It’s time to begin learning again and with it comes new grades, new experiences, new teachers, possibly even a new school. Maybe you are excited to go back to school; maybe you are feeling a bit scared. Here is a list of chapter books to support you during this new school year. All the title links will bring you to the catalog so you can request a copy for yourself!
The 47 People You’ll Meet in Middle School by Kristin Mahoney
“Augusta writes letters to her younger sister, Louie, about life in middle school, from tackling a new school building to meeting new people like the assistant principal, the class pet, and the renegade.”
Posted by John David Anderson
“When cell phones are banned at their school, students start communicating through sticky notes left all over the school, triggering a wave of bullying activities in the wake of a new girl’s arrival.”
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf
“When quiet, nine-year-old Ahmet arrives in their classroom, a boy and his friends fail to draw him out but try a new plan after learning he is a Syrian refugee.”
All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
“Homeschooled by Renaissance Fair enthusiasts, eleven-year-old Imogene has a hard time fitting in when her wish to enroll in public school is granted.”
New Kid by Jerry Craft
“Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds–and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?”
Emmy in the Key of Code by Aimee Lucido
“Sixth-grader Emmy tries to find her place in a new school and to figure out how she can create her own kind of music using a computer.”
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
“Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. Things aren’t going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what’s going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school.”
Act by Kayla Miller
“Olive is excited to start sixth grade: new teachers, new experiences, and a field trip to the big city with her best buds! But when Olive finds out that a school policy is keeping some kids from going on the trip, she decides to act. She’s prepared to do whatever it takes to be heard–even if it means running against Trent and Sawyer, two of her closest friends, in the student council election! With intense campaign competition and emotions running high, can Olive make a big change and keep her friends?”
Public School Superhero by James Patterson
“In Kenny Wright’s active imagination he’s a world famous superhero, but in the real world he’s a sixth grade “Grandma’s Boy” whose struggles to fit in at his Washington D.C. inner city school will put his grades and family loyalty to the test”
Nikki on the Line by Barbara Carroll Roberts
“Nikki, thirteen, dreams of being a great basketball player but struggles on her new, elite team while also juggling school stress, her non-traditional family, and revelations about her biological father.”
Maxi’s Secrets (Or What You Can Learn From a Dog) by Lymm Plourde
| “Fifth-grader Timminy, who’s small for his age and new in town, isn’t eager to start middle school–but he gets a great consolation prize in Maxi, a big, deaf, lovable dog” |
Rick by Alex Gino
“Eleven-year-old Rick Ramsey has generally gone along with everybody, just not making waves, even though he is increasingly uncomfortable with his father’s jokes about girls, and his best friend’s explicit talk; but now in middle school he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities can express themselves–and maybe among them he can find new friends and discover his own identity.”
Name Tags and Other Sixth-Grade Disasters by Ginger Garrett
“Twelve-year-old Lizbeth is determined to get rid of her dad’s new girlfriend and make friends at her new school-neither of which turns out to be as easy as she expects”
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman
“The Unteachables never thought they’d find a teacher who had a worse attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never thought he would actually care about teaching again. Over the course of a school year, though, room 117 will experience mayhem, destruction—and maybe even a shot at redemption.”
Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson
“Loving their gifted teacher, three boys are dismayed when the teacher falls ill and leaves for the rest of the school year, a situation that compels them to share their stories while cutting class and journeying across town together on a fateful day.”
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
“Twelve-year-old María Luisa O’Neill-Morales (who really prefers to be called Malú) reluctantly moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago and starts seventh grade with a bang–violating the dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and spurning the middle school’s most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded weirdos.”
Saving Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
“The kids from Mr. Terupt’s fifth- and sixth-grade classes are entering their first year of junior high school. There’s a lot to be excited about, but there are new challenges, too. Everyone is missing Mr. Terupt. When a fight threatens to break up the group forever, they think their favorite teacher is the only one who can help them. But the kids soon find out that it’s Mr. Terupt who needs saving”
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
“A lightning strike made Lucy, twelve, a math genius but, after years of homeschooling, her grandmother enrolls her in middle school and she learns that life is more than numbers.”
Wonder by R.J. Palcio
“Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.”
Lily’s Promise by Kathryn Erskine
“Lily made her dad an important promise before he passed away; that she would…speak her mind at least five times. But speaking up one time, let alone five, is easier said than done. It’ll be even harder now that Lily must attend public school for the first time. Fortunately, she meets curling-obsessed Hobart and quiet Dunya at the beginning of sixth grade…But when Lily and her friends are bullied by Ryan and his mean clique, she quickly discovers the true meaning of friendship and speaking out”
