Best Books for Kids 2022

26 Books Found

Filtered by 'Middle Grade'
  • Aviva vs. the Dybbuk

    Aviva is overwhelmed. Why? Her father's death has left her mother depressed. Aviva is stuck planning the Best Bas Mitzvah Party Ever with her ex-friend. Anti-Semitic vandalism plagues the community. To top it all off, a mischievous dybbuk haunts her home.

    Cover of Aviva vs. the Dybbuk
  • Breda's Island

    In this lushly descriptive story, rebellious Breda is sent to Ireland to stay with her cranky grandfather whom she's never met. Breda learns to love the land and Granda’s Gaelic stories. Along the way, she solves more than one family mystery.

    Cover of Breda's Island
  • The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

    Amos volunteers at a historical site with his best friend, Chloe, and his new friend (and crush!) Ben. The trio's idea for a new exhibition on local queer history upsets Ben's family and others in the community. Who gets to decide which stories are told at the Living History Park?

    Cover of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy
  • The Clackity

    Illustrated by Alfredo Cáceres | Aunt Des has been abducted by a serial killer ghost to a terrifying otherworld. Now, Evie must make a desperate deal with The Clackity, a dreadful, conniving creature, in order to rescue her aunt.

    Cover of The Clackity
  • The Door of No Return

    In this searing verse novel, Asante-born Kofi challenges his bully cousin to a swimming competition to defend his crush, Ama. Suddenly, Kofi is traumatically and violently plunged into the world of slave trafficking when he is kidnapped and sold off to an unknown fate.

    Cover of The Door of No Return
  • A Duet for Home

    After the unexpected death of her father, June's family is evicted and lands in Huey House shelter. June is befriended by Tyrell and the other residents and begins to find herself again. When the shelter is threatened, June and her friends must find a way to save it.

    Cover of A Duet for Home
  • Freewater

    In this atmospheric historical adventure, Homer and Ava flee slavery, leaving their mother behind. In the Great Dismal Swamp, they discover Freewater, a community of formerly enslaved people. When danger encroaches, Homer plots to save both his new friends and his mother.

    Cover of Freewater
  • In the Beautiful Country

    In this lyrical novel in verse, Taiwanese-born Ai Shi becomes Anna when she immigrates to "the beautiful country." California brings unexpected difficulties: bullying, money problems, and vandalization of her family's restaurant. Can they overcome their troubles and find home?

    Cover of In the Beautiful Country
  • In the Key of Us

    Everyone expects the only Black girls at Harmony Music Camp to be friends, but Andi and Zora couldn't be more different. When forced to spend time together, they confide in each other about performance pressure, family issues, and a self-harm secret. They discover a spark of friendship—and maybe something more.

    Cover of In the Key of Us
  • The Last Mapmaker

    Determined to plot her own destiny, mapmaker apprentice Sai sets sail aboard a ship bound for the mythical Sunderlands. As the ship enters uncharted territory, rumored to be home to a fierce dragon and untold riches, Sai finds herself in deeper waters than she'd anticipated.

    Cover of The Last Mapmaker
  • Last Week

    Illustrated by Emilie Leduc | This gentle novella explores a child's experience of grief, uncertainty, and questioning as they spend one last week with their beloved grandmother before her medically assisted death.

    Cover of Last Week
  • Maizy Chen's Last Chance

    Maizy is dreading summer in Last Chance, Minnesota, where she'll help care for her ailing opa. But soon, Maizy is captivated by the history of her grandparents' restaurant, her family story, and how these narratives intertwine with the history of Chinese immigrants in America.

    Cover of Maizy Chen's Last Chance
  • El mercado

    Ilustrado por Aljoscha Blau | Julia, de nueve años, cree que Nueva York es genial, pero nada extraordinario. Cuando la envían a El Salvador para conocer a la abuela, lo que encuentra es como una fantasía: ¡tamales hechos con ceniza, un gigante de la vida real, un hombre con los pies al revés! ¿Era todo un sueño?

  • Moonwalking

    In 1980s Brooklyn, misfits JJ and Pie bond over graffiti art and punk rock while seeking a sense of belonging in this dual-narrative novel in verse.

    Cover of Moonwalking
  • Morning Sun in Wuhan

    With her father working around the clock at a hospital, Mei uses her love of cooking and computer games to help her community band together during the chaotic first weeks of the pandemic in Wuhan.

    Cover of Morning Sun in Wuhan
  • The Ogress and the Orphans

    A shapeshifting dragon full of malicious intent and a town at odds with itself. A kindhearted ogress and a wiser-than-their-years group of orphans. Who will prevail in this compelling allegorical tale?

    Cover of The Ogress and the Orphans
  • The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls

    Benjamin finally gets caught stealing... a teddy bear. As punishment, he’s court-ordered to “Native boot camp” with his estranged dad on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota. But this boot camp is run by a kid his age, the Chief's mysterious masked daughter, Niimi Waatese.

    Cover of The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls
  • Shot Clock

    When basketball star Dante is murdered by the police, Tony vows to carry on his friend's legacy. But Coach offers Tony only a position off-court: team statistician. Can Tony help lead the team to victory and move forward from the tragedy that has devastated his community?

    Cover of Shot Clock
  • The Stars Did Wander Darkling

    Illustrated by Carson Ellis | Ever since Archie's dad started construction on the cliffs of Seaham, the town has been beset by strange and gruesome events. Archie and his friends are the town's only hope for survival as this real-life horror film unfolds.

    Cover of The Stars Did Wander Darkling
  • The Tiltersmith

    Four friends in Brooklyn find themselves drawn into a parallel universe on a magical adventure to save the seasons from the diabolical Tiltersmith, who has infiltrated their school in his bid to make winter last forever.

    Cover of The Tiltersmith
  • Troublemaker

    This fast-paced, action-packed historical fiction follows Jordan as he navigates the streets of LA to his father's store on the first night of the 1992 riots sparked by the brutal police beating of Rodney King.

    Cover of Troublemaker
  • Tumble

    Addie is determined to use her research smarts to find her birth father. Her mom has kept his identity hidden all of Addie's life, but discovering her lucha libre lineage leaves her wrestling with what family really means and where she might fit in with her legendary new familia.

    Cover of Tumble
  • Unfadeable

    Young graffiti artist Bella Fades is used to flying solo and surviving on her own in urban Indianapolis. But when she suspects some local community leaders of suspicious activity, she'll need a little help—both human and canine—to take them down.

    Cover of Unfadeable
  • The Visitors

    A ghost trapped on an abandoned plantation has no recollection of his past or how he died: accident? suicide? murder? When a group of living kids shows up, the ghost joins forces with the visitors to defy the evil that binds the plantation and wake the memories of how he came to be there.

    Cover of The Visitors
  • When Winter Robeson Came

    Eden is excited for two weeks of harmonious fun with her cousin Winter in this novel in verse. When he arrives, Winter reveals his intention to search for his missing father, which launches the duo on a fact-finding mission in the midst of the discord of the 1965 Watts Rebellion.

    Cover of When Winter Robeson Came
  • Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

    When Chinese American Muslim Zack meets the new kid at school, his world is turned upside down. First, an ancient Chinese emperor attempts to take over Zack’s body. Then, his mom is abducted. AR gaming, myth, and history combine as Zack embarks on an epic adventure across China.

    Cover of Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor