I found this great site, GreatSchools.org , with extensive reading lists specific to each grade. If your child is finishing up their summer reading and still needs a book or two, this is a great resource.
Category: Reading Lists: Middle Grade
Middle grade chapter books for kids ages 9 through 14 and including 3rd grade books, 4th grade books, 5th grade books, 6th grade books, and 7th grade books.
Top 10: Best Boy AND Girl Characters in Adult and Children’s Books
I found this pair of posts on some great blogs and the dicotomy of boys versus girls made me want to post them both. I have not read all these books, but these lists make me want to! Thank you MustLoveBooks and ConsumedByBooks!
2010 Children’s Book Award Winners
2010 Children’s Lit Award Winners: Caldecott, Newbery, Batchelder, Belpre, Geisel, and Silbert awards.
If You Love That Dog by Creech, A Latina Version
This novel is a thing of beauty; three parts: poetry, prose and letters to mami who remains in Puerto Rico. Short chapters, each a vignette or snippet of poetic prose or, actual poetry. Told from Maria’s perspective, we, the reader, watch Maria blossom in her barrio neighborhood of New York City to become a poet. I suspect this is Judith Ortiz Cofer’s own story as she, too, immigrated from San Juan and is now a creative writing professor.
2010 Africana Awards for Best Children’s Literature
I found this great site called Africa Access, founded in 1989, to help schools, public libraries, and parents improve the quality of their children’s collection on Africa. Africa Access Review, our online database, contains over 1000 annotations and reviews of children’s books written by university professors, librarians, and teachers most of whom have lived in Africa and have graduate degrees in African Studies. Their award, Children’s Africana Book Awards has presented more than forty awards since 1992. These are the winners for 2010 with reviews by Africa Access.
Top 100: Best Children’s Books
Top 100: Children’s Novels from School Library Journal, grades 3-8th, for 2010. Great classics that have stood the test of time plus newly released Newbery award winners.
Coming-of-Age Chapter Book as Appealing as Ice Cream in Summer
Rocky Road is the perfect summer read, as appealing as hot weather and ice cream! [chapter book, ages 9-12]