On its surface, this is a story where talented and clever friends come together to solve a mystery, yet it is so much more. Mia’s grandmother has a cricket farm and it is not going well. Can she and her friends figure out why and save it? Throughout the story Messner weaves in complex issues with grace and understanding. Through her writing, I am sure she will help many children find courage to address their own traumatic issues. Highly, highly recommended.
Recommended by Sandy
Recommended to me by Flying Pig’s Emily, this book is a fun adventure tale that’s full of heart and doesn’t shy from tough topics. When 11-year-old Scoob’s favorite person on earth G’ma picks him up to take him on a secret road trip, Scoob is thrilled to get away from his tense relationship with his dad and some trouble at school. But his grandmother keeps acting suspicious: not listening to his dad’s voicemails and changing license plates on their RV. A real nail biter, with tons of great emotional and historical context about race relations in the US.
Recommended by Laura
This middle grade graphic novel caught my heart immediately and never let go. A true story, the book follows author Mohamed, his little brother, and their hardworking, loving grandmother through the ups and downs of life in a crowded refugee encampment and their attempts to find a new home. This story is a powerful way to put a human face on a refugee experience all too often reduced to numbers and an iconic photograph. Inviting readers inside one young boy's experience is a gift, and a much more effective way to create empathy and build compassion and a passion for social justice. I keep thinking about this book, its many surprises and heartbreaks, and the amazing way Mohamed and Jamieson navigate them so gracefully. This is a book that I give a little hug to every time I pick it up, for sheer love of the people in it, their fortitude, resilience, and love for one another. So far, my favorite book of the year.
Recommended by Elizabeth
Oh, how I LOVE Mia Tang, the indomitable 10-year-old who moves to the United States from China with her parents and helps them manage the Calivista Motel in California. They're up against a motel owner who exploits them, a mountain of debt and financial insecurity, and a local community whose entrenched racism makes it hard for them to support their friends. But Mia? She has a 100% can-do, will-do, must-do attitude, and her big heart is rewarded in the end even after some major setbacks.
Recommended by Emily
I have a suddenly reading 7-year-old at home who can't get enough of the Dragon Masters series. It's a fully illustrated chapter book series that is perfect for newly independent readers. The premise is that a group of 8-year-olds are recruited by King Roland to be trained by Griffith the Wizard to communicate with various dragons via a special Dragon Stone. The Dragon Stone allows Drake, Rori, Bo, and Ana to connect with their dragons -- the Earth Dragon, Fire Dragon, Water Dragon, and Sun Dragon -- and to harness their dragons' powers to fight against evil magic. Kindness, cooperation, problem-solving, and curiosity reign as values throughout.
Recommended by Emily
This is such a gem of a book, and I really wish something like this had been around when I was 11 years old!! Ivy is immensely lovable and relatable as the middle child of a family who all seem (to Ivy) to be too busy for her. This is a book I won't forget.
Recommended by Emily
This book is so original! The narrator is Red, an oak tree, who witnesses something beautiful and also something unfortunate. Red's role as the neighborhood's "wishing tree" becomes particulary important, and this book's message could not come at a better time. Loved it.
Recommended by Emily
Gus-a bright 13-year-old who lives in Nowhere, Arizona- has only ONE night to do the impossible: go into the abandoned Dead Frenchman Mine and find enough gold to get his friend Rossi's dirt bike back from the school's biggest bully. SO GOOD: A plot that won't stop, terrific humor, and a truly lovable crew!!
Recommended by Emily
Are you in the mood for something spooky? When Ollie's dad wins a weekend at a new ski resort, Ollie and her best friends are surprised to find out no one else made it through the blizzard to opening weekend, no one except a ghost hunter! Snowed in without power, mysterious events start to occur in this sequal to the equally scary Small Spaces. Don't look in mirrors, and whaterver you do, don't listen to dead voices.
This may be one of my all-time favorite middle grade books. History meets questing meets mythology meets coming-of-age in this beautiful Book of Boy. In 1350, a disfigured and good-natured goatherd is swept off of his farm by a mysterisous pilgrim to join on his medieval treasue hunt. The two embark on a search for religious relics of old, facing many twists and obstacles along their way. This is a book that endures.
Recommended by Jake
This book is hilarious! New kid Roy Eberhardt just moved from Montana to Florida and has unfortunately attracted the attention of his middle school's biggest bully but he is pretty fearless. A girl who pops a bike tire with her tooth, sparkly poisonous snakes, a dopey police officer and alligators stuck in port-o-potties underscored by dry one liners that made me laugh outloud. Fantastic!
A brother and sister are evacuated from London during WWII. They escape their unfortunate family life to discover a new beginning. In the home of an adult who takes them in, they blossom emotionally and are able to help each other grow. A wonderful story for all ages.
Recommended by Liza
Stuey and Elly Rose are best friends bound by coincidences: they have the same birthday, they discovered the same secret fort in the woods, and their great-grandfathers disapeared on the same night. Then Elly Rose goes missing too and Stuey turns to his grandfather's writings on other dimensions to try to find her. Ghostly, philisophical and intricately woven. I though about this books for days after finishing.
The utterly devistating, painfully accessible, iminently poignant tale of a family torn apart by deportation. 14 year old Guerrero's parents are suddenly scooped up in an ICE raid and she's left to navigate on her own.... timely... terrifying.....
Recommended by Heather
Join Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha on a fun filled magical advanture. The story begins when Jane finds a magic coin that grants wishes. The only problem is that it grants only half of the wish. This book is hilarious and you won't want to stop reading.
Recommended by PJ
This is a great next step for readers of The Warriors by Erin Hunter. The woodland community surrounding Redwall Abbey is a peaceful one until Cluny, King of the Vermin, declares war. Redwall is full of humor, unforgettable characters and an epic adventure. A fantastic series follows.
Recommended by PJ