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Browse: Home / middle reader recommendations

middle reader recommendations

Apr

27

2026

Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson

After years of separation from their parents and relying on one another for support, teens Viola and Wilmur leave home and are swept up in an epic, pirate-y adventure. The world-building is immersive and there are lots of exciting characters to meet in the first book of a planned duology. Just a fun time all-around. …

Sep

19

2025

Your Turn Marisol Rainey written and illustrated by Erin Entrada Kelly

Another winner in this series featuring a very thoughtful main character. Perfect to help discuss quiet complex emotions. –Earl, Green Bean Books, Portland, OR We think the world would be a better place if more people were equipped with tools to handle their emotions. Read a book like this by yourself or with someone, and …

May

9

2024

Bestseller Spotlight: Indie Kids

On Wednesdays, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller List is published. Every week, we love to see what books have been most popular in independent bookstores around our region. As we peruse the list, we ponder patterns. Then we present this weekly feature: Thursday Themes. Our weekly regional list indicates titles that are not on the national bestseller …

Aug

5

2021

Bestseller Spotlight: So Emotional

It’s time for a Thursday Theme, where we shine a spotlight on some of the titles featured in this week’s Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association regional bestseller list. Maybe it’s that the light is starting to get shorter every day; maybe it’s the smoke; maybe it’s school starting; maybe it’s hormones; maybe it’s the global pandemic… but it …

Nov

4

2019

Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy

Sweet Pea is that spunky, likeable girl next door who’s going through a rough patch. Her parents are getting divorced, she’s caught between friends, and her cat seems like the only one who loves her for who she is. And now she’s scored her first job — forwarding mail for her unusual neighbor, Miss Flora …

Aug

7

2018

2

remarks

Never Underestimate the Power
of a Fart Joke

I think it’s fairly safe to say that we all have several reading personalities, depending on mood and circumstance. Sometimes, you might be in the mood for the literary equivalent of a summer blockbuster, with explosions and car chases and clearly defined bad guys. Other times you might want a stately costume drama or something …

Sep

7

2017

The Apprentice Witch

The Apprentice Witch by James Nichol

This energetic and fresh story will draw you into the universe straight away. A unique fantasy plot and lovable characters makes this book a quick and easy read. –Lucy, teen reviewer for Queen Anne Book Company Find this magical debut middle grade novel and more gems of storytelling at Queen Anne Book Company and other …

Jun

16

2017

It IS Reading

It happens at least once a week. A well-meaning adult will come to the store looking for a gift for a kid– sometimes with the kid in tow, sometimes not. The adult will be wandering lost, clueless, picking up and dismissing book after book after book.  If they’ve come in with a kid, the kid …

Oct

20

2016

Poet's Dog

The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan

Nearly 12 year-old Nickel and his younger sister Flora find themselves in the woods, in a snow storm, seeking help/shelter, after their car slides off the road and their mother sets off to find help, leaving them to stay put in the car. Fearful of the car being buried in the snow they set off, …

Aug

29

2016

Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Girl Who Drank the Moon
by Kelly Barnhill

Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a modern fable about a witch named Xan, who accidentally gives a baby moonlight instead of starlight, and the child, Luna, who grows up to be magical and dangerous. Factor in a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, a swamp monster, a not-so dormant volcano, and a mysterious woman with …

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