The best middle grade books about families, changes, and challenges

Books that use humor to explore serious issues are delightful, and this one tops my list. Eleven-year-old Ellie isn’t the biggest fan of change. Then one day her mom is called to pick up Ellie’s grandfather from the police station and comes home with...a thirteen-year-old boy?! Ellie’s grandfather has managed to reverse the aging process, and now he’s enrolled in her middle school. Ellie and her grandfather form a strong bond over their shared interest in science. She even helps him break into his old lab so he can retrieve the specimen he needs to publish his findings. But Ellie becomes uneasy with the possible applications of her grandfather’s discovery. Maybe change isn’t always the worst thing after all? This light-hearted book will make you laugh—and think. 

For me, there’s something special about books that embrace the messy complexity of real life—especially when those messes aren’t resolved too neatly. Sixth grade is off to a rocky start for Merci. She’s a scholarship student who doesn’t feel like she fits in at her private school, and now she’s gotten off on the wrong foot with her bossy classmate, Edna. At home, her beloved grandfather Lolo is acting weird—forgetting important things, falling off his bike, and mixing up people’s names. The adults are having whispered arguments and no one in the family will talk to Merci about what's really going on. But when Lolo’s secret finally comes to light, Merci’s family and new friends at school are the ones who understand her anger and help her find her way forward to acceptance. This story about a loving, imperfect family rings true.

Painstaking research, great characterizations, and lovely writing come together to make this book sing for me. Orphaned siblings William, Edmund, and Anna aren’t exactly broken-hearted when their distant grandmother dies suddenly. But since she was their guardian, they face the awful prospect of being separated and sent to different homes. When the British government decides to do a mass wartime evacuation of children from London to protect them from the 1940 Blitz, the siblings see an unexpected opportunity. Can they take advantage of Operation Pied Piper to find a new home for all of them? Life in their new town can be cold and harsh, but a growing friendship with the kind local librarian offers a glimmer of hope that their dream might come true. This is a warm-hearted story that earns its happy ending. 

In my experience, a truly unique book is rare, and I’m always excited to find one that stands apart because of premise and setting. Waka is happy in her sixth-grade class in Kansas—until her parents notice she’s losing her Japanese language skills and decide to take action. They send Waka to Tokyo to spend several months living with her grandmother and attending a local public school. In Japan, Waka struggles with reading and writing kanji, feels awkward around her reserved grandmother, and can’t figure out the social scene at school. Japan may be her parents’ birth country, but in Tokyo, Waka is an outsider. Where is Waka’s real home, and who will she be once she figures that out? An unforgettable memoir with lots of fun 1980s flavor. 

This novel made me laugh out loud, and the lessons it offers in grace under pressure linger long after reading. Budding cartoonist Jordan Banks wants to go to art school for seventh grade, but his mom enrolls him in a prestigious private school known for strong academics instead. Not only does he have to get used to a new school, Jordan is one of the only kids of color in his whole grade. Making the long commute from his Washington Heights apartment to the Riverdale Academy Day School, he finds himself torn between two worlds—and feeling like he might not really fit in anywhere. Can Jordan figure out a way to navigate his new school while staying true to himself, his family, and his neighborhood friends? This vibrant graphic novel is full of wisdom, humor, and honesty.