Read This Book: Upper Elementary Read Alongs

READ THIS BOOK

Upper Elementary Read Alongs

Recommendations from Kimberly Conn

Author & Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park Teacher As a child I fell asleep after bedtime in the doorway of my room with a book pushed into the light of the hallway to read. So it was shocking for me to learn later that not all kids are as keen to read for pleasure. But most love to be read to, long after most parents think they’ve outgrown it, so here are a few books for that. (Side note: I am also the author of two novels that you would not want to read with your elementary children, Buying the Farm and Audrey Anonymous.)

Pax

By Sara Pennypacker

When Peter’s father volunteers to go to war, he forces Peter to give up Pax, his fox. Peter struggles with the anger he sees in both his father and the grandfather he is sent to live with, as well as his own anger stemming from his mother’s death. Consumed by guilt, Peter sets out to find Pax but finds much more as he makes an unexpected friend, grows in self-confidence, and finds the emotional strength to stand up to his father.

The Wild Robot

By Peter Brown

When a ship carrying hundreds of robots sinks, only one of the robots survives. ROZZUM Unit 7134, better known as Roz, washes up on an island inhabited only by animals. The animals fear they are being invaded by a monster. Gradually, they learn that she wants to help them, and they, in turn, help her. When she adopts an orphaned gosling and builds a nest for herself and her new son, she becomes a full-fledged member of the community.

A Wolf Called Wander

By Rosanne Parry

This book is based on the real-life, far-roaming wolf OR-7 (called Swift in this book), who was collared with a radio transmitter by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2011 to track his movements.

The story traces Swift’s life from puppyhood to the loss of his family in an attack by another pack, and then through the migrations that took him hundreds of miles across Oregon and California before he settled down and made a family of his own.

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

By Kate DiCamillo

Flora Belle Buckman is a cynical kid who finds herself at odds with her mother after her parents’ divorce. While reading a comic book her mother has asked her not to read, Flora sees the neighbor accidentally vacuum up a squirrel in her backyard. Flora comes to the rescue of the squirrel, who immediately exhibits unusual abilities. Flora believes the squirrel is a superhero and that her mother is its arch-nemesis, so she sets out to save the squirrel from her mother only to find out it is the squirrel who will save them.

Operation Frog Effect

By Sarah Scheerger

Ms. Graham is an unconventional teacher who encourages her students to think outside the box and speak up for what they believe in, but when a handful of kids take a project too far, they unintentionally get Ms. Graham in trouble. Together, the kids learn that growing up means taking accountability for your mistakes and that true friendship has no boundaries.