If your students’ parents are anything like mine, they’re eager for tips and resources to use with their children at home. Most parents are happy to help but aren’t sure where to start. One of my favorite tips for parents is a simple one– read together, read together, read together! Even upper elementary students enjoy books before bed, and taking turns reading aloud can be a great bonding experience every night. Younger siblings can take part, too! To make finding appropriate and enriching books easier, I created a PDF with the best upper elementary books and free printable bookmarks!

You can use these book lists as a resource for yourself or share them with your students’ families. I always print them out and have them ready to go for important nights like parent-teacher conferences, back to school night, and open house. 

Free PDF: The Best Upper Elementary Books

This free download includes my personal picks for the best upper elementary books. It includes shoppable book lists for:

• Wordless picture books
• Fluency
• 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade novel study
• Age-appropriate advanced chapter books
• Graphic novels
• Morning meeting read-alouds
• Math picture books
• Seasonal book lists for Back to School, November, Christmas, Winter, February, March and April
• Professional development books

In addition to book lists, there are also explanations for each list that explain why each type of book is a great fit for upper elementary learners.

Ways To Use These Book Lists

It can be overwhelming to spend hours browsing the library (or Amazon!) and reading summaries and reviews to decide which books to use. Save valuable time and use these lists throughout the year to select tried-and-true books that are perfect for your learners.

You can share the best upper elementary book lists with families during back-to-school, parent-teacher conferences, or the end of the year as a way to help prevent summer slide. 

Instead of giving families the entire list all at once, you can also incorporate single sheets in your newsletters throughout the year. 

Free Printable Bookmarks for Reading Response

After you’ve selected your favorite book to read, you can use these free printable bookmarks with reading response questions that promote higher-level thinking about a variety of texts. The convenient bookmark form makes it easy to keep the questions on hand as you read each book!

More Family Learning Resources

This free cheat sheet has eleven suggestions for parents to use after they’ve read a picture book with their children. These are easy to implement, fun for students, and straightforward for parents. It’s a great addition to the best books for upper elementary lists and bookmarks! 

Finally, this blog post includes more ways to help families support student learning at home and another free printable that you can share with families. This one includes a simple list of ways that parents can support their children with learning at home. It’s a great resource to hand out at Open House or Meet the Teacher Night!