Our middle grade book spotlight this week is all about Tales About Others!!! We are taking a look at books that deal with relationships with others whether it be family, siblings, friendship, and even classmates; if how the main character interacts with others is central to the plot then it is a book about others! All of the books we are featuring this week have a unique look at how people connect with one another in various situations, some more serious than others. Most of the books fall into the realistic category but within that we have diary formats, some magical realism, and some looking into the past. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthrelationships as well as on Libby and Hoopla.
The 2021 Summer Reading Program takes place from June 5th-August 11th with a new theme and badge activities every week. Make sure to watch the Middle Grade Book Spotlight book talk video for this week as it counts towards your badge activities for the week; if you read one of the titles featured or on the tagged list, that counts as another activity as well!!! Earn the weekly themed badges to get your virtual tickets which can be turned into opportunities to win prizes! For more information--such as to sign up or to sign in to your account in order to track your books and activities--visit our Summer Reading page and click “LOG IN NOW”.
Check back next week for a new middle grade book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman--Told in alternating voices, the teacher and students in room 117 find their lives changed over the course of a school year.
Where the Heart Is by Jo Knowles--Thirteen-year-old Rachel works with the animals at her family's small hobby farm, and she looks forward to spending the summer swimming in the lake with her best friend, Micah, who wants to be more than friends, but Rachel isn't sure she feels the same, at least not for a boy. Her parents fight more and more over money, and the family soon loses the house, which makes Rachel have to really consider what makes a home a home.
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson--ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.
Fly On the Wall by Remy Lai--Tired of being babied by his overprotective family, twelve-year-old Henry Khoo decides to prove his independence by creating an anonymous gossip cartoon about the kids at school, and embarking on a plane trip to see his father in Singapore by himself. Henry will have to deal with several unexpected hurdles on his adventure, including an anonymous internet poster who threatens to expose him to the school principal.
The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane by Kate O’Shaughnessy--Eleven-year-old Maybelle knows nothing about her father, except for an old phone recording of his laugh. After she's left in the care of her neighbor, Mrs. Boggs, so her mother can pursue a job singing on a cruise ship, Maybelle discovers her father is a Nashville DJ who will soon be judging a singing competition. Maybelle convinces Mrs. Boggs to take her there so she can meet her father and from the trip, discovers a new sense of family and belonging.
Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo--Resolved to leave her home for good, young runaway Beverly is determined not to depend on anyone else, but as she settles in her new home and job, she forms connections with the people around her that alter her perspectives about life and herself.