Reading Beyond Grades 4-5

For children in grades 4-5 reading at a 7th grade level. Books that are challenging but still appropriate for younger readers.

Showing 1 - 10 of 10  There are a total of 27 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "The best at it"
Star rating for The best at it
Description:
Twelve-year-old Rahul Kapoor, an Indian-American boy growing up in small-town Indiana, struggles to come to terms with his identity, including that he may be gay.
Book cover for "The bridge home"
Star rating for The bridge home
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Four determined homeless children make a life for themselves in Chennai, India.
Book cover for "Front desk"
Star rating for Front desk
Author:
Average Rating:
4.9 stars
Description:
Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade...
Book cover for "Harbor me"
Star rating for Harbor me
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"When six students are chosen to participate in a weekly talk with no adults allowed, they discover that when they're together, it's safe to share the hopes and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world"-- Six kids discover the power of sharing their secrets and their stories ... It all starts when six kids are sent to a room for a weekly chat - by themselves, with no adults to listen in. At first they fear this new unfamiliar and wonder...
Book cover for "Illegal"
Star rating for Illegal
Author:
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:

A powerfully moving, award-winning graphic novel that explores the current plight of undocumented immigrants from New York Times bestselling author Eoin Colfer and the team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novels. How can a human being be illegal for simply existing?

Ebo is alone. His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life—the same journey

...
Book cover for "The inquisitor's tale, or, the three magical children and their holy dog"
Star rating for The inquisitor's tale, or, the three magical children and their holy dog
Description:
Crossing paths at an inn, thirteenth-century travelers impart the tales of a monastery oblate, a Jewish refugee, and a psychic peasant girl with a loyal greyhound, the three of whom join forces on a chase through France to escape persecution.
Book cover for "The night diary"
Star rating for The night diary
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.
Book cover for "Refugee"
Star rating for Refugee
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Although separated by continents and decades, Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl trying to escape the riots and unrest plaguing her country in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart by violence and destruction, embark on harrowing journeys in search of refuge, discovering shocking connections that tie their stories together.
Book cover for "This promise of change"
Star rating for This promise of change
Description:
"In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered...
Book cover for "We will not be silent"
Star rating for We will not be silent
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"In his signature eloquent prose, backed up by thorough research, Russell Freedman tells the story of Austrian-born Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie. They belonged to Hitler Youth as young children, but began to doubt the Nazi regime. As older students,the Scholls and a few friends formed the White Rose, a campaign of active resistance to Hitler and the Nazis. Risking imprisonment or even execution, the White Rose members distributed leaflets urging...