Books for Fourth & Fifth Graders
Favorites for upper elementary readers! (Updated April 2025)
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Speak Up, Santiago!
Santi is nervous about his Spanish-speaking skills, since he’s spending the summer with his Colombian abuela who speaks more Spanish than English.
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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It's All or Nothing, Vale
Puerto Rican seventh grader Valentina struggles with the aftermath of a serious motorbike accident, as it impacts her dreams of becoming a champion fencer.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Rick Kotani's 400 Million Dollar Summer
Rick dreams of becoming a highly-paid baseball superstar, but spending time with his grandfather Hiroshi shows him life isn’t all about winning, fame, and fortune.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Volcanoes Are Hot!
Middle school science comes to life, as Oliver finds personal parallels with geology, realizing that “Volcanoes are what we call it when Earth barfs.”
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Super Boba Café
13-year-old Aria learns that there’s more going on at her grandmother’s San Francisco boba shop than meets the eye.
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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The Observologist
An invitation to look closely at the natural world, paying attention to the small delights around you.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest
Lonely Clare, a silver-tailed fox, lives in Deadwood Forest, ushering animals’ souls into the Afterlife. When a mysterious badger spirit appears, Lonely Clare’s world is turned upside down.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Eagle Drums
The origin story of the first Messenger Feast -- still celebrated today – tells how the eagle gods bestowed the Iñupiat with the gifts of music, song, dance, community, and everlasting tradition.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Ellie Engle Saves Herself
The morning after an earthquake, comic book-lover Ellie wakes up feeling weird – and soon discovers she now has a life-altering superpower!
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Doomsday Detectives
What really happened to the dinosaurs? Father-and-son scientists set out to prove their hypothesis that an “extraterrestrial impact somewhere on Earth” led to the dinosaurs’ extinction.
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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