Pick of the Decade 1995-2005: 5th Grade Best Fiction Alexander, Lloyd. The Gawgon and the Boy , 2001. In Depression-era Philadelphia , when eleven-year-old David is too ill to attend school, he is tutored by the unique Aunt Annie, whose teaching combines with his imagination to send him on adventures exploring the wonders of the world. Anderson, M. T. The Game of Sunken Places , 2004. When two boys stay with an eccentric relative at his mansion in rural Vermont , they discover an old-fashioned board game that draws them into a mysterious adventure. Avi. The Good Dog , 2001. McKinley, a malamute, is torn between the domestic world of his human family and the wild world of Lupin, a wolf that is trying to recruit dogs to replenish the dwindling wolf pack. Avi. Never Mind: A Twin Novel , 2004. Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg's hopes for popularity and Edward's mischievous schemes coincidentally collide. Avi. Perloo the Bold , 1998. Perloo, a peaceful scholar, who has been chosen to succeed Jolaine as leader of the furry underground people called the Montmers, finds himself in danger when Jolaine dies and her evil son seizes control of the burrow. Avi. Poppy , 1995. Poppy the deer mouse urges her family to move next to a field of corn big enough to feed them all forever, but Mr. Ocax, a terrifying owl, has other ideas. (Sequels: Poppy and Rye ; Ragweed and Ereth's Birthday .) Balliett, Blue. Chasing Vermeer , 2004. When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal. Bawden, Nina. Granny the Pag , 1996. Originally abandoned by her actor parents who later attempt to gain custody, Cat wages a spirited campaign to decide her own fate and remain with her grandmother. Bechard, Margaret. Star Hatchling , 1995, o.p. Hanna accidentally ended up in an escape pod which landed her on a strange planet and now she is being kept as a pet of aliens, Shem and Cheko. Bode, N. E. The Anybodies , 2004. After learning that she is not the biological daughter of boring Mr. and Mrs. Drudger, Fern embarks on magical adventures with her real father and finally finds "a place that feels like home." Bonners, Susan. Above and Beyond , 2001. Jerry befriends the class clown, Danny, and discovers disturbing secrets from the past. Britton, Bill. Treekeepers , 2003. Searching for her father, Bird joins three other children, Issie, Dren and Stoke, on a journey to the Kingdom of Wen to overthrow the evil Lord Rendarren. Byars, Betsy. Disappear Acts , 2000. Herculeah stumbles onto the trail of her friend Meat's long-lost father while she and Meat are investigating the disappearance of a dead body from the men's room of a comedy club. (Newest in the Herculeah Jones Mysteries which began with: The Dark Stairs .) Carbone, Elisa. Storm Warriors , 2001. In 1895, after his mother's death, twelve-year-old Nathan moves with his father and grandfather to Pea Island off the coast of North Carolina , where he hopes to join the all-black crew at the nearby lifesaving station, despite his father's objections. Carey, Janet Lee. Wenny Has Wings , 2002. Having had a near-death experience in the accident that killed his younger sister, eleven-year-old Will tries to cope with the situation by writing her letters. Choldenko, Gennifer. Notes from a Liar and Her Dog, 2001. Eleven-year-old Ant, stuck in a family that she does not like, copes by pretending that her "real" parents are coming to rescue her, by loving her dog Pistachio, by volunteering at the zoo, and by bending the truth and telling lies. (See also: Al Capone Does My Shirts .) Cleary, Beverly . Ramona's World , 1999. Follows the adventures of nine-year-old Ramona at home with big sister Beezus and baby sister Roberta and at school in Mrs. Meacham's class. (Previous titles: Beezus and Ramona ; Ramona the Pest ; Ramona the Brave ; Ramona and Her Father ; Ramona and Her Mother ; Ramona Quimby Age 8 and Ramona Forever . Clinton, Cathryn. A Stone in My Hand , 2002. Eleven-year-old Malaak and her family are touched by the violence in Gaza between Jews and Palestinians when first her father disappears and then her older brother is drawn to the Islamic Jihad. Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl , 2001. When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. (Sequels: Artemis Fowl: The Artic Incident ; Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code ; and Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception .) Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander , 2003. When Gregor's two-year-old sister, Boots, tumbles down an air duct in the laundry room of their apartment building, he leaps after her. The two wind up in Underland, a place inhabited by humans who have not been " Overland " in centuries, as well as giant-sized rat, bats and cockroaches. Gregor just wants to find a way home until he discovers that his father is a prisoner of the rats. As he searches for a way to free him and keep his sister safe, he finds he may indeed be the Overlander of prophecy. (Sequels: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane , and Gregor and the Curse of the Wormbloods .) Columbis, Audrey. Getting Near to Baby , 1999. Although thirteen-year-old Willa Jo and her Aunt Patty seem to be constantly at odds, staying with her and Uncle Hob helps Willa Jo and her younger sister come to terms with the death of their family's baby. Coville, Bruce. Juliet Dove, Queen of Love , 2004. Juliet is a shy twelve-year-old who leaves Mr. Elives' Magic Shop with the Helen of Troy amulet. Soon, all the boys in school are swooning after Juliet, and the amulet won't come off. (Newest in the Magic Shop quartet which includes: The Monster Ring ; Jennifer Murdley's Toad and The Skull of Truth .) Creech, Sharon. Love That Dog , 2001. A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem. (See also: Heartbeat .) Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy , 1999. Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless African-American boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father-the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham -1963 , 1997. The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint , Michigan , are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. Cushman, Karen. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple , 1996. In 1849, twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple, who renames herself Lucy, is distraught when her mother moves the family from Massachusetts to a rough California mining town. Cushman, Karen. The Midwife's Apprentice , 1995. In medieval England , a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.

Featured List Pick of the Decade: 1995-2005 The Best Books for Children Grades K-8 Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade Complete List NJSL would like to thank the following people for compiling this comprehensive list: Susan Fichtelberg Woodbridge Public Library Bonnie Kunzel New Jersey State Library Pat Vasilik Clifton Public Library