Middle Grade Books

Fans of the Penderwicks and the Vanderbeekers, meet the Finkel family in this middle grade novel about two autistic sisters, their detective agency, and life's most consequential mysteries.

When twelve-year-old Lara Finkel starts her very own detective agency, FIASCCO (Finkel Investigation Agency Solving Consequential Crimes Only), she does not... Read more »

Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven't exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to... Read more »

A spine-tingling tale rooted in Caribbean folklore that will have readers holding their breath as they fly through its pages. Corinne La Mer isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti... Read more »

A spooky original #ownvoices ghost story with fantastic characters, chilling scenes--and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery.When Iris Rose makes a snow angel on an abandoned grave, it opens up a connection to the afterlife!She's summoned a ghost named Avery who wants to be remembered. Iris is... Read more »

The Mighty Muskrats won’t let a mystery go unsolved!Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. When a visiting... Read more »

The Mighty Muskrats, four cousins from the Windy Lake First Nation, are back for another adventure!The National Assembly of Cree Peoples has gathered together in the Windy Lake First Nation, home to the Mighty Muskrats—cousins Chickadee, Atim, Otter, and Sam. But when the treaty bundle, the center of a four-day-long ceremony, is taken, the... Read more »

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Anti-Racist, Tiffany Jewell, The Antiracist Kid is the essential guide to antiracism for empowering the young readers in your life!What is racism? What is antiracism? Why are both important to learn about? In this book, systemic racism and the antiracist tools to fight it are easily... Read more »

In the spirit of modern-day classics like Fish in a Tree and Counting by 7s comes the story of a deaf girl's connection to a whale whose song can't be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him.

From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she's the only deaf person in her... Read more »

Don't miss the companion book, Set Me FreeCRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT SHOW ME A SIGNWinner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award * NPR Best Books of 2020 * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 * School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 * New York Public Library Best Books of 2020 * Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2020 * 2020 Jane Addams... Read more »

A riveting standalone companion to the Schneider Family Book Award winner, Show Me a Sign by Deaf author and librarian, AnnClare LeZotte.Three years after being kidnapped as a "live specimen" in a cruel experiment to determine the cause of her deafness, MaryLambert has grown weary of domestic life on Martha's Vineyard, and even of her once... Read more »

Meena and River have a lot in common: fathers forced to work away from home to make ends meet, grandmothers who mean the world to them, and faithful dogs. But Meena is an Indian immigrant girl living in New York City’s Chinatown, while River is a Kentucky coal miner’s son. As Meena’s family studies for citizenship exams and River’s town faces... Read more »

How does a Black kid from North Philly wind up playing polo? The much-anticipated sequel to Ghetto Cowboy, now a major motion picture starring Idris Elba and Stranger Things’s Caleb McLaughlin.When Cole moves in with his dad, Harp, he thinks life will be sweet—just him and his horse, Boo, hanging out with Philadelphia’s urban cowboys. But when... Read more »

Suddenly, something big and white bumps up against the car, and I jump. I think I must be dreamin’, ’cause I just saw a horse run by.When Cole’s mom dumps him in the mean streets of Philly to live with the dad he’s never met, the last thing he expects to see is a horse—let alone a stable full of them. He may not know much about cowboys, but what... Read more »

"Tender and illuminating. A beautiful debut." --Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me

A heartrending and hopeful debut novel about a nonverbal girl and her passion for space exploration, for fans of See You in the Cosmos, Mockingbird, and The Thing About Jellyfish.

Twelve-year-old Nova is eagerly awaiting the launch of... Read more »

The turn of a card could change your destiny in this captivating middle grade adventure based on the Lotería card game and perfect for fans of Coco. While searching for her missing cousin, a young girl is transported to a mythical kingdom, becoming entangled in a perilous game of chance.

“A magical, philosophical tale rooted in Mexican lore.”... Read more »

Vietnam-born author Thanhha Lai bursts onto the literary scene with Inside Out & Back Again-her National Book Award-winning debut. Written in rich, free-verse poems, this moving tale follows a young Vietnamese girl as she leaves her war-torn homeland for America in 1975. With Saigon about to fall to the communists, 10-year-old HA, her... Read more »

The beloved chapter book by New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith about the love and adventures shared by a Cherokee-Seminole boy and his Grampa! A perfect pick for new readers.What do Indian shoes look like, anyway? Like beautiful beaded moccasins... or hightops with bright orange shoelaces?Ray Halfmoon prefers hightops, but... Read more »

In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won't let anything stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal.

Vivy Cohen is determined. She's had enough of playing catch in the park. She's ready to pitch for a real baseball team.

But Vivy's mom is worried about Vivy being... Read more »

The Women’s World Cup coming to Southern California, everyone is soccer-crazy -- especially Mia Tang! The U.S. is playing China in the finals, and Mia feels like her two identities are finally coming together. Less exciting, though? The fact that her P.E. teacher wants Mia to get out of the soccer field, too -- or fall short of the grade she... Read more »

New York Times bestselling author Kelly Yang is back with another heartwarming and inspiring story of Mia and friends!Mia Tang is going for her dreams!After years of hard work, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family -- to China! A total dream come true! Mia can'twait to see all her cousins and grandparents again,... Read more »