Special Collections
District List: NYC Reads 365 - Fifth Grade
Description: NYC Reads 365 is a literacy initiative of the New York City Department of Education to create a new generation of readers. This list of high-interest titles is curated by NYC school librarians for students in Grade 5 and is updated each school year.
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Five Epic Disasters
by Lauren TarshisThe New York Times-bestselling I Survived series expands to include this thrilling nonfiction exploration of five true stories, from the Titanic to the Henryville Tornadoes.REAL KIDS. REAL DISASTERS.From the author of the New York Times-bestselling I Survived series come five harrowing true stories of survival, featuring real kids in the midst of epic disasters.From a group of students surviving the 9.0 earthquake that set off a historic tsunami in Japan, to a boy nearly frozen on the prairie in 1888, these unforgettable kids lived to tell tales of unimaginable destruction -- and, against all odds, survival.Read their incredible stories:The Children’s Blizzard, 1888The Titanic Disaster, 1912The Great Boston Molasses Flood, 1919The Japanese Tsunami, 2011The Henryville Tornado, 2012
The Doldrums
by Nicholas GannonHave you ever wanted to hold a little piece of the impossible? Lavishly illustrated in full color, The Doldrums is an extraordinary debut about friendship, imagination, and the yearning for adventure from author-artist Nicholas Gannon. A modern classic in the making, The Doldrums is for readers of inventive and timeless authors such as Brian Selznick and Lemony Snicket.Archer B. Helmsley wants an adventure. No, he needs an adventure. His grandparents were famous explorers . . . until they got stuck on an iceberg. Now Archer's mother barely lets him out of the house. As if that would stop a true Helmsley. Archer enlists Adelaide--the girl who, according to rumor, lost her leg to a crocodile--and Oliver--the boy next door--to help him rescue his grandparents. The Doldrums whisks us off on an adventure full of sly humor, incredible detail, and enormous heart.With approximately twenty pieces of breathtaking full-color artwork, as well as black-and-white spot illustrations, and gorgeous, literary writing, Nicholas Gannon proves himself to be a distinctive new voice with his middle grade debut. Be in it for the limitless imagination. For the characters who capture your heart. For the rich world you'll want to settle into. But most of all, be in it for the friendship. That, after all, is the true adventure.
The Dark Lady
by Irene Adler and Iacopo Bruno"While on summer vacation, little Irene Adler meets a young William Sherlock Holmes.
The two share stories of pirates and have battles of wit while running wild on the sunny streets and rooftops.
When Sherlock's friend, Lupin, joins in on the fun, they all become fast friends.
But the good times end abruptly when a dead body floats ashore on the nearby beach.
The young detective trio will have to put all three of their heads together to solve this mystery."
Dara Palmer's Major Drama
by Emma Shevah"'The lead role of Maria in The Sound of Music goes to ..."I could practically hear her say "Dara Palmer." This was going to be my big break! But what really came out of my teacher's mouth was "Ella Moss-Daniels."My heart went huuuuggggggghhhhht.Dara Palmer longs for stardom-but when she isn't cast in her middle school's production of The Sound of Music, she get suspicious. It can't be because she's not the best. She was born to be a famous movie star. It must because she's adopted from Cambodia and doesn't look like a typical fraulein. (That's German for girl.) So irrepressible Dara comes up with a genius plan to shake up the school: write a play about her own life. Then she'll have to be the star.Praise for Dream On, Amber:A Booklist 2015 Top 10 First Novels for YouthA Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2015"[This] novel is a charmer...While its humor and illustrations lend it Wimpy Kid appeal, its emotional depth makes it stand out from the pack."-Booklist Starred review "A gutsy girl in a laugh-out-loud book that navigates tough issues with finesse." -Kirkus Starred review"Amber's effervescent and opinionated narration captivates from the start." -Publishers Weekly Starred review"By turns playful and poignant, in both style and substance, this coming-of-age novel will hook readers from the first page to the last." -School Library Journal Starred review
The Cathedral Of Fear
by Irene Adler and Iacopo Bruno and Pierdomenico Baccalario and Alessandro Gatti and Nanette McGuinnessIrene's family has moved to Evreux, Normandy. Soon after arriving at her new home, she is approached by a mysterious woman who mutters some strange words about Irene's mother being in danger, before vanishing into thin air.
It's just the first in a series of unsettling events that Irene, Sherlock, and Lupin must decipher.
The three sleuths questions will lead them to a secret crypt far beneath the streets of Paris and to an ancient relic that it is rumored to be worth a fortune.
But how far will someone go to obtain the priceless treasure? Secrets and twists await the young detectives at every turn as they solve the case of The Cathedral of Fear.
As Brave As You
by Jason ReynoldsKirkus Award Finalist Schneider Family Book Award Winner Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book In this &“pitch-perfect contemporary novel&” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award-winning author Jason Reynolds explores multigenerational ideas about family love and bravery in the story of two brothers, their blind grandfather, and a dangerous rite of passage.Genie&’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans). How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he&’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it&’s almost as if it&’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all. Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It&’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie&’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won&’t do?