17+ Middle Grade March Book Recommendations

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@ashley_dicksonellison)

We know many of you are excited about celebrating Middle Grade March by reading lots of middle grade book picks! While I'm not a middle grade expert by any means, I've read quite a few middle grade picks over the last few years, and I'm excited to share some recent favorites with you all.

*I'm updating this list for 2026, and my latest recommendations are marked with an asterisk. Also, if you're wanting to read more middle grade books this month, be sure to check out Instagram to join our buddy read and/or book club discussions!

Middle Grade Book Recs Perfect for Middle Grade March Reading

Katherine Applegate's Crenshaw (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): This brilliant book focuses on Jackson, a ten year old who is shocked to discover the reappearance of his imaginary friend, Crenshaw, who is a giant cat he hasn't seen in years. Jackson's family is struggling financially, and they find themselves on the precipice of living out of their van once again after a period of stability. Jackson discovers that Crenshaw appears as he tries to figure out how to cope with all of the uncertainty, but he can't determine whether the "help" makes things better or worse, and he can't figure out what to do about Crenshaw, much less anything else. This is a powerful, beautiful story that shows how we can be strong amid hardship and can continue to hope for better even though there are not easy solutions.

*Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): To be honest, I am very reluctant to read WWII books, but when my daughter recommended this one and was loving it so much, I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! Ada has a club foot and because of it is severely mistreated by her mother and is forced to never leave their family's apartment. As she learns about the approach of the war and the need for kids to flee London for the relative safety of the countryside, she resolves to go, with her younger brother Jamie, to the train station where the children will be collected.

That decision to leave London and the resulting journey and home placement profoundly change Ada and Jamie's lives, opening up an entire world that they only discovered because of the war. I wrote a review of this one that shares more of my thoughts. (I read book 2, The War I Finally Won, as well, and I adored that one, too. Bradley does such a phenomenal job of taking on challenging topics and handling them with nuance and compassion, and I love the way we get to learn more about the world through Ada's eyes. I also think this is SUCH a good series for middle school kids.)

Jerry Craft's New Kid (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org): Despite hearing so many great things about this one from the time it came out, I just now finally read it, and I loved it! This graphic novel (which is the start of a series!) focuses on Jordan, a new student starting seventh grade at a private school. I read this one in December, and it made it on my list of favorite reads from 2022. Here's what I said about it there: "Jordan, one of the few students of color amid a predominantly white, mostly very wealthy student body, feels out of place on a number of levels. However, his placement at the private school makes friend dynamics in his home neighborhood challenging as well. And to make things harder, his parents are divided on the best pathway for him. Jordan feels like he doesn't quite fit in anywhere, and yet we see his kindness, his creativity, and his generosity of spirit shining through amid the challenges." (Updating to say that I read the rest of this series, and I have loved each book!)

*Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): I absolutely adored this book, which focuses on Melody, an eleven year old with cerebral palsy who is nonverbal and in a wheelchair. During the course of the novel, Melody begins to have access to a device that helps her communicate more directly for the first time in her life. I love Melody's personality, her determination, and her compassion for others. I am eager to get back to this series and to watch the film adaptation of this one.

*Lisa Fipps' Starfish (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) - This brilliant novel in verse celebrates Ellie, a twelve year old who loves swimming and being with friends, but who is bullied from a young age because of her weight and size. Her complicated relationship with her mom furthers her discomfort, and she has to find a way to grapple with all of the hard things she is facing. I love the role of therapy in this one and the positive example Ellie sets for middle schoolers as a kind, brave protagonist who is learning to treat herself and others with compassion. I wrote a review of this one that you can read here.

Varian Johnson's Twins: A Graphic Novel (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): My daughters loved this book, which explores twins who are very different from each other but who have always done everything together. As they get into middle school, Maureen and Francine have different feelings about how they want to relate at school. Maureen is ready to carry on united the same way they always have, but Francine is ready to go out on her own and to show her unique personality. Tensions increase when they both decide to run for a class office. I loved the way this one showed a beautiful sibling relationship and how things can change as we get older.

