100 Best Middle-Grade Books for Boys (Books for Tween Boys) of 2022

YOU ARE READING: 100 Best Middle-Grade Books for Boys (Books for Tween Boys) of 2022 AT PhebinhvanhocEN

Many people have told me how difficult it is to find middle grade children’s books. okay, okay, before you think “how sexist of you!” this is a real problem, one that I also experienced in my brief period as an English tutor. many children (far from all) gravitate towards books with children on the cover, and it makes sense: windows, mirrors and all that. I read a lot of books written by women, about women/girls, so for a while I didn’t even pick up high school books about children. Thankfully, that’s changing, thanks to these great books for middle graders.

Many of these middle grade children’s books are the ones I have read and the others have been highly rated and reviewed by teachers, readers, and librarians whose recommendations I trust. It goes without saying that girls can (and should) read these books too, if they so choose. I chose books in which children are the protagonists or an important part of the story (a co-protagonist, so to speak). Happily, many of these selections have children on the cover, except perhaps for one couple.

You are reading: Books for middle school boys

I also categorized these books by main themes, but I must say that all of these books fit into more than one category, so even books about friendship can also be about food, racism, etc. I’m not a fantasy or horror reader, so those books won’t be on this list. however, you will find many contemporary and humorous selections 🙂

let’s get started. click on the images to go directly to their amazon page.

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middle grade children’s books (with male protagonists)

Best Middle-Grade Books About Male Friendships

boys

Published: August 27, 2019

deontae “simp” wright has big plans for his future. Plans that include basketball, her best friend Rollie, and earning enough money to get her mom and four younger siblings out of Cove, her low-income housing project.

in the long run, this means the nba. In the short term, it means being a dough boy: getting paid to play vigilante, and eventually working your way up the ranks of the neighborhood drug operation with rollie as your partner.

roland “rollie” matthews loved to play basketball. he loved the rhythm of the game, how he would get his best drum beats after running from one side of the court to the other. But playing for the elite team comes with extra and illegal responsibilities, and Rollie isn’t sure he’s up for that life. The new gifted and talent show, in which Rollie gets the chance to audition for a real-life go-go band, seems like the perfect excuse to stop being a dough boy. but how can he abandon his best friend?

the usual suspects

Published: May 21, 2019

thelonius mitchell is tired of being labeled. he is in special education, separated from the “normal” kids at school who don’t have any “problems”. that’s enough for all the teachers and students to look at him and his friends with a constant stare. (although his antics and disturbing pranks have also given him a reputation). When he finds a gun at a neighborhood hangout, Thelonius and his friends instantly become suspects. thelonius may be guilty of doing crazy stunts at school, but a criminal? it’s not about letting that tag stick.

come short

Published: March 15, 2022

isaac and marco already know that sixth grade is going to change their lives. but it won’t change things at home, not without the help of others.

This year, basketball star Isaac plans to finally keep up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely keep Isaac’s parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-a Marco vows to finally earn her father’s approval by earning a spot on the school basketball team.

But will friendship and mutual support be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?

the guys in the back row

Published: October 6, 2020

Best friends matt and eric are hatching a plan for one final big adventure together before eric moves in: during the marching band competition at a giant amusement park, they’re sneaking off to a comic book convention. nearby and meet their idol, a famous comic book creator. no cell phones. or transportation. or permission. Of course, their latest adventure together is more than that; Actually, it is a way for the boys to celebrate their friendship and their sincere love and support for each other. that’s exactly what we love so much about the guys in the back row: it’s a cheeky ode to male friendship, because love between guys, platonic or not, is something to celebrate. And of course, because it’s all about Mike Jung, we’ll be celebrating with hilariously flawed antics and a bunch of geeks!

class act (graphic novel)

Published: October 6, 2020

8th grader draw ellis is no stranger to the saying “you have to work twice as hard to be just as good.” his grandmother has reminded him all his life. But what if he works ten times as hard and still isn’t given the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted?

to make matters worse, draw begins to feel that his good friend liam could be one of those privileged children. She wants to pretend everything is okay, but it’s hard not to back out, and even their mutual friend Jordan doesn’t know how to keep the group together.

As the pressures mount, will Draw find a way to bridge the gap so he and his friends can truly accept each other? and most importantly, will he finally be able to accept himself?

related: more books on male friendships

best middle grade children’s book on consent

that’s what friends do

Published: July 13, 2021

samantha goldstein and david fisher have been friends since they met on their town’s minor league baseball team. But when a new guy named Luke starts dating them, what was a comfortable couple turns into an awkward threesome.

luke’s comments make sammie uncomfortable, but all david sees is how easily luke flirts with sammie, so david finally decides to make a move on the friend he’s always had a crush on.

Soon everything goes wrong and goes too far, leaving Sammie and David feeling hurt, confused and unsure of themselves, with no one to talk to about what happened.

As rumors begin to circulate around the school, David must try to put things right (if he can) and Sammie must learn to talk about what has been done to her.

best middle grade children’s book on parental suicide

things you can’t say

Published: March 3, 2020

nothing is going right this summer for drew. And after losing his father unexpectedly three years ago, Drew knows a lot about things that don’t go right. First, she’s the new girl Audrey who takes over everything in the library, Drew’s sacred space. then it’s her best friend, filipe, walking away from him. but the most disturbing thing has to be the mystery man who suddenly stays with drew’s family. an old friend of mom’s? drew doesn’t believe that. With an unlikely ally in Audrey, he is determined to get to the bottom of who this man really is. the point is that there are some fears, as if the person you thought was your father really wasn’t, that you can’t speak out loud, to anyone. at least that’s what drew thinks. but, again, first impressions can be deceiving.

best middle grade books for kids on athletics

ghost

Published: August 30, 2016

ghost. mon. patina. sunny. four kids from very different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they collide. but they’re also four kids chosen for an elite high school track team, a team that could qualify them for the junior olympics if they can perform together. they all have a lot to lose, but also a lot to prove, not only to each other, but also to themselves.

running. That’s all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been on the run for all the wrong reasons: It all started when he ran away from his father, who, when Ghost was a little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun. , pointing. to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing and running from trouble, until he meets the coach, a former Olympic medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he just might be the best speedster in town. Can Ghost take advantage of his natural talent for speed or will his past finally catch up?

the million dollar race

Published: January 19, 2021

grant falloon isn’t just good on the track; he is close to breaking the 100m world record for his age group. So when the multi-billion dollar sneaker company Babblemoney announces an international contest to find the world’s fastest kid, he’s desperate to enter.

but not so fast. Nothing is that easy with the eccentric Fallon family. Turns out her maverick parents never got her a legal birth certificate. He can’t compete for the United States, so now if he wants to compete, he may have to invent his own country.

And even if that plan works, winning the gold will mean taking his best friend, and biggest competitor, Jay, out of the competition. As unexpected obstacles arise, Grant will have to ask himself not only if he can win, but what he’s willing to sacrifice for it.

deviated

Published: August 22, 2017

if high school were a race, joseph friedman wouldn’t even be in last place: he’d be on the sidelines. With an overactive mind and phobias of everything from boiled eggs to gargoyles, he has a hard time understanding his classes, let alone his classmates. So he spends most of his time avoiding school bully Charlie Kastner and hiding out in the resource room, a safe place for misfit kids like him.

But then, on the first day of seventh grade, two important things happen. First, his resource room teacher encourages him (I mean, practically forces him) to join the school’s track team, and second, he meets Heather, an insanely fast runner who’s not going to get pushed. by

charlie kastner or any other.

With a new friend and a new team, Joseph finds himself off the sideline and on the run (literally) for the first time. Is he a good runner? well, no, he’s terrible. But the fun thing about running is, once you’re on the run, anything can happen to him.

lu

Published: October 23, 2018

lu was born to co-captain the defenders. well, actually he was born an albino, but that has nothing to do with being a track star. lu has swagger, as well as the talent to back it up, and with all that, not to mention the gold chains and diamond earrings, no one will outshine him.

lu knows he can lead ghost, patina, sunny and the team to championship wins, but it may not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are obstacles in Lu’s way, literally and not-so-literally, and Lu needs to figure out quickly what it really means to win the gold.

best middle grade book for kids about moving to a new country

cake in the sky (graphic novel)

Published: May 14, 2019

When jingwen moves to a new country, she feels like she’s landed on mars. school is torture, making friends is impossible because he doesn’t speak English, and he often gets stuck taking care of his (extremely annoying) little brother yanghao.

To distract herself from loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu for Pie in the Sky, the bakery her father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. the only problem is that his mother has established an important rule: brothers should not use the oven while she is at work. As jingwen and yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they’ll have to come up with elaborate excuses to keep the cake a secret from mom.

