Look Out for Laughs
Humor for Fifth and Sixth Graders

FICTION ALLISON, J.	Gilda Joyce: the Ghost Sonata by Jennifer Allison. When ninth-grader Gilda travels to an international piano competition in Oxford, England, as page turner for her friend Wendy Choy, she finds adventure investigating why Wendy is being haunted and who is frightening the performers, while enjoying a romance with a British boy and her first kiss.
FICTION ARDAGH, P.	The Fall of Fergal, or, Not So Dingly in the Dell by Philip Ardagh. When Le Fay McNally becomes a finalist in the “Tap ‘n’ Type” typewriting competition, she and her four unusual siblings stay at the Dell Hotel, where they encounter joy, tragedy, and a variety of interesting characters.
FICTION AVI	Never Mind!: a Twin Novel by Avi. Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg’s hopes for popularity and Edward’s mischievous schemes coincidentally collide in a hilarious showdown.
FICTION BAKER, E.	The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker. After reluctantly kissing a frog, an awkward, fourteen-year-old princess suddenly finds herself a frog, too, and sets off with the prince to seek the means and the self-confidence to become human again.
FICTION BONK, J.	Dustin Grubbs: One-Man Show by John J. Bonk. A sixth-grader, who longs to see his name in lights, recounts life at Buttermilk Falls Elementary in preparation for the school drama production.
FICTION COMAN, C.	The Big House by Carolyn Coman. When Ivy and Ray’s parents are sent to jail, and left in the custody of their parent’s accusers, they decide to look for evidence that will “spring” their parents.
FICTION COVILLE, B.	Thor’s Wedding Day by Bruce Coville. Thialfi, the Norse thunder god’s goat boy tells how he inadvertently helped the giant Thrym to steal Thor’s magic hammer, the lengths to which Thor must go to retrieve it, and his own assistance along the way.
FICTION DERBY, K.	The Top Ten Ways to Ruin the First Day of Fifth Grade by Kenneth Derby. Follows the humorous attempts of fifth grader Anthony “TB” Madison to become a guest on his favorite television show, “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
FICTION DODD, Q.	The Princess of Neptune by Quentin Dodd. Middle-schooler Theora Theremin and her brother Verbert find themselves whisked from the shores of hometown Lake Philodendron to an intergalactic beauty contest on Neptune.
FICTION DOWELL, F.	Phineas L. MacGuire…Gets Slimed! by Frances O’Roark Dowell. When his new best friend, Ben, decides to run for class president, fourth-grade science whiz Phineas MacGuire reluctantly agrees to be his campaign manager in exchange for help with his latest experiment—cultivating exhibits for a mold museum.
FICTION GOLDSCHMIDT, J.	The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez by Judy Goldschmidt. In a weblog she sends to her best friends back in Berkeley, seventh-grader Raisin Rodriguez chronicles her successes and her more frequent humiliating failures as she attempts to make friends at her new Philadelphia school.
FICTION HICKS, B.	Busted! by Betty Hicks. Anxious to distract his “overly” strict mother, twelve-year-old Stuart and his best friend, a girl named Mack, are determined to fix her up with Mack’s Uncle Joe.
MYSTERY HOROWITZ, A.	Public Enemy Number Two: a Diamond Brothers Mystery by Anthony Horowitz. When thirteen-year-old Nick is framed for a jewel robbery, he and his brother, the bumbling detective Tim Diamond, attempt to clear his name by capturing the master criminal known as “The Fence”.
FICTION HUNT, G.	The Accidental Spaceship by Gene Hunt. When a spaceship lands in the backyard of their grandfather’s Pennsylvania farm house, thirteen-yea-olds twins Vernon and Junior Smith begin a series of adventures involving a robot named Thinker, interplanetary travel, and an unrelenting tax collector.
FICTION KINNEY, J.	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal by Jeff Kinney. Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship.
