📚 Looking for edge-of-your-seat adventure reads for middle grade readers? If your kid loves stories of survival, courage, and grit, these two unforgettable books will keep them turning pages late into the night:
🏜️ CANYON’S EDGE by Dusti Bowling When a flash flood traps 13-year-old Nora in a slot canyon, she must rely on her instincts—and her resilience—to survive. Told in alternating prose and verse, this story pulls readers right into the danger while also exploring grief, healing, and inner strength.
🚢 LIFEBOAT 12 by Susan Hood Based on a true story from World War II, this powerful novel in verse follows a group of children stranded at sea after their ship is torpedoed. Stuck in a lifeboat with limited supplies, they must find the courage to survive together.
Both of these fast-paced verse novels combine action and emotion in a way that feels immediate and immersive—perfect for readers who want adventure with heart.
✨ Which setting would you survive: the canyon or the open ocean?
These fast-growing favorites are winning over young readers everywhere—and for good reason. With less text on each page, they can feel less intimidating, but they’re packed with voice, emotion, and powerful poetic tools like imagery, metaphor, and creative formatting that brings the story to life.
If you want the perfect place to start, try LOVE THAT DOG by Sharon Creech. 🐶
This beloved middle grade classic follows a boy named Jack who thinks he hates poetry… until he slowly discovers he might have something important to say.
It’s funny, heartfelt, quick to read—and often the book that turns kids into verse-novel fans for life.
✨ Have you or your kids read a verse novel yet? Drop your favorites below!
If you’re super squeamish, this might not be the book for you. But if you can handle descriptions of dead animals, it’s definitely worth a read. I found it fascinating and my boys could NOT get enough of it! We read it together before school, and each day they rushed to get ready so we would have more time to read. If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is! 🙂
📚 Here’s the official book promo:
***** When Heather L. Montgomery sees a rattlesnake flattened on the side of the road, her first instinct is to pick it up and dissect it–she’s always wanted to see how a snake’s fangs retract when they close their mouths, and it’s not exactly safe to poke around in a live reptile’s mouth.
A wildlife researcher with a special penchant for the animals that litter the roadways, Heather isn’t satisfied with dissecting just one snake. Her fascination with roadkill sets her off on a journey from her own backyard and the roadways of the American South to scientists and kids in labs and homes across the globe. From biologists who use the corpses of Tasmanian devils to investigate cures for a contagious cancer, to a scientist who discovered a whole new species of bird from a single wing left behind, to a boy rebuilding animal bodies from the bones up, to a restaurant that serves up animal remnants, Heather discovers that death is just the beginning for these creatures.
Dig into this eye-opening and irreverent look at the dead and dying animals that we pass by without a second thought. *****
Montgomery’s passionate curiosity is contagious, and I just love how she takes readers along with her on this bizarre, but interesting, learning journey. Her prose is full of good humor, and I found myself laughing out loud so many times reading this book.
SOMETHING ROTTEN has won a ton of awards, including a JLG Gold Standard, an ALA Notable Book, and the Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year, so be brave and give this book a try!
Oh, this was such a fun one! First of all, the book starts out with almost blank pages that say “French Class” and then have list of very poor French vocabulary. It turns out, the book is a notebook that two friends pass back and forth to communicate since their new middle school schedules don’t allow them much time together.
I immediately loved this fun premise because I actually had a notebook like this with one of my best friends in middle school! I even still have it somewhere!
📚 Here’s the book promo:
*** Told in letters, posters, blog posts, homework assignments, and more, The Pages Between Us is a totally fun snapshot of middle grade friendship—and what it truly means to be there for someone during the ups, downs, and everything in between.
Piper and Olivia have been best friends since…well, forever. But they’re distressed to find that their new middle school schedules aren’t giving them enough together-time. Luckily, an idea sparks when Piper finds a cute, sparkly notebook to disguise as her “French Class” homework. It’s genius—now the two BFFs can stick together all the time. And document their adventures—you know, for anthropology’s sake.
