of the fifth-grade class in tormenting a classmate and then finds out what it's like when she, too, becomes a target.

JF  Byars  Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars 142p. 
A teen-age girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally retarded brother gets lost. JF Dear Mr. Henshaw Cleary by Beverly Cleary. 133p. In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year- old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

JF Conly  Racso and the Rats of NIHM  by Jane Leslie Conly 278p. Timothy Frisby, a field mouse, teams up with the adventurous young rat Racso as together they try to prevent the destruction of a secret community of rats that can read and write.

JF Declem Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You by Barthe DeClements 146p. Helen fears that lack of improvement in her reading may leave her stuck in the sixth grade forever, until a good teacher recognizes her reading problem.

JF Funke  Inkheart  by Cornelia Funke 534p. 
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who re pairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

JF Funke  Thief Lord  by Cornelia Funke 349p. 
Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with--and protection from--Venice's "Thief Lord."

JF George  My Side of the Mountain  by Jean Craighead George. 177p.
A young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.

NEWB Hamilton  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Virginia Hamilton 246p. 
A black family living in the South during the 1930's are faced with prejudice and discrimination which their children don't understand.

JF Henkes  Olive’s Ocean  by Kevin Henkes. 217p. 
On a summer visit to her grandmother's cottage by the ocean, twelve-year-old Martha gains perspective on the death of a classmate, on her relationship with her grand mother, on her feelings for an older boy, and on her plans to be a writer.

JF Kerr  When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit  by Judith Kerr 191p. 
Recounts the adventures of a nine-year-old Jewish girl and her family in the early 1930's as they travel from Ger many to England.

NEWB Konigs  The View From Saturday  by E.L. Konigsburg. 163p. 
Four students, with their own individual stories, 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.

NEWB Lowry The Giver  by Lois Lowry 180p. 
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.

JF Montgo  Anne of Green Gables  by L. M. Montgomery 396p. 
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

JF Naylor  Shiloh  by Phyllis Naylor 144p. 
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

YA Paulsen  Hatchet  by Gary Paulsen. 195p. 
Haunted by his parents' divorce and the secret that caused it, young Brian Robeson, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, must draw on untested skills and strength to survive.

JF Rawls  Where the Red Fern Grows  by Wilson Rawls 212p. 
Billy trains his two dogs in the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country to be the finest hunting team in the valley proving loyalty and bravery in the face of danger.

NEWB Rylant  Missing May  by Cynthia Rylant 89p. 
After the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go on living.

JF Sachar  Sixth Grade Secrets  by Louis Sachar 201p. 
When Laura Sibbie starts a club called Pig City, she incites a near-war among her sixth-grade classmates and generates the creation of a rival club that has designs on Pig City's precious box of secrets.

JF  Slote  The Trading Game by Alfred Slote 200p. 
During a summer of baseball and baseball card trading, eleven-year-old Andy makes discoveries about his father, his grandfather, who played professional baseball, and himself.

NEWB Spinelli  Maniac Magee  by Jerry Spinelli 184p. 
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.

JF Taylor   The Cay by Theodore Taylor 137p. 
When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, a twelve-year-old white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old Negro are stranded on a small desert island in the Caribbean where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

JF Winthr   The Battle for the Castle by Elizabeth Winthrop 211p. Twelve-year-old William uses the magic token to return, through the toy castle in his attic, to the medieval land of Sir Simon, which is now menaced by a skeleton ship bearing a plague of ravenous rats.

Great Sixth Grade Series!

JF Colfer  Artemis Fowl  by Eoin Colfer

YA Jacques  Redwall  by Brian Jacques

JF Keene  Nancy Drew  by Carolyn Keene

JF Lewis Chronicles of Narnia  by C.S. Lewis

JF L’Engle Wrinkle in Time  by Madeleine L’Engle

JF Van Dra  Sammy Keyes  by Wendelin Van Draanen

JF Wilder  Little House  by Laura Ingalls Wilder