Readers continuing Kwame Alexander’s Door of No Return trilogy, as well as those starting with Black Star, will be gifted with a reading experience that is equal parts difficult and beautiful.
Based on the eponymous poem by Ada Limon that will be carried into space by the Europa Clipper, In Praise of Mystery is like falling into a dream—vibrant and vast, joyful and curious.
Amber McBride stunned us with her young adult debut, Me (Moth), then did so again with her first foray into middle grade, Gone Wolf—”There is nothing quite like it,” we declared in a starred review. Needless to say, we’re eager to see what the incisive National Book Award finalist will do in her next middle grade offering, Onyx & Beyond.
We named The Puppets of Spelhorst one of our Best Middle Grade Books of 2023—which is why we can’t wait for two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo to return to her Norendy Tales series with The Hotel Balzaar. While her mother does housekeeping work at the Hotel Balzaar, Marta listens to seven tales told by an enigmatic countess with a parrot companion, all the while searching for clues that might lead to the truth behind her father’s disappearance.
Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Maus, brings his charismatic illustration style to this wacky, metafictional picture book, which claims it’s not a book. Actually, it’s a dog, who has been transformed by an angry wizard’s curse. Kids are sure to delight in how much Kids are sure to delight in how much Open Me . . . I’m a Dog commits to the bit: It even features fuzzy pages and a leash.
Ruta Sepetys, winner of the Carnegie Medal for Salt to the Sea, has seen her books win a plethora of prizes as well as be adapted to film and translated in 40 languages. Meanwhile, Steve Sheinkin has received a Newbery Honor and thrice been a finalist for the National Book Award. The formidable pair is sure to mesmerize middle grade readers with The Bletchley Riddle, a historical novel that follows a pair of siblings at Bletchley Park in 1940, when it served as the center of British code breaking efforts in World War II.
Marissa Meyer, who has amassed a tremendous young adult following with The Lunar Chronicles and the Renegades series, finally brings her talents to middle grade with Let It Glow, her collaboration with author Joanne Levy (Sorry For Your Loss), who has previously worked with Meyer on “The Happy Writer” podcast. After Aviva Davids and Holly Martin discover they are long-lost identical twins at tryouts for a holiday pageant, the two girls plot to swap places and experience each other’s holiday traditions—and thus, one family’s Hanukkah and another’s Christmas are thrown into fun chaos.
Cornelia Funke has delighted audiences across the globe with her spellbinding novels, and Inkheart and its sequels are arguably the most beloved entries on a legendary bibliography. Fans of Meggie and Mo’s storytelling exploits will be thrilled to learn that the original trilogy is getting a follow-up with Inkworld, in which the conniving Orpheus returns to get back at our iconic heroes.
Jodi Meadows’ middle grade debut, Bye Forever, I Guess, is a well-written, winning coming-of-age tale with loads of hilarity, empathy and heart.
In Black Girl You Are Atlas, renowned poet, novelist and Newbery Honoree Renee Watson offers high-impact, widely accessible poems that address universal topics, accompanied by joyous artwork from Caldecott winner Ekua Holmes
The City Sings Green is inspiring, and likely to encourage budding environmentalists to more closely consider the intersection between humans and nature.
Life After Whale is the perfect book to encourage young potential scientists to see the cycles of nature as intriguing rather than scary. Reading it ignites the kind of extravagant wonder that you might feel while exploring the moon.