Becoming a successful reader is a goal within most middle-school students’ reach, according to Laura Robb in her book Teaching Reading in Middle School. When educators remember that middle schoolers want to be “actively involved in research, reading, writing, talking, and thinking about topics that are relevant to their lives,” they will be able to help their students build a solid foundation for learning.
Here are some suggested titles for intermediate grades:
RUMORS FROM THE BOYS’ ROOM: A Blogtastic! Novel by Rose Cooper
Did you hear that Rose Cooper’s first book, Gossip from the Girls’ Room, was described as “humorous”, “bubbly”, “wonderfully entertaining” and as perfect for fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries series? In this effervescent sequel, Sofia ventures to the Boy’s Room for her blogging adventures.
SAMMY KEYES AND THE NIGHT OF SKULLS by Wendelin Van Draanen
In her newest adventure, junior high detective Sammy Keyes and her friends take a detour through a graveyard on Halloween night and find themselves in the middle of a mystery. Sammy must figure out how three missing people, two human skulls, and one ghoulish embalmer add up before she winds up six feet under herself.
School presents its own set of tricks and treats. Sammy knows that a classmate is guilty of beating up a man on Halloween night. Should she obey the law and tell Officer Borsch? Or should she obey the junior high code and keep quiet?
THE LILY POND by Annika Thor; translated by Linda Schenck
A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she’ll be living in a cultured city again-under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents’ cottage for the summer.
Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can’t help herself-she’s falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the ones she least expected.
THE MAGIC CAKE SHOP by Meika Hashimoto
Emma Burblee couldn’t be more different from her parents if she tried. She’d rather dig for treasure in a park than try on the latest fashions or discuss her vain parents’ favorite subject: themselves. When Emma mortifies her parents at a dinner party, her punishment is immediate. She must spend the summer with her Uncle Simon-a loathsome man with a huge appetite for food and get-rich-quick schemes. Although Emma’s days revolve around cooking and cleaning, there is one bright spot. Her uncle’s sweet tooth means she gets to visit the town bakery, Mr. Crackle’s Cake Shop, all the time. This world-renowned baker is as charming and kind as Uncle Simon is vile. But then Emma discovers a plot by Uncle Simon and one of his shady acquaintances; they’ve set their sights on ruining Mr. Crackle (and the entire dessert-making industry, for that matter). Can Emma stop their evil plan?
THE POISONS OF CAUX: The Shepherd of Weeds (Book III) by Susannah Appelbaum; illustrated by Andrea Offermann
Back in the Kingdom of Caux after her journey to its sisterland, Ivy wakes up in a dismal orphanage alongside her friend Rue. Accompanied by a strange woman named Lumpen-who looks suspiciously like a scarecrow-the girls make their way back to Templar to plan a massive battle against the Tasters Guild, where Vidal Verjouce is making ink out of the deadly Scourge Bracken weed. Rocamadour grows darker and more dangerous with every drop.
With an army of scarecrows, a legion of birds, and her friends and uncle by her side, it’s up to Ivy-the true “Shepherd of Weeds”-to wage war against the Guild, defeat her own father, and restore order to the plant world.
Enjoy the journey with your middle-schoolers, watching new worlds open up before them, through reading. As Dr. Seuss said: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”