Authors of Books for Students in Upper Elementary Grades

This list is constantly being updated. Some authors are already linked to websites and others are provided to guide your selection of good authors for this age group. Eventually, all authors listed will be linked to an online resource.

• Mitsumasa Anno, as featured in a wonderful article A Journey with Anno by Patricia Austin
• Avi
• Natalie Babbitt: Teacher Resource File and a lesson plan for her novel Tuck Everlasting
• Marion Bauer, writer and teacher.
• Byrd Baylor, southwestern Native American author; many lesson ideas from the Internet School Libary Media Center
• Judy Blume
• Bruce Brooks Biography and Books
• Eve Bunting
• Betsy Byars
• Pam Conrad Biography and Books
• Robert Cormier Biography and Books
• Karen Cushman
• Cynthia DeFelice
• Paul Fleischman
• Paula Fox: Lesson Plan for The Slave Dancer
• Jean Fritz, from Internet School Library Media Center
• Jean Craighead George
• Mary Downing Hahn
• Virginia Hamilton
• Brian Jacques and the Official Redwall Site
• Kathryn Lasky
• Lois Lowry
• David Macaulay Teacher Resource File
• Patricia MacLachlan, Biography and Books
• Susan Rowen Masters, author of The Secret Life of Hubie Hartzel
• Farley Mowat, received an award for Canadian Author of the Month
• Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Biography and Books
• Scott O'Dell
• A conversation with Kevin O'Malley, illustrator
• Katherine Paterson
• Gary Paulsen
• Richard Peck Biography and Books
• Patricia Polacco
• J.K. Rowling
• Spotlight on Cynthia Rylant
• John Scieszka: Fractured Fairy Tales and Fables Scholastic Online Classroom Activity and Official Book Website for Baloney (Henry P.)
• Jerry Spinelli, author of the month
• R. L. Stine and The Nightmare Room Series and Goosebumps Official Website
• Chris Van Allsburg
• David Wiesner
• Jane Yolen

Websites about Books, Authors and Children's Literature

• Authors and Illustrators from Eduplace
• Caldecott Medal Homepage given to an illustrator for the most distinguished American picture book for children.
• Children's Book Council includes an Authors & Illustrators section.
• Children's Literature Web Guide from the University of Calgary is one of the best resources on this topic.
• Children's Literature Websites from the Internet School Library Media Center includes an index of author resources for children and young adult authors and illustrators.
• Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University abstracts over 5,000 children's books.
• Mona Kerby's The Reading Corner, a place to find good books to read, includes among other things, great reviews of popular picturebooks and an Author Corner
• Newbury Medal Homepage given to a writer for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
• ProTeacher.com's Hotlist of websites related to Books and Reviews
• Pronouncing Dictionary of Author's Names is a helpful resource for those in need of some assistance when pronouncing author's names for children.
• Teachnology's Children's Literature Resources and Elementary Books Collection.
• The Word Pool is a children’s book site for parents, teachers and writers.

Instructional Strategies for Using Literature in the Classroom

• Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Website includes a collection book reviews and ways to integrate them into your classroom and recommendations for readers in Grade 5 and Grade 6.
• Susan Taylor Brown's Teaching Guides Database is a free searchable database that helps connect children's books to the classroom curriculum. It is searchable by name, title, and keyword.
• Children's Literature Activities for the Classroom by librarian Marcia Goudie sorted by grade level and genre with links to online resources
• BookTalks-Quick and Simple from Nancy Keane provides short and concise book reviews of many popular titles and gives tips for booktalks and reading lists.
• Book Raps is a book discussion conducted via electronic mail. Individuals or groups of students from across the country or around the world can discuss the scheduled books.
• Annual Read-In project is an online interaction between children's authors and illustrators, and K-12 students.
• Literature Learning Ladders by Annette Lamb contains Internet resources for award-winning books and other favorites. Check out the newest Newbery and Caldecott book activities! Learn to build your own book-Internet connections.
• Teacher's Guides from Randomhouse Books are very comprehensive and sorted by grade levels ranging from grade 3 through grade 12. New ones are being added.
• Treasures @ Sea: Exploring the Oceans Through Literature
• WriteOn Reader is an award winning comprehensive Thinkquest about writing, books, authors, illustrators and much more.

Online Literature for Fifth and Sixth Graders

• Aesop's Fables has over 655 Fables, some with a Real Audio segment, as well as over 120 Hans Christian Anderson tales.
• Cinderella Stories compiles many versions of this classic into an online project.
• Grimm's Fairy Tales
• Kids Domain Online Stories has something for everyone; their Jokes collection is impressive as well.
• Neverending Tale is a choose-your-own-path adventure story where children can actually create their own story by choosing the next line to the story.. Some of the tales have over 2,000 pages!
• Reading Room Book Shelves from Fairrosa Cyber Library gives you access to classics, fairy tales, stories, rhymes, magazines, and professional journals.

Booklists for Fifth and Sixth Graders

• Authors and Illustrators list from Fairrosa Cyber Library
• Choices Booklists from International Reading Association includes yearly lists of recommended books by children, teacher's and young adults.
• 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know from the New York Public Library
• Reading Lists for Gifted and Talented Children from GT-World
• American Library Association's list of award-winning books and yearly summaries of "Children's Noteables" as well as their list of suggested titles for children
• 100 Best Picture Books as compiled by the Stockton-Joaquin Country Public Library
• Great Books for Boys and Girls from Katherine Odean
• Teen's Choice Awards from Madison Library from 1997-2001
• Booklists for Teens from the Boston Public Library
• Teen Zone from Ocean State Library
• Brave Girls and Strong Women booklist to help build and maintain self-esteem.
• Suggested Reading from the Sioux City Public Library

This page last updated June, 2007.

Grades 5-6

Websites for Grades 5-6
Gr. 5-6 Classroom Webpages
Gr. 5-6 Webquests
Online Lesson Plans
Integrating Technology
Professional Development
Literacy Standards
Children's Literature
Applying Literacy Online
Gr. 5-6 Home

Grade Levels Menu

What's New

Literacy Topics
Literacy Research
The Literacy Web Home

Site Map