1. New Titles in the Library
Exciting Fiction Books
for Fourth and Fifth Grade

2. When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin
Ben Coffin has never been one for making friends. As a former foster kid, he knows people can up and leave without so much as a goodbye. Ben prefers to spend his time with the characters in his favorite sci-fi books…until he rescues an abandoned mutt from the alley next-door to the Coney Island Library.
 Scruffy little Flip leads Ben to befriend a fellow book-lover named Halley—yes, like the comet—a girl unlike anyone he has ever met. Ben begins thinking of her as “Rainbow Girl” because of her crazy-colored clothes and her laugh, pure magic, the kind that makes you smile away the stormiest day.   
Rainbow Girl convinces Ben to write a novel with her.  But as their story unfolds Ben’s life begins to unravel, and Ben must discover for himself the truth about friendship and the meaning of home.

3. The Trouble With Twins by Kathryn Siebel
Arabella and Henrietta were born on the second and third days of April. When they were little, they were everything to each other. They slept in the same crib and wore matching baby outfits. They dreamed the same dreams and played together. People said they learned to talk their own secret language that no one else could understand. They were both beautiful girls, but from the start Arabella was somehow more beautiful than Henrietta. And that is where the trouble began.
The Trouble with Twins is an adventure and a comedy—a tale of the power of unlikely friendships, the bond between sisters and the way a bit of mischief sometimes sets everything right.

4. Moo by Sharon Creech Zora was chasing us. Mooooooooo. Mooooooooo.
When we reached the gate Luke scrambled up and over it instead of through it and I was trying to follow when Zora’s ENORMOUS HEAD loomed up below me and bumped me into the air…
When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.

5. A Blind Guide to Stinkville by Beth Vrabel
Born with albinism, Alice has only 20/200 vision with glasses. Before moving to Sinkville, aka Stinkville, her near blindness wasn't a problem. Having grown up in Seattle all her life, she knew everyone and knew her way around. With no baseline knowledge of Stinkville, no friends, and her family too busy coping with their own problems to help her, Alice must find her own way. When a writing contest offers her a chance to prove she can do anything, Alice and her dog, Tooter, set out to find their own place in their new home.
Will they succeed?
Will they win the contest?
Will she make new friends?

6. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
When a ship carrying 500 robots sinks in a hurricane, only one of the robots survives. She is ROZZUM Unit 7134, better known as Roz, and she washes up on an island inhabited only by animals. As she explores the island to learn more about her new home, the animals fear they are being invaded by a monster.
She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is--but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a fierce storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.
As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home--until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

7. A Whole New Ballgame by Phil Bildner
Rip and Red are best friends whose fifth- grade year is nothing like what they expected. They have a crazy new tattooed teacher named Mr. Acevedo, who doesn't believe in tests or homework and who likes off-the-wall projects, the more "off" the better. And guess who's also their new basketball coach? Mr. Acevedo!
Easy-going Rip is knocked completely out of his comfort zone. And for Red, who has autism and really needs things to be exactly a certain way, the changes are even more of a struggle. But together these two make a great duo who know how to help each other―and find ways to make a difference―in the classroom and on the court.

8. The Lost Cipher by Michael Oechsle
“I have deposited in the county of Bedford about four miles from Buford’s in an excavation or vault six feet below the surface of the ground the following articles…The first deposit consisted of 1,014 pounds of gold and 3,812 pounds of silver deposited November The second was made December and consisted of 1,907 pounds of gold and 1,288 pounds of silver…Paper number one describes the exact locality of the vault so that no difficulty will be had in finding it.”
Lucas's father has recently died in Afghanistan, and to help him cope, his grandmother sends him to Camp Kawani, a camp for kids who have lost a parent. While there, he hears about the local legend of Thomas Jefferson Beale. Beale supposedly hid a hoard of gold in the mountains 200 years before. The location is encrypted in a set of codes no one has ever been able to decipher. When Lucas and his newfound friends decide to track down the treasure, they embark on a mission that could be too dangerous to survive.

