Amazon Kids+ Middle Grade Books

Eleven-year-old Gilly has been stuck in more foster families than she can remember, and she’s hated them all. She has a reputation for being brash, brilliant, and completely unmanageable, and that’s the way she likes it. So when she’s sent to live with the Trotters—by far the strangest family yet—she knows it’s only a temporary problem. Gilly decides to put her sharp mind to work and get out of there fast. She’s determined to no longer be a foster kid. Before long she’s devised an elaborate scheme to get her real mother to come rescue her. Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t work out quite as she hoped it would…

Miles is devastated to be moving from his town to another one called Yawnee Valley. He loved his town, had good friends, and, most importantly, was well-known as the best prankster around. When he arrives in Yawnee Valley, he immediately discovers that there’s already a superb prankster there — with a secret identity no less. When Miles gets out-pranked by the Yawnee Valley prankster, it starts a prank war between both kids until they decide to join forces. This is a riotous, animated middle grade book about pranks, unlikely friendships, and cows. I recommend this as a great bridge book for kids who like graphic novels and chapter books with wacky humor. It’s super short, and the audiobook is fantastic for the entire family. Grades 3+

Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation—perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics. When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark—where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. She just hopes she can do it in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over.

Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day. Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chomsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He’s desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and, eventually, Benny. But will anyone believe him?

A boy and his dog . . . a girl and her . . . unicorn? It all started when Phoebe skipped a rock across a pond and accidentally hit a unicorn in the face. Improbably, this led to Phoebe being granted one wish, and she used it to make the unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, her obligational best friend. But can a vain mythical beast and a nine-year-old daydreamer really forge a connection? Indeed they can, and that’s how Phoebe and Her Unicorn unfolds. This beautifully drawn strip follows the unlikely friendship between a somewhat awkward girl and the unicorn who gradually shows her just how special she really is. Through hilarious adventures where Phoebe gets to bask in Marigold’s “awesomeness,” the friends also come to acknowledge that they had been lonely before they met and truly appreciate the bond they now share.

In the first My Weird School book ever, second-grade teacher Miss Daisy is in over her head at Ella Mentary School. She doesn’t even know how to add or subtract! But the students, like A.J. and his friends, have other things on their minds. Principal Klutz has promised their class that if they read a million pages in books, they can turn the school into a video-game arcade for one whole night! Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s insanely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don’t miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang!

He’ll make you laugh…he’ll make you cry…but above all, he’ll make you hungry! Follow Stick Dog as he goes on an epic quest for the perfect burger. With hilarious text and stick-figure drawings, reluctant readers eat this one up! Perfect for fans of such series as The Last Kids on Earth, Dog Man, Big Nate, Timmy Failure, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this is the first book in the bestselling Stick Dog series. A favorite of readers ages 6 to 12, both avid and less so, Stick Dog is a winner for those looking for their next funny illustrated middle grade book series.

At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy’s gift—the “gift” of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it’s to hop on one foot for a day and a half or to chop off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not accept her fate…Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse forever. A tween favorite for 25 years—now shared with today’s young readers by moms, teachers, and other adults who remember the pleasure of discovering this fun fairy-tale retelling themselves!

Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.) But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what? Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn’t think that’s for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum. Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn’t face her fear, she’ll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.

As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt. As Doug struggles to be more than the “skinny thug” that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer—a fiery young lady who “smelled like daisies would smell if they were growing in a big field under a clearing sky after a rain.” In Lil, Doug finds the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a whole town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiraion in learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.

While spacing out in Chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk, and added a message to her. Intrigue! Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters — sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery, and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

If middle school were a race, Joseph Friedman wouldn’t even be in last place—he’d be on the sidelines. With an overactive mind and phobias of everything from hard-boiled eggs to gargoyles, he struggles to understand his classes, let alone his fellow classmates. So he spends most of his time avoiding school bully Charlie Kastner and hiding out in the Resource Room, a safe place for misfit kids like him. But then, on the first day of seventh grade, two important things happen. First, his Resource Room teacher encourages (i.e., practically forces) him to join the school track team, and second, he meets Heather, a crazy-fast runner who isn’t going to be pushed around by Charlie Kastner or anybody else. With a new friend and a new team, Joseph finds himself off the sidelines and in the race (quite literally) for the first time. Is he a good runner? Well, no, he’s terrible. But the funny thing about running is, once you’re in the race, anything can happen.

