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This year's best in middle grade includes fierce folklore-inspired adventures, powerful explorations of identity, and tender ruminations on loss and grief. Tweens of all reading levels and interests will find a novel that speaks to them in this curated collection.

Fiction and nonfiction booklists for kids who are enthralled with the Disney movie, astronomy, or both. 

Hand these four books to YA readers who can't resist a sweet holiday love story.

These charming graphic novels for middle grade readers feature everything you’d expect from spooky season—haunted hayrides, magic, monster-hunting, and more—yet the stories are cozy, like a mug of hot cider. No matter the time of year, curl up with these titles and enjoy the gentle autumnal vibes.

There’s something for every middle grader in this roundup curated by the We Are Kid Lit Collective. Up-and-coming chefs, family and friendship drama, and propulsive informational texts will keep tweens engaged beyond the summer months. 

These well-loved authors are back with familiar faces yet fresh adventures and mysteries. Readers will find out how favorite ­characters are faring and meet some new ones in these latest and greatest middle grade series additions.

It's just not summer if teenagers aren't pocketing S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, with its iconic gang members, dusty American landscape, and exquisitely crafted life lessons; this year, SLJ and NCTE reveal the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections, where multimedia suggestions enrich The Outsiders and so much more.

For readers who enjoy or want to explore reading novels in different formats, here are 15 titles about AAPI characters or by AAPI creators to recommend for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

From a fictional tale about saving orangutans and rainforests to a real-life story about a biological conservation mission to the lost city of the jaguar, hand these 11 titles to tweens who care about the environment and want to help any way they can.