5th Grade Book Talks for 2/15/08


The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPau

It's a world with no sun, lit only by electricity. But the generator is dying and the citizens of Ember don't know what to do. 12-year-old Lina discovers an ancient document that may be the secret to surviving Ember's decay, but time is running out. This book's a page turner, a mystery, and a thought-provoker.


A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Sequel to A Long Way from Chicago, which is a Newbery Honor Book.


The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

It’s about these kids that love anything that has to do with Egypt. She also wrote The Headless Cupid.


The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

As soon as I finished this book, I wanted to read it again. It was that good! Told by a thief named Gen, which is short for Eugenides, this story is set in a totally fictional ancient world, which is sort of like Greece, except there are guns and queens. Part of a series.


Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

It’s about rats. And science. 


Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Epistolary novel.


Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

A mystery. Florida. Owls. 


The Midwife’s Apprentice By Karen Cushman

Do you know what a midwife is? It’s the middle ages, the year 1290, and a girl without a home is taken in by a midwife. How women were treated back then, what life was like.


Homecoming and Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt

Dicey’s mother leaves her alone with her brothers and sisters. She’s in charge and she has to get them home.


Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

About a Japanese-American girl growing up in the Deep South.


Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

About a dog who goes missing. Same author as the Moffats.


Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

About a strong black family of farmers living in the South during the Depression. Told from Cassie’s point of view.


The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

About a witch.


Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

About conquering your fear. Polynesian village.


Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples

About an middle-eastern girl.