In her hilarious and heartwarming high school debut, Remy Lai delivers a delightful mix of vibrant graphic art and flawless writing that will appeal to fans of Shannon Hale and Leuyen Pham’s true friends, Kelly Yang and Jerry’s Reception. craft. new guy.

related: more moving books

best middle grade mysteries for kids

holes

Published: June 26, 2018

stanley yelnats is under a curse. a curse that she began with her great-great-grandfather, a thief of rotten and dirty pigs, and that has followed generations of Yelnatses ever since. Now, Stanley has been wrongfully sent to a children’s detention center, Camp Green Lake, where boys develop their character by spending all day, every day, digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. there is no lake at camp lago verde. but there are a lot of holes.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more to Camp Green Lake than enhancing character. the boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. but what could be buried under a dry lake? Stanley tries to unearth the truth in this darkly humorous, inventive tale of crime and punishment, and redemption.

coop knows the scoop

Published: July 7, 2020

windy background, georgia is usually a quiet place. coop helps her mother in her coffee shop and bookstore, goes out with her grandfather and rides a bike with her friends her justice and freedom. the town is full of all kinds of interesting people, but no one has ever caused a problem. so far.

and somehow, grandpa is all to blame! It seems that there are many secrets that were buried in the small town of him after all…

Will Coop and his friends get to the bottom of the mystery and clear Grandpa’s name before it’s too late?

finally, something mysterious

Published: April 14, 2020

paul marconi has always thought that bellwood was a strange town, but also boring. there wasn’t much to do for an eleven year old. there are fires burning nearby, paul’s parents are obsessed with winning a sausage contest, and his best friend, one of the founding members of his only-child detective club, is about to acquire a younger sister, kind of undoing his relationship. all reason to exist. but then! hundreds of rubber duckies have appeared on poor mr. babbage without any explanation. Finally! there is something that paul and his friends can investigate.

In the face of all these strange occurrences, Paul is convinced that finding out who deposited the ducks will finally make sense of what has become a world turned upside down. Soon the three friends have a long list of suspects, all with their own motives, but no clear culprit. When it all comes to a head in the town’s annual Bellwood sausage bonanza, Paul discovers that some things aren’t easy to explain and not all mysteries can be solved.

a perfect summer story about friends, amateur sleuths, and a bunch of rubber duckies.

lemons

Published: May 2, 2017

lemonade liberty witt’s mom always told her: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But Lem can’t make lemonade with her new life in Willow Creek, California, the Bigfoot capital of the world, where she’s forced to live with a grandfather she never knew after her mother passes away. She then meets eleven-year-old Tobin Sky, the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives Inc., who is the only Bigfoot investigator in her small town. After inviting Lem to be his assistant for the summer, they embark on an epic quest to capture a shot of the elusive beast on film. But along the way, Lem and Tobin end up discovering more than they ever could have imagined. and lem realizes that she might be able to make lemonade with her new life after all.

parker’s heritage

Published: March 27, 2018

“powerful…. Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve.” — new york times book review

When candice finds a letter in an old attic in lambert, south carolina, she’s not sure if she should read it. she is addressed to her grandmother, who left the village in shame. but the letter describes a young woman. an injustice that happened decades ago. a mystery that surrounds the writer of it. and the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle.

So, with the help of Brandon, the quiet guy across the street, he begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will take you deep into Lambert’s story, filled with ugly deeds, unsung heroes, and great love. and deeper into their own families, with his own unspoken secrets. Will they be able to find the fortune and fulfill the promise of the letter before the answers go back to the past?

framed. a toast mystery

Published: August 23, 2016

Meet the only kid on the fbi director’s speed dial and on the most wanted lists of various international criminals, all thanks to his theory of all little things in this hilarious start to a new undergrad mystery series. medium.

so you’re only halfway through your homework and the fbi director keeps texting you for help…what do you do? save your rating? or save the country?

if you’re florian bates, find a way to do both.

florian is twelve years old and just moved to washington. she is learning how to use toast, which represents the theory of all little things. it’s a technique she invented to solve life’s little mysteries like: where to sit on the first day of school or which Chinese restaurant has the best eggrolls.

but when he shows it to his new friend margaret, they discover a mystery that is not little. In fact, it’s huge, involving the National Gallery, the FBI, and a notorious crime syndicate known as the Eel.

Can Florian decipher the clues and finish his homework in time to help the FBI solve the case?

related: more tween mysteries

books for tweens about being the new kid

a child’s trash

See Also: 34 YA Book Titles That Are Mind-Blowingly Creative | Epic Reads

Published: August 31, 2021

hugo isn’t happy about being dragged across half a state of colorado just because his dad had a mid-life crisis and decided to become a ski instructor. It would be different if Hugo wasn’t so little, if girls didn’t think he was cute as a puppy in a bag and guys didn’t call him “elf” and rub his head for luck. but here he is, the little new kid on his first day of high school.

When his fellow students discover his remarkable talent for trash, the science of studying trash to tell you everything you want to know about a person, Hugo becomes the cool kid for the first time in his life. but what happens when it all goes to his head?

the epic year of ahmed aziz

Published: June 22, 2021

ahmed aziz is having an epic, epically bad year.

After his father becomes ill, the family moves from Hawaii to Minnesota for his father’s treatment. even though his father grew up there, ahmed can’t imagine a worse place to live. he is one of the only brown kids in his school. And like a proud slacker, Ahmed doesn’t want to deal with the new teachers’ expectations of him.

ahmed surprises himself as he reads the books assigned for his english class: holes, bridge to terabithia, and from mrs. basil e. frankweiler surprisingly, he doesn’t hate them. Ahmed also begins to learn about his uncle, who died before Ahmed was born.

Getting snippets of her family’s history could be the upside of the move, as her father’s health is at stake and the school bully refuses to leave him alone. will ahmed ever make it to minnesota with love?

how to win a slime war

Published: September 14, 2021

Two kids face off in an epic battle to see who can sell the most slime, while facing sticky situations with friends and family.

alex manolo and his father just returned to sacramento to help with his extended family’s struggling philippines market. While Alex likes to help out in the store, her true passion is making slime! he creates his own recipes and plays with the ingredients, the colors and the different irregular or shiny parts that make his slime really special. A new friend encourages Alex to sell his creations at school, leading to a payoff battle with a girl who previously owned a slime-opoly. The winner gets bragging rights and the right to be the only slime game in town.

but alex’s dad thinks alex should focus more on “traditional” kids’ hobbies and less on slime. As the new soccer coach, Dad gets Alex to join the team. Even though he hates sports, Alex gives up.

alex is struggling on several fronts: with his new friends at school and with his father at home. It will be a tough race to the finish to see who comes out on top.

best book for middle graders on problem solving

the mysterious Benedictine society

Published: May 2, 2017

“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” Dozens of children respond to this peculiar newspaper ad and then undergo a series of mind-boggling tests, which the readers carry with them. only four children, two boys and two girls, are successful. his challenge: to undertake a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To achieve this, they will have to go undercover at the Highly Enlightened Learning Institute, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they’ll find in the school’s hidden underground tunnels is more than your average school supplies. so if you’re talented, creative, or know morse code, they could probably use your help.

the colossus of highways

Published: April 1, 2020

rick rusek’s stomach has a lot to say. he has opinions about tasty foods, not-so-tasty foods, and driving in traffic-clogged Los Angeles makes him churn, boil, gurgle, and howl. he is doing the best he can. it was never intended to earn its owner the nickname dizzy rick or make him change schools for the fifth grade.

and rick’s stomach isn’t the only one dealing with the terrible traffic. His family’s catering service, Smotch, is on the brink of ruin after a series of late deliveries and missed appointments. Fortunately, Rick has the solution. Unfortunately, no one wants to listen to a child.

Absolutely certain that he could solve the constant and endless traffic jams, Rick hatches a plan. But he’ll need the help of his unicorn-loving scout neighbor, a famous street performer and the best driver in Los Angeles. together they will face the stream of broken cars, and also a secret conspiracy or two.

It’s going to be tough, but Rick won’t give up. If he can successfully move the 330,000 slow cars that stand in the way of his family’s future, maybe everyone will realize he’s not seasick, Rick. It is one of the seven wonders of the angels.

It is the colossus of the roads.

best middle grade book for childrenon adoption

half a world away

Published: September 2, 2014

Eleven-year-old Jaden is adopted and knows he’s an “epic fail.” that’s why his family travels to kazakhstan to adopt a new baby, to replace him, he is sure. and he gets it. he is unable to stop his thefts, hoardings, lighting fires, running around aggressively, and his obsession with electricity. he knows that his parents love him, but he doesn’t feel… anything.

When they arrive in Kazakhstan, it turns out that the baby they traveled for has already been adopted, and literally within minutes they are faced with choosing between six other babies. As his parents die, Jaden is more interested in the little boys. one, a little guy named dimash, spies on jaden and runs to him whenever he sees him. Jaden becomes increasingly intrigued and worried about Dimash. dimash, now three years old and barely able to speak, will soon be released from the orphanage, and then his life will be as hopeless as he feels jaden now. For the first time in his life, Jaden actually feels something other than blinding rage, and there’s no way to control it or his power.

best high school book for kids about bullying

save me a seat

Published: May 10, 2016

joe and ravi may be from very different places, but they’re both stuck in the same place: school.

Joe has lived in the same town his whole life and was doing just fine until his best friends moved out and left him alone.

Ravi’s family just moved to the US from India, and he’s having a hard time figuring out where he fits in.

joe and ravi don’t think they have anything in common, but soon they have a common enemy (the biggest bully of their kind) and a common mission: to take control of their lives in the course of a single madness. week.

published

Published: May 2, 2017

In high school, words aren’t just words. they can be weapons. they can be gifts. the right words can win you friends or make you an enemy. they may come back to haunt you. sometimes they can change things forever.

When cell phones are banned from high school, branton, frost, and their friends deedee, wolf, and bench devise a new way to communicate: leaving each other sticky notes all over the school. it catches on, and soon all the kids at school are leaving notes, though for every kind and friendly one, there’s also a sharp and mean one.

