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 - 11 of 11  There are a total of 27 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "The boy who harnessed the wind"
Star rating for The boy who harnessed the wind
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to...
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 "Girl rising"
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Book cover for "Legends, icons & rebels"
Star rating for Legends, icons & rebels
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
A tribute to more than two dozen legendary music artists who significantly influenced the landscape of music for generations to come, from Ray Charles and Bob Dylan to Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash.
Book cover for "Lincoln's grave robbers"
Star rating for Lincoln's grave robbers
Description:
A true crime thriller -- the first book for teens to tell the nearly unknown tale of the brazen attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln's body. Reissued in Scholastic Focus, with an exciting new cover. The action begins in October of 1875, as Secret Service agents raid the Fulton, Illinois, workshop of master counterfeiter Ben Boyd. Soon after Boyd is hauled off to prison, members of his counterfeiting ring gather in the back room of a smoky Chicago saloon...
Book cover for "Moonbird"
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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 "Sachiko"
Star rating for Sachiko
Description:
Read the true story of a young girl who survived the Nagasaki atomic bomb and her long journey to find peace. This compelling, well-researched narrative offers readers a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II and their aftermath.
Book cover for "Samurai rising"
Star rating for Samurai rising
Description:
FINALIST FOR THE YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICITON FOR YOUNG ADULTS! Minamoto Yoshitsune should not have been a samurai. But his story is legend in this real-life Game of Thrones. This epic tale of warriors and bravery, rebellion and revenge, reads like a novel, but this is the true story of the greatest samurai in Japanese history. When Yoshitsune was just a baby, his father went to war with a rival samurai family-and lost. His father was...
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 "The watch that ends the night"
Star rating for The watch that ends the night
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Description:
Recreates the 1912 sinking of the Titanic as observed by millionaire John Jacob Astor, a beautiful young Lebanese refugee finding first love, "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, Captain E.J. Smith, and others including the iceberg itself.