Skip to the main content
PeabodyMake a free story

Books by grade

Summer reading for rising 6th graders

Between 5th and 6th grade is a good time to read for fun without a book report. These 15 books are fast, funny, or hard to put down.

Chosen from award lists, school and library reading lists, and reviews, and each title and author checked against Open Library, Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.

  1. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio · Ages 8-12

    August, a boy with a facial difference, starts fifth grade at a regular school. Told in several voices, it works well for talking about kindness and staring.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar · Ages 9-13

    Stanley Yelnats is sent to dig holes at a juvenile camp in the desert, and three timelines click together. Short chapters, dry humor, a real mystery.

    Watch for: Some bullying and a death in a backstory.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  3. The Lightning Thief

    Rick Riordan · Ages 9-13

    Percy Jackson learns he is a son of Poseidon and sets out across America to stop a war between gods. Funny, fast, and a gateway to Greek myth.

    Watch for: Fantasy fighting with monsters; first of a five-book series.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling · Ages 8-12

    An orphan learns he is a wizard and starts at Hogwarts. Still the book most likely to turn a doubter into a reader.

    Watch for: Some peril and the murder of Harry's parents in backstory. Later books get darker.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  5. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen · Ages 10-14

    After a plane crash, 13-year-old Brian survives alone in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet. Short chapters and constant action.

    Watch for: The pilot dies of a heart attack; some survival violence with animals.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  6. Front Desk

    Kelly Yang · Ages 8-12

    Mia runs the front desk of a California motel while her immigrant parents work for a cruel owner. Based on the author's own life.

    Watch for: Racism and money worries.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  7. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier · Ages 8-12

    A graphic memoir of the author's dental disaster and middle school years. The book that made graphic novels a mainstay.

    Watch for: Mild bullying.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  8. New Kid

    Jerry Craft · Ages 8-12

    Jordan, a Black seventh grader, is sent to a mostly white private school and keeps a sketchbook of what he sees. First graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal.

    Watch for: Microaggressions and racism, shown with humor.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  9. Fish in a Tree

    Lynda Mullaly Hunt · Ages 9-13

    Ally hides that she cannot read and learns she has dyslexia from a teacher who sees her. Hopeful and useful for kids who feel stupid.

    Watch for: Bullying.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  10. The Mysterious Benedict Society

    Trenton Lee Stewart · Ages 9-13

    Four gifted children pass strange tests and go undercover at a sinister school. Puzzles, codes, and a long, funny adventure.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  11. Hoot

    Carl Hiaasen · Ages 10-14

    Roy, new in Florida, and two friends try to stop a pancake-house chain from bulldozing a burrowing owl nest. Funny and light on its feet.

    Watch for: Mild language and bullying.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  12. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds · Ages 10-14

    Castle runs fast, has a painful secret, and joins a track team. First of the Track series, with a voice that sounds like a real kid.

    Watch for: A father who shot a gun at him and his mother; mentions of shoplifting.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  13. The Westing Game

    Ellen Raskin · Ages 10-14

    Sixteen heirs are paired up to solve who killed a millionaire. A Newbery winner with clues that reward a second read.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  14. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry · Ages 9-12

    Annemarie helps her Jewish friend escape Denmark in 1943. Newbery winner and short.

    Watch for: Nazi threat and a death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  15. Esperanza Rising

    Pam Muñoz Ryan · Ages 9-13

    A rich girl in Mexico loses her father and moves to a California farm labor camp in 1930. Historical fiction about class, strikes, and growing up.

    Watch for: A father's death and a threatened family.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

More lists

All 348 lists →