I just finished reading a fantastic book that is set to come out on Sept. 1. It is called Plain Kate and it is the debut novel by Erin Bow. With Russian fairytales as an inspiration (ever heard of a rusalka?) it tells the story of Katerina, a talented woodcarver and orphan (of course!) who sells her shadow. This book has been raved about by Arthur Levine, the guy who brought Harry Potter to America! Here's what he had to say (from Publishers' Weekly):

Arthur Levine of Scholastic set the bar fairly high when he began his remarks about Plain Kate by Erin Bow by saying that because he had a hand in bringing Brian Jacques, Philip Pullman and J.K. Rowling to U.S. audiences, "I've been sent a lot of fantasy, some of it quite good. But it's very rare for a book to stand out for me the way Plain Kate did."
Levine said Bow's prose has the "lyrical strength and classic proportions" of master writers. "She is a truly original talent," Levine said, evidenced by a "breathless e-mail" he got from an associate at the most recent London Book Fair who said Printz Award winner Meg Rosoff had read Plain Kate and couldn't stop raving about it. Rosoff's blurb - "anything but plain, full of poetry, magic, sorrow and joy" - will be on the cover.

The book is going to be marketed as a young adult, but after reading it I feel it would certainly be appropriate for fifth grade and up. So put it on your list.