But as the two navigate the tricky new world of sixth grade, they realize that they may need to branch out more than they originally thought. Their notebook, once a life raft, begins to feel like a big responsibility. Can they grow up, without growing apart?
***
This book is co-authored by Lindsey Leavitt and Robin Mellon, which adds to the fun since it is a book about communication between two friends. It also is a beautiful portrayal of these girls’ journeys to finding themselves and learning how to be there for each other. Highly recommend!
No matter what age you are, learning about animals is super duper fun, especially when you have Author Rachel Poliquin @rachelpoliquin framing their abilities as sensational superpowers!
I first came across MOLES: The Superpower Field Guide a few years ago, and we loved it so much, I promptly bought the whole series.
I mean, who doesn’t want to know how this “humble hero” of the animal kingdom has the “Blood of Gods,” the “Saliva of Death,” and “Indefatigable Paws of Power.”
***** 💥 Here’s the official book summary of MOLES: Meet Rosalie, a common mole. The first thing you need to know about Rosalie is that she is shaped like a potato. Not a new potato, all cute and round, but a plain old lumpy potato. She may be small. She may be spongy. But never underestimate a mole.
I know what you’re thinking: moles are just squinty-eyed beasts that wreck your lawn.
You’re right! Those squinty eyes and mounds of dirt are proof that moles have superpowers. There is absolutely nothing common about the common mole. *****
The simple cartoon-y illustrations are perfect for the witty narration and there are quizzes and even a mole maze to get kids engaging with what they are learning.
I highly recommend these books! Pick one up today and give it a try!
This middle grade mystery is so, so good! The main protagonists are twelve-year-old twins and the book has so many elements that make it fun: a spelling bee, a mansion with secret passages, a scavenger hunt, hidden treasure, tricky family dynamics, as well as long-buried family secrets.
📚 Here’s the official book promo:
***** A twisty middle grade mystery for fans of Knives Out, The Inheritance Game, and The Westing Game. Twelve-year-old twins enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they’ve never known.
Hope Smith can’t stand rich people—the dictionary magnate family the Wintertons most of all. Not since she and her twin brother, Gordon, learned that their dad was one. So when Gordon enters the family into the Winterton’s charity spelling bee, Hope wants nothing to do with it. But with their mom losing her job and the family facing eviction from the motel where they live, they desperately need the money, and it looks like Hope doesn’t have much of a choice.
After winning the preliminary round, the Smiths are whisked to Winterton Manor to compete in the official Winterton Bee against their long-lost relatives. Hope wants to get in and out, beat the snobbish family at their own game, and never see them again. But deceased matriarch Jane Winterton had other plans for this final family showdown. Before her death, she set up a clue hunt throughout the manor—an alternate way for Hope and Gordon to get the money that could change their lives.
Still, others are on the trail, too. With tensions at an all-time high, a fortune at stake, and long-simmering family secrets about to boil to the surface, anything could happen. *****
I especially love the close twin relationship between Hope and Gordon and how they both approach their estranged family and their challenges so differently.
Do yourself a favor and pick up this book! The second one, FAULT LINES, is out now, too!
I’m a sucker for both historical fiction and fairy tales retellings, and this graphic novel by Matt Phelan is a stunning combination of the two.
The timeless tale of Snow White is transformed into something brand-new when it takes place in New York City during the Great Depression.
🍎 Here’s the official book promo:
***** The curtain rises on New York City. The dazzling lights cast shadows that grow ever darker as the glitzy prosperity of the Roaring Twenties screeches to a halt.
Enter a cast of familiar characters: a young girl, Samantha White, returning after being sent away by her cruel stepmother, the Queen of the Follies, years earlier; her father, the King of Wall Street, who survives the stock market crash only to suffer a strange and sudden death; seven street urchins, brave protectors for a girl as pure as snow; and a mysterious stock ticker that holds the stepmother in its thrall, churning out ticker tape imprinted with the wicked words: “Another . . . More Beautiful . . . KILL.” *****
The storyline is perfect and Phelan’s drawings evoke plenty of emotion with minimal text. I loved the film noir atmosphere of the drawings, the high stakes of the fairy tale, and the perfect pacing. This was a page-turner that neither my kids nor I could put down!