9. The Double Cross by Jackson Pearce
Twelve-year-old Hale Jordan has always dreamed of being a superspy like his parents. But even though he excels at all the classes at SRS (the Sub Rosa Society, the secret agency where he lives with his family), the other students call him Hale the Whale, and he struggles to meet the physical requirements to become a junior agent. When his parents disappear during a mission and SRS seems unwilling to save them, Hale uses all of his spy skills to infiltrate the League, a notorious rival agency. Once inside the League offices, though, he finds that they are filled with old equipment and only one remaining spy. The League's director tells him that they are a government agency that has lost most of its funding and that the real evil organization is SRS. Confused, Hale taps into his own agency's files, and discovers that they have marked his parents to be eliminated on sight. With the help of two kids from the League (Ben, an inventor, and his sister Beatrix, a computer wiz), Hale takes on the dangerous role of double agent to uncover and undermine SRS's plans. Together they discover a plot to kidnap and recruit some of the most talented kids in the world.

10. All The Answers by Kate Messner
What if your pencil had all the answers?
Would you ace every test?
Would you know what your teachers were thinking?
When Ava Anderson finds a scratched up pencil, she doodles like she would with any other pencil. But when she writes a question in the margin of her math quiz, she hears a clear answer in a voice no one else seems to hear.
With the help of her friend Sophie, Ava figures out that the pencil will answer factual questions only--those with definite right or wrong answers-- but won't predict the future. Ava and Sophie discover all kinds of uses for the pencil, and Ava's confidence grows with each answer. But it's getting shorter with every sharpening, and when the pencil reveals a scary truth about Ava's family, she realizes that sometimes the bravest people are the ones who live without all the answers . . .

11. A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
For 13-year-old Mia Winchell, the world has always been filled with a wonderful, if sometimes dizzying, sensory onslaught-- numbers, letters, words, and sounds all cause her to see a distinct array of colors. She keeps her unusual condition a secret until eighth grade, but then her color visions make math and Spanish impossibly confusing, and she must go to her parents and a doctor for help.
She discovers that she has a rare condition called synesthesia, which means that the visual cortex in her brain is activated when she hears something. From then on, she leads a kind of double life. While struggling with her school work and trying to keep relationships with friends and family, she eagerly attends research gatherings to find out more information about her condition and the unique things only people with synesthesia can experience.

12. Sara Lost and Found by Virginia Castleman
Sometimes there’s a tug-of-war inside me. My head says one thing. My stomach says another. Like yesterday, when I stole a roll of paper towels from the 7-Eleven around the corner. My head said, Don’t. My stomach said, Do.
So I did. I stole.
And yeah, paper towels might seem like a strange thing to steal. I mean, I could have stolen some candy, or crackers or something. But paper towels last longer than food. A roll of paper towels can feed me and my sister, Anna, for a whole week- sometimes more.
Sara and Anna Olsen face an uncertain world. Their mother left home and may—or may not—be coming back. Their father is a drummer in a band and comes home long after the girls go to sleep—if he comes home at all. Too often, ten-year-old Sara and twelve-year-old Anna are left to fend for themselves. Then one night, three loud knocks at the door change everything: their father is in jail and social services has come to take the girls away. Rather than risk being split up, Sara and Anna decide their only option is to run away.

13. A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup
Throughout this book, I will attempt to offer more than one word of wisdom whether or you want it or not because, after all, that is what we do here at the National Center for Unsolicited Advice.
However I will at the same time try not to be too overbearing because, as we all know, no one likes a busybody. It seems as though every time you turn around (and believe me, you turn around a lot more often than you might think), someone is telling you how to do or how not to do something. Parents, teachers, classmates, bosses, co-workers, know-it-all parakeets, talking snowmen, the list goes on.
And though this is technically an advice book, it is not the typical stuffy and boring sort because, unlike most advice books, this one is chock-full of: suspense, danger, adventure, mystery, simple yet delicious recipes for squash, and, of course, paper, since that’s what books are generally chock- full of.
…And just think, if you hadn’t boughten this book, you would never have discovered the invaluable advice contained herein. And you would never have been able to share in the harrowing adventure and narrow escapes of Mr. Ethan Cheeseman and his three children, who, you will soon find, are quite possibly the most friendless, and conversely, the least friendful children in the entire United States.