Tae Keller's When You Trap a Tiger (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org): Lily and her mom and sister move in with her sick grandmother, and Lily finds herself face to face with a tiger that seems just like one of the tigers in her grandmother's Korean folk tales that she always told Lily. One thing Lily learned from her halmoni is that tigers are tricksters and to be careful what you bargain, but in her desperation to help her halmoni get well, she'll do anything. I loved so much about this powerful story. I shared this one as a pairing for Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon in episode 242, our book club episode this past November.

Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu's Measuring Up (Bookshop.org): This graphic novel focuses on Cici, a twelve year old who moves with her family from Taiwan to the US. When her family moves, her beloved A-má stays in Taiwan. Cici desperately wants her A-má to come visit them, but with the prohibitive cost of plane tickets, it doesn't seem possible. When an opportunity to participate in a cooking show for young chefs comes along, Cici decides to give it a try in hopes of winning the prize money so that she can buy a plane ticket. This is a lovely, compelling story full of beautiful illustrations.

Alison McGhee's Pablo and Birdy (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): This whimsical story is full of magical realism and gives the reader a glimpse into the life of Pablo and his beloved bird, Birdy, who has been with him since they both washed up on the shore of the town where they now live. The infant Pablo was found after a horrible storm in an inflatable raft with Birdy watching over him, and the members of the town never knew how they arrived or where they came from, but they both became an integral part of the town. Now Pablo is turning ten, and there are hoards of frenzied people on the hunt for a mythical bird who holds all of the sounds of the world inside of them. This is a beautiful, magical, poignant story.

Kayla Miller's Besties: Work It Out (Bookshop.org): I absolutely love Kayla Miller's Click graphic novel series featuring protagonist Olive (which is an awesome series for upper elementary and lower middle school students), and in this spin-off series, we get to see more from some of Olive's best friends from the main series. This one focuses on Beth and Chanda, two best friends who decide to go into a dog-sitting business together. After they start getting clients, they run into some challenges. I love the way Miller always highlights that problems in relationships arise but that there are actionable steps young people can take to deal with those issues in healthy ways.

Mae Respicio's The House that Lou Built (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org): Lou comes from a large, loving Filipino family living in San Francisco. She shares a room with her mom in her grandmother's house, and although she absolutely loves her family, she is also eager to have her own space. As a passionate young builder, Lou has a vision to build a tiny house where she can go. When circumstances come her way that create the opportunity to have a place to build, coinciding with a need to deepen her roots in the area, Lou jumps at the chance to make her dream a reality. I loved the way this book shows girls as builders.

*Shifa Saltagi Safadi's Kareem Between (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) - This beautiful middle grade novel explores what Kareem's life is like as a Syrian-American middle school student who wants to play football and blend in at his school. But things get harder for him as he When another Syrian boy enrolls at their school, Kareem feels pressure to look out for him but also wants to reject his heritage at times so that he can fit in more easily. This one shows how complex identity can be but also celebrates youth activism and how powerful it can be to take a stand. Jen and I enjoyed discussing this one as our March book club pick last year. This one also won a National Book Award!

Elly Swartz's Finding Perfect (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org): This story explores the protagonist Molly's attempts to keep her life from unraveling after her mother moves out of their family home. What at first looks like simple organization and a desire for routine becomes an increasingly invasive part of Molly's life as she finds herself panicking about the health and safety of her younger brother and unable to cope with the thoughts and patterns that are taking over. I really appreciated the way that this book explored the role that internal and external factors can play in the manifestation of mental health issues and how that can feel for a young person like Molly.

*Sarah Ward's Victory Gallop - I loved this book and the way we get to know protagonist Harper Hayes and her passion for horses and riding. Harper shows so much courage and determination as she learns to navigate the panic attacks she's been experiencing. Between her own mental health struggles and the bullying that's happening at the barn, Harper has her hands full as she suffers largely alone and in silence, but she finds her way forward and discovers the power of letting others in as she navigates the twists and turns of life in middle school and at the barn.

