Love in all its forms is the central idea of all of these middle grade reads. From crushes to friendship, familial bonds to devotion to a pet, these middle grade novels will have kids thinking about what it means to really connect.<\/p>\n
no no 9780593113202 Raising Lumie<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/608002\/raising-lumie-by-joan-bauer\/9780593113202?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Joan Bauer <\/p>\n
Does pet love count as love love? Ask any pet owner and you know the answer is a resounding \u201cyes.\u201d In this story, Olive Hudson longs for a dog but the chances of getting one seem unlikely, given that she\u2019s newly orphaned and about to move in with her half-sister. But then she gets a chance to raise Lumie, a guide dog. The challenge? Being caught between wanting Lumie to learn enough to be assigned to help someone and loving Lumie too much to want to let her go. <\/p>\n
9780525553908 When Stars Are Scattered <\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/599538\/when-stars-are-scattered-by-victoria-jamieson-and-omar-mohamed-illustrated-by-victoria-jamieson-color-by-iman-geddy\/9780525553908?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy <\/p>\n
Victoria Jamieson, the Newbury Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl<\/i><\/a>, teamed up with former Somali refugee Omar Mohamed on this graphic novel about two brothers living at a Kenyan refugee camp, trying to create family in a difficult setting. At the camp, Omar looks out for his younger brother Hassan, who is nonverbal. When Omar has a chance to go to school, he thinks it could be good for both boys \u2013 but it means leaving his brother to fend for himself during the day. A National Book Award finalist, this story of love between brothers \u2013 and other refugees \u2013 is a must-read. <\/p>\n 9780803734753 The Next Great Jane<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/306034\/the-next-great-jane-by-k-l-going\/9780803734753?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by K. L. Going <\/p>\n Jane Brannen knows what she wants to do with her life: become a writer as famous as Jane Austen. When the bestselling author J.E. Fairfax comes to her tiny town, Jane thinks she can unlock the secret to authorial success. But her life in her tiny town is threatened when her mom and her mom\u2019s fianc\u00e9 arrive from California with a plan to take her to live with them. In hopes of staying with her dad, Jane has to devise a matchmaking scheme worthy of Jane Austen\u2019s Emma<\/i><\/a> to keep her life where she thinks it belongs. <\/p>\n 9780399545436 Before the Ever After<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/535796\/before-the-ever-after-by-jacqueline-woodson\/9780399545436?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Jacqueline Woodson <\/p>\n ZJ\u2019s dad has always been a hero in their town: he\u2019s a former professional football player who is as well known for playing ball with the kids in the neighborhood as he was for his achievements on the field. But when ZJ\u2019s dad starts to forget things \u2013 even his own son\u2019s name at times \u2013 and is constantly angry, ZJ learns it\u2019s due to years of football injuries taking their toll. Jacqueline Woodson\u2019s novel-in-verse is about the love families need to move forward when life brings sudden, world-shifting changes.<\/p>\n 9780593119617 Seven Clues to Home<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/608763\/seven-clues-to-home-by-gae-polisner-and-nora-raleigh-baskin\/9780593119617?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin <\/p>\n Joy Fonseca\u2019s best friend, Lukas, died a year ago, just before her 12th birthday. Now she\u2019s verging on 13, still missing him and wondering if he heard what she\u2019d accidentally blurted out to him the year before. She still holds the first clue to a scavenger hunt he devised for her and decides to see where it leads, if the rest of the clues remain, and if Lukas\u2019s last words to her might help her move forward. A story of love and friendship, joy and grief, readers won\u2019t soon forget this book about keeping alive the people who matter, even when they\u2019re gone. <\/p>\n 9781101934135 In a Flash<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/258968\/in-a-flash-by-donna-jo-napoli\/?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Donna Jo Napoli <\/p>\n In this new historical fiction novel from Donna Jo Napoli, sisters Simona and Carolina get to move with their chef father from Italy to Japan, where he will cook for the Italian ambassador. The girls quickly adapt to their new life, but then Japan is entrenched in a world war. Italians are all placed in internment camps as enemies and the girls and Pap\u00e0 are separated. As the sisters embark on a dramatic journey on their own, they have to count on each other \u2013 and hope that the people they meet see them as children trying to survive, rather than as the enemy.<\/p>\n 9781524701277 The Stars Beneath Our Feet<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/546296\/the-stars-beneath-our-feet-by-david-barclay-moore\/?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by David Barclay Moore <\/p>\n Sometimes love is about what we must do to take care of ourselves so that we can go on giving. In David Barclay Moore\u2019s novel \u2013 which won the Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award for new talent \u2013 12-year-old Lolly Rachpaul is grieving his older brother\u2019s death in a gang shooting and having a hard time of it. Then his mother\u2019s girlfriend gives him a bag of Legos \u2013 a toy he\u2019s always loved \u2014 but without the instructions. As he ponders whether to join a \u201ccrew\u201d as his older brother did, he starts building a fantastical Lego city that might be the venture that brings him back to the world.<\/p>\n 9780763694647 Beverly, Right Here<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/623633\/beverly-right-here-by-kate-dicamillo\/?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Kate DiCamillo <\/p>\n In Kate DiCamillo\u2019s conclusion to her Three Rancheros<\/i> books (which include Raymie Nightingale<\/i><\/a> and Louisiana’s Way Home<\/i><\/a>), Beverly Tapinski has run away plenty of times. But now that she\u2019s older, she\u2019s calling it leaving. Beverly doesn\u2019t want to depend on anyone or have anyone depend on her. The person she was supposed to be able to depend on, her mother, has shown that she only cares about herself. But even as Beverly resists connections and bonds, the people she meets on her journey show her that she\u2019s easier to care about and love than she knows. <\/p>\n 9780307980861 Goodbye Stranger<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/220542\/goodbye-stranger-by-rebecca-stead\/9780307980861?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Rebecca Stead <\/p>\n All of Rebecca Stead\u2019s books seem to be about love, in some way, but Goodbye Stranger<\/i> would make the perfect Valentine\u2019s Day read for a thoughtful tween. As best friends Bridge, Emily, and Tab enter middle school, they try to honor their long-ago pact: no fighting. But they only get as far as Valentine\u2019s Day before they begin to wonder if they can really stay the way they\u2019ve been when they each seem to have changed. <\/p>\n 9780553510522 Project (Un)Popular Book #2: Totally Crushed<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/246487\/project-unpopular-book-2-totally-crushed-by-kristen-tracy\/9780553510522?ref=PRH06C9ECE222&aid=randohouseinc22957-20&linkid=PRH06C9ECE222 by Kristen Tracy <\/p>\n