The term “middle grade readers” refers to children in the middle of elementary school, students between the ages of 8 and 12, or third though sixth grade. These readers have moved beyond simple chapter books but are not quite ready for the heavier topics in young adult novels.
Middle grade reads tackle characters’ internal conflicts which are typical of what the reader would see in their everyday life. Common themes are family, friendships, and school. There are several different genres that fall under middle grade readers including graphic novels, fantasy, realistic fiction, science fiction, action/adventure, humor, and manga.
Novels in verse sounds scary. Often people think poetry and tend to shy away from novels in verse. But there are two good reasons to give these books a try and here are a few good reasons.
Verse novels may not have pictures, but the words on the page can paint a picture. Take a look at this page from Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover.
Novels written in verse can be fun to listen too! They have a different sound and rhythm than a traditional novel!
Here Kwame Alexander reads an excerpt from his book The Crossover.
Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Laura Rodríguez Colón has a plan: no matter what the grown-ups say, she will live with her parents again. Can you blame her? It’s tough to make friends as the new kid at school. And while staying at her aunt’s house is okay, it just isn’t the same as being in her own space.
So when Laura finds a puppy, it seems like fate. If she can train the puppy to become a therapy dog, then maybe she’ll be allowed to visit her parents. Maybe the dog will help them get better and things will finally go back to the way they should be.
After all, how do you explain to others that you’re technically a foster kid, even though you live with your aunt?
And most importantly . . . how do you explain that you’re not where you belong, and you just want to go home?
The Magical Imperfect by Chris Baron
Etan has stopped speaking since his mother left. His father and grandfather don’t know how to help him. His friends have given up on him.
When Etan is asked to deliver a grocery order to the outskirts of town, he realizes he’s at the home of Malia Agbayani, also known as the Creature.
Malia stopped going to school when her acute eczema spread to her face, and the bullying became too much.
As the two become friends, other kids tease Etan for knowing the Creature. But he believes he might have a cure for Malia’s condition, if only he can convince his family and hers to believe it too. Even if it works, will these two outcasts find where they fit in?
Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted–they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations.
Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma. Although their names are linked–Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”–they are a universe apart.
Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick.
Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can’t stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again.
She’ll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma’s life.
Moonwalking by Zetta Elliott & Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Punk rock-loving JJ Pankowski can’t seem to fit in at his new school in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as one of the only white kids.
Pie Velez, a math and history geek by day and graffiti artist by night is eager to follow in his idol, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s, footsteps.
The boys stumble into an unlikely friendship, swapping notes on their love of music and art, which sees them through a difficult semester at school and at home. But a run-in with the cops threatens to unravel it all.
From authors Zetta Elliott and Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Moonwalking is a stunning exploration of class, cross-racial friendships, and two boys’ search for belonging in a city as tumultuous and beautiful as their hearts.
Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz
Samira thinks of her life as before and after- before the burning and violence in her village in Burma, when she and her best friend would play in the fields, and after, when her family was forced to flee.
There’s before the uncertain journey to Bangladesh by river, and after, when the river swallowed her nana and nani whole.
And now, months after rebuilding a life in Bangladesh with her mama, baba, and brother, there’s before Samira saw the Bengali surfer girls of Cox’s Bazar, and after, when she decides she’ll become one.
Samira Surfs , written by Rukhsanna Guidroz with illustrations by Fahmida Azim, is a tender novel in verse about a young Rohingya girl’s journey from isolation and persecution to sisterhood, and from fear to power.
Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Seventh grade is going to be Iveliz’s year. She’s going to make a new friend, help her abuela Mimi get settled after moving from Puerto Rico, and she is not going to get into any more trouble at school. . . .
Except is that what happens? Of course not. Because no matter how hard Iveliz tries, sometimes people say things that just make her so mad . And worse, Mimi keeps saying Iveliz’s medicine is unnecessary–even though it helps Iveliz feel less sad. But how do you explain your feelings to others when you’re not even sure what’s going on yourself?
NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER * In this timely and moving novel in verse, a preteen girl navigates seventh grade while facing mental health challenges. A hopeful, poetic story about learning to advocate for the help and understanding you deserve.
Check out the Spanish Language Version!
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free–or cost them everything they have–in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement.
1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer Lettie may have her head in the stars, but her body is on a covered wagon heading westward. Her father, Thomas, promises that Nebraska will be everything the family needs: an opportunity to claim the independence they’ve strived for over generations on their very own plot of land.
But Thomas’ hopes–and mouth–are bigger than his ability to follow through. With few supplies and even less money, the only thing that feels certain is danger.
Right after the war ended/and we were free/we believed/all of us did/that couldn’t nothing hurt us/the way master had when we were slaves/Couldn’t no one tell us/how to live/how to die.
Lettie, her mother, Sylvia, and young teacher Philomena are free from slavery–but bound by poverty, access to opportunity, and patriarchal social structures. Will these women survive the hardships of their journey? And as Thomas’ desire for control overpowers his common sense, will they truly be free once they get there?
Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist
Ebony and De’Kari (aka Flow) do not get along. How could they when their cafeteria scuffle ended with De’Kari’s ruined shoes, Ebony on the ground, and both of them with ten days of at-home suspension?
Now Eb and Flow have two weeks to think about and explain their behavior–to their families, to each other, and ultimately to themselves.
Award-winning author Kelly J. Baptist delivers a novel in verse that follows Eb and Flow as they navigate their parallel lives. Single-parent homes, tight funds, and sibling dynamics provide a balancing act for the growing tweens.
And whether they realize it or not, these two have a lot more in common than they think.
Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac
Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation-she’s there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There’s a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.
Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe- She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn’t go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian’s family knows that he’ll protect them too.
Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.
When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods
When Eden’s cousin Winter comes for a visit, it turns out he’s not just there to sightsee. He wants to figure out what happened to his dad, who disappeared ten years earlier from the Watts area of L.A. So the cousins set out to investigate together, and what they discover brings them joy–and heartache.
It also opens up a whole new understanding of their world, just as the area they’ve got their sights on explodes in a clash between the police and the Black residents. For six days Watts is like a war zone, and Eden and Winter become heroes in their own part of the drama.
Eden hopes to be a composer someday, 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.
The whole world seems to transform during the summer of 1965, when Eden’s cousin from Mississippi comes to visit her in L.A. just as the Watts Riots erupt, in this stirring new novel by Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods.
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