The Best Middle Grade Books of 2024 and Free Teaching Resources to Pair With Them
Download these free discussion guides and resources to spark meaningful discussions with your middle school students.
Keeping your students engaged in reading in the midst of a busy school year is no easy feat. Enter: Our reading list of the best new books for students in the middle grades. What’s more, we’ve provided free resources and discussion guides to further engage students in what they’re reading.
Use these free discussion guides to facilitate meaningful conversation, inspire curiosity, and spark engagement with your middle grade readers — each one is centered on a middle grade book and provides opportunities for young readers to reflect on the story. These discussion guides will also help deepen your students’ understanding of the plot and build upon their reading comprehension skills.
For instance, the Show Me a Sign Trilogy by Ann Clare LeZotte shares three unique stories that center the Deaf experience. These gripping and touching titles will enrich students' understanding of the history and culture of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, disabled, and marginalized youth.
Spark further conversation in your classroom with this Ann Clare LeZotte discussion guide, which includes discussion questions and extension activities for each of the three books in the trilogy: Show Me a Sign, Set Me Free, and Sail Me Away Home.
Sample question for Show Me a Sign: When we first meet Mary, she is using her “birch stick to poke at curious things on the ground, like the tunnels made by moles.” (p. 5) What does this immediately tell us about her personality? How do Mary's actions throughout the story tell us about her character?
Additionally, Wildoak is a compelling story about an unlikely friendship between a young girl and a snow leopard. This middle grade novel explores intricate connections between humans and the natural world, and raises themes of friendship, self confidence, and resilience. Follow along as these two become best friends. This title is a Kids’ Indie Next List pick and Kirkus Reviews’ most anticipated book.
Download the Wildoak teaching guide for discussion questions, research topics and prompts, and other activities to support your students’ understanding of the book.
Sample question for Wildoak: What year does Wildoak take place, and where? What do you know about that place and that time period? What can you learn about that time and place from trusted sources? What about that time and place do you think is significant to the story?
Meanwhile, Attack of the Black Rectangles is about a sixth grade student’s fight against censorship at school. This must-read book tackles complex topics — from navigating family and friend dynamics to speaking up for what’s right — and delves into the growing awareness of Banned Books Week and the intellectual freedom of readers everywhere.
Use this Attack of the Black Rectangles teaching guide to engage your students. It includes discussion questions and other activities and resources to spark discussion about the important themes raised in the novel.
Sample question for Attack of the Black Rectangles: What is censorship? Should some books be restricted? How can young people learn to make responsible book choices for themselves? How do the characters in Attack of the Black Rectangles make book choices for themselves?
Lastly, readers from the third grade to seventh grade year will be captivated by The Secret Battle of Evan Pao, which has received multiple star reviews from the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and more. This touching story follows the journey of Evan Pao as he learns to navigate a new school, a new life, and new friends after his father left the family. Being the only Chinese American in his class, Evan struggles to fit in and find a sense of belonging.
Take a look at the discussion guide for The Secret Battle of Evan Pao for resources to teach your students about bullying, community, conflict resolution, and other issues that affect them as they grow into young adulthood.
In this true coming-of-age story, Rex has his sights set on surviving sixth grade, but now he's got to find a way to do it with glasses, no friends, and a family that just doesn't get it!
A group of kids are stuck together when they're forced to complete their school's community service hours. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help . . . or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.
What happens when memories get crossed? One boy finds freedom from abuse in the phenomenon, and another feels his deceased mom slowly slipping away.
Kiya and Kinjal have succeeded in their first quest in the magical world of the Kingdom Beyond, but whatever good they achieved might not be enough. Their faithful flying horses Snowy and Raat reappear and whisk them back to the Kingdom to help the water pari--winged merpeople-who are slowly being poisoned by the very water in which they live. It is up to the twins to figure it out and put a stop to it.
Fortunately, Kiya has the know-how to solve this mystery...if only she can put the pieces together before the evil serpent king Sesha knows they've reentered the Kingdom!
In the wake of a new regime in Cuba, Ana, Miguel, Zulema, and Juan learn to find a place for themselves in a world forever changed. In a tumultuous moment of history, we see the lasting effects of a revolution in Havana, the countryside, Miami, and New York.
Mia Tang is living the dream: attending journalism camp at the San Francisco Tribune! But when her story ideas keep getting shot down, she"ll have to work with her friends to get back on top.
n this new graphic adventure, Brooklyn"s Spider-Man deftly navigates a tangled web of problems after he"s asked to launch a video game.
The Mendoza family is growing!After a rocky beginning getting to know each other while quarantining together in a pandemic, Raquel, Lucinda, and Juliette are finally getting along as stepsisters--and actually liking it! Now they get to make it official. Their parents are getting married... in Mexico! But, when they arrive they find bringing together the two families won't be as easy as they had hoped. Sylvia's favorite aunt does not approve of the match.Lucinda, Raquel, and Juliette know just what to do. If they can show Tia Enriqueta that their parents are meant to be together, they'll have to support the wedding! But in all their scheming, doubt starts to creep in. The sisters start wonder if they can really trust each other at all. Suddenly they have to ask themselves...are they better off apart after all?
This is a moving and unputdownable story about learning to celebrate the things that make us different. Good Different is the perfect next read for fans of Counting by 7s or Jasmine Warga.
Tolerance and forgiveness are at the heart of this poignant story where past and present come together in a Colorado town struggling to make sense of heinous acts of prejudice.
Twelve-year-old Moon's struggle with depression drives them to escape into the spirit realms. Their healing journey to wholeness will instill hope and inspire others questioning their worth in the universe.
Before the parade, a rogue, mischievous spirit seems to take possession of Cicely's aunt during a spiritual reading. Cicely, her friends, and the reckless spirit who is now their charge set off on a thrilling scavenger hunt to gather the ceremonial items they need. And along the way, will Cicely discover surprising powers of her own?
This gripping, multifaceted tapestry is woven from Jewish folklore and cultural history. Five interlocking narratives explore one common story - the tradition of resistance and uplift. Neal Shusterman and Andrés Vera Martínez are internationally renowned creators who have collaborated on a masterwork that encourages the compassionate, bold reaching for a dream.
Debating Darcy is bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta's reinterpretation of beloved classic Pride and Prejudice -- imaginative, hilarious, thought-provoking, and truly reflective of the complex, diverse world of American high school culture.
Set in and narrated by the same house, Number 8 Sunflower Street, and in three different decades -- 2000, 2010, and 2020 respectively -- This Is Our Place is a novel about queer teens dealing with sudden life changes, family conflict, and first loves, proving that while generations change, we will always be connected to each other.
Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world’s most famous resorts. He’s got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property’s main theme park. Life isn’t so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it’s to get away from all that. But as things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff.