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Middle Grade Books

Books with social justice messages geared towards middle grades

Courage

Thirst

Thirst, by Varsha Bajaj, focuses on Minni, a girl who lives in the poorest part of Mumbai and faces the consequences of a water crisis.

Courage

Moonflower

Sometimes the best way to approach and engage with a serious topic is through stories. Genre fiction does this particularly well. For instance, consider A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, or The Ghost

Canadian

The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation

To prepare for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this year I chose to explore The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation, by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson. This non-fiction text talks

Graphic Novel

Popular Graphic Novels with 2SLGBTQ+ Characters

In the past few months, my students have become entranced with the Heartstopper series. They have binged the Netflix series, read through the webcomic online, and devoured the copy of Volume One that

Indigenous

Indigenous Storytelling Literature Circle

In the past, when teaching my students about Indigenous perspectives, I have often taken an approach that focuses on human rights. We spend time learning about colonialism in Canada and focus on texts

Courage

I Am Not Starfire

There are a lot of reasons to love I Am Not Starfire, written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani. The art is fantastic, the characters are sharp, and it is both

Canadian

Black Water, On the Trapline, and Kīwew

One amazing thing about the writer David A. Robertson is his ability to write compelling literature for any age group. Some of his most recent work demonstrates his versatility as he focuses on

Antiracism

Front Desk

Front Desk, by Kelly Yang, tells the story of  ten year old Mia, a Chinese immigrant who helps her parents manage a motel. Mia's life in America is often challenging. She supports her

Antiracism

Prairie Lotus

Prairie Lotus, written by Linda Sue Park, tells the story of Hanna, a girl who is half-Chinese and living on the American frontier in 1880. Hanna and her father settle in LaForge, hoping

Graphic Novel

A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era

A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era, written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, is the fourth and final volume in the Girl Called Echo series. The series focuses on

Graphic Novel

The Magic Fish

The Magic Fish, written by Trung Le Nguyen, is a beautiful graphic novel about Tiến and his mother, a Vietnamese refugee. Tiến wants to come out to his parents as gay, but he

feminism

The Cardboard Kingdom

The Cardboard Kingdom is a graphic novel by Chad Sell about the power of imagination and being yourself. The book is a collection of short stories that follows children of the cardboard kingdom,

Antiracism

New Kid and Not Talking About Race

This year, I was able to teach my identity literature circle for the first time. Having put together the text sets before going on parental leave, I was excited to finally dive into

Human Rights

When Stars Are Scattered

When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, recounts Omar Mohamed's childhood in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Separated from his mother, Omar and his nonverbal younger brother live in

Canadian

Surviving the City: From the Roots Up

Surviving the City Vol. 2: From the Roots Up, written by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan, is a graphic novel that explores the intersections of Indigenous culture and gender identity. It

LGBTQ

Rick

Rick, by Alex Gino, is the sequel to the award winning middle grade novel George. In Rick, characters from the first book have moved onto middle school, which brings new questions about identity,

Environment

Music for Tigers

Music for Tigers, by Michelle Kadarusman, tells the story of Louisa, a Canadian middle schooler who is sent to the Tasmanian rainforest to stay at her family's remote camp. There she learns about

LGBTQ

The Derby Daredevils

I love when I can read a middle grade book and learn something entirely new. This is particulary true when it involves female protagonists who rise to a challenge. The Derby Daredevils: Kenzie

Middle Grade Books

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You is a remix of Ibram X. Kendi's book Stamped from the Beginning. Jason Reynolds, an acclaimed author for young people, remixes the content to create a vital text

Middle Grade Books

The Ghost Collector

The Ghost Collector, by Allison Mills, is a middle grade book about loss, grief, and letting go. The main character Shelly and her grandmother have the power to collect ghosts and set them

feminism

Maybe He Just Likes You

Maybe He Just Likes You, by Barbara Dee, is an important middle grade book that all students should read. It tells the story of Mila, a girl who deals with harassment by a

Environment

The Failings of Climate Change Fiction

Young adult and middle grade fiction are useful tools for teaching about tough issues. Problems like the refugee crisis or poverty are difficult and stories are important to help us better understand these

feminism

Crush

I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. I find the characters in these types of books or films often engage in manipulative behaviour. The resulting relationships rarely strike me as particularly

Canadian

No Fixed Address

Maybe you have seen the signs before. A child in your class does not bring a lunch to school. They rarely seem to wear clean clothes. They often seem tired and have difficulty

Indigenous

Two Novellas on Reconciliation

A number of children's books examine what happened at residential schools and their immediate impact. Rarer are books that focus more specifically on the journey towards reconciliation. For this reason, I was pleased

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