Three Titles for 5th Grade Boys

I put Alabama Moon in the hands of a 5^th grade boy yesterday. He and his family were headed to the airport and dad had forgotten to pack a book for said child before leaving home. I hope he likes it; it is my go-to book for 5^th grade boys. A mom recommended it to me about 5 years ago and I can’t think of a child who has disliked it in all those years.

Moon is 10 years old; he lives in the Southern backwoods with his father. They hunt and trap and trade for supplies at the local general store. When Moon’s dad is felled by a logging accident, he tells his son to “head to Alaska. There’s folks like us there.” And just like that, Moon’s life takes a sharp turn. He’s got to deal with money and highways and social services people. In his entire life, Moon can remember interacting with one person other than his father. He may know how to catch a fish with his hands, but staying out of foster care is another matter entirely.

Watt Key has written a book beloved by children and adults  – it’s laugh-out-loud funny, edge-of-your-seat exciting and thought-provoking.

I’ve recently read a couple other books that might engage your preteen sons – Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve, and 90 Miles to Havana, by Enrique Flores-Galbis. 90 Miles follows the same fish-out-of-water trope as Alabama Moon: after Fidel Castro’s revolution takes hold in Cuba, Julian and his older brothers are sent to Florida to escape Communism, but America is not the land of dreams he was expecting. At first Julian figures on following his brothers’ lead in navigating this new reality just like always, but he soon learns to think for himself. Again, lots of laugh-out-loud moments and suspenseful scenes enhance a thoughtful and thought-provoking story.

In Here Lies Arthur, the fish out of water is a girl passing as a boy. Myrddin literally plucks young Gwyna from a river and uses her to transform an unlikely chieftain into Britain’s most legendary king. Here’s a book for you lovers of realism. Reeve paints a grim picture of the post-Roman era  – dirty, chaotic, violent, corrupt, and misogynistic. But people are people across time and space. There are also love and tenderness, laughter and bravery. And hope – Myrddin truly hopes that Arthur could unite the land and stop some (most?) of the fighting that destroys ordinary folks’ lives. From girl to boy and back to young woman, Gwyna is on the front lines of a great con job, as Reeve imagines how King Arthur’s legend might have arisen. 

Are you a 5th grade boy? Do you have a 5th grade boy? Were you ever a 5th grade boy? What do you recommend?