You’ll want to read it over and over again. Order a copy today, and, as always, happy reading!
My boys spent hours pouring over this beautiful book of science poetry! The illustrations by @r2meganck are detailed and fun, and the verses by @lesliebulion are super playful and informative.
I’ll be the first to admit that I do NOT like spiders, at least, not in my home. 😂 But, that doesn’t mean I don’t like learning about them from a safe distance!
Reading this book, I was struck by the sheer variety of spiders around the world, and all the cool things they can do. Did you know that some spiders can make a snake-like hiss by rubbing their legs together or build a booby-trapped door to catch prey, rather than a web?
Or that some male spiders strum a special mating “song” on a female’s web to let her know he’s interested? But that after he’s done, he better clear off quick if he doesn’t want to be her lunch!
I also really loved the sizing chart in the backmatter. Some spiders are REALLY big and some are REALLY small–either way, it’s extra creepy!
Besides being a super fun book to explore, SPI-KU is also the perfect complement to a poetry unit, or to bring poetry into a biology unit. Spiders are fascinating creatures, and this is a fun format to learn all about them.
The magical realism genre is a middle grade favorite, and THE ELEPHANT’S GIRL doesn’t disappoint!
The story starts with Lex, a girl who doesn’t remember her past. All she knows is that when she was little, a tornado swept her away from her home and into the elephant enclosure at the Lexington Zoo. Roger, the zoo’s train engineer, finds her and takes on the role of foster father.
This beautiful story plays on the mystique of elephant communication, only taken one step further–a very special elephant in the zoo, named Nyah, begins to send images directly to Lex’s mind!
The images start Lex on an adventure that involves ghosts, treasure, and the unraveling of secrets.
It’s a charming story of friendship and found family, and Rimington brings out all the feels with her delicate handling of the main character’s emotional journey.
I love this book and highly recommend it!
And…once you’ve peaked your child’s curiosity about elephants, I also recommend THE ELEPHANT SCIENTIST by Caitlin O’Connell & Donna M. Jackson!
This middle grade nonfiction book takes you on a journey with elephant scientist, Dr. O’Connell, as she makes awesome discoveries about how elephants really do communicate. It’s won many, many awards, including a Sibert Honor, and it’s a fun way to learn more about these incredible animals!
And, yes! This was a two-for-one book recommendation. 😊 There are just so many incredible books out there to share!
You might be familiar with author/illustrator Grace Lin from when her middle grade book, WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, won the Newbery Honor in 2010 for its contribution to children’s literature. And it is a beautiful book! It reads like a Chinese fairytale adventure story with Lin’s own beautiful full-color illustrations along the way.
Lin is truly talented and has many not-to-be-missed reads, like her very first book, THE UGLY VEGETABLES, or her delightful chapter book, LING & TING: NOT EXACTLY THE SAME. But my very favorite of all is her middle grade debut, THE YEAR OF THE DOG.
This heartwarming book is truly a must read! The main character is a young Taiwanese-American girl who begins the books celebrating the Chinese New Year with her family. Since it is the Year of the Dog, her mother explains that this is the year she should try to find herself.
And that’s exactly what the book’s about. As the year progresses, Pacy navigates family and friendship dynamics, all while working to discover who she is, what she values, and what she’s good at. Because there are very few Asians where Pacy lives, it is often extra challenging as she faces unintentional (but hurtful) microaggressions along the way that are heartbreaking and eye-opening. (Click on the images below for examples.)
I loved the intergenerational aspect to the storytelling with her parents’ and grandparents’ stories within stories and the cute little doodle-like illustrations scattered throughout. Lin’s humor is spot on, too. There were many times where I laughed out loud!
This is an earlier middle grade novel, designed for 8-10 year olds, and while that’s the perfect age, it really is enjoyable for any age. I read it to my boys when they were that age and every day they begged for more.
If you are new to Grace Lin’s beautiful books, I encourage you to give her a try!
Books for Curious Kids 