Best Books for 6th Grade by Ninety 6th Grade Students
I was my daughter’s middle school visiting day when I chanced upon a wall of “the first day get to know you” papers. There were the usual questions like “favorite color” and “what elementary school did you attend?” but I honed in on “favorite book.” Most of these sixth graders had a favorite chapter book but a few did not which made me sad.
Since these sixth graders filled out this questionnaire during the first day of school, this list would also be great for fifth graders.
I have also added two new chapter books that 6th graders will love.
For Girls:
How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston (soon to be a TV show on WB)
For Boys:
Middle School The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson
p.s. I found it so interesting the wide range of interests and levels of newly minted 6th graders. They are reading everything from adult literature to fantasy adventure to Karl Sagan non-fiction. I guess it goes to show you that the middle school kid is everywhere on the spectrum from adult-like to still child-like.
Most Popular
Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Warriors by Erin Hunter
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien
Newbery (and Caldecott) Books
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Rules by Cynthia Lord
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Sports Books
Travel Team by Mike Lupica
Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
Face Off by Jake Maddox
Young Adult
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
I am the Wallpaper by Mark Peter Hughes
Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten
The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Fast Paced Fantasy Series
Dormia by Jake Halpern
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
Daniel X series by James Patterson
Magyk by Angie Sage
6th Grade Requisite Reading
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Adult Books
A Dogs Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
The Andromedia Strain by Michael Crichton
Contact by Carl Sagan
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Wonderful Classics
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Don’t Miss These Series for Girls
The Doll People series by Ann M. Martin
Eleven by Lauren Myracle
New to Me
Silverwing series by Kenneth Oppel
100 Cupboards series by Nathan D. Wilson
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Radiance by Alyson Noel
Gobbolino The Witch’s Cat by Ursula Moray Williams
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
A Good Horse by Jane Smiley
Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Crash by Jerry Spinelli
Wait Until Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Non-Fiction
Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton
p.s. Other grade specific books lists:
26 Perfect Read Alouds for Kindergarten
19 Perfect Read Alouds for 1st Grade
10 Perfect Read Aloud Books for 2nd Grade
10 Perfect Read Aloud Books for 3rd Grade
10 Perfect Read Alouds for 4th Grade
10 Perfect Read Alouds for 5th Grade
23 Great Picture Books for 5th Grade
Best Books for Middle Schoolers from Our Wonderful Middle School Librarian
6th Grade Reading Challenge: More Books Like The Hunger Games
Best Books for Middle School from Actual Middle School Kids
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BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
Wow – glad you nominated Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat. One of the 20th Century’s children’s Classics, but nearly lost forever, because of the London bombing Blitz? I loved the book – told to our children at bedtime – then discovered the story behind the story, which led me to write the author’s biography – Through the Magic Door, published this year on Ursula’s centenary by Northumbria Press, an imprint of Northumbria University, UK. She had a remarkable life – just as inspirational as those of her brave, fictional heroes.
To Colin,
It was actually a 6th grader who chose Gobbolino the Witch’s cat as his or her very favorite book. I didn’t recognize the title but I am glad to have discovered it. Thanks for your comment. You are making me want to hunt it down and read it!
Hi Mia,
Another great list, thanks for sharing! I’ll send this to my daughter as well; she’s already shared the other list with her friends. Keep up the great work!
Linda
I love how varied this list is. I know from watching my daughter’s reading choices (she just happens to be a sixth grader) that her favorites often surprise me. It’s always interesting to see what grabs her attention.
Hi Sherrie,
The list was fun because it was the ice breaker for my daughter’s 6th grade team. They had to fill out a questionaire about themselves including their favorite book. There were many books new to me and I was also surprised at the range of books including adult books that made the list. They were barely 6th graders so it’s really what they liked in 5th grade!
This is such a great list! My children are 11 and 9 and many of our favorites are here but there are also such great titles I had never heard of. Adding them to our list!! Thank you.
Thanks so much Lindsey! It was fun to see the wide range of books that my daughter’s 6th grade team chose on their first day of 6th grade!
Mia I work at Forrestdale Middle School in Rumson, NJ as the a.m. media specialist. I love your articles! Thank you for your good insight, research and pertinant information! I’ve actually done a display challenging the students to see if they’re as well read as the 90 6th graders on your list: “Are you as well-read as these 6th graders?” I would love a pic of the kids (one class) and since I don’t know where it is I don’t think it would infringe on any privacy laws. If you can’t, I understand, it just would be nice for our kids to actually see “the” kids I’m talking about and challenging them to connect literarily with! Thank you, Kim Robinson
Hi Kim,
You are so nice to make a board on that post. Unfortunately, it was my oldest when she was in 6th grade — now she is in 9th grade — and it was just her “team” of 90 kids. There are 270 kids in her grade. I don’t think there is a photo of her team; I got the information from the form they posted on the hallways.
I’m sorry!
Your list is great because you classify books by genre whereas (many) public libraries do not. They simply lump all fiction together with no regard for genre. And yet, this is so frustrating for those who want to read more within a genre. What the fiction section really needs is its own Dewey Decimal system to catalog fiction by genre. Can you pass the word to librarians you know? Maybe this idea will catch on.
Hi Novel Thinker,
I like your idea!