A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole

A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Hope is a beautifully illustrated book about a mouse living in a Louisiana plantation during the 1820's.Celeste loves to weave grass baskets to carry food found in her expeditions to the dining room, a dangerous place because of the ferocious cat. After the cat discovers the hole in the floorboards, it's time to find a new nest. Celeste finds her new home in an unexpected place; there are two visitors to the plantation, Mr. Audubon and his teenage assistant, Joseph, who adopts Celeste and likes to carry her in his pocket.
Almost every page in this book is filled with wonderful illustrations! This would be a nice family read-aloud, and I believe it will appeal to younger readers. However, I think my fifth graders would enjoy it for the beautiful pictures, the very cute mouse, and her exciting adventures.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

When the Marine recruiting officer visits the Navajo reservation during World War II, fifteen year old Ned Begay wants to enlist to serve his country, but the Marine Corps rules state that you had to be seventeen. He enlists the next year, saying that he is "old enough to join." He has no idea why the Marines are recruiting Navajo Indians, but he soon learns that he will be a "code talker." Because the Japanese could crack all the codes the English speaking Marines could devise, it was decided to use the Navajo language as the secret code to convey information between the battalions and the headquarters. Young Ned participates in the amphibious Marine landings at several major islands in the Pacific: Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
Although Ned's story is fictional, it is based upon real stories told by Navajo Marines. I enjoyed learning about the bravery of both Navajo and white Marines as they stormed the beaches and endured Japanese assaults, and I am sure that many of my students will also enjoy this book.

The Strictest School in the World, : Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken

As you can probably tell from the subtitle, this book is a hilarious adventure that most readers will love! Emmaline lives in India in 1894 until her parents feel the time has come to send her to boarding school, and they decide to follow a friend's recommendation and send her to"the strictest school in the world." Emmaline travels to England to live with her Aunt Lucy till school begins, and while she is there, she has time for her favorite pasttime: building flying machines. Although she loves to build the machines following the plans of her great-great uncle, she is too afraid to try flying them herself. The problem is solved by the arrival of a young boy, Rubberbones, who can fall from great heights without getting hurt. They enjoy many attempts at flying until it's time for Emmaline to enter school, which turns out to be more of a prison.
     This book is made even better by illustrations by Bill Slavin. If you enjoy this book, there are others in the series, which I haven't read.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin

Minli is a Chinese girl from a poor family, and her mother often complains about being poor and the things they lack. Minli's father, however, seems content and loves to tell Minli folktales and stories. Minli is distressed by her family's plight and embarks on a quest to find good fortune. She is helped by a talking goldfish, a dragon who can't fly, and an orphaned shepherd boy. The story is often interrupted by Chinese folktales which intertwine with the main plot. Although at first I didn't like the main plot interrupted by other stories, I soon realized that each story was a puzzle piece coming together to make a complete picture. Speaking of pictures, this book has beautiful illustrations! I think fifth graders will enjoy this book.

The Wednesday Wars, by Gary Schmidt

It is 1967, and Holling Hoodhood knows his 7th grade year at Camillo Jr. High School will be terrible. His teacher, Mrs. Baker, already hates him on the first day!To make things worse, it turns out that on Wednesday afternoon, when the Catholic and Jewish children in his class have religious instruction, Holling is stuck with Mrs. Baker all alone. At first he is given chores to do, but then Mrs. Baker has the brilliant idea that Holling should read Shakespeare! What could be worse?
This book could be very funny: two runaway rats, cream puffs, and a 12 year old boy wearing tights in a community play add humorous moments. It could also be sad: the Vietnam War touches the lives of the Holling's world, along with a runaway hippie sister. I loved this book because of the wonderful example of Mrs. Baker, who showed me that teachers could be strict and loving and go "above and beyond" their classroom requirements, and of course, as a Shakespeare lover, I was happy to see that Shakespeare could speak to a 12 year old boy in 1967.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

     Have you ever watched a movie with a surprise ending and then said,"I want to watch that again!"? When You Reach Me evoked that same reaction in me, and I actually flipped to the beginning of the book and started reading again.
     Miranda is a latch-key child in the late 1970's, and her life begins to change the day her best friend is punched by a stranger on the way home from school. Then she begins to get a series of mysterious notes, asking her to write a letter telling the sender odd things, like where her house key is hidden. The sender also mentions that someone's life is at stake.
     I find books and movies about time travel to be fascinating, and I think readers who like a little bit of mystery and science fiction will like this book also. It won the Newbery medal for 2009, so it's worth checking out! The book makes several references to A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle, and now I also want to go back and re-read this classic book about time travel.