Lots of great new middle grade books out this month! Here area few to check out.
An Octopus Named Houdini
by Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Corinna Luyken
All day long we can hear
that Sea howl prowling wild
inside our brains and every part of us is straining
to feel it taste it twirl it whirl it swirl it
inside our body
again.
Houdini the octopus lives in an aquarium, but she misses her home in the wild Sea. She doesn’t like the visitors who bang on her tank. Or the way she can’t feel the sun on her skin or the wind rippling the water. It’s a dull existence for a creature with nine brains.
Then one day she meets someone who is different than the others. Juno’s busy brain buzzes with so many questions and thoughts that Houdini’s skin tingles with wonder.
But the singing of the Sea is growing stronger and harder to resist. Can Houdini make Juno understand what she needs before it’s too late?
Out of the Clear Blue Sky
by Isaac Blum
Jonny has always idolized his sister, Carmel. She is the person he relies on for guidance, insight, and pretty much everything else.
Trish has always followed her father’s lead. As a senator from Pennsylvania, he devotes his life to public service, and Trish is right there beside him, determined to make the world a better place.
But when the senator’s plane crashes in Jonny’s backyard—killing everyone on board and taking Carmel’s life as well—Jonny’s and Trish’s worlds are shattered in an instant.
As they navigate their own separate pain, Jonny and Trish each discover things about the people they thought they’d known best. And they find themselves wondering: Had they ever truly known the people they’d looked up to—and do they truly know themselves now that their loved ones are gone? Looking for answers, they turn toward each other for support, solace, and maybe something more.
In this powerful novel, award-winning author Isaac Blum explores what it means to grieve, to love, and to find yourself anew in the wreckage of personal tragedy. With his signature wit and compassion, he shares a story with one universal truth: that while grief may shape our paths, it doesn’t have to dictate our future.
Salt Water Blood
by Manuia Heinrich
Eighteen-year-old Moe hears the sea’s prophetic thoughts—not just hears them…she feels them. That’s how she experienced her father’s death before he did and how she felt her mother’s relief when she abandoned Moe and her younger brother, Tao, months after.
So when the sea warns Moe that Tao will drown, she’s determined to get in fate’s way and secures them passage off their island home. But those plans are ruined when Tao’s girlfriend goes missing and Tao is found where she was last seen, with blood on his hands—and no memory of what happened.
Moe will do anything she can to clear her brother’s name, even if it means swallowing her pride and teaming up with her annoyingly clever school rival, Temanea. And even if it means relying on the sea’s prophecies. Because her dreaded gift may be the only way to save her brother—and uncover the truth behind the sickness poisoning her community.
Park Survival: Lost in Alaska
by Vera Starbard
Emmett wants nothing more than to just stay in one place — finish school with the same friends, live in the same house, sleep in the same bed. His mother’s work means that they’re always moving around. But this time is different. This time, she’s promised not to move them anymore. But when she gets a once-in-a-lifetime job working as a Tlingit clan-house caretaker in Glacier Bay National Park, Emmett is forced to leave his familiar home (again) and enter a whole new world, a world full of trees, breathtaking mountains, snow bluffs, and giant lakes — lots of pups!
He doesn’t know much about his mother’s small hometown of Hoonah, Alaska, or about the Tlingit culture she was born into. And when they arrive, he meets Kaasteen, a cousin he’s never known and who seems to have infinitely more knowledge about their culture than he does. She’s lived in Alaska all her life, and her family has lived beside Glacier Bay National Park for generations. She talks to animals, has way more dogs than Emmett cares to count, and even speaks a language that he doesn’t understand. Could she be any more annoying?
Emmett would love to go back to his old friends and old home, and he’s happy to let Kaasteen hear about it. But when the two get into an argument that leads to Kaasteen getting lost in the park, Emmett will have to utilize the skills he’s learned from his family to save her. Will they be enough?
Holly Surplice
A classic in the making, The Horse Dreamer is a stunning, hopeful and poignant story about one girl and a horse who helps her rediscover the joy and life that surround us.
A creature of courage and hope.
A companion when you are lost.
A friend when you are alone.
The horse arrives in the storm, when Merryn needs him most, following the loss of her father. Sorrel is a dreamlike creature, seemingly made from the woods and the sea. Perhaps she wished him into existence. He becomes her friend and confidant. Throughout the summer and autumn, they ride and play, but as Christmas approaches, it will require all of Merryn’s newfound strength to help her mom and her sisters heal too. A stunning, hopeful, and poignant middle-grade story, written and illustrated by debut author Holly Surplice, The Horse Dreamer is a modern classic in the making.
The First Flame
by Lily Berlin Dodd
Hatching and then hiding the world’s last aerimander kit got Eva Alexander locked up in Byrdhaven, gave Myrnie Wilshins a bad reputation, and left Dusty St. Ichabod a fugitive on the streets of Porttown. With Rubi the baby aerimander missing, and all three of her beloved humans separated, it’s hard to imagine a path forward.
When fate leads Dusty back to the Lockwood Inn, he overhears the next stage of Eoin Parnassus’ sinister plans for aerimanders, and knows he must do everything in his power to stop him. But first Myrnie and Dusty need to break Eva out of Byrdhaven. Dodging strict nuns, WANTED posters, and an evil clown on the way, the trio manage to make it to the Northern Isles in search of Rubi. But it’s Rubi who finds them first, and introduces them to a secret society living in the mountains of the Northern Isles called the Unruled.
