SO...
HERE's OUR 6th YEAR OF HOMESCHOOL: 4th GRADE and 5th GRADE (2007-8)!
Do you have kids that are younger than these grades? Go see my previous book lists. They are linked on my Homeschool Series post by year/grade level. Pardon me for any of this post that seems like a repeat for those of you who frequent my blog... the long explanation is for those who are new visitors.
These are the books we read in 2007-8. In case you are just "tuning in", our kiddos were 9 and 11 at the time. Both of the kids were reading very well already. Many of the books on this list are well over their grade level. Some are encyclopedia type books which we either read parts of or all of - depending on the unit and level of interest. If we only read part of a book, it is listed in italics.
We like to have an ongoing "family reader" (usually a chapter book) for unit study, history or just for pleasure. I also require most school days that the children read on their own or out loud. There are 111 books listed here. As the books get thicker, the lists get shorter. I did NOT include any PREVIOUSLY read books in this list (and there are always quite a few). That means that all of my book lists should NOT contain duplicate books (even though the children often re-check books or re-read some at home in our personal library).
Many of these books can be read at a much older age level as well, so don't let the grade level fool you. The grade in the title of this post just happens to be the grade they were in when WE read them. You can read them any time you like (I'm not a kid, and I enjoyed many of them!). The ones that my children considered too 'babyish' or young are noted in italics, along with any other notes I made when recording the book list that year.
The books that we enjoyed the MOST are bolded. A few were so good that we went out and bought our own copy to add to our library at home. I didn't write down the reasons why we loved them. Some times it was content, others it was illustrations, and sometimes both. The kids love revisiting those books; and if we don't have them at home, they don't hesitate to re-check them at the library. The rest of the books which are NOT bolded are probably great, too (I either didn't remember them very well, the children read them without my help and didn't comment about them, or they just weren't a FAVORITE). Don't think that just because the book is not bolded, it isn't a good book! Our favorites are subjective and you should read these for yourself to find out what your family's favorites are!
Books that had objectionable content (according to our worldview - which is Christian in nature) are conveniently listed in red. These are books that went above and beyond truth and logic to preach evolution or erase the line between fact and theory. Another reason it may be red is if it had sexual, spiritually dark, mystic or adult themes. If you aren't a Christian and you don't have a problem with evolution or early exposure to sensuality, you can read them/watch them without issue. They are labeled in red as a service for other like-minded Christian moms who read this blog.
If you enjoy using our book lists and ideas here at Sprittibee's Homeschool Blog, please consider dropping some spare change in the tip jar - no donation too small! We could use a few dollars to buy more books with since most of these are LIBRARY books we checked out! Another way you can support my blog is to order the books you want through my Amazon store! You can check out my little Amazon book store up at the top of this blog by clicking the bookstore link, or clicking the text in this sentence! Many of our favorites are there and sorted by category. If you purchase them through our referral, my kids might eventually get a free book for their library. It's a win-win situation! You get great books, we get a few pennies for telling you about them.
SPRITTIBEE'S FOURTH & FIFTH GRADE BOOK LIST
| Animals in Flight - Jenkins & Page |
| Surprising Sharks - Nicola Davies |
| Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne (Unabridged) |
| Ballooning - Phyllis J. Perry |
| Blimps - Roxie Munro |
| Poem: Snowbound by Greenleaf Whittier |
| Mission to Mars - Franklyn M. Branley (worldview issues) |
| Science Factory - Jon Richards |
| Air and Flight - Jon Richards |
| The Secrets of Animal Flight - Nic Bishop |
| Ships of the Air - Lynn Curlee |
| Flying - Gail Gibbons |
| Floating in Space - Franklyn M. Branley |
| Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines - Caroline Arnold |
| Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth - Jonathan Wells (only read certain parts) |
| Amelia Earhart: Courage in the Sky - Mona Kerby |
| Leo the Late Bloomer - Robert Kraus |
| Culture in Japan - Melanie Guile |
| Skippy Jon Jones - Judy Schachner |
| Cat, You Better Come Home - Garrison Keillor |
| The Extinct Files - Wallace Edwards |
| Testing Miss Malarkey - Judy Finchler |
| How You Were Born - Joanna Cole |
| The Human Body - Paul Lewis & David Rubenstein (only read certain parts) |
| See How they Grow: Kitten - DK |
| The Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia - Richard Walker |
| Japan: Enchantment of the World - Ann Heinrichs |
| Seadogs - Lisa Wheeler |
| Cub in the Cupboard - Ben M. Baglio |
| Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies & Moths - Jim Arnosky |
| Lifecycles: The Journey of a Butterfly - Carolyn Scrace |
