The list left me questioning which books I should focus on reading now. I had no idea which book to read in which grade or even what some of them were about.
So, I took the list and looked up the grade equivalent (and summary) via Scholastic's Teacher Book Wizard . Then I put them in order based on grade equivalent. I hope this is helpful...
Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Program (Grades 4–6) List by Grade Equivalent
Title - Author Grade - Equivalent
Book Summary
4th Grade Equivalent
The Complete Fairy Tales (use volume appropriate for child’s age) – Perrault, Charles – 4
(Multiple fairy tales from Cinderella, Puss in Boots, & more)Betsy-Tacy – Lovelace, Maud Hart – 4.2
(Betsy makes a new friend and shares toys and secrets with her.)The Moffats – Estes, Eleanor – 4.2
(Meet the Moffats. There is Sylvie, the oldest, the cleverest, and-most days at least-the responsible one; Joey, who though only twelve is the man of the house...sometimes; Janey, who has a terrific upside-down way of looking at the world; Rufus, who may be the littlest but always gets in the biggest trouble; and their mother.Even the most ordinary Moffat day is packed with extraordinary fun. Only a Moffat could get locked in a bread box all afternoon, or dance with a dog in front of the whole town, or hitch a ride on a boxcar during kindergarten recess. And only a Moffat could turn mistakes and mischief into hilarious one-of-a-kind adventure.)From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Konigsburg, E.L. – 4.7
(A tale of a young girl's escape into a search for identity — her own and Angel's — in one of the world's greatest museums.)Ben and Me – Lawson, Robert – 4.5
(The true story of Ben Franklin, as told by his closest friend and adviser, Amos the mouse. According to Amos, it was really he who was responsible for Ben Franklin's inventions and discoveries.)Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson, Katherine – 4.6
(Two friends, spending hours in the woods by their houses creating a magical kingdom. Then tragedy strikes, and Jess is left alone. How can he ever go on?)The Rescuers – Sharp, Margery – 4.5
(The novel is the first in a series of stories about Miss Bianca, a socialite mouse who volunteered to lend assistance to people and animals in danger.)Strawberry Girl – Lenski, Lois – 4.6
(Strawberries — big, ripe, and juicy. Ten-year-old Birdie Boyer can hardly wait to start picking them. But her family has just moved to the Florida backwoods, and they haven't even begun their planting. Making the new farm prosper is not easy. There is heat to suffer through, and droughts, and cold snaps. And, perhaps most worrisome of all for the Boyers, there are rowdy neighbors, just itching to start a feud.)The Children of Green Knowe – Boston, L.M. – 4.9
(The thrilling and chilling tales of Green Knowe, a haunted manor deep in an overgrown garden in the English countryside, have been entertaining readers for half a century.There are three children: Toby, who rides the majestic horse Feste; his mischievous little sister, Linnet; and their brother, Alexander, who plays the flute. The children warmly welcome Tolly to Green Knowe — even though they've been dead for centuries. But that's how everything is at Green Knowe. The ancient manor hides as many stories as it does dusty old rooms. And the master of the house is great-grandmother Oldknow, whose storytelling mixes present and past with the oldest magic in the world.)The Complete Chronicles of Narnia – Lewis, C.S. (entire series as listed below) – 4-5
(For here is a world where a witch decrees eternal winter; where there are more talking animals than people; and where battles are fought by Centaurs, Giants, and Fauns.)
- The Magician’s Nephew 5.6
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 6.1
- The Horse and his Boy 5.8
- Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia 5.6
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 5.5
- The Silver Chair 2.8
- The Last Battle 3.3
Thimble Summer – Enright, Elizabeth – 4.9
(After nine-year-old Garnet finds a solid silver thimble, she wonders whether it is magic as she meets unusual summer adventures with courage, curiosity, and daring.)A Dog on Barkham Street – Stolz, Mary – 4.9
(A little boy's greatest desire is fulfilled when his uncle gives him a dog.)