14. The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne
Fizzy is a good Southern girl who just wants to be perfect. And win the Southern Living cook-off. The being perfect part is hard though, since her parents’ divorced and everything in her life has changed. After moving to a new town, she realizes that she has no friends, does not wear the right clothes, doesn't bring the right type of lunch, and doesn't live in the right type of house. Wary of her too-perfect stepmom and her mom’s neat-freak, dismissive boyfriend, she’s often angry or upset and feels like a guest in both homes. She tells herself to face facts: She’s a “leftover” kid from a marriage that her parents want to forget. But she has to keep all of that to herself, because a good Southern girl never yells, or throws fits, or says anything that might hurt other people’s feelings—instead she throws her shoulders back, says yes ma’am, and tries to do better. So Fizzy tries her best, but it’s hard to stay quiet when her family keeps getting more complicated. Fortunately, the Southern Living cook-off gives her a welcome distraction, as do her new friends Miyoko and Zach, who have parent issues of their own.

15. Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson
Everybody knows there are six kinds of teachers in the world. Sixth graders Topher, Steve and Brand know this better than anyone. Some of these teachers include the Zombies, the ones who have been teaching forever. There are the Caff-Adds or Zuzzers, the ones who are constantly on a caffeine-high and speak so fast that nobody understands them. There are the Dungeon Masters, your classic strict teachers who insist on absolutely no talking during break and reading time. And lastly, there are the Good Ones, the ones who simply make enduring seven hours of class slightly more bearable. Ms. Bixby is one of the good ones. So when she unexpectedly announces that she is unable to finish the class, Topher, Steve and Brand set out on a risky quest to give Ms. Bixby the last day she deserves. Through the three very different stories they tell, we begin to understand what Ms. Bixby means to each of them—and what the three of them mean to each other.

16. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
It is 1899 and 12-year-old Serafina lives with her Pa in the basement of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Pa had come to Asheville years ago to help with construction and stayed on as a fixer of all things mechanical in the 250-room mansion. For reasons unknown to Serafina, they must keep their nightly lodgings in the basement a secret as well as the existence of Serafina herself. She has developed catlike skills in exploring the vast Biltmore estate and enjoys sneaking through heating vents and other small spaces in order to eavesdrop on staff and inhabitants.
Her quiet existence is shattered when she witnesses a strange man dragging a tearful young girl down into the bowels of the vast home. The man is wearing a large black cloak and reassures the young girl that everything is okay. Suddenly, the captive struggles to get away from the man and his cloak appears to come alive. It wraps itself around the terrified child as she calls out for help. Serafina is frozen with fear and before she can react, the girl has vanished. Serafina escapes, thanks to her agility, and discovers the next day that a visitor of the Vanderbilts by the name of Clara has disappeared during the night. More children disappear and it becomes increasingly obvious that Serafina's new best friend, Braeden, is the man in the black cloak's newest target.

17. The Sleepover by Jen Malone
Why are they looking at me like I grew a second nose overnight? My hands fly to my face and I dart frantic looks back and forth between the two of them. Why aren’t they saying anything?
“What? What is it? Do I have a giant zit, because that happens sometimes and I can’t-”
Paige’s forehead goes all crinkly. It’s not that. It’s…Oh man, I don’t know how to…”
“You’re missing an eyebrow,” Veronica blurts.
Meghan, Paige, and Anna-Marie are super excited for the Best. Night. Ever. The sleepover they’re planning is going to be nothing short of EPIC. But nothing prepares them for the scene that greets them when they awaken the next morning: the basement is a disaster, Meghan’s left eyebrow has been shaved off and she is somehow in possession of the Class Bad Boy’s signature hoodie, and there’s a slew of baby chicks in the bathtub! Worst of all, Anna-Marie is missing!
Trouble is, none of them can remember anything beyond the hypnotism trick performed by the two-bit magician Veronica arranged in an effort to impress the other girls. Now, as the clock is ticking and the clues continue to get weirder, the remaining girls must figure out exactly what happened the night before. Can they find Anna-Marie and pull off the ultimate save-face before parent pick-up time?