In the midst of this, a new girl named Rose arrives at school and sits at Frost’s lunch table. Rose isn’t like anyone else at Branton High School, and it’s clear that the close circle of friends Frost has made for himself won’t easily accept another. As the Sticky Note War intensifies and the pressure to choose sides mounts, Frost soon realizes that after this year, nothing will ever be the same.

the daredevils club

Published: October 2, 2018

On the last day of high school, five kids who couldn’t be more different commit separate pranks, each sure they won’t get caught and can’t get in trouble. are wrong as punishment they each have to volunteer one beautiful summer day, the last one before school, at the northbrook assisted living and retirement home where they will shove creamed carrots into toothless mouths, perform the play of world’s most pathetic theater in front of the residents who won i don’t remember anyway, i hold the gnarled hands of hairy old ladies who tirelessly push hard candy, and somehow forge a bond between them that has nothing to do with what they’ve fact and everything to do with what they are becoming. all the action takes place over the course of this day, with each chapter taking an hour from that day, as the five kids reveal what they’ve done, why they did it, and what they’re going to do next

best high school book for children on death and bereavement

all the ways home

Published: May 28, 2019

Sometimes, home isn’t where you expect to find it.

After losing her mother in a fatal car accident, Kaede Hirano, now living with a grandfather who is stranger than family, developed anger issues and spent her senior year of high school acting out.

Without best friends and critically endangered by repeating seventh grade, kaede is given a summer assignment: to write an essay about what home means to him, which will be even more difficult now that he’s on his way to japan. to reconnect with his estranged father and older half brother. Still, if there’s a chance Kaede can finally build a new family out of an old one, he’s willing to give it a try. But building new relationships isn’t as easy as destroying old ones, and one last desperate act will change the way Kaede sees everyone, including himself.

the ethan that was before

Published: January 24, 2017

ethan had been many things. He was always up for adventure and always up for a challenge, especially from his best friend, Kacey. but that was before. before the accident that he took from kacey. Before his family moved from Boston to the small town of Palm Knot, Georgia.

The palm knot may be small, but it is the home of possibility and second chances. It’s also home to Coralee, a girl with a big personality and even bigger stories. Coralee may be just the friend Ethan needs, except Ethan isn’t the only one with secrets. Coralee is reaching her and what she hides could be endangering both their lives.

halfway to harmony

Published: January 12, 2021

walter tipple is looking for adventure. he keeps having a dream in which his older brother, the tank, appears before him and says, “let’s you and me go see my world, little man.” but tank went to the army and never came home, and walter doesn’t know how to see the world without him.

Then he meets Posey, the sassy new girl next door, and an eccentric man named Banjo, who embarks on a wondrous adventure of his own. What follows is a summer of taking risks, becoming braver, and making friends, and maybe Walter can learn who he wants to be without the brother she always wanted to be.

the truth told by mason buttle

Published: January 24, 2017

Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are exacerbated by pain. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, was found dead in the Buttle family’s orchard.

an investigation drags on, and mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why lieutenant baird won’t believe the story mason has told about that day.

Both Mason and his new friend, Tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly harassed by the other kids in their neighborhood, so they create an underground shelter for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He is desperate to find out what happened to Calvin and eventually to Benny.

but will anyone believe him?

related: The best high school books on death and grief

best high school book for kids on changing paths

sunny

Published: April 10, 2018

ghost. patina. sunny. mon. four kids from very different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they collide. but they are also four kids chosen for an elite high school track team, a team that could take them to the state championships. everyone has a lot to lose, but everyone has a lot to prove, not only to each other, but also to themselves. Sunny is the main character of this novel, the third of four books in Jason Reynold’s electrifying middle grade series.

sunny is just that, sunny. Always ready with a goofy smile and something nice to say, Sunny is the most laid-back guy on the defense team. but his life has not always been bright as the sun. You see, sunny is a killer. or at least he thinks of himself that way. his mother died giving birth to him, and based on the way sunny’s father treats him, ignoring him, making sunny call him darryl, never “dad”, it’s no wonder sunny thinks he’s to blame. it seems the only thing sunny can do right in his dad’s eyes is win first place ribbons by running the mile, just like his mom did. but sunny doesn’t like to run, he never has. so he stops. right in the middle of a race.

With her relationship with her father now worse than ever, the last thing Sunny wants to do is leave the other rookies, her only friends, behind. but you can’t be on a track team and not run. then the coach asks sunny what he wants to do. Sunny’s answer? dance. yes, dance but you can’t be on a track team and dance either. Then, in a stroke of genius only Jason Reynolds can conceive of, Sunny discovers a track event that encompasses the hard beats of hip-hop, the precision of ballet, and the spectacle of dance as a whole: the discus throw. But as he practices for this new event, can he let go of everything that’s been eating away at him?

so brave

Published: June 2, 2020

Cyrus Olson’s father is a hero: the former Northfield football star and now a top firefighter. Everyone expects Cyrus to follow in his record-breaking father’s footsteps, and he wishes they were right, except he’s never been that brave. But this year, with the help of a stray dog, some new friends, a little rhythm, and a lot of courage, he just might find out that it really…is him.

best high school book for children on immigration

heaven at our feet

Published: March 6, 2018

jason just found out that his afghan mother has been living illegally in the united states ever since his father was killed in afghanistan. Although Jason was born in the United States, it’s hard to feel American now that he’s terrified that his mother will be found out and separated. when he sees two officers escorting his mother out of his workplace, jason is completely alone. He boards a train hoping to find his aunt in New York City, but as soon as he arrives at Penn Station, the bustling city makes him wonder if he’s overestimating what he can do. After an accident, Jason takes him to the hospital. he finds an unlikely ally in a fellow patient. Max, a smart girl who wants nothing more than to explore the world on her own terms, joins Jason in planning a daring escape from the hospital and into the jungle of skyscrapers, even though they both know that no matter how big Whatever New York City is, they won’t be able to run forever.

split frenzy

Published: March 31, 2020

Efren Nava’s mom is his superwoman or superwoman, named after the delicious Mexican sopes that his mother usually prepares. Both Mom and Dad work hard all day to provide for the family, making sure that Efren and Ella’s younger brothers Max and mine feel safe and loved.

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but efrén worries about his parents; Although he was born in the United States, his parents are undocumented. Her worst nightmare comes true one day when she loves not coming back from work and is deported across the border to Tijuana, Mexico.

Now more than ever, Efrén must channel his inner superboy to help care for and try to reunite his family.

best high school book for children about grandparents

clean escape

Published: October 7, 2020

how to take an unplanned road trip with your grandma: grab a suitcase: prepacked from the big spring break trip that got cancelled. Buckle up: g’ma is never conventional, so this trip won’t be either. use the green book: g’ma’s most prized possession. it contains history, memories, and most importantly, the way home.

what not to bring: a cell phone: avoid contact with dad at all costs. even when g’ma starts acting weirder than usual.

Set against the backdrop of the segregated history of the American South, take a journey with this New York Times bestseller and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover that the world hasn’t always been a cozy place for kids like it, and things aren’t always what they seem, including their g’ma.”

related: best high school books about grandparents

as brave as you

Published: May 3, 2016

When two brothers decide to prove their bravery, it all literally goes wrong in this “pitch-perfect contemporary novel” (kirkus reviews, featured review) from award-winner coretta scott king – john steptoe.

Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his older brother Ernie are leaving Brooklyn for the first time to spend the summer with their grandparents in Virginia, in the country! the second surprise comes when the genie realizes that his grandfather is blind. Dumbfounded, the genie peppers Grandpa with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing such cool sunglasses).

How do you combine your clothes? do you know where to walk? cook with a gas stove? pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpa must be the bravest guy she’s ever met, but she begins to notice that her Grandpa never leaves the house, like ever. And when he finds the secret room Grandpa always disappears into, a room so full of songbirds and plants it’s almost as if it’s been turned inside out, he begins to wonder if his Grandpa is really that brave after all.

then ernie lets him down in the bravery department. it’s his fourteenth birthday and, Grandpa says, to become a man, you have to learn to shoot a gun. Genie thinks he’s amazing until he realizes that Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. none. Not at all fazed by Ernie’s reluctance, the genie wonders: Is bravery and becoming a man just about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?

peter reads notes from the field

Published: March 2, 2021

Eleven-year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. well, maybe two: getting his genius little sister, l.b., to leave him alone. But his summer falls apart when his real-life dinosaur expedition turns out to be a flop, and he watches his dreams vanish in an asthma-inducing cloud of dust. Even worse, his grandmother, Hammy, is sick and no one wants to talk to Peter or L.B. about that perhaps his days as a scientist are not yet behind him. Armed with notebooks and pens, Peter puts his observation and experimentation skills to the test to see what he can do for Hammy. If he can just make his sister shut up for once, he needs time to come up with a plan.

erik against everything

Published: August 3, 2021

meet erik sheepflattener. each member of your modern viking heritage family has a motto to live by. their parents have family and pride. her sisters have conquered and conquered. her grandfather has a turnip. but erik is developing a motto that she can really believe in: avoiding things. Erik’s fierce family mostly ignores or dismisses him, especially when he tries to say no. But while he spends the summer with his and her older sister Brunhilde’s tough cousins ​​in Minnesota, the axe-wielding Bru gets the idea to name and conquer all of Erik’s fears. Will anyone hear him say no before it’s too late? And will Erik end up defined by his fears, or his fearless family?

the magical imperfect

Published: June 15, 2021

etan has stopped talking since his mother left. his father and his grandfather don’t know how to help him. His friends have given up on him.

