Grade: 6

Funny and often touching, Dakos’s poems about life at school will get your class through virtually any situation with good humor.

Igraine, who turns twelve tomorrow, dreams of becoming a famous knight. But today, like most days, life at the family castle remains . . . rather boring. Until the nefarious nephew of the baroness-next-door shows up. Greedy Osmund’s got a dastardly plan to capture Pimpernel Castle and steal the singing magic books that belong to Igraine’s mom and dad. Complicating matters, on the eve of the siege her parents misspeak a spell and turn themselves into pigs! (How inconvenient.) Igraine’s birthday wish has come true, and the challenge is bigger than she ever bargained for: Will she face her fears and find the courage to save the day–and the books?

Sarah Flannery is an Irish teenager who won the Irish and European Young Scientist of the Year awards. In friendly, conversational prose, she tells how she moved from simple math puzzles played during dinnertime discussions to number theory, the work of Eratosthenes, cryptography, and discoveries of her own. Her mathematician father co-wrote In Code and it was through his puzzle-solving approach that Sarah found herself challenged to continue an adventure in math.

While I Have a Dream features many artists illustrating one person’s words, this book celebrates the poetry of several black authors accompanied by the extraordinary illustrations of one talented artist, Javako Steptoe.

In a chapter book format, Karr entertainingly tells the stories of real-life residents of the White House in the following categories: “Home Improvements,” “All the Presidents’ Dogs,” “The First Kids,” “Curious, Strange, and Weird,” and “White as a Ghost.”

Shannon Lanier was in the first grade when he stood up in class and announced that Thomas Jefferson was his ancestor. No one believed him because he was black. In 1998, when Lanier was 19, DNA evidence proved he truly was a descendant of Jefferson’s. This is his story and his family’s story as told through interviews, photographs, and family trees. The various voices provide fascinating details and tie together nine generations of Jeffersons.

There is no doubt about it. Joey Pigza is wired. He suffers from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). This poignant, fast-paced novel deals with the effects of this disorder on Joey as well as on his parents, teachers, and fellow students. Although Joey Pigza tries to control his behavior, he still manages to swallow his house key and turn the class field trip into a disaster. Fortunately, Joey’s teacher suggests further medical evaluation for Joey’s disorder. Gantos’s sequel, Joey Pigza Loses Control, was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2001.

Kaline Klattermaster LOVES his mom. ADORES his mom. But his mom can be, well, a bit forgetful sometimes. A bit lax. A bit…CRAZY. For instance, she’s a bit crazy when she leaves him in the tub for THREE HOURS. Or gives him a chicken leg for breakfast…or forgets that he needs to go to school. AND he’s not completely sure his mother understands how time works.
She’s been even a bit MORE CRAZY since his dad left. So it’s a very good thing that the folks in Kaline’s tree house are not so crazy. They understand him. They don’t mind that he sometimes HAS to play his pretend bugle, and, of course, they are FULL of good advice on how to handle bullies. His mom hints that the tree house is imaginary. Kaline is UNCONVINCED.