| Monarch Butterfly - Gail Gibbons |
| Butterflies (Zoo Books) - Beth Wagner Brust |
| Video: Pole to Pole, Deep Sea |
| (Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith) "Elsie's Endless Wait" - Martha Finley |
| Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars - Margery Facklam |
| The Fellowship of the Ring - Tolkien |
| The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew - Margaret Sidney |
| Animal Babies in Ponds and Rivers - Kingfisher (for younger readers) |
| Frogs, Toads, Lizards, and Salamanders - Nancy Winslow Parker & Joan Richards Wright |
| From Tadpole to Frog (Lifecycles) - David Stewart |
| Frogs - Sheila Buff |
| Slippery Babies - Judy Cutchins |
| Butterflies and Moths - Elaine Pascoe |
| Insects - Jen Green |
| It's a Hummingbird's Life - Irene Kelly |
| Making Animal Babies - Sneed B. Collard III |
| A Mother's Journey - Sandra Markle (penguins) |
| Animals Hatch from Eggs - Elaine Pascoe |
| How Spiders Make Their Webs - Jill Bailey |
| Animal Babies in Polar Lands - Kingfisher |
| The Amazing Egg - Susan James |
| How Animals Care for their Babies - National Geographic Society (Books for Young Explorers) |
| Chickens Aren't the Only Ones - Ruth Heller |
| Things that are Most in the World - Judi Barrett |
| (Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith) "Elsie's Impossible Choice" - Martha Finley |
| Clarence the Copy Cat - Patricia Lakin |
| The Life Cycle of a Salmon - Lisa Trumbauer |
| A Dragon in the Sky: The Story of a Green Darner Dragon Fly - Laurence Pringle |
| Movie: Waltons "The Gift" |
| Eyes on Nature: Fish - Jane P. Resnick (evolution) |
| Rays - Martha E. H. Rustad (for younger readers) |
| Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea - Chris Butterworth |
| Inside an Egg - Sylvia A. Johnson |
| Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs - Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto |
| Even More Parts - Tedd Arnold |
| (Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith) "Elsie's New Life" - Martha Finley |
| Kittens in the Kitchen - Ben M. Baglio |
| The Taj Mahal - Rachel Lynette |
| O Jerusalem - Jane Yolen/ Illustrated by John Thompson |
| India (Major World Nations) - John C. Caldwell |
| A True Book: India - Elaine Landau |
| Country Insights: India, City and Village Life - David Cumming |
| Ancient India - Virginia Schomp (some nudity) |
| India (Eyewitness Books) - DK (Manini Chatterjee & Anita Roy) (some nudity) |
| Secrets of the Vine for Kids - Bruce Wilkinson |
| Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein |
| (Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith) "Elsie's Stolen Heart" - Martha Finley |
| Ducktails - Janette Oke |
| New Kid in Town - Janette Oke |
| The Confessions of St. Augustine (parts) |
| Trial and Triumph (Stories from Church History) - Richard M. Hannula (parts about Augustine) |
| A History of the Christian Church (revised edition) - Williston Walker (parts about Augustine) |
| Heritage Studies 3 Textbook (Early America/New England section) |
| The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving - Ann McGovern |
| Smart About the 50 States - Maryann Cocca-Leffler |
| Seabird - Holling C. Holling |
| Little Miss Liberty - Chris Robertson |
| Madlenka - Peter Sis |
| Molly Bannaky - Alice McGill |
| Syrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent - Bill Peet |
| Looking at Liberty - Harvey Stevenson |
| The Old Pirate of Central Park - Robert Priest |
| The New York Colony - Bob Italia |
| The Patchwork Quilt - Valerie Flournoy |
| Liberty's Journey - Kelly DiPucchio |
| How to Draw - Jack Hamm |
| Going Lobstering - Jerry Pallotta and Rob Bolster |
| Potato, A Tale from the Great Depression - Kate Lied (younger reading level) |
| Mei Li - Thomas Handforth |
| Egyptology |
| The Way Science Works - DK (parts of the book) |
| New York's Bravest - Mary Pope Osborne |
| Basket Moon - Mary Lyn Ray |
| A Peddler's Dream - Janice Shefelman |
| Pilgrim Voices, Our First Year in the New World - Connie and Peter Roop |
| The Great Depression - Michael Burgan |
| The Journey - Sarah Stewart |
| When Jessie Came Across the Sea - Amy Hest |
| Oscar, Cat-About-Town - James Herriot |
| For the Temple, A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem - G.A. Henty |
Up next in the series will be:
Post #2 - Fourth and Fifth Grade Homeschool Curriculum
Post #3 - Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Trips
Post #4 - Fourth and Fifth Grade Learning Enrichment
Post #5 - Favorite Memories from Fourth and Fifth Grade
I can't promise how long this series will take to finish with a 1 year old and two tweens to homeschool... but I'll get 'a round tuit'.
xoxo
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3 comments:
I just can't wait until you have Preschool on there again to see what you do with the youngest!
Congratulations on your new bee, how exciting! Great list of books, I too wonder if you have a preschool edition?
Thanks for this series. I know I'll be referring back to it again and again this year as my son enters 4th grade home school. I love book lists, but I love ones even more by Moms who have actually read the books and are giving feedback on the books amongst the many, that really stand out.
Blessings
Rachymommy - MommyTopics.com
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