But as Eva and Dusty spend more time amongst the Unruled, secrets begin to emerge that could threaten the safety of them all. With Parnassus stopping at nothing to find them, who can Eva, Myrnie, and Dusty really trust? Filled with humor, heart, and high-stakes adventure, The First Flame explores the deep-rooted bonds forged by flame and friendship, and the lengths people will go to protect those that need it the most.
Brittle Magic
by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Nearly every member of the Brittle family has an extraordinary talent—except Shiloh.
Her aunt makes pickles that tell your fortune. Her great-aunt brews tea that gives you good dreams. Her sister can grow pumpkins the size of a small house. And her older brother—who died before Shiloh was born—had a gift no one will talk about. Her mom says Shiloh doesn’t need a talent to be special. But Shiloh knows she’s destined for greatness. And with the Brittle family reunion coming up, she’s determined to prove it to all her relatives.
When Auntie Dee’s fortune-telling pickles reveal that Shiloh does have a talent—and that it’s somehow connected to her late brother—Shiloh feels more confused than vindicated. Why would her mom have kept this from her?
The pickles’ prophesy offers cryptic clues for finding her talent—something involving an oven? and a new friend?—and Shiloh throws herself into the search. But discovering the truth about herself means digging up secrets her mom would rather keep buried.
This year’s family reunion may well be the most dramatic one yet…
Newbery Honor winner Kate O’Shaughnessy gives us a moving, magic-tinged story about family, friendship, forgiveness . . . and fortune-telling pickles!
Did You Hear What Happened at the Alamo?
The Texas Revolution of 1835-36
by Katie Kennedy, illustrated by Nick Thornborrow
In the 1820s, when Texas was still a part of Mexico, settlers from the United States began to pour in. They brought covered wagons, chickens, and cannons. They brought enslaved people. And they brought grand ideas about what they should get to do in their new land, which were basically: whatever they wanted.
The Mexican government wasn’t so sure about that. But as more and more settlers moved in, the big personalities, rash decisions, and grand proclamations piled up. When these new “Texians” decided to declare independence, fighters like William Travis, Jim Bowie, and David Crockett came forward to resist the proud General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his army. They would face off at an old church in San Antonio, known as the Alamo.
And I saw it all.
With a funny and surprising first-person narrator, Did You Hear What Happened at the Alamo? offers a brutally honest–and wildly entertaining–new account of the creation of Texas and the stories we tell about our history.
Brain vs. Screen
How Screen Time Affects Our Brains
by Bethany Barton
You have a brain! And your brain might love screens a little too much.
What happens when screen time leaves us feeling tired, angry and frustrated — or even makes it harder to control our impulses? Just like our bodies can react to too much sugary junk food (sugar crash, anyone?) our brains can react to too much junk tech!
In Brain vs. Screen, Bethany Barton breaks down how dopamine affects our relationship with screens, what too much screen time does to our brains, and how to know when we’ve had enough.
Help! I’m Being Eaten by a Bear!
by Neil Sharpson
illustrated by Dan Santat
Bears are full of surprises. Luckily, the author of this picture book found out exactly what NOT to do when meeting a bear so that YOU can be totally prepared. For example, DO NOT make fun of the bear’s silly little ears and big hairy nose. And definitely DO NOT let the bear draw you a picture, even if he is a surprisingly good artist. Otherwise, you might end up on a wild adventure that could cost you your very favorite pair of pants…and win you an unexpected new friend.
Illustrated by National Book Award-winning creator Dan Santat (who may or may not secretly be a bear), this laugh-out-loud romp will delight readers of all ages.
Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she’s in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the “cool” girls in the class and even talking about changing her name to something more “American.”
Ruby Emmerson has always felt like the “dumb” twin. Struggling with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, she feels out of place at her competitive charter school, especially as her twin brother Bryce excels both academically and socially. When she fails a math test despite getting extra help, she fears she’ll flunk out of Benton Academy and drag her brother back to their old school.
Nick Andino isn’t exactly “hero” material. He’s perfectly happy working at his family’s Greek diner, pining over his crush, and avoiding his bully. His life isn’t very exciting … until destiny comes calling.
Eleven-year-old Harry Mancini has always admired the famous escape artist Houdini. And when Houdini asks for help in coming back to life, it seems like an amazing chance … or could it be Houdini’s greatest trick of all?
When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change.
Fourteen-year-old Ahmed is stuck in a city that wants nothing to do with him. Newly arrived in Brussels, Belgium, Ahmed fled a life of uncertainty and suffering in Aleppo, Syria, only to lose his father on the perilous journey to the shores of Europe. Now Ahmed’s struggling to get by on his own, but with no one left to trust and nowhere to go, he’s starting to lose hope.
Remember everything I taught you, Small Wonder. Take care of Leaf. Take care of Pebble. I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to you . . .
On the morning of the dedication of a new children’s library in Belle Beach, Long Island, eleven-year-old Julie Sweet and her six-year-old sister, Martha, find a baby in a basket on the library steps. At the same time, twelve-year-old Bruno Ben-Eli is on his way to the train station to catch the 9:15 train into New York City. He is on an important errand for his brother, who is a soldier overseas in World War II.
