Staff Picks for Middle Grade Readers

The Best at It

By: Maulik Pancholy
Narrated by: Maulik Pancholy
Length: 6 hours 22 minutes

Stonewall Honor Book!From award-winning actor Maulik Pancholy comes a hilarious and heartfelt middle grade debut about a gay Indian American boy coming into his own. One of Time Out's “LGBTQ+ books for kids to read during Pride Month”, this is perfect for fans of Tim Federle’s Nate series.
Rahul Kapoor is heading into seventh grade in a small... Read more

Other Words for Home

By: Jasmine Warga
Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian
Length: 3 hours 49 minutes

“Jasmine Warga's verse beautifully illustrate the struggles and heartache when starting a new life. Through the eyes of a young Syrian girl we learn the hopes and dreams not so unlike any other kid. We learn the conflicts faced when moving to a new country and trying to create a home in America. A great listen!! Read more

Everything Sad is Untrue

(a true story)

By: Daniel Nayeri
Narrated by: Daniel Nayeri
Length: 7 hours 48 minutes

“Witty and delightfully written, and while also powerful in imagery and message about immigration, accepting those who aren't like us, and what it means to find your identity in a new place. Loved the overlay and weaving of memoir and Persian folklore. Read more

The Night Diary

By: Veera Hiranandani
Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
Length: 5 hours 54 minutes

In the vein of Inside Out and Back Again and The War That Saved My Life comes a poignant, personal, and hopeful tale of India's partition, and of one girl's journey to find a new home in a divided country

It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much... Read more

King and the Dragonflies

By: Kacen Callender
Length: 5 hours 3 minutes

“Kingston (King) James and his parents are grieving the loss of Khalid-- King's older brother. When Khalid was alive and the two shared a bedroom, he would talk in his sleep, telling his younger brother stories about the universe and its magic. King continues to see Khalid in his dreams, and is convinced Khalid has transformed into a dragonfly.... Read more

Pet

By: Akwaeke Emezi
Narrated by: Christopher Myers
Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

National Book Award Finalist

Stonewall Book Award Winner

"[A] beautiful, genre-expanding debut...Pet is a nesting doll of creative possibilities." (The New York Times)

The award-winning, genre-defying novel by the New York Times best-selling author of The Death of Vivek Oji that explores themes of identity and justice and asks: How do you share the... Read more

Clean Getaway

By: Nic Stone
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Length: 3 hours 56 minutes

“A fast-paced read that has as many funny twists and turns as G-ma's driving! Part historical fiction, part road adventure, Nic Stone's first middle grade novel is perfect for a read aloud! Read more

The Only Black Girls in Town

By: Brandy Colbert
Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge
Length: 7 hours 28 minutes

From award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert comes a debut middle-grade novel about the only two Black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past.

Beach-loving surfer Alberta has been the only Black girl in town for years. Alberta's best friend, Laramie, is the closest thing she has to a... Read more

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Zoe Washington

By: Janae Marks
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 6 hours 9 minutes

“On Zoe's 12th birthday, she is looking through the mail for happy wishes when she discovers a letter from her birth father sent from the prison he has been serving his sentence in since she was born. Emotions and questions abound: should she trust this man she has never met? What would happen if she wrote back? Is it ok to keep it a secret from... Read more

When Stars Are Scattered

By: Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
Narrated by: Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, Robin Miles, Ifrah Mansour, Bahni Turpin, Hakeemshady Mohamed, Sadeeq Ali, Dominic Hoffman, Christine Avila, JD Jackson & Various
Length: 3 hours 42 minutes

An Odyssey Honor audiobook and National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel—adapted for audio—is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life... Read more

The Real Boy

By: Anne Ursu
Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
Length: 8 hours 40 minutes

National Book Award Longlist * Bank Street Children's Book Committee Best Book of the Year"Beautifully written and elegantly structured, this fantasy is as real as it gets."—Franny Billingsley, author of ChimeThe Real Boy, Anne Ursu's follow-up to her widely acclaimed and beloved middle grade fantasy Breadcrumbs, is a spellbinding tale of the... Read more