A HUGE thank you to Capability:Mom for creating this list. She knows Middle School children’s literature much better than I do — my oldest is 10 years old so I’m slowly getting there. She also blogs on children’s literature but skews a little older towards YA (Young Adult) as well as on cooking/baking and other topics of interest. She is a library freak and volunteers at every library in town including both elementary, middle school, and public library. Needless to say, I picked an authority on the topic and am excited to read these books myself! Thank you Capability:Mom! Check out her blog for more books as well as the Rainbow Cake saga…
p.s. Related posts:
Favorite Books for 6th Grade from 6th Graders
Books for 5th Grade and 6th Grade
6th Grade Girl Reviews Middle Grade Chapter Books
Josh in 6th Grade Shares His Favorite Books
Josh in 6th Grade Shares His Favorite Books (part 2)
Diversity Picture Books for 6th Grade
6th Grade Reader Challenge: Books Like The Hunger Games
Top 10: Best Books for Middle School by my 6th Grade Daughter
Wendy Mass Books for Grades 3-6th
10 Middle Grade Books about Immigrant Families
11 Great Books for Middle School Kids
10. Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
I always love her. This one is especially beautiful and unusually written. The family of this young girl is expecting a baby and the gorgeous writing takes you through growing pains, friendship, family, change, and acceptance.
9. The Giver by Lois Lowry
This tale is set in the future in a utopia (where fear, pain, war, and hatred have been eliminated) that feels anything but as we follow 12-year-old Jonas through his life. Wonderfully written and was the 1994 Newbery Medal winner.
8. Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Two children, named Dallas and Florida or the trouble twins for short, move in with an older couple who have raised a family in the quiet holler of the title. Now, this couple is now looking for adventure. Everyone gets that and more. Intense and fast-moving, a sweet story.
7. Bud, Not Buddy by Paul Curtis
A young orphan boy determinedly sets out to find his family. The story is set in 1936 during The Great Depression.
6. Holes by Louis Sachar
Made into a movie, this novel won the 1998 Newbery Medal. Two boys, Stanley Yelnats (check out the palindrome) and Hector Zeroni realize how intertwined their lives and families are in a “work camp” where they become the best of friends.
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis
This is a favorite, fantasy story of four siblings who discover an enchanted world with fantastic characters, adventures, and challenges.
4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Hugo is almost a book within a book. The book IS actually mostly illustrations (284!), and the illustrations tell their own story. I compare The Invention of Hugo Cabret to a children’s literature version of The Phantom of the Opera. They are both set in Paris; Hugo is set around 1931. They both sneak around in hidden canals and passageways that they know like the back of their hand. And they both have deep, dark secrets from the past. ( I posted on this book previously…)
3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
A young girl (Kit) who grew up with her grandfather in Barbados must move in with her aunt and uncle when her grandfather dies. She struggles with her impulsiveness and the strict rules of the times.
2. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Seeming unrelated events happen and bring Calder and Petra together in this lovely story of art theft as well as a mystery.
1. The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
In this 1997 Newbery Medal-winning book, four sixth grade students end up working together on the school’s Academic Bowl team. The story wends and weaves and you are left attached to these characters.
Honorable Mention
Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) by Christopher Paolini
15-year-old Eragon, a farm boy, hatches a dragon and learns that he is the last of the Dragon Riders and must battle evil.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Thanks. Pragmatic Mom for the kind words. I am so excited to read The Invention of Hugo Cabret and will get it back to you ASAP.
1. Return from Tomorrow, George Ritchie
2. Life after Life, Raymond Moody
3. Embraced by the Light, Betty Eadie
3 of the best books ever written.
Will keep a junior high students attention.
To A,
Thanks so much for this great list!
Hey there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics? Thank you!
To Stanfield,
I recommend Doodles and Jots, Imagination Soup, and The Fourth Musketeer. These are all great blogs that cover education topics.