Fifth Grade Summer Reading Program
Rockledge Elementary
The purpose of the PWCS Summer Reading Program is to encourage students to enjoy quality literature and to continue
developing their independent reading skills. Student participation in the program is voluntary. Students who choose to
participate in the program are required to complete a minimum of three books.
Students in Fifth Grade who participate will complete a list of books read. The documentation is to include the name of
the author, the title of the book, an explanation of the general topic or plot of the book, and a parent or guardian
statement that the student has completed the reading.
Fifth Grade students who participate in Prince William County Public Library's Summer Reading Program, the Public
Library documentation will apply. Students will receive an extra “A” (100) for each book completed, for a total of three.
The summer reading documentation will be submitted by the student by the end of the first week of school.
Lexile Levels
To help in choosing books that can promote reading growth, this year each child’s 2013 English SOL score will include a
Lexile Level. The Lexile Level is based on a student’s SOL score on the English portion of the SOL and approximates
his/her reading level. This means a child should be able to read and understand books in a Lexile range of approximately
100 points below to 50 points above the designated score.
Knowing a child’s Lexile range can help to locate books that he/she might enjoy reading. Student interest and motivation
for reading books that are age appropriate are critical factors to consider as book choices are made. Remember that
nothing replaces conversation with the student, his teachers, and librarians in making great choices.
It is important to note that the Lexile measure does not address the content or quality of the book. Many other factors
affect the relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the reader, and the
design of the actual book. The Lexile measure is a good starting point in the book-selection process, but parents should
always consider these other factors when making a decision about which book to choose.
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Fifth Grade Summer Reading Program - 2013
Suggested Reading
The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian
and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation are
also acceptable.
Author
Title
Publication
Date
Lexile
Anderson, Laurie Halse
Fever, 1793
2002
980
Applegate, Katherine
The One and Only Ivan
2012
570
Clements, Andrew
Things Not Seen
2002
690
Clements, Andrew
Extra Credit
2009
830
Annotation
In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-yearold Matilda Cook, separated from
her sick mother, learns about
perseverance and self-reliance
when she is forced to cope with the
horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for
years in a down-and-out circusthemed mall, meets Ruby, a baby
elephant that has been added to the
mall, he decides that he must find her
a better life.
When fifteen-year-old Bobby wakes
up and finds himself invisible, he
and his parents and his new blind
friend Alicia try to find out what
caused his condition and how to
reverse it.
Three young middle-school-age
children, Abby, Amira, and Sadeed,
exchange letters back and forth
between the prairies of Illinois and
the mountains of Afghanistan and
begin to bridge a gap across cultural
and religious divides.
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Coville, Bruce
The Monster’s Ring
2002
550
Creech, Sharon
The Wanderer
2002
830
Curtis, Christopher Paul
Elijah of Buxton
2007
1070
Di Camillo, Kate
The Tale of Despereaux
2003
670
Flores-Galbis
90 Miles to Havana
2010
790
Fox, Helen
Eager
2004
690
A timid boy, eager to frighten the
school bully on Halloween night,
acquires a magic ring and the power
to change himself into a hideous
monster.
Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her
cousin Cody record their
transatlantic crossing aboard the
Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat,
which, along with uncles and
another cousin, is en route to visit
their grandfather in England.
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the
first free-born child in Buxton,
Canada--a haven for slaves fleeing
the American South in 1859--uses
his wits and skills to try to bring to
justice the lying preacher who has
stolen money that was to be used
to buy a family's freedom.
The adventures of Despereaux
Tilling, a small mouse of unusual
talents, the princess that he loves,
the servant girl who longs to be a
princess and a devious rat
determined to bring them all to
ruin.
Julian's parents, hoping to protect
him from the dangers of the turmoil
in Cuba, send him to the United
States in 1961 as part of Operation
Pedro Pan, not realizing that life in a
Miami refugee camp holds its own
perils.
Unlike Grumps, their old-fashioned
robot, Eager, the Bell family’s new
robot, is programmed not only to
obey, but also to question, reason
and exercise free will.
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Funke, Cornelia
Igraine the brave
2007
900
Haddix, Margaret
Found
2008
750
Hahn, Mary Downing
The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall
2010
680
Hiaasen, Carl
Scat
2009
810
Hicks, Deron
The Secrets of Shakespeare’s
Grave
2012
720
The daughter of two magicians,
twelve-year-old Igraine wants
nothing more than to be a knight;
and when their castle is attacked by
a treacherous neighbor bent on
stealing their singing magic books,
Igraine has an opportunity to
demonstrate her bravery.
When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and
Chip, who are both adopted, learn
they were discovered on a plane that
appeared out of nowhere, full of
babies with no adults on board, they
realize that they have uncovered a
mystery involving time travel and two
opposing forces, each trying to repair
the fabric of time.
In the nineteenth century, ten-yearold Florence Crutchfield leaves a
London orphanage to live with her
great-uncle, great-aunt, and sickly
cousin James, but she soon realizes
the home has another resident, who
means to do her and James harm.
