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6.02.2013

Summer Reading List: Top 50 chapter books for Upper Elementary Children from a 6th grader's point of view


Looking for some great summer reads?  I had my oldest go back through and list her favorites from elementary school.  This includes science fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, fantasies, realistic fiction, and the good old classics!  They are good reads for girls and boys alike!  We didn't go back to the early chapter books like Junie B. Jones, Magic Treehouse, and A to Z Mysteries, unless they were the classics that couldn't be resisted.  So these are geared towards 3-6th grade in general, although my daughter read many of these younger than that.  They are in no particular order either.

An Electrifying Michael Vey Boxed Set - a fiction adventure book about kids who have electrical powers. There are 2 of 7 books in the series completed.
The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) - a fantasy series (9 books) retelling the classic Brothers Grimm stories of your favorite fairytale characters.
Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) - the world famous series of the boy who finds out he's a wizard and attends Hogwarts school.
Bliss - The tale of the magical cookbook with recipes that can change your life forever.
The Angel Experiment: A Maximum Ride Novel - The story about Max and the "flock" of kids who could fly.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - the fascinating tale of the child who secretly works and lives at a train station.
City of Orphans - Two kids who are orphans in New York City have to solve the mystery to save their sister from being wrongly accused.
Book of a Thousand Days - When the princess is locked up in a tower, her faithful maid has to come with her.  But when they run low on supplies, they have to escape and learn how to survive in the real world.
The Unwanteds - The castaways of the city come to a magical land where they learn how to use magic in art.
The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern) - Shannon Hale's Newberry Honor book follows the tale of a princess has been replaced and needs to get her crown back. This is part of a great trilogy.
Floors: Book 1 - Two children living at a hotel find a strange box and have to find out what's inside of it and how to get the other boxes so they can uncover the mystery of the magical hotel.
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism - This 5 book series follows Molly as she learns to hypnotize, mind read, time travel and other fantastic things.
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes - When Peter, a blind orphan, stumbles upon some magical eyes, they take him to a new land where he has to fight the false king to get the rightful rulers in their place.  But there's more mystery along the way.
The Mysterious Benedict Society - Four orphans go on an adventure to stop an evil force from taking over the world.
Marley: A Dog Like No Other - The true tale of a man's best friend and dog, Marley.
Masterpiece - Who knew a cricket could have so much artistic talent as the main character in this book?
The Witches - When the main character is turned into a mouse by witches, he has to stop the witches from taking over the world with their trickery.
The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable - Coke and Pepsi McDonald (yes that's their names) go on a nation-wide vacation and have to stop evil "dudes with bowler hats", making their vacation all the more interesting.
Out of the Woods/Into the Woods - three orphaned daughters are forced to flee into the woods where the encounter kidnappers, sweet-filled orphanages, mountains of ice, diamond mines, etc. in a very adventurious set of 2 books that weave numerous fairytales throughout!
The Doll People - Annabelle Doll just wants some adventure so when she finds her missing aunt's journal, she desperately wants to find her.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians   - When Percy goes to camp Half Blood, he finds out he's the son of a God and has to use his powers to stop Hades from destroying everything he loves.
Smile - A graphic novel following Raina as she has major dental problems with her two front teeth.
Number the Stars - a historical fiction that takes place during the holocaust through the eyes of a 10 year old who's family helps smuggle thousands of people to Sweden in a heroic and dangerous way.
Infinity Ring Book 1: A Mutiny in Time - A series of educational adventure books as a time-travelling trio goes from one historical event to another.
Mandy - Mandy, an orphan, has always wanted her own secret place and when she finds a secret cottage, it can be hers and no one elses.  But then dangerous things start happening and Mandy starts to get worried.
Tuck Everlasting- A family is blessed (or cursed) with eternal life after drinking water from a magic spring.  Complications come when a friend stumbles on their secret and is followed by someone who wants to capitalize on it.
Matilda - Matilda is a child genius who has an igorant family and a horrible principal and nobody seems to understand her, until she realizes she has special powers and who knows what she will do with them. 
The 39 Clues Complete Collection Book 1 to 11 Pack- Amy and Dan Cahill travel the world and participate in a family challenge to assemble 39 clues.  The Cahills are the most powerful family the world has ever known. Grace Cahill left a challenge in her will for relatives to either take one million dollars or the first in a series of Clues that will reveal the source of the family's power. 
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - As Meg, Charles, Wallace and Kalvin travel through space, in the blink of an eye, they have to find Meg's missing dad and discover new worlds.
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy - When four adventurous girls meet a lonesome boy on summer vacation, who knows what will happen?
The Candy Shop War - When four kids find a candy shop with magic candy, all they have to do to earn it is go on some secret missions.  But those secret missions might not be good things to do and maybe the owner of the candy shop isn't the good guy after all!
Pippi Longstocking - Crazy Pippi and her two well-behaved friends go on silly adventures in this easy read series.
Half Magic - A group of friends find a coin on the ground that grants their wishes, but only half the wish, which gets them into trouble.
Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story -A ghost story where Helen moves into a new house and a ghost of a girl her age haunts the graveyard nearby. 
Princess Academy - Miri gets chosen to go to the Princess academy where she deals with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend.
Sideways Stories from Wayside School - The silly stories of the twisted Wayside School.
The BFG - When Sophie gets kidnapped by a giant, she realizes that in order to save the children of the world from being gobbled up, she has to stand up to ugly beasts.  But she and her BFG have to stop them.
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13 - 13 clever books follow sad children's lives as they go from one misfortune to another, but they outwit Count Olaf over and over again.
The Secret Garden  - When Mary, a spoiled little brat, finds out about a locked door in the garden, she has to know what's behind it.  She not only finds a way to unlock the garden, but also unlock her uncle and bratty cousin's hearts.
The Ralph Mouse Collection (The Mouse and the Motorcycle / Runaway Ralph / Ralph S. Mouse) -Enchanting stories of Ralph the Mouse, his motorcycle and his many adventures.
Charlotte's Web - Wilbur the pig just wants to live to see snow, and Charlotte promises him that she will make it happen.  But how will she do it, she is only a spider.  A tale of a pig and his owner, Fern and their friendship.
Fantastic Mr. Fox - A Roald Dahl book about Mr. Fox who cleverly outwits others over and over again.
The Boxcar Children Bookshelf (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Books 1-12) - The classic series of four orphans who find an empty boxcar and make it their home, while living adventures of all sorts.
The Chocolate Touch - If you eat too much chocolate, everything you touch will turn to chocolate.  That's what happens to the main boy of this book and what makes this book so delightfully funny.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - The tale of a woman who teaches the children to break their bad habits in quirky ways, but they work and the kids love her so much.
The Giver  - The future reality of Jonas who becomes the new receiver in fantasy futuristic town.
Because of Winn-Dixie -A story about a 10 year old who moves to new town in Florida and all the difference she makes for the better.
Wonderstruck - The tale of two people and how their lives intertwine through an unforgettable experience.
Ella Enchanted - Newberry Honor book that is a retelling of Cinderella in modern times, but still with all the magic! 
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