When etan is asked to deliver a grocery order on the outskirts of town, he realizes he’s at the home of malia agbayani, aka the creature. Malia stopped going to school when her acute eczema spread to her face and her bullying became too much.

As the two become friends, other kids tease Etan for meeting the creature. But he believes that he might have a cure for Malia’s condition, if only he could convince her and his family to believe it too. Even if it works, will these two outcasts find where they fit in?

bestcoming-of-age books for middle graders

marcus vega doesn’t speak spanish

Published: August 21, 2018

marcus vega is six feet tall, weighs 180 pounds and has a premature mustache. When you look like this and you’re only in the eighth grade, you’re both a threat and a target.

After a fight at school leaves Marcus in danger of suspension, Marcus’s mom decides it’s time for a change of scenery. She takes Marcus and her younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don’t remember or have never met. But Marcus can’t concentrate knowing that his father, who walked out of their lives ten years ago, is somewhere on the island.

Thus begins Marcus’ incredible journey, a series of misadventures that will take him across Puerto Rico in search of his elusive namesake. Marcus doesn’t know if he’ll ever find his father, but what he finally discovers changes his life. and he even learns a little Spanish along the way.

which lane?

Published: April 14, 2020

Anything his friends can do, stephen should be able to do it too, right? so when they challenge each other to sneak into an abandoned building, he doesn’t think it’s his lane, but he goes. however, here’s the thing: can he do everything that his friends can do? lately, he’s not so sure. As a mixed-race boy, he feels that he lives in two worlds with different rules, and has realized that strangers treat him differently than his white friends. . .

then what will you do? Hold on tight as Stephen weaves in and out of lanes to find out which ones are his and who should be with him.

torrey maldonado, author of the highly acclaimed tight, does a masterful job of showing a boy coming of age in a racially divided world, trying to make his way to be his best selves.

tight

Published: September 4, 2018

Lately, bryan has been feeling it in many ways. he knows what’s hard for him in a good way: reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out without drama. but the drama is hard to escape from where he is, and that makes him tense.

and now bryan’s new friend mike challenges him to some crazy risky fun. At first, it’s a race to follow Mike, jumping turnstiles, navigating the subway, and getting into all sorts of trouble. but bryan never feels good about acting bad. So what path will he take when he understands that drama is not his style? Fortunately, his favorite comic heroes shed light on his dilemma, reminding him that he has power: the power to choose his friends and stand up for what he thinks is right. . .

torrey maldonado delivers a dynamic, insightful, and fast-paced story. Readers will connect with Bryan’s journey as he navigates a difficult world with a sincere desire for a different life.

pay attention carter jones

Published: February 5, 2019

bestselling author gary d. schmidt tells a coming-of-age story with a light touch of the Wednesday wars, the heart of good for now, and the unique presence of a wise and witty butler.

carter jones is surprised early one morning when he finds a real English butler, bowler hat and all, at the door, one who stays to help the jones family, which is a bit broken.

In addition to figuring out high school, Carter has to adjust to the unwelcome presence of this smart-alecky new adult in his life and navigate the butler’s notions of propriety. And ultimately, when her burden of past hurt and anger can no longer be ignored, Carter learns that a load becomes lighter when it’s shared.

Breast of humor, this insightful and compassionate story will resonate with readers who have faced their own secrets.

the season of styx malone

Published: October 16, 2018

caleb franklin and his older brother bobby gene are excited to have adventures in the woods behind their house. But Caleb dreams of venturing beyond his ordinary small town.

so caleb and bobby gene meet new neighbor styx malone. styx is sixteen years old and oozes cool. Styx promises the brothers that together, the three of them can carry out the great escalator trade: trade a small thing for something better until they achieve their wildest dream. But as the trades get bigger, the brothers soon find themselves in dire straits. styx has secrets, secrets so big they could ruin everything.

isaiah dunn is my hero

Published: August 18, 2020

isaiah is now the big man in the house. but it’s much harder than his father made it seem. his little sister charlie asks too many questions and mom has gone totally silent.

Luckily, Isaiah can count on his best friend, the cunning one, who always has a plan to get around the rules. Also, his angel classmate has some good ideas of her own, once he stops bothering Isaiah.

And when the going gets really rough, there’s Dad’s Journal, full of stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. isaiah wishes his father’s stories were real. He could use those powers right now!

kelly j. Baptist’s debut novel explores the indomitable spirit of a ten-year-old boy and the superhero strength it takes to grow up.

best high school books for children about the family

finding orion

Published: May 7, 2019

rion kwirk comes from a rather strange family. His mom named him and his sisters after his favorite constellations, and his dad makes a living making funky-flavored jelly beans. one sister acts as if he is always on stage and the other is a walking dictionary. But no one in the family is stranger than Rion’s grandfather, Papa Kwirk.

He’s the kind of guy who shows up on his motorcycle only on holidays and hands out crossbows and stuffed squirrels as gifts. Rion has always been fascinated by Papa Kwirk, especially since his son, Rion’s father, is the complete opposite. where dad is predictable, nerdy, and comfortingly boring, dad kwirk is mysterious, dangerous, and cool.

So when Rion and his family learn of Papa Kwirk’s death and get in the car to attend his funeral and pay their respects, Rion can’t help but feel that this isn’t the end of his story. that papa kwirk has much more to discover.

He doesn’t know how right he is.

we dream of space

Published: May 5, 2020

Cash, Fitch and Bird Thomas are three brothers who are in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware. In 1986, as the country eagerly awaits the launch of the challenging space shuttle, each wrestles with their own personal anxieties.

Cash, who loves basketball but has a recently broken wrist, is in danger of failing seventh grade for the second time. Fitch spends every afternoon wreaking havoc in the main arcade, struggling with an explosive temper he doesn’t understand. and bird, her twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being the first female commander of a nasa shuttle, but she feels that she is disappearing.

The Thomas children exist in their own orbits, spinning around in a tense and unpredictable household, with little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. living room as the challenger’s release draws near, mrs. salonga gives her students a project: they are separated into spaceship crews and must create and complete a mission. when the fated day finally arrives, it changes everyone’s life and brings them together in unexpected ways.

Told in three alternating points of view, We Dream of Space is an unforgettable and thematically rich novel for middle grade readers.

we dream of space is illustrated by the author.

a third of a nerd

Published: January 29, 2019

fifth grade is not for amateurs, according to liam. Fortunately, he knows that being more than a third of a nerd isn’t cool. liam lives in the bay area near san francisco with his mom and her two younger sisters. Dakota is fascinated by science and has a great personality, but has a hard time making friends; izzy, a boy with down syndrome, makes friends easily and notices things that others miss. Dad lives across town, but he comes over a lot. And then there’s Cupcake, her adorable German Shepherd, who watches over her basement apartment.

recently, magdalena has a problem: she is urinating in the house. the kids need to earn enough money to take her to the vet before the landlord upstairs finds out about her. And mom and dad have said that if cupcake doesn’t stop, they’ll find her a new home. but the kids will never let go of the cupcake. can they save her?

the 141st street vanderbeekers

Published: October 3, 2017

The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It’s practically a member of the family. So when their lonely, cantankerous landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded beiderman how awesome they are. and all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping your home.

best high school book for children about a good teacher

mrs. the last day of bixby

Published: June 21, 2016

everyone knows that there are different types of teachers. the boring ones, the bad ones, the ones who try too hard, the ones who gave up trying a long time ago. the ones you will never remember and the ones you want to forget. em. bixby is neither of these. she is the kind of teacher who makes you feel like school is worth it. she that she recognizes something in you that sometimes you don’t even see. who you never want to disappoint. what mrs bixby is, she is unique.

topher, brand and steve know this better than anyone. and so when mrs. bixby unexpectedly announces that she won’t be able to finish the school year, they come up with a risky plan, plus a quest, actually, to give mrs. bixby the last day she deserves. through the three very different stories they tell, we begin to understand what mrs. bixby means to each of them, and what the three mean to each other.

best book for middle graders about refugees

when the stars disperse

Published: April 14, 2020

omar and his younger brother hassan have spent most of their lives in dadaab, a refugee camp in kenya. life is hard there: there’s never enough food, it’s painfully boring, and you don’t have access to the medical care that omar knows his non-verbal brother needs. So when Omar gets the chance to go to school, he knows it could be a chance to change his future. . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only relative he has left, every day.

Anguish, hope and gentle humor coexist in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult scenarios. It’s an intimate, important and unforgettable look at the everyday life of a refugee, as told by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story, to New York Times bestselling author and artist Victoria Jamieson.

the boy at the back of the class

Published: August 6, 2019

there used to be an empty chair in the back of mrs. khan, but on the third Tuesday of the school year it is filled by a new kid: nine-year-old ahmet, a Syrian refugee.

The whole class is curious about this new kid: he doesn’t seem to smile and doesn’t talk much. But after learning that Ahmet fled a very real war and got separated from his family along the way, a determined group of his classmates come together to come up with the biggest idea in the world: a grand plan to reunite Ahmet with your loved ones.