5th Grade Equivalent
Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt, Natalie – 5
(Time drags by for Winnie Foster, an eleven-year-old girl who lives in a house bordering the woods owned by her family. Winnie spends her summer days under the watchful eye of her grandmother. Most of the time it's too hot to be out in the sun, and when Winnie does actually venture outside, she never goes beyond the fence of the yard. But one morning she sneaks away into the woods and there she sees a young man drinking from a mysterious spring of water he uncovers at the base of tree. The young man, Jesse Tuck, discovers Winnie watching him. So he kidnaps her.)Gentle Ben – Morey, Walt – 5.1
(This book traces the friendship between a boy and a bear in the rugged Alaskan Territory.)Matilda – Dahl, Roald – 5.2
(Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different. But there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back: she's the world's greatest practical joker!)The Summer of the Swans – Byers, Betsy – 5.2
(All summer Sara Godfrey has fretted over herself, her impossible body, her terrible new haircut. One moment she's elated, the next, she's in tears. And she can't figure out why. Maybe her wildly changing moods are tied to the sudden and unaccountable appearance of the swans, which hold the rapt attention of Charlie, Sara's mentally retarded brother, who she loves far more than herself these days. In fact, it will be the sudden disappearance of Charlie that will compel Sara to abandon her own small, annoying miseries ("I have cried over myself a hundred times this summer"), and lose herself in searching for him. In her anguish, Sara turns to Joe Melby, whom she has long despised, and together they search through the dense woods and rough fields to find him. Together they hear Charlie's sharp repeated cry, which leads them to him. The longest day of the summer is finally over, and Sara knows that she will never be the same again.)Caddie Woodlawn – Brink, Carol Ryrie – 5.3
(Caddie's adventures provide an exciting and authentic picture of life on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s.)The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – Kelly, Jacqueline – 5.4
(Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the twentieth century.)The Railway Children – Nesbit, E. – 5.6
(When Father goes away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis, and their mother have to leave their happy life in London for a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. But the mystery remains: where is Father, and will he ever return?)Hatchet – Paulsen, Gary – 5.7
(A story of survival and of transformation. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake, and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present before his departure.)The Matchlock Gun – Edmonds, Walter – 5.7
(After his father leaves to fight the Indians, ten-year-old Edward becomes the man of the house. How can he defend his mother and sister against Indian attacks with a gun twice as long as he is?)The Twenty-One Balloons – du Bois, William Pene – 5.7
(When Professor William Waterman Sherman leaves San Francisco in a balloon in August, 1883, he intends to stay in the air for quite some time. Little does Professor Sherman realize that he will come down in only one week, nor that he will land on Krakatoa.)Lassie Come Home – Knight, Eric – 5.8
(Twelve-year-old Joe Carraclough is heartbroken. Lassie, the family's beloved collie, must be sold to the Duke of Rudling, a bad-tempered, wealthy old man. The Carracloughs are struggling through hard times and can't afford to keep Lassie, who is without a doubt the finest collie in Yorkshire. The Duke sends Lassie to his estate in Scotland, four-hundred miles to the north, but Lassie will not be kept away from the family she loves. By instinct she starts the long journey south to find the home where she belongs.)Misty of Chincoteague – Henry, Marguerite – 5.8
(Marguerite Henry is equally at home describing a child's yearning for a pony and the life of a pony in the wild, and her evocative depictions of animals never rely on false anthropomorphism. Readers will share the joy of the animals' freedom and will have appropriately mixed feelings seeing them go into captivity.)Alice in Wonderland – Carroll, Lewis – 5.9
(One summer day, young Alice is sitting on the riverbank with her sister when a big white rabbit runs past. "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late," the rabbit says, taking a look at his watch. Then he pops down a large rabbit hole, and Alice can't help but follow him.)Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery, L.M. – 5.9
(In one of the most beloved classics of all time, Anne brings mischief, adventure, and love to the countryside of Green Gables.)The Borrowers – Norton, Mary – 5.9
(The Borrowers--the Clock family: Homily, Pod, and their fourteen-year-old daughter, Arrietty, to be precise--are tiny people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an old English country manor. All their minuscule home furnishings, from postage stamp paintings to champagne cork chairs, are "borrowed" from the "human beans" who tromp around loudly above them. All is well until Pod is spotted upstairs by a human boy! Can the Clocks stay nested safely in their beloved hidden home, or will they be forced to flee?)The House of Dies Drear – Hamilton, Virginia – 5.9
(In this Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning novel, a black family moves into an enormous house once used to hide runaway slaves. Mysterious sounds and events as well as the discovery of secret passageways make the family believe they are in grave danger.)D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths – d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar – 5.9
(Mighty Zeus, with his fistful of thunderbolts, Athena, goddess of wisdom, Helios the sun, greedy King Midas — here are gods, goddesses, and legendary figures of ancient Greece brought to life in the myths that have inspired great literature and art throughout the ages.)