*Renee Watson's All the Blues in the Sky (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): This is a beautiful book about navigating grief after unexpected death. On Sage's thirteenth birthday, instead of a day full of celebrations with her best friend, she learns of her best friend's death and has to find her way through this new reality. The story centers on Sage's grief group that she reluctantly attends at school, where she learns about the different kinds of grief and all of the complex feelings that can come with the grieving process.

Throughout the novel, which is written in verse and vignettes, we see Sage coming to understand more about herself, her loss, and the way she can connect with others. I love Watson's ability to take on really hard issues with compassion, care, and a grounded perspective centered on hope amid hardship.

Middle Grade Books I've Shared Before

Once Upon an Eid (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org), edited by S. K. Ali and Aisha Saeed (This collection of short stories is perfect for the 2023 Unabridged Reading Challenge!): This collection is a gorgeous middle-grade work, and it conveys a wide array of different experiences, all of which center on Muslims celebrating Eid. Here's a little bit from my review: "This collection is a gorgeous middle-grade work, and it conveys a wide array of different experiences, all of which center on Muslims celebrating Eid. The stories depict celebrations of both Eid-al-Adha and Eid-al-Fitr. As you may well know, both Eids follow the lunar calendar, so the dates change from year to year. Eid-al-Fitr, the "feast of breaking the fast," marks the end of Ramadan. Eid-al-Adha is the "feast of the sacrifice," and it celebrates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience. The book includes celebrations of both Eids." Read my full review here.

Kacen Callender's King and the Dragonflies (Libro.fm | Bookshop.org): This book captivated my attention from the second I started it, and I was so compelled to find out what was going to happen. I listened to this one on audio, and the narration by Ron Butler was outstanding. This was a strong five-star read for me. From my review: "In this story, Kingston James is a middle school student reeling from the recent loss of his older brother, Khalid, who died abruptly as a teenager. Although King doesn't tell anyone, he knows that his brother has transformed into a dragonfly, and he finds himself going daily to a field where there are lots of dragonflies, where he searches in vain for his dragonfly brother. He also waits for Khalid to visit him in his dreams." Check out my full review here.

Jason Griffin and Jason Reynolds’s Ain’t Burned All the Bright (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): This one is a gorgeous graphic work that features the stunning artwork of Jason Griffin coupled with Jason Reynolds' powerful poetry. It is a moving, haunting work that they created during the height of the pandemic, and it captures so much of what we're living through during this time. 

You won't be able to put this one down, and its impact will stay with you. (I talked about this one for our episode on Books in Unusual Formats.) 

Rebecca Stead's The List of Things that Will Not Change ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): Bea is the main character in this one, and she is sweet and fun and lovable, but she also has a lot of anxiety. She also has eczema. She is around twelve when she's telling the story, but over time readers learn that when she was eight, her mom and dad separated. When they divorced, they wanted to make sure that she understands that each of them loves her very much, and that they love each other but in a different way than they did. And so they make this list. And that's the title of the book-- it is the list of things that will not change. I loved this powerful book, and it has really stayed with me. I shared this one on Episode 195: Unexpected Joy - Books that Surprised Us in Excellent Ways.

Jasmine Warga's Other Words for Home (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm): I absolutely LOVED this brilliant middle-grade novel in verse. Warga covers so many important topics here in a beautiful, moving way that also propels forward the story. When the book begins, we meet Jude and her family and learn about the tension in Syria between people who want democracy and others who want the stability that comes with things remaining the same. Because of the instability in Syria, it's eventually decided that Jude will go with her newly pregnant mother to America, where her mother's brother already lives with his family. Read my full review of this brilliant book here. We also discussed this one as a book club pick on episode 270.

Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) : This memoir in verse is a gorgeous depiction of Woodson’s life growing up in New York and South Carolina. This is very much a coming of age story that shows Woodson’s attempts to find her place in the world and the way that a love of stories grounded her and helped her become the phenomenal writer that she is today.

What middle grade books are you loving? Let us know what we should add to our list!

#bookishfaves #middlegrade

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