Summer Reading 2023: Middle School

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are brothers and sisters. They're orphans too, and the only way they can stay together is to make it on their own. When the children find an abandoned boxcar in the woods, they decide to call it home – and become the Boxcar Children!

Meet Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timothy. Together they are "The Famous Five" - Enid Blyton's most popular adventure series. In their first adventure, Julian, Dick and Anne are spending the holidays with their tomboy cousin George and her dog, Timothy. One day, George takes them to explore nearby Kirrin Island, with its rocky little coast and old ruined castle on the top.

Over on the island, they make a thrilling discovery, which leads them deep into the dungeons of Kirrin Castle on a dangerous adventure. Who - and what - will they find there?

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. They are waiting for an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables - but a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts' affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter. It's not long before Anne finds herself in trouble, but soon it becomes impossible for the Cuthberts to imagine life without 'their' Anne - and for the people of Avonlea to recall what it was like before this wildly creative little girl whirled into town.

A lavishly illustrated omnibus collection that contains Lewis Carroll's original Alice in Wonderland novels. For those who have never read Lewis Carroll's Alice novels, or for those who wish to revisit the beloved tales, this new edition of a perennial classic will appeal to today's reader who appreciates adorable manga-styled artwork. This 320-page collection contains all of Lewis Carroll's original text along with two full-color spreads and one hundred black-and-white full-page and spot illustrations. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is a collection of stories featuring the titular character, Alice, and her misadventures through the curious and fantastical lands of Wonderland. As little Alice goes deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole, she meets an assortment of oddball characters, like the eccentric March Hare, the whimsical Mad Hatter, and the enigmatic Cheshire Cat, who will all become familiar faces within this strange world. If Alice is to navigate the dangerous yet fascinating landscape of Wonderland, she must learn who is friend and who is foe, and use her good breeding and wits to find a way home.

It's the start of a new year at Snow Hill School, and seven students find themselves thrown together in Mr. Terupt's fifth grade class. They don't have much in common, and they've never gotten along. Not until a certain new teacher arrives and helps them to find strength inside themselves – and in each other. Will his students be able to remember the lessons he taught them? Or will their lives go back to the way they were before – before fifth grade and before Mr. Terupt?
✸ Check out the eBooks in this series at the Chapin Library
✸ Check out the eBooks in this series through the NYPL

Sally investigates post-WWII Florida with theatrical flair in this classic middle grade novel from Judy Blume. Now with a fresh new look! Sally J. Freedman was ten when she made herself a movie star. She would have been happy to reach stardom in New Jersey, but in 1947 her older brother Douglas became ill, so the Freedman family traveled south to spend eight months in the sunshine of Florida. That's where Sally met her friends Andrea, Barbara