AAPLD'S Timeless Reads for Grades 4-6

The Algonquin Area Public Library provides a list of Timeless Reads for Grades 4-6.

1894

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling J/KIP

Presents the adventures of Mowgli, the “man-cub,” abandoned as a baby by his parents and raised by the wolves in the wilds of the jungle.

1900

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by J.M. Barrie J/BAU

After a cyclone transports her to the land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great wizard in order to return to Kansas.

1905

The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett J/BUR

Sara Crewe, a pupil at Miss Minchin’s London School, is left in poverty when her father dies, but is later rescued by a mysterious benefactor.

1908

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame J/GRA

The escapades of four animal friends who live along a river in the English countryside –Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery J/MON

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

1911

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie J/BAR

The adventures of Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up.

1912

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett J/BUR

Ten-year-old Mary comes to live in a lonely house of the Yorkshire moors and discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden.

1935

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink J/BRI

The adventures of an eleven-year-old tomboy growing up the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century.

1938

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater J/ATW

The unexpected delivery of a larger crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.

1950

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis J/LEW

Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to riumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren J/LIN

Escapades of a lucky little girl who lives with a horse and a monkey-but without any parents—at the edge of a Swedish village.

1955

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary J/CLE

Beezus’ biggest problem is her 4-year-old sister Ramona.  Even though Beezus knows sisters are supposed to love each other, with a sister like Ramona, it seems impossible.

1962

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle J/Len

Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

1965

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Clearly J/CLE

A reckless young mouse named Ralph makes friends with a boy in Room 215 of the Mountain View Inn and discovers the joys of motorcycling.

1967

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg J/KON

Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.

1969

Sounder by William Armstrong J/ARM

Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young black boy grows in courage and understanding by learning to read and through his relationship with his devoted dog Sounder.

1970

Are You There God?  It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume J/BLU

Faced with the difficulties of growing up and choosing a religion, a twelve-year-old girl talks over her problems with her own private God.

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars J/BYA

A teen-age girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally handicapped brother gets lost.

1975

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt J/BAB

The Tuck family is confronted with an agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old-girl and a malicious stranger now share their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.

1979

Bunnicula by James Howe J/HOW

Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.

1985

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan J/MAC

When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.