This accessible, kid-friendly story of the refugee crisis highlights the transformative potential of community as an ally and reminds readers that everyone deserves a place to call home

nowhere boy

Published: August 7, 2018

Ahmed, fourteen, is trapped in a city that wants nothing to do with him. Newly arrived in Brussels, Belgium, Ahmed fled a life of uncertainty and suffering in Aleppo, Syria, only to lose his father on the perilous journey to the shores of Europe. Ahmed is now struggling to fend for himself, but with no one to trust and nowhere to go, he is beginning to lose hope.

Then she meets Max, a thirteen-year-old American boy from Washington, D.C. Lonely and homesick, Max is struggling at his new school and he just can’t seem to do anything right. But with a shocking discovery, Max and Ahmed’s lives collide and a friendship begins to grow. Together, Max and Ahmed will defy the odds, learning from each other what it means to be brave and how hope can change your destiny.

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books for middle grade children on survival

refugee

Published: July 25, 2017

Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. . .

Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and riots raging in her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America. . .

mahmoud is a syrian boy in 2015. with his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family embark on a long journey to europe. . .

The three children undertake harrowing journeys in search of refuge. everyone will face unimaginable dangers, from drowning to bombing and betrayal. but there is always hope for tomorrow. And though Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

This action-packed novel tackles themes both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the search for home.

96 miles

Published: February 11, 2020

21 days without light. 2 brothers on a desperate journey. 72 hours before time runs out…

the lockwood brothers are supposed to survive anything. His father, a firm believer in self-sufficiency, has stored enough food and water in their isolated Nevada home to last for months. But when all their supplies are stolen during a massive power outage while their father is out of town, John and Stew must trek 96 miles in the desert sun to get help. Along the way, they are forced to question their father’s insistence on self-sufficiency and wonder what we owe our neighbors, our relatives, and ourselves.

related: more survival books for tweens

best middle grade children’s book about community

arturo zamora’s epic fail

Published: May 16, 2017

save the restaurant. save the city. get the girl make grandma proud. Will thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora be able to do it all, or will she face one big, epic flop?

for arturo, summertime in miami means playing basketball until dark, drinking mango smoothies and cooling off under the banyan trees. and maybe a few shifts as a junior dishwasher at lunchtime at grandma’s restaurant. maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a fryer. she barely notices the smarmy developer who comes to town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and his community go down without a fight, and as he conspires with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Funny and poignant, arturo zamora’s epic falla is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and a boy’s quest to save them both, perfect for fans of rita williams-garcia.

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dollar children

Published: August 7, 2018

Lowen Grover, 12, a budding comic book artist, is still reeling from the shooting death of his friend Abe when he stumbles across an article about an old mill town that gives away houses for just a dollar. It seems not only the perfect escape from the city and all the horrible memories associated with it, but also an opportunity for her mother to run her own business. but is the dollar program too good to be true? the houses are in horrible condition and the locals are less than welcoming. Will the arborists discover that they have traded one set of problems for another? From the author of Little as an Elephant and Paper Things comes a poignant novel about guilt and grief, family and friendship, and most of all, community.

retrieve the block

Published: January 26, 2021

wes henderson has the best style in sixth grade. that, and hanging out with his team (his best friends since childhood) and playing video games, is what he wants to think about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents always drag him to.

But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived in all his life, everything changes. Adults are supposed to have all the answers, but all they do is argue. Even Wes’s best friends are fighting. and some of them may be on the move. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known. Wes has always been good with puzzles and he knows there has to be a missing piece to solve this puzzle and save the oak trees. but he can find it. . . before it’s too late?

Exploring community, gentrification, justice and friendship, take back the block features an irresistible sixth grader asking what it means to belong to a place and a movement and fight for what you believe in.

simon b rhymes

Published: March 2, 2021

Eleven-year-old Simon Barnes dreams of becoming a world-famous rapper everyone calls a notorious dog. But for now, he’s just a fifth grader from Chicago who’s small for his age and afraid to use his voice.

Simon prefers to remain inconspicuous at school and at home, despite the fact that he is constantly spitting rhymes in his head. But when his new teacher assigns the class an oral presentation about something affecting his community, Simon must face his fears.

With the help of an unlikely ally and his neighborhood crew, will Simon gain the confidence to rap his way up and prove that one kid can make a difference in his neighborhood?

a place to hang the moon

Published: February 2, 2021

It’s 1940 and William, 12, Edmund, 11, and Anna, 9, aren’t terribly upset about the death of the not-so-grandma who has cared for them since their parents died. But kids need a guardian, and In London’s dark days of World War II, they are in short supply, especially if they hope to stay together. Could the mass evacuation of children from London to the countryside during the war be the answer?

It’s an absurd plan, but they leave, keeping their situation a secret and hoping to be placed in a temporary home that ends forever. Moving from one lodging to another, the children suffer the cruel deception of foster siblings, the cold realities of open-air baths, and the emptiness of empty stomachs. They find solace in the town library, whose friendly librarian, Nora Müller, seems like an excellent fit. billet her, except that the whereabouts of her german her husband are currently unknown, and she is considered unsuitable by some of the villagers.

best middle grade fun book for kids

bean

Published: October 1, 1996

is nick allen a troublemaker? he really likes to liven things up at school, and he’s always had a lot of great ideas. When Nick learns interesting information about how words are created, he suddenly has the inspiration for his best plan: the frindle. who says a pen has to be called a pen? why not call it frindle? Things start off innocently enough when Nick gets his friends to use the new word. then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar and Nick has become a local hero. his teacher wants nick to stop all this nonsense, but the funny thing is that frindle doesn’t belong to nick anymore. The news is spreading across the country and there’s nothing Nick can do to stop it.

really great

Published: July 3, 2018

When stuart cornelius really first sees the new girl, becca, he staples his finger to his seventh grade history homework. the second time he sees her, he coughs up a bite of her lunch, a vegetarian roasted pepper sandwich, onto her sweater and promptly lies, stating that he is also a vegetarian. Their third meeting goes off without a hitch, but Stu’s lie turns out to be harder to maintain than he expected, especially since his family owns a butcher shop.

In this hilarious, heartwarming, and contemporary middle grade novel, students suddenly begin to realize that the opposite sex exists (and it’s not so bad, after all!). Can Stu learn to successfully navigate old friends, new crushes, and horror-filled school dances, or will his lie, meant to impress her crush, cause her world to come crashing down?

devin velma’s right hook

Published: October 2, 2018

devin wants to make it big on the internet by doing a stunt at an nba game, one the whole nation will be watching. Addison can’t turn Devin down, but he can barely talk to his teachers without freezing. How is he supposed to handle the possibility of being a viral sensation?

addi isn’t sure why devin is hell-bent on pulling off this nearly impossible feat. maybe it has something to do with devin’s dad’s hospital bills. maybe it all goes back to the backflip of the double-barreled monkey bar of doom. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. However, whatever happens, it’s risky for both of them, and when the big day finally arrives, Devin’s plan threatens more than just their friendship.

With memorable leads and a wonderful supporting cast, Jake Burt’s Devin Velma right hook is a one-of-a-kind knockout in middle-grade fiction.

the smartest kid in the universe

Published: December 1, 2020

12-year-old jake’s high school is about to close, unless jake and his friends find a way to save it. when jake sees a bowl of jelly beans at the hotel where his mom works, he eats them. But those weren’t just jelly beans, one of the scientists at his mother’s conference is developing the world’s first ingestible information pills. and that’s what jake ate.

Before long, Jake is the smartest kid in the universe. but the pills have not yet been tested. and when word gets out about this new genius, people want it. government. the mega corporations. not all of them are good people! Will Jake be able to navigate the ins and outs of his new genius (not to mention the ins and outs of high school) and use his intelligence to save the school from him? cousin! Includes additional riddles to test your intelligence!

escape from boring camp

Published: July 8, 2021

After Will is caught listening to music on his phone in class again, his mother has had enough. will is sent to a “reconstruction” camp in the middle of the woods for tech-addicted kids…disaster.

Camp isn’t just a screen-free nap fest, Will realizes he accidentally took something from his brother and needs to return it urgently. And with no way to contact him, Will and his three new friends plan to escape from camp in the middle of the night and embark on a ridiculous journey through the woods.

The unlucky heroes must return to civilization in time to return will’s smuggling shipment and avoid being blown out of the air in the process…

an occasionally happy family

Published: May 18, 2021

There’s no reason for Theo Ripley to yearn for a family vacation. He, his sister Laura, and his father, obsessed with nature, will not only go to Big Bend, the least popular national park, but once there, the family will camp. and theo is an indoor animal. It doesn’t help that this is the first vacation they’ve taken since mom passed away. Once there, the family faces 110-degree days, wild bears, and an annoying amateur ornithologist and his terrible teenage vlogger son. Then Theo’s dad surprises him with a big surprise: the whole trip is just a stunt to introduce him to his new secret girlfriend. Theo tries to crush the pain in his chest. But when it becomes clear that it’s a girlfriend auditioning to be his stepmother, Theo must find a way to face his pain and talk to his father before his family changes forever. /p>

it’s the end of the world and I’m in a bathing suit

Published: April 5, 2022

Twelve-year-old eddie gordon holloway has come up with his greatest plan to avoid chores. . . especially the dreaded l-a-u-n-d-r-y. if he can wear all the clothes in his wardrobe, summer will be over before he has to do the laundry!

