Sixth Grade Favorites

JUNIOR AND TEEN FICTION

The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson wades through her intense grief over the loss of her best friend by investigating the rare jellyfish she is convinced was responsible for her friend's death.

Dough Boys by Paula Chase
Told in two voices, 13-year-old best friends Simp and Rollie play on a basketball team in their housing project, but Rollie dreams of being a drummer, and Simp to impress the gang leader, Coach Tez.

Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros
Best friends Isaac and Marco face various challenges in sixth grade, such as Isaac getting better grades, Marco winning a spot on the basketball team and both seeing their efforts make a change in their respective family lives. They hope their friendship and support for one another will be enough to help them from falling short.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
When a 12-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology and a particularly nasty troll.

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee
When boys in her class start touching seventh-grader Mila and making her feel uncomfortable, she does not want to tell her friends or mother until she reaches her breaking point.

The Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel by Melissa De le Cruz
Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost, the teenaged children of Disney's most evil villains search for a dragon's eye – the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape.

Unsettled by Reem Faruqi
Nurah’s family moves from Pakistan to a small town in Georgia. While finding it hard to fit in with her new classmates, Nurah tries out for the swim team and makes a friend. Then, when Owais, Nurah’s older brother, is the target of a serious bullying incident, and the FBI questions her father about an incident, Nurah learns some difficult truths about being Muslim in America. 

TBH, This Is SO Awkward by Lisa Greenwald
Told entirely in text messages, emails, and notes, best friends Prianka, Gabby and Cecily find their friendship tested by busily planning a spring fair, bullying and boys.

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs
The CIA forces 12-year-old Charlotte "Charlie" Thorne, a rebellious genius, to use her code-breaking skills on an epic global chase to locate Einstein's last equation before dangerous agents discover it and unlock the solution to harnessing energy.

Eventown by Corey Haydu
To Elodee, 11, things seem a little too perfect in Eventown when she moves there with her parents and identical twin, Naomi, especially since forgetting the past is so highly valued.

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Alberto Pablo Hernandez
In order to heal after his mother’s death, 13-year-old Sal learns to reach into time and space to retrieve things – and people – from other universes.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance.

The Miraculous by Jess Redman
After losing his faith in miracles following the death of his newborn sister, 11-year-old Wunder Ellis meets a mysterious old woman who needs his help to reconnect the living and the dead, bringing himself and his town face-to-face with miracles.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
Magnus Chase, a homeless teenager, has just learned an impossible secret: he is the son of a Norse god. Now he must search for a weapon that will save the world or herald its doom. There's just one little catch: to succeed, he first must die.

The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
Left stranded in the Amazon jungle when their plane crashes on their way back to England from Manaus, Brazil, four children struggle to survive for days until one of them finds a map that leads them to a ruined city and a secret hidden among the vines.

Omar Rising by Aisha Saeed
Omar must contend with being treated like a second-class citizen when he gets a scholarship to an elite boarding school.

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Unhappy about being sent to the same summer camp after their fathers start dating, Bett and Avery, two 11-year-old girls, eventually begin scheming to get the couple back together after a breakup. This story is told entirely through letters, emails and text messages.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show "The $20,000 Pyramid," a 12-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Malamander by Thomas Taylor
A quirky, creepy fantasy set in Eerie-on-Sea finds a colorful cast of characters in hot pursuit of a sea monster thought to convey a surprising gift.

The Way I Say It by Nancy Tandor
Rory Mitchell has always had an issue saying his Rs correctly (which is a real problem given his name). Now in sixth grade, his former best friend, Brent, suddenly sides with bullies against Rory. But then Brent is hit by a car and suffers a serious brain injury, which requires Rory to reevaluate everything.

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu
When they are separated for the first time since birth, Iris and Lark struggle with insecurities over their individual identities at the same time things begin to go missing around town.

It All Begins with Jelly Beans by Nova Weetman
When they are selected to read speeches at their elementary school graduation, an unlikely friendship develops between two sixth-graders, one popular and one a misfit, who are facing family problems and health issues.

The Collectors by Jacqueline West
Overlooked in class, a hearing-impaired boy who collects lost or discarded trinkets discovers a dangerous underground world full of stolen wishes and the people who collect them.

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams
Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Annabelle’s comfortable safe life changes when Betty joins her middle-grade class. Betty’s Bullying and manipulation turns everything upside down and only Annabelle’s relentless kindness and courage can put things right.

 

NON-FICTION

How to be a Scientist by Steve Mould
This book provides step-by-step instructions for more than 40 science experiments examining the human body, the Earth, the natural world and the properties of space. It also includes stories about famous scientists and pages explaining the science behind the activities.

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
In this exciting new edition of his worldwide bestseller A Short History of Nearly Everything, which has been specially abridged and adapted for younger readers, Bill Bryson explores the mysteries of time and space and how, against all odds, life came to be on the wondrous planet we call home.

Can you Crack the Code? by Ella Schwartz
Throughout history, lots of good guys and lots of bad guys have used codes to keep their messages under wraps. This book features stories of hidden treasures, wartime maneuverings and contemporary hacking, as well as the mechanics behind the codes in accessible and kid-friendly forms. Sidebars invite the reader to try their hand at cracking and crafting their own secret messages.

How they Croaked by Georgia Bragg
This book takes a look at the deaths of several famous people throughout history and the circumstances surrounding those deaths.

Black Heroes of the Wild West by Ruth Pelz
This nonfiction book celebrates the extraordinary true tales of three black heroes who took control of their destinies and stood up for their communities in the Old West.

The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Greece: A Handbook for Time Travelers by Jonathan Stokes
This is a snappy, informative travel guide for the time traveler complete with humorous maps, reviews of places to stay, and top attractions and tips on who to have lunch with.

 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova
After shunning Jaime, the school nerd, on her first day at a new middle school, Penelope Torres tries to blend in with her new friends in the art club, until the art club goes to war with the science club, of which Jaime is a member.

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag
Thirteen-year-old Aster grows up in a magical family; women are witches and men become animal shapeshifters. In his world, gender-based roles are clearly defined and anyone who crosses the line is cast out. Unlucky for Aster, then, that he's much more drawn to witchcraft than shifting.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle school production of Moon over Mississippi as various relationships start and end, and others never quite get going.

Hilo. Book 1, The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick
When a mysterious boy falls from the sky, friends D.J. and Gina must discover the secrets of his identity and help him save the world.