FCITION KORMAN, G.	Maxx Comedy: the Funniest Kid in America by Gordon Korman. Eleven-year-old Max Carmody has wanted to be a stand-up comedian since he was five, so when a contest is held to find the "world's funniest kid," he goes through all kinds of craziness to win.
FICTION LANTZ, F.	The Day Joanie Frankenhauser Became a Boy by Francess Lantz. Tired of gender stereotyping at home, in the classroom, and especially on the football field, ten-year-old Joanie pretends to be a boy when her family moves to a new town, but soon finds there are unexpected consequences.
FICTION KLISE, K.	Regarding the Bees: a Lesson, in Letters, on Honey, Dating, and Other Sticky Subjects by Kate Klise. While corresponding with their globetrotting substitute teacher, the seventh graders at Geyser Creek Middle School nervously prepare for an important standardized test, navigate the tricky waters of first crushes, and try to bring their bee mascot to a local spelling competition.
FICTION MCDONALD, M.	The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald. In Acton, Oregon, sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey take turns telling about their lives, including the long line of actor ancestors, creative family dinners, toe marshmallows, swearing in Shakespeare, and the Sisters Club.
FICTION MCDONOUGH, A.	Do the Hokey Pokey by Alison McDonough. Anxious to fit in at his new school and make friends, fifth-grader Brendan tries to avoid his embarrassing mother who loves to make a spectacle of her self.
FICTION PAPADEMETRIOU, L.	Sixth-Grade Glommers, Norks, and Me by Lisa Papademetriou. As Allie Kimball starts sixth grade, she discovers that middle school is a very different world, populated with glommers—those girls who cling to each other in groups; norks—a combination of a nerd and a dork; and worst of all, squashes—crushes that make you feel like your heart has been stepped on.
FICTION PECK, R.	Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck. Fourteen-year-old Eleanor “Peewee” McGrath, a tomboy and automobile enthusiast, discovers new possibilities for her future after the 1914 arrival in her small Indiana town of four young librarians.
FICTION MAGUIRE, G.	Four Stupid Cupids by Gregory Maguire. The students’ scheme to find a love match for their beloved teacher on Valentine’s Day turns into a comedy of errors when four stupid cupids from Ancient Greece try to help.
FICTION POTTER, E.	Olivia Kidney and the Exit Academy by Ellen Potter. Twelve-year-old Olivia Kidney and her father move into a Manhattan brownstone that has a lagoon in the living room, hosts visiting strangers in the middle of the night, and is mysteriously close to the spirit world.
FICTION PRATCHETT, T.	Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett. After twelve-year-old Johnny Maxwell suddenly starts seeing and talking to ghosts, he and his friends become involved in a battle to save the local cemetery.
FICTION PITCHFORD, D.	The Big One-Oh by Dean Pitchford. Determined not to be weird all his life like his neighbor, Charley Maplewood decides to throw himself a tenth birthday party, complete with a “house of horrors” theme, but first he will have to make some friends to invite.
FICTION SILBERBERG, A.	Pond Scum by Alan Silberberg. Eleven-year-old Oliver enjoys tormenting insects, but his life takes a turn when his family moves into an old house which an assortment of animals doesn’t want to vacate.
FICTION TACANG, B.	Bully-Be-Gone by Brian Tacang. Budding-inventor Millicent Madding launches her latest invention to disastrous results, and she has only days to create an antidote before the local bullies wreak havoc and her dearest friendships are destroyed forever.
FICTION TRUEIT, T.	Julep O’Toole: Confessions of a Middle Child by Trudi Trueit. Eleven-year-old Julep feels invisible. At home, sandwiched between perfect older sister, Harmony, and obnoxious younger brother, Cooper, she is only noticed when her parents want something from her. At school, Julep gets attention, but not the kind she wants. Her priorities and her sense of self-worth, however, take a dramatic turn when her parents are away and she must take charge when her brother has a severe asthma attack.
FICTION YOUNG, S.	15 Minutes by Steve Young. Seventh-grader Casey Little is always late until he discovers a magic watch that takes him back in time, a trick he uses both on and off the football field.