- D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths – d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar – 5.9
6th Grade Equivalent
The Jungle Book – Kipling, Rudyard – 6.1
(Saved from the jaws of the evil tiger Shere Khan, young Mowgli is adopted by a wolf pack and taught the law of the jungle by lovable old Baloo the bear and Bhageera the panther.)Mary Poppins – Travers, Pamela l. – 6.1
(Mary Poppins is like no other nanny the four Banks children have ever seen. She whirls into their home and "spit-spot," she works her inimitable brand of magic to make even the bland seem extraordinary. An endless source of fascinating adventure, she slides up the banister, produces an array of tricks from her seemingly empty carpetbag, and ensures the Banks' lives will never be the same.)Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh, Louise – 6.2
(Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she's written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?)Black Beauty – Sewell, Anna – 6.4
(Black Beauty's story, as told by himself, is the fascinating tale of the life of a horse a hundred years ago, when horses were a part of daily life. Although his colthood and early life are happy, Black Beauty tastes the bitterness of cruel handlers and indifferent masters as he passes from hand to hand, progressing from the country to London and back again.)The Black Stallion – Farley, Walter – 6.5
(While he is returning home after visiting his uncle in India, Alec Ramsay nearly loses his life when his ship sinks during a storm. Follow the adventures of Alec and the stallion that saves his life as they prepare to enter a horse race to determine the fastest horse in the world.)Chronicles of Prydain – Alexander, Lloyd (entire series as listed below) – 6.5
(Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, longs to be a hero. He begins his journey with a strange assortment of companions on a dangerous mission to save his beloved land, Prydain.)
- The Book of Three
- The Black Cauldron
- The Castle of Llyr
- Taran Wanderer
- The High King
Lad: A Dog – Terhune, Albert Payson – 6.5
(Recounts the heroic and adventurous life of a thoroughbred collie that was particularly devoted to his owners.)Cheaper by the Dozen – Gilbreth, Frank – 6.6
(What do you get when you put 12 lively kids together with a father who believes a family can be run like a factory and a mother who is his partner in everything except discipline? You get a hilarious tale of growing up that has made generations of kids laugh along with the Gilbreths.)The Dark is Rising Sequence – Cooper, Susan (entire series as listed below) – 6-7
(Barney, Simon and Jane find themselves beset by deadly dangers as they embark on a great quest. Having found a crumbling parchment map, they begin their search for ancient treasure linked to King Arthur. )
- Over Sea, Under Stone
- The Dark Is Rising
- Greenwitch
- The Grey King
- Silver on the Tree
The Pushcart War – Merrill, Jean – 6.7
(The pushcarts have declared war! New York City's streets are clogged with huge, rude trucks that park where they want, hold up traffic, and bulldoze into anything that is in their way, and the pushcart peddlers are determined to get rid of them. But the trucks are just as determined to get rid of the pushcarts, and chaos results in the city.)My Side of the Mountain – George, Jeanne Craighead – 6.7
(Fifteen-year-old Sam Gribley has decided to run away from his crowded apartment home, but unlike most kids who rarely get beyond their block, Sam goes from New York City all the way to the ruined farm of Great-grandfather Gribley in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.)Roller Skates – Sawyer, Ruth – 6.7
(This book features the discoveries and adventures of ten-year-old Lucinda, who spends a wonderful year exploring the New York City of the 1890s.)The Secret Garden – Burnett, France Hodgson – 6.8
(After the sudden death of her parents in India, Mary Lennox is sent 'home' to England, and the Yorkshire estate of a distant relative. Sad and lonely, her only interest lies in a secret garden, abandoned after a tragic accident. With the help of local the country boy Dickon and Colin, her guardian's invalid son, Mary's spirit is reawakened as they bring the garden back to life.)The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum, L. Frank – 6.9
(Follow the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, as their Kansas house is swept away by a cyclone and they find themselves in a strange land called Oz. Here she meets the Munchkins and joins the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powered Wizard of Oz.)Redwall – Jacques, Brian – 7
(When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help edwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy.)Homer Price – McCloskey, Robert – 7.3
(Homer Price of Centerburg never has a dull day! Whether he's befriending a skunk that will later help him apprehend a gang of thieves, or trying to gain control of an automatic doughnut maker with a mind of its own, Homer seems to find adventure everywhere he goes.)Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates – Dodge, Mary Mapes – 7.5
(Set against a backdrop of frozen canals in a winter wonderland, the year's most exciting event in a little Dutch village is about to take place. But will Hans Brinker and his sister Gretel, with their hand-carved wooden skates, be able to compete against their well-trained young friends who own fine steel blades?)Heidi – Spyri, Johanna – 7.9
(Heidi is forced to leave her beloved mountains to become the companion of a girl in a wheelchair living in Frankfurt.)Swiss Family Robinson – Wyss, Johann – 8.9
(A terrible storm strands a Swiss pastor and his family on a tropical island. Luckily, the Robinsons are optimistic and inventive; with what they salvage from the wrecked ship, and the island's abundant fruits, plants, and animals, they soon adapt, each day discovering new dangers, skills, and delights in their strange new life.)
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