On the day of the long-awaited beach party, Eddie ends up grounded until he can do his laundry. While he stays home alone to do the laundry, he cuts off the electricity in the middle of the cycle. With his first load of laundry soaking wet and the rest still dirty, Eddie sets off to explore the seemingly empty neighborhood in just his swim trunks and flip-flops.

When he meets with other kids in the neighborhood to find out what happened, they realize their families aren’t coming back anytime soon. and as night falls, the team realizes that they’re not just the only people left in the neighborhood, they just might be the only people left. . . anywhere.

fly on the wall

Published: September 15, 2020

henry khoo’s family treats him like a baby. he is not allowed to go anywhere without his sister/escort/bodyguard. And he definitely can’t take a trip to the other side of the world alone!

but that’s exactly his plan. After his family’s annual trip to visit his father in Singapore is cancelled, Henry decides he doesn’t want to be stuck at home with his overprotective family and bff turned nrff (not really friend forever). Furthermore, he is hiding a secret that your life is over if you get caught: he is the creator of an anonymous gossip cartoon and he is about to get caught. Determined to prove his independence and avoid punishment for his crimes, Henry embarks on the greatest adventure ever. . . hoping it doesn’t turn into the biggest disaster in history.

remy lai takes readers on an adventure full of humor, heart and mischief that is a sure bet for fans of jerry craft, terri libenson and shannon hale.

related: more fun books for tweens

best high school books for kids about food

slider

Published: September 12, 2017

David can eat an entire sixteen-inch pepperoni pizza in four minutes and thirty-six seconds. nothing bad. but he knows he can do better. in fact, he’s going to have to do better: he’s going to compete in the super pigorino bowl, the world’s biggest pizza-eating contest, and he has to win it, because he borrowed his mom’s credit card and accidentally spent $2,000 on it. so he really needs that prize money. like yesterday. as if training to be a competitive eater isn’t enough, he must also keep an eye on his little brother, bad (who, if the family believed in labels, would be labeled autistic, but they don’t, so they just mislabel him) . and he doesn’t even start with the new weirdness happening between his two best friends, cyn and heyman. the talents of teacher pete hautman have crafted a rich narrative filled with equal parts humor and tenderness, and the result is a mid-grade novel too delightful to put down

the $150,000 rugelach

See Also: 34 YA Book Titles That Are Mind-Blowingly Creative | Epic Reads

Published: August 31, 2021

Bursting with rock and roll attitude, eleven-year-old Jack Fineman dreams of becoming the greatest pastry chef who ever lived. His plans are thrown into disarray when his butterscotch basil brownies are upstaged at his sixth grade holiday party by a plain plate of chocolate rugelach brought by Jillian Mermelstein, the new girl in school whose mother just died and who just wants let her. alone.

The lives of these budding bakers are mixed up when they are selected to compete as teammates in a nationally televised competition. For Jack, this is his chance to take another step toward culinary greatness. For Jillian, it’s a chance to help his father by winning his share of the $150,000 jackpot.

Preparing to take on bakers from other high schools around town, Jack and Jillian struggle to find the right recipe to work with. Along the way, they make the world’s most irresistible oatmeal cricket cookies, battle Jack’s plaid-pants-wearing brother for miniature golf supremacy, and discover the disturbing reasons each of them was chosen to play. the contest.

the last super chef

Published: July 6, 2021

For as long as he can remember, Curtis Pith has been obsessed with becoming a chef as Lucas Taylor, host of Super Chef. And Curtis has a secret: Taylor is actually his long-absent father.

So, when Taylor announces a super chef season just for kids, Curtis finally sees an opportunity to meet his father. But after Curtis wins a spot in the competition and arrives in New York to film the show, nothing goes quite as well as she hoped.

It all depends on the last challenge. If Curtis cooks her heart out like she knows she can, she could go home with the jackpot and the truth.

related: the best high school books on food

best road trip book for middle graders

the birds of someday

Published: January 24, 2017

Someday’s Birds is a middle grade novel perfect for fans of counting by 7s and fishing in a tree, full of humour, hearts and chicken nuggets.

charlie’s perfectly ordinary life has been unraveling ever since his father, a war journalist, was wounded in afghanistan.

When his father leaves California for Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travels the country with his boy-crazy sister, his wayward brothers and a mysterious new family friend. he decides that if he can spot all the birds that he and his father hoped to see someday along the way, then everything might work out.

newcomer author sally j. pla has written a story that is equal parts wacky road trip, coming-of-age story of an autistic boy who feels like he doesn’t understand the world, and an uplifting portrait of a family overcoming a crisis.

the way to wherever

Published: May 11, 2021

After eleven-year-old June Ball’s father disappears without so much as a goodbye note, June’s mother sends him on a road trip with his adult cousins, mechanics Thomas and Cornell Ball. the balls are “ford men”; his calling in life is to restore old fords, and only fords, that no longer work. And so he begins a summer cruising the highways and byways of America, encountering fairlanes, thunderbirds, and wrecked ranchers. they also meet the car owners, who sometimes also need repairs.

june doesn’t understand her cousins’ passion for all things ford. But at every turn, June realizes this journey is about more than giving abandoned classic cars some much-needed TLC—there’s room to care for broken human parts, too.

best books for middle grade boysabout a disabling disease

everything i knew

Published: August 11, 2020

henry has been deaf from a young age: he’s smart and knows the language, but at age six, he’s decided it’s not safe to talk to strangers. when it comes time for him to start school, he is labeled “unteachable”. Because his family has very little money, his parents and his older sister Molly feel powerless to help him. Henry is sent to Riverview, a bleak institution where he is misunderstood, underestimated and treated harshly. Victor, a World War II conscientious objector, is part of a civilian public service program offered as an alternative to compulsory military service. In 1942, he comes to Riverview to work as an assistant and quickly learns that Henry is far from unteachable: he is brave, smart, and sometimes mischievous. Under Victor’s care, Henry begins to see how things can change for the better.

wink

Published: March 31, 2020

ross maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. she doesn’t want to lose her hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with friends who disappear and don’t know what to say to the “cancer kid”. But with his recent diagnosis of a rare eye cancer, he can’t go unnoticed.

squint

Published: October 2, 2018

My name is Flint, but everyone in high school calls me cross-eyed because I’m losing my vision. I used to play soccer, but not anymore. I haven’t had a friend in a long time. Fortunately, true friends can see the real you, even when you can’t see it clearly.

flint loves to draw. in fact, he’s frantically trying to finish his comic so he can be the youngest winner of the find a comic star contest. he is also in a hurry to finish because he has keratoconus, an eye disease that could eventually make him blind.

mckell is the new girl in school and immediately hangs out with the popular kids. except mckell isn’t a fan of the way her friends treat this guy named squint. he seems nice and really talented. he draws incredible pictures of superheroes. mckell wants to meet him, but is it worth the risk? What if her friends catch her dating the boy who squints at her all the time?

mckell has a hidden talent of her own, but she doesn’t share it for fear of being judged. Her terminally ill brother Danny challenges McKell to share her love of poetry and songwriting. flint seems like someone she could trust. someone who would never laugh at her. someone as good and brave as flint’s comic book superhero named squint.

squint is the inspiring story of two new friends facing challenges of their own, learning to trust each other, believing in themselves, and beginning to truly see what matters most.

best middle grade book for children on racism

new guy

Published: February 5, 2019

seventh grader jordan banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academic standing, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

While making the daily commute from his Washington Heights apartment to the exclusive Riverdale Academy day school, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds and doesn’t really fit into either. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

This middle grade graphic novel is a great choice for pre-teen readers, even summer reading.

keep it real

Published: October 19, 2021

marigold johnson can’t wait to attend a special show at her family’s business, flexx unlimited, for teen fashionistas. But Mari quickly realizes that she is out of place compared to the other three apprentices of hers, and one girl, Kara, seems to hate her at first sight.

As tensions mount and the stakes on the show rise, Mari discovers exactly why Kara has been so spiteful. He also discovers some hard truths about her and her family.

when the winter robe arrived

Published: January 11, 2022

When Eden’s cousin Winter comes to visit, it turns out she’s not just there to sightsee. He wants to find out what happened to his father, who disappeared ten years earlier from the Watts area of ​​Los Angeles. so the cousins ​​set out to investigate together, and what they discover brings them both joy and heartache. it also opens up a whole new understanding of his world, just as the area they’re targeting explodes into a standoff between police and black residents. For six days, Watts is like a war zone, with Eden and Winter becoming heroes in their own part of the drama. eden hopes to be a songwriter one day, and the only way she can describe that summer is a song with an unexpected ending, full of changes in tempo and mood, totally unforgettable.

yusuf azeem is not a hero

Published: September 7, 2021

yusuf azeem has spent his entire life in the small town of frey, texas, and almost as long waiting for the chance to enter the regional robotics competition, that he just knows he can win.

only this year is going to be harder than I thought. because this year is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an anniversary that has everyone in your Muslim community on edge.

With “never forget” banners everywhere and a hostile group of townspeople protesting the new mosque, Yusuf realizes that the country’s anger from two decades ago has not gone away. Will he be able to preserve his joy and his friendships in the face of anguish and prejudice?

best book for middle graders on anxiety

how to make friends with the sea

Published: March 31, 2020

Pablo is homesick. she’s only twelve, but she’s lived in more countries than he can count. after his parents divorced, he and his mother moved from place to place for years, never settling anywhere long enough to call home. And along the way, Pablo has accumulated more and more fears: of dirt, germs and, above all, the ocean.

