10 Favorite Read Aloud Chapter Books for Back to School Season

Start back to school with one of these read aloud chapter books that are teacher recommended and students love. This is a list compiled of books I’ve read aloud and books teachers I know love to read to their upper elementary students.

 

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Setting the tone for your classroom during those first days of school is something you can do using a well-chosen read aloud chapter book for your upper elementary students. Teachers have chosen these ten books as favorites year after year. A well-chosen is that a book can serve as a catalyst to building a positive classroom community, depending on the theme and style of the book. These short summaries may help you to decide upon the perfect read aloud chapter book for your class.

Read on to find out which books are on this list.  

 

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Several of these books have won literary awards, making them a great addition to your read aloud chapter book library. I always look for award winners first. However, some of these read alouds haven’t won awards, but they are stellar books to add to your teacher’s library.

Many of the chapter books on the list have novel guides or novel studies to go along with the story, chapter by chapter. You can check the authors’ webpages for information. If I have a guide to go with any of these, I’m including a link for you to learn more about the book and the novel study.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of read aloud chapter books. But they represent some of the best loved by students and teachers. These stories are timeless. You’ll want to read them year after year.

If you see this symbol, 🏆, the book is an award winner.

🌟Click on the title of a book to see the book at Bookshop.org. If you make a purchase part of the proceeds goes to support local independent booksellers. Win, win!

📘🏆Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

This story speaks to the hearts of anyone struggling in school without knowing why. Ally hides the fact that when she reads, the words dance around the page. She turns to her art as a way to cope.

When a perceptive teacher helps Ally understand that everyone has differences and strengths, she begins to bloom with new friendships and new confidence.

This story highlights empathy, understanding differences, and recognizing that everyone has talents and ways of being smart.

Fish in a Tree won multiple awards, including the 2016 ALA Schneider Family Book Award winner, an ALA Notable Book, a Global Read Aloud Choice for 2015, a SLJ Best Book of 2015, a Nerdy Winner, and an SCBWI Crystal Kite Winner, according to the author page on Amazon.

Choose this book if you are wanting to help students be compassionate and empathetic. 

📘Wish by Barbara O’Connor

Wish is the story of Charlie Reese. Her father is in jail, and her mother can’t take care of her and her sister. Charlie is sent to live with her aunt and uncle whom she has never met. She makes wishes every day, hoping to make her life better through wishing.

When she finds a stray dog and her aunt and uncle let her keep it, she begins to learn about loving and caring for others. After a while, she begins to accept the love and friendship of the people in her new home and community.

But when a social worker comes to the house and says that Charlie can go back to her mother’s house, Charlie must decide what she truly wishes for. What will she choose to do? Will her wishes come true?

This book deals with themes of loss, and anger, family relationships, both loving and neglectful, and navigating a new school and new friends. Although the themes are heavy, Barbara O’Connor has made it a delightful book to read with humor and a wonderful way of capturing real life. This is a definite must read, any time of year. 

If you’d like the novel study guide and wishing star craft that goes with this read aloud chapter book, you can find it in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

 

📘🏆Wonder by R.J. Palacio

August Pullman, known as Auggie, has a severe facial difference. To hide it, he wears a space helmet. 

As the new kid in 5th grade, he faces bullying and tough choices. This book swaps narrative POVs between Auggie and other characters. This technique is the perfect way to see how all of the students, friends, and family grow and change over the course of the novel. 

This book will give upper elementary students an in-depth reflection on types of bullying and how friends can stand up to bullies. Just a quick warning: the experiences in the book may be better suited for 5th and 6th grade classes. 

Wonder won the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award, 2014, was named Parade’s Best Kids Book of All Time, and was on the New York Times Bestseller List at #1.

📘The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan

I first heard of this book from a fellow teacher who asked if I could create a novel guide to go with it. Of course, I agreed! 

It’s a fun fantasy tale about a secret imaginary world with an entry point hidden in the attic at Arthur’s grandfather’s house. But the question soon arises, “How much of this world is imaginary, and how much is real?”

