Category Must Read Middle Grade

Matilda Roald Dahl Ages 6-10 Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she’s just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress.…

Making Bombs for Hitler Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch Ages 9-11 Lida thought she was safe. Her neighbors wearing the yellow star were all taken away, but Lida is not Jewish. She will be fine, won’t she?But she cannot escape the horrors…

Maniac Magee Jerry Spinelli Ages 9-11 Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn’t made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides…

Loser Jerry Spinelli Ages 9-11 Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips…

Long Shot Mike Lupica  Ages 9-11 Pedro Morales loves playing basketball, but he’s more of a team guy than a star – that would be Ned Hancock, the best player in their entire town. The two boys get along well,…

Life According to Og the Frog Betty G. Birney  Ages 8-12 Og the Frog has just moved into Room 26, and the place is hopping. There are lively kids, new routines, and a furry neighbor who seems to squeak all…

Letters From Rifka Karen Hesse Ages 9-12 Historical Fiction “America,” the girl repeated. “What will you do there?” I was silent for a little time. “I will do everything there,” I answered. Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees…

Journey Into Terror Bill Wallace  Ages 8-12 Photographing two Learjets in order to test his new camera, Samuel Ross quickly forgets the angry man who tries to stop him (and who’s captured in the picture), until his new life in…

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life Wendy Mass Ages 10-13 In one month Jeremy Fink will turn thirteen. But does he have what it takes to be a teenager? He collects mutant candy, he won’t venture more than four…

Jawbreaker Christina Wyman Ages 8-12 Max Plink’s life just got a lot more complicated. Trouble at home? Check―with money tight, her parents haven’t been getting along lately. School bullies? Double check―especially if you count her sister, who is the worst…