In middle school, words aren’t just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever. When cell phones are banned at Branton Middle School, Frost and his friends Deedee, Wolf, and Bench come up with a new way to communicate: leaving sticky notes for each other all around the school. It catches on, and soon all the kids in school are leaving notes—though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well. In the middle of this, a new girl named Rose arrives at school and sits at Frost’s lunch table. Rose is not like anyone else at Branton Middle School, and it’s clear that the close circle of friends Frost has made for himself won’t easily hold another. As the sticky-note war escalates, and the pressure to choose sides mounts, Frost soon realizes that after this year, nothing will ever be the same. Grades 6+

Charlie’s perfectly ordinary life has been unraveling ever since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan. When his father heads from California to Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travels cross-country with his boy-crazy sister, unruly brothers, and a mysterious new family friend. He decides that if he can spot all the birds that he and his father were hoping to see someday along the way, then everything might just turn out okay. Debut author Sally J. Pla has written a tale that is equal parts madcap road trip, coming-of-age story for an autistic boy who feels he doesn’t understand the world, and an uplifting portrait of a family overcoming a crisis. Grades 4+

In A Place at the Table, Sara’s has moved from her smaller Islamic school to the larger neighborhood middle school. Unfortunately for her, her Pakistani mother has also started teaching after-school cooking classes (in addition to her catering business) at the school. Sara is forced to attend those since her mother won’t let her stay home alone — despite the fact that she’s in sixth grade. Many of the kids in the class are rude and make fun of her mother’s dishes while pretending not to understand her accent. But one student, Elizabeth seems to enjoy learning to cook. Elizabeth’s British mother is dealing with depression after the death of her mother and is struggling to adapt to American culture and her husband’s Jewish customs. On top of that, Elizabeth is the only girl at home, her best friend is pulling away from her, and she’s worried about her parents’ relationship seemingly falling apart. Sara and Elizabeth form an unlikely friendship when they discover that both their mothers are studying to pass the American citizenship test. Grades 5+

Young Jude is uprooted from her life in Syria in the midst of the civil unrest. She and her mother (who is pregnant) move temporarily to Cincinnati to live with her uncle and his family. Jude is sad to leave behind her country, best friend Fatima, father, and brother who’s involved in various protests in Syria. Her father is trying to keep their shop going at home, while her brother, Issa wants to help other people in their homeland. In America, Jude — who used to be the best English student in Syria — has to join an ESL class and deal with questions about her hijab. She’s also trying to build a relationship with her cousin who feels culturally adrift, unable to speak Arabic and knowing little to nothing about Syria. Still, Jude finds good things in America and learns how brave she can be. For grades 5+

In Who Would Win: Ultimate Shark Rumble, several types of sharks compete in a bracketed tournament. Through fun facts, realistic illustrations, and incredible photography, readers learn about the physical features and behaviors of each shark. The Who Would Win series books are a fun way for students to learn how to use evidence to compare and contrast and are perennial favorites among young readers. In fact, a veteran first-grade teacher told me that year after year, her students have their own battles over who gets to read these books first! For K-3

Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic’s early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branche books help readers grow! Uh-oh, Animal Town is in trouble! Meanie King Viking has created a dreaded robot army to spread No Fun across the land. On top of that, he has stolen the happiest and most fun animal ever, Singing Dog. There is only one person who can save the day — Super Rabbit Boy! Super Rabbit Boy is super fast and super brave, but he’s also a video game character living in a video game world. What will happen when Sunny, the boy playing the game, loses each level? Will it be game over for Super Rabbit Boy and all his friends? For K-3