Filled with heart-racing action, flying dragons, merpeople, and pretty much anything else you’d find in an imaginary world, this book will keep your students guessing what happens next until the very last chapter. 

It didn’t win any awards, but it’s the first in a four book series. So your students who love this book will have three more to read afterward. 

You can find the novel study guide here.

📘🏆The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Part science fiction, part literary and cultural history, you and your students will find plenty of discussion topics in this award winning chapter book.

Petra and her family are lucky to escape Earth’s destruction by a comet. They board a generation ship traveling to a new world. But when Petra awakens, she finds that she is the sole remaining person who remembers Earth and the stories told about life on her first home. She alone is the keeper of cultural traditions and storytelling.

In this novel about courage and hope for the future, your students will feel all the emotions along with Petra. It’s perfect for learning about cultural diversity, and maintaining traditions. 

Also available in Spanish, The Last Cuentista won the 2022 John Newbery Medal. It also won the Pura Belpré Award.

I fell in love with this book as soon as I read it. My novel guide for The Last Cuentista will be available soon. If you want to be notified when it comes out, join my email list and you’ll be one of the first to know.

📘🏆Frindle by Andrew Clements

Frindle is a hidden gem not everyone knows about. But once you’ve read it, you’ll know it’s a keeper. (IYKYK)

Nick Allen invents a new word; frindle. He convinces all the students to use the word in place of the proper word, which infuriates his English teacher. A battle of wills ensues, and even brings the community into the fray. Pretty soon, the new word has taken on a life of its own.

It’s a story my students loved. They insisted on holding up their frindles in a group picture at the end of reading this chapter book! 

Frindle won the 2016 Phoenix Award (which recognizes books of lasting literary merit that didn’t win major awards when first published).

📘🏆The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

One thing I love about this book is that the idea for it came from an actual historical character, a silverback gorilla who lived in a shopping mall. That may sound incredible, but the story is even more incredibly heart-warming. 

Ivan is the silverback who creates a family with his animal friends inside the shopping mall. As the story progresses, readers learn how he came to be living there, and how much courage he has to help his friends. 

The themes in this book are about friendship and family, ethics toward living creatures, the role of art in our lives, and hope for the future.

The One and Only Ivan was a #1 New York Times Bestseller, and received the Newberry Award.

📘The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Robot Roz wakes up on a wild island, and must learn to adapt and grow in the new environment. Along the way, the robot learns to make friends, care for others, and how to learn from the other animals on the island. 

This illustrated middle-grade read aloud novel was #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. The author has won a Caldecott Award and other awards for some of the many books he’s written.

📘🏆The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Have you ever lost a pet or a favorite toy? Did you wonder what adventures they met up with while they were away? Kate DiCamillo addresses this question in her touching novel of Edward Tulane, a china rabbit who is very, very loved, and also lost. Your students will love following his adventures across the ocean and into the big city.

The theme of this story touches on loss and love, and learning to love again. It also touches on how fragile things can also be strong. It’s a classic, timeless tale your students won’t forget.

Kate DiCamillo, the author of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, is a Newbery Medal Award winner. This chapter book spent time as #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List, and won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 2006. It won a Parents’ Choice Award in 2006, and in 2007 was named as one of the “Teachers Top 100 Books for Children” by the National Education Association, (NEA). 

📘🏆Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Ten-year-old Opal finds a stray dog at the local Winn-Dixie supermarket and brings it home. She names it Winn-Dixie. Opal and her newfound dog form friendships. The two make connections  across generations in her small town while helping heal her community’s wounds. 

This gentle story promotes themes of friendship, community, forgiveness, and finding family in unexpected places.

Kate DiCamillo won a Newberry Honor Award for this book, which was her debut novel.

I hope this list helps you find the perfect chapter book read aloud to instill that love of reading in your students. The shared enjoyment will make a positive and memorable start to your school year.

If you’re looking for the perfect picture book read aloud for the first week of school, read this post.

The Top 1o First Day of School Read Aloud Books Teachers Love