They now live in the Philippines and his mother, a zoologist who works at a local wildlife refuge, is too busy saving animals to realize that Pablo might need saving too. Later, his mother takes in Chiqui, an orphan girl with a cleft lip, and Pablo discovers that being strong for Chiqui, his own fears don’t seem so scary.

You might even find the courage to face your greatest fear of all…and learn to befriend the sea.

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best high school books for kids on basketball

o’clock

Published: May 29, 2018

From the critically acclaimed author of the voice of amine comes the second book in an exciting new high school series about a scrawny fourth grader with big dreams of achieving basketball stardom.

Now that Zayd has become the gold team, he works really hard and enjoys every minute of the season.

But when the team starts to run into trouble, Zayd can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with it. Even worse, his best friend Adam suddenly starts acting like he doesn’t care about basketball anymore, even though they’re finally teammates. he stops playing basketball with zayd at recess and starts hanging out with other kids. then he perks up and leaves the gold team to play soccer.

While preparations for his uncle’s wedding turn life into a circus at home, Zayd is left alone to figure things out. he has to decide how to stay friends with adam and step up to fill the empty shoes he left on the court. Does Zayd have what it takes to be on point and lead his team back to victory?

bounce

Published: April 2, 2018

before josh and jordan bell were running up and down the court, their dad was learning his own moves. In this prequel to the Newbery Medal-winning crossover, Chuck Bell takes center stage, as readers take a look back at his childhood and how he became the basketball star who loved jazz music and his children admired it. .

A novel in verse with all the punch and pace readers have come to expect from Kwame Alexander, Rebound will travel back in time to visit Chuck “Da Man” Bell’s childhood during a pivotal summer when young Charlie is sent to stay. with his grandparents where he discovers basketball and learns more about his family’s past.

crossing

Published: March 18, 2014

with lightning in my kicks. . . the court is sizzling. my sweat is drizzling. Leave all that shudder. Because tonight I’m giving birth,” raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. thanks to his dad, he and his twin brother, jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood: he also has crazy rhythms, which help him find his rhythm when everything is on the line.

As his winning season unfolds, things start to change. When Jordan meets a girl, the twins’ bond is undone. Told in dynamic verse, this middle grade fast and furious novel that started it all absolutely bounces with rhythm and bursts with heart.

stanford wong fails big

Published: October 1, 2005

Stanford Wong is in big trouble, or as he would spell it, “trouble,” in this hilarious sidekick to this season’s award-winning Millicent Min, Girl Genius, and HC, Emily Ebers.

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stanford wong is having a rough summer. if she fails her summer school English class, she will fail sixth grade. if that happens, she won’t start on team a. If *that* happens, his friends will leave him and Emily Ebers won’t like him anymore. and if that happens, her life will be over. Soon his parents are fighting, his yin-yin grandma hates his new nursing home, he’s being “tutored” by the world’s biggest nerdball, millicent min, and he’s not sure his “emily” pen tattoo will go away. delete.

best middle grade books for kids on homelessness and poverty

no fixed address

Published: September 11, 2018

Felix Knutsson, age twelve and three-quarters, has a flair for trivia. her favorite game show is who, what, where, when; she even named her gerbil after the host. felix’s mom, astrid, is loving but she can’t seem to hold down a job. so when they are evicted from their last run-down apartment, they have to move into a van. astrid swears to keep her secret; She can’t tell anyone about her living arrangement, not even Dylan and Winnie, her best friends at her new school. if she does, she warns him, they will take him away and put him in foster care.

As his circumstances go from bad to worse, Felix gets the chance to audition for a teen edition of Who, Where, When and is determined to earn a spot on the show. winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. but things don’t go as he expects. . . .

susin nielsen deftly blends humor, heartbreak, and hope in this poignant story about people breaking through the cracks of society and the power of friendship and community to make a difference.

crenshaw

Published: September 22, 2015

jackson and his family have been through tough times. there is no money for rent. and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister and his dog may have to live in their minivan. again.

crenshaw is a cat. he is big, he is frank and he is imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is one imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

beloved author katherine applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, real or imagined.

the bridge home

Published: February 5, 2019

Four homeless kids determined to make a living in Padma Venkatraman’s heartwarming high school debut.

Life is tough on the bustling streets of Chennai, India, so when fugitive sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects seem bleak. Very quickly, eleven-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this uncaring and dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter and friendship on an abandoned bridge that is also the hideout of Muthi and Arul, two homeless boys, and the four of them soon form something of a family. And while they make a living scavenging the city’s rubbish heaps, the kids find plenty to be proud of, too. after all, they are now their own boss and no longer dependent on untrustworthy adults. But when the disease strikes, Viji must decide whether she will risk seeking help from strangers or continue to cling to her fragile, hard-fought freedom.

free lunch

Published: September 10, 2019

Free Lunch is the story of Rex Ogle’s first semester of sixth grade. rex and his little brother were often hungry, wore second-hand clothes and had no school supplies, and rex was in his school’s free lunch program. Based on the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Rex’s is a compelling story of a deeper hunger: a child’s for the love and care of his parents. . Compulsively readable, beautifully crafted, and told authentically with the voice and point of view of a sixth grader, Free Lunch is a remarkable debut from a gifted storyteller.

Related: The Best Middle Grade Books on Homelessness and Poverty

best high school book for kids about an incarcerated father

all rise for the honorable perry t. cook

Published: March 1, 2016

all rise for the honorable perry t. cook is a powerful middle grade novel perfect for fans of wonders and when you catch up with me by leslie connor, the award-winning author of wait for normal and crunch.

from comes eleven-year-old perry was born and raised by his mother at blue river co-educational correctional facility in tiny surprise, nebraska. his mother resides in cell block c, and so far warden daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney uncovers the truth, and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into foster care.

When Perry moves into the “outside” world, he feels trapped. Desperate to reunite with his mother, Perry sets out on a search for answers about his past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from. . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home really means?

the loot is in the socks

Published: November 2, 2021

xavier moon is not one to steal the spotlight. he’s perfectly content playing video games and sitting in his bedroom window watching the neighborhood talk outside. But for Xavier’s twelfth birthday, he gets a funky pair of socks and a dare from his great-uncle, Frankie Bell, saying it’s time to show off and talk. first in the list: he enters the league of the legendary scepter. Xavier’s grandfather, great-uncle, and father were invited to join the elite after-school boys’ club that admits only the most affable and confident youngsters. Xavier has never had the courage to apply before, but his wild socks are getting her attention, so maybe it’s time to step out of the shadows and follow in his family’s footsteps. or maybe xavier will march down a whole new path.

best middle grade books for kids about space

see you in the cosmos

Published: February 28, 2017

Alex Petroski, 11, loves space and rockets, his mother, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan, named after his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the same way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his gold record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, from Las Vegas to L.A. , alex records a trip on his ipod to show other life forms what life is like on earth, his earth. but his fate keeps changing. and the funny, lost, and remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he will uncover, from the truth about his long-dead father to the fact that, for a boy with a troubled mother and a majority as a brother who is not around, he has much more family than he ever knew. Jack Cheng’s debut is full of joy, optimism, determination, and incredible heart. To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world. to read the last one is to know that he and his story will stay with you for a long, long time.

clues of the universe

Published: January 12, 2021

the only thing rosalind ling geraghty likes more than watching nasa launches with her dad is building rockets with him. When she unexpectedly dies, all she is left with is an unfinished model rocket they had been working on together.

Benjamin Burns doesn’t like science, but he never tires of Spacebound, a popular comic book series. when he finds a sketch that suggests his father created the comics, he gets excited. It’s a pity that his father left years ago and Benji has no way of contacting him.

Although Ro and Benji were only supposed to be science classmates, the pair become unlikely friends, with Ro even discovering a way to reunite Benji and his father. but benji hesitates, which angers ro. Doesn’t she realize how much I wish I could be in her place?

As the two deal with bullying, pain, and their own differences, Benji and Ro try to piece together clues to some of the biggest questions in the universe.

best middle grade book for kids on wrestling

removal

Published: June 19, 2018

mikayla is a fighter; when you grow up in a house full of fighting siblings, it’s inevitable. she is also a way of keeping in touch with her siblings and her father. some people object to having a girl on the team. But that doesn’t stop Mikayla. she will work hard and win.

lev is determined to make it to the state championships this year. he is used to training with his two friends as the fearsome trio; but at the beginning of sixth grade, he is paired with a new partner: a girl. this had better not get in the way of aiming at him.

mikayla and lev push each other to stand out and become friends. but when they clash, only one of them can win.

best high school books for kids on sports

checked

Published: February 6, 2018

hockey is conor’s life. all his life. he’ll say it himself, he’s a hockey beast. It’s his father’s whole life, too, and Conor is sure that’s why his stepmom, Jenny, left. There are very few things that Conor and his dad love more than the game, and one of those things is his Doberman Pinscher, Sinbad. When Sinbad is diagnosed with cancer, Conor decides to put his hockey lessons and practice on hold so he can pay for Sinbad’s chemotherapy.