Nick and Marta are both suspicious
when their biology teacher, the
feared Mrs. Bunny Starch,
disappears, and try to uncover the
truth despite the police and
headmaster's insistence that
nothing is wrong.
Twelve-year-old Colophon Letterford
has a serious mystery on her hands.
Will she discover the link between her
family's literary legacy and
Shakespeare's tomb before it's too
late?
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Ibbotson, Eva
The Ogre of Oglefort
2011
910
Ivo, an orphan boy, teams up with
the Hag of Dribble and a troll called
Ulf to rescue a princess from the Ogre
of Oglefort, but things turn out
differently when they arrive at the
ogre's castle only to find a contented
princess and a depressed ogre inside.
Kehret, Peg
The Ghost’s Grave
2005
790
Lasky, Kathryn
The Capture: : the Guardians of
Ga'hoole Series / Book 1 or any
other book in the series
2003
730
Law, Ingrid
Savvy
2008
1070
Apprehensive about spending the
summer in Washington State with
his Aunt Ethel when his parents get
an overseas job, twelve-year-old
Josh soon finds adventure when he
meets the ghost of a coal miner.
Soren, a barn owl that is captured
and taken to a special school for
orphaned owls, is befriended by elf
owl Gylfie and together the two set
out to discover what is really going
on at St. Aegolius Academy.
Recounts the adventures of Mibs
Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday
has revealed her "savvy"--a magical
power unique to each member of her
family--just as her father is injured in
a terrible accident.
Philbrick, Rodman
The Mostly True Adventures of
Homer P. Figg
2009
950
Pratchett, Terry
Only You Can Save Mankind
2006
600
Homer P. Figg escapes from his
wretched foster home in Pine
Swamp, Maine, and sets out to find
his beloved older brother, Harold,
who has been illegally sold into the
Union Army.
Twelve-year-old Johnny endures
tensions between his parents,
watches television coverage of the
Gulf War, and plays a computer
game called Only You Can Save
Mankind, in which he is drawn into
the reality of the alien ScreeWee.
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Rhodes, Jewell
Ninth Ward
2010
840
Riordan, Rick
The Maze of Bones – or any
other book in the 39 clues series
2008
610
Ryan, Pam Munoz
Esperanza Rising
2000
750
Scieska, Jon
Spaceheadz
2010
780
Scieska, Jon
Summer Reading is Killing Me
2000
610
Stanley, Diane
Bella at Midnight
2006
950
In New Orleans' Ninth Ward, twelveyear-old Lanesha, who can see spirits,
and her adopted grandmother have
no choice but to stay and weather the
storm as Hurricane Katrina bears
down upon them.
Amy and Dan, members of the
powerful Cahill family, try to uncover
the thirty-nine clues which will reveal
the secrets of their lineage and find
out what really happened to their
parents.
Esperanza and her mother are
forced to leave their life of wealth
and privilege in Mexico to go work
in the labor camps of Southern
California, where they must adapt
to the harsh circumstances facing
Mexican farm workers on the eve of
the Great Depression.
Michael moves to a new school and
learns that some of his friends are
really aliens who have come to Earth
in order to convince millions of kids to
be Space Heads.
At the beginning of summer
vacation Joe, Sam, and Fred find
themselves trapped inside their
summer reading list, involved in a
battle between good and evil
characters from well-known
children's books.
Bella's peasant life is changed when
her real father, a knight who
abandoned her when she was a baby,
comes and reclaims her, moving her
to his home where she lives with a
resentful stepmother and two horrible
stepsisters and learns about a plot to
kill her friend, Prince Julian.
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Van Draanen, Wendelin
Flipped
2001
720
Two teenagers describe how their
feelings about each other, and their
families, have changed over the
years from the time they were
seven to the present.
Documentation form below.
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Prince William County Public Schools
Summer Reading 2013
Documentation Grade 5
Students in Grade 5 will receive an extra A (100) for each book completed, for
a total of three. Please include the name of the author, the title of the book,
publishing information, and an explanation of the general topic or plot of the
book along with a parent or guardian signature stating that the student has
completed the reading.
The format to use in recording the bibliographic information includes the name
of the author, the title of the book, the location and name of the publisher,
date of publication and medium of publication.
Example:
Hovius, Christopher. The Best You Can Be: A Teen’s Guide to Fitness and
Nutrition. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers, 2005. Print.
**Please note students may also participate in the Prince William County
Public Library Summer Quest Program, and the Public Library documentation
will apply.
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Summer Reading Documentation Form
Grades 5 - 12
Use this form for EACH title you read.
Student Name:
Bibliographic Information:
Using MLA format : author’s last name, first name. Title. City of publication:
Publishing Company, date. Medium of Publication
Example:
Hovius, Christopher. The Best You Can Be: A Teen’s Guide to Fitness and
Nutrition. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers, 2005. Print
Explanation of the general topic or plot of book:
Parent or Guardian Signature
Date
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