But with no hockey to distract him, Conor begins to notice more. like his father’s crying spells and his friend’s difficult family life. And then Conor realizes one more thing: Without hockey, the one thing that makes him feel special, is he really special?

ten thousand attempts

Published: July 13, 2021

Twelve-year-old Golden Maroni is determined to channel his hero, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, and become captain of his soccer team and teacher of his eighth-grade universe… especially since his home universe it’s going out of orbit. Off the field, Golden’s father, once a professional soccer player, is now battling ALS, a disease that attacks his muscles, leaving him less and less physically able to control his body on a daily basis. and while mom says there is no cure, golden is convinced that his dad can beat this, like any opponent, they just have to try.

golden knows that if you want to perfect a skill you have to make ten thousand attempts, so he is convinced that if he can work as hard on and off the field, he can keep everything from changing. But when his father continues to decline and his constant pressure begins to alienate his friends and crew from him, Golden is forced to confront the idea that being the master of the universe from him may not mean having the control of everything. what if it means letting go of the things you can’t control so you can do the most good for the things you can?

one last shot

Published: May 5, 2020

for as long as he can remember, malcolm has never felt good enough. Not for his parents, who have always seemed to be at odds with each other, with Malcolm caught in the middle. And especially not for his father, whose competitive drive and love of sports Malcolm has never shared. That is, until Malcolm discovers miniature golf, the only sport he truly enjoys. maybe it’s the way each hole is a puzzle to be solved. or the caprice of the windmills and the waterfalls that decorate the countryside. or maybe it’s the slushies at the snack bar. But whatever the reason, something about miniature golf just clicks for Malcolm. And best of all, it’s a sport his dad can’t get obsessed with. Or so Malcolm thinks. he is soon signing up for lessons and participating in tournaments. And yet, even as he becomes a better golfer and finds unexpected friends on the local course, he wonders if he won’t always be a disappointment. But as the final game of the year approaches, the tension between Malcolm’s parents reaches a breaking point, and it’s up to him to put the puzzle of his family back together.

related: best high school sports books

best middle grade books for kids on body positivity

garvey’s choice

Published: October 4, 2016

Garvey’s father always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading, anything but sports. feeling like a failure, he consoles himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he too is overweight, picked on by bullies and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school choir, Garvey’s life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through the chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself and a way to finally reach his estranged father, speaking the language of music instead of the language of gods. sports. This emotionally resonant novel in verse from award-winning author Nikki Grimes celebrates choosing to be true to yourself.

turtle boy

Published: May 5, 2020

7th grade is not going well for will levine. kids at school bully him because of his weird-looking chin. And for his bar mitzvah community service project, he is forced to go to the hospital to visit RJ, an older boy battling an incurable disease.

The boys don’t hit it off at first, but then RJ shares his wish list with Will. Among the things he wants to do: ride a roller coaster; go to a school dance; swim in the ocean. at will, happiness is hanging out in his room, alone, preferably with the turtles he collects. But as RJ’s illness worsens, Will realizes he must tackle the bucket list on behalf of his new friend before it’s too late. It seems like an impossible mission, way out of Will’s comfort zone. But as he completes each task with RJ’s guidance, he’ll learn that life is too short to live in a shell.

all of me

Published: June 11, 2019

ari has body image issues. after moving across the country, her parents work selling and promoting her mother’s paintings and sculptures. Ari’s bohemian mother needs space to create, and her father is away for long periods of time on “selling” trips.

meanwhile, ari makes new friends: pick, the player; the artistic jorge and the troubled lisa. He is also relentlessly bullied because he is overweight, but he can’t tell his parents, they just aren’t close enough to listen.

After a disturbing incident, ari’s mom suggests he go on a diet and she gives him a book to help him. but the book, and the diet, cannot fix everything. As Ari deals with the demise of her parents’ marriage, she too feels a change, both emotionally and physically. Here’s a much-needed story about embracing the imperfect in yourself and in life.

best middle grade books for kids on blended families

a practical guide to getting lost

Published: April 14, 2020

sutton is having problems with the robot. his minibot is supposed to be able to get through a maze in less than a minute, but he must have made a coding mistake. Which is frustrating for a science-minded girl like Sutton, almost as frustrating as the fact that her mother probably won’t be home in time for Sutton’s 10th birthday.

luis spends his days writing exciting stories about brave kids, but there’s not much inspiration you can find when you’re cooped up all day. he is allergic to bees, afraid of dogs and has an overprotective mother. so luis can only dream of daring adventures in nature.

sutton and luis couldn’t be more different from each other. except now that their parents are dating, these two have to find something in common. Will they be able to navigate a path they never planned to explore?

best high school book for children on adventures

here in the real world

Published: February 4, 2020

ware can’t wait to spend the summer “in its own world”, dreaming of knights in the middle ages and generally being left alone. but then his parents enroll him in the dreaded rec camp, where he must endure meaningful social interaction and whatever activities so-called “normal” kids do. On the first day of it, Ware meets Jolene, a tough and reserved girl who plants a garden out of the rubble. of an abandoned church next to the camp. he soon starts skipping recess, creating a castle-like space of his own in the church lot. jolene taunts her, calling him a dreamer: he doesn’t live in the “real world” like she does. however, as different as ware and jolene are, they have one thing in common: to them, the lot is a haven. faced with that. you will always be the champion of right and good, and you promise to save everyone. but what is a hero like in real life? And what can two misfit kids do?

the last door of the emperor

Published: May 4, 2021

yared heywat lives an isolated life in addis prime, a poor city with broken technology, many rules and little to do. His restless uncle Moti and the bionic lioness Besa are his only family…and his only friends.

Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and clever mouth, those same qualities make Yared a star player in the underground augmented reality game, Kaleb’s Obelisk Quest. But when a game rule change prompts Yared to log in with his real name, a city-shaking attack is unleashed. In the chaos, Uncle Moti disappears.

Suddenly, all the stories yared’s uncle told him as a child come to life, about kingdoms in the sky and monsters rampaging through cities. and somehow yared is at the center of them.

Joined by Besa and the Ibis, an in-game rival turned reluctant ally, Yared must search for his uncle…and answer for his place in a forgotten war that spans the galaxy.

the eye of ra

Published: February 27, 2021

Exploring a mysterious cave in the mountains behind their house, John and his sister Sarah are surprised to discover that they have traveled back in time to ancient Egypt.

Now they must work together to find their way home from an ancient civilization of golden desert sand and a towering new pyramid, with no parents to save them. adventures abound: cobras, scorpions, a grave robber, and more! the two boys have to trust each other, make friends who can help, and survive whatever challenges come their way. . . or be stuck in ancient egypt forever.

best middle grade book for children about knocking

goldfish boy

Published: February 28, 2017

Lisa Thompson’s debut novel is a gripping mystery with a complex and emotional character study at its core, such as Rear Window Meets the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.

mathew corbin suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. he hasn’t been to school in weeks. his hands are chapped and bleeding from cleaning. he refuses to leave his bedroom. To pass the time, he watches his neighbors from his bedroom window, taking mundane notes about his habits as they move down the cul-de-sac.

When a little boy who lived next door goes missing, it becomes clear that Matthew was the last person to see him alive. Suddenly, Matthew finds himself at the center of a high-stakes mystery, with every one of his neighbors a suspect. Matthew is the key to finding out what happened and potentially saving a child’s life…but can he do it if it means exposing his own secrets and leaving the safety of his home?

best science fiction book for middle graders

the last last day of summer

Published: April 2, 2019

otto and sheed are the local detectives in their wacky town of virginia, masters at unraveling mischief using their unparalleled powers of deduction. And as summer winds down and the first day of school approaches, kids are craving a little more time to have fun, even as they bicker about what kind of fun they want to have. that is, until a mysterious man shows up with a camera that literally freezes time. Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put their differences aside to save their city – and each other – before time stops forever.

weird kid

Published: July 27, 2021

jake wind tries to go unnoticed. whose radar? anyone who’s too interested in the fact that he has shape-shifting abilities he can’t control. or that his parents found him as a ball of slime when he was a baby.

However, keeping his powers in check is crucial if he wants to live a normal life and go to high school instead of being homeschooled (and if he wants to avoid being kidnapped and experimented on, of course).

He feels things are going his way when he survives his first day of school without transforming and makes a new friend. But when mysterious sinkholes start appearing in town, sinkholes filled with the same alien substance as Jake, and his neighbors, classmates, and even his family start acting a little weird, Jake will have to learn to use his powers to be able to stop them. save his town.

best high school book for kids about a sick father

before ever after

Published: September 1, 2020

for as long as zj can remember, his father has been everyone’s hero. As a charming and talented professional soccer star, he is as loved by the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is by his millions of sports fans. but lately life at zj’s house is anything but charming. his dad has trouble remembering things and he seems to be angry all the time. zj’s mother explains that she is due to all the head injuries his father suffered during his career. zj can understand that, but it doesn’t make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on to family traditions and memories of the glory days, all the while wondering what his past amounts to if his father can’t remember him. And more importantly, can those happy feelings be regained when everyone is so busy pining for the past?

there they are: over 100 of the best books for middle graders! remember that girls can and should read these books, but these books have male protagonists who are sensitive, kind, intelligent and trying to find meaning in life. I hope these are the types of characters you’re looking for!

Have you read any of the books on this list of books for middle grade boys? any favorites you see here? I would like to know! feel free to leave your favorite middle grade “for kids” book recommendations in the comments. I also accept book list suggestions if you have any specific requests. I’ll be happy to help!

See Also: The Best Books on Stoicism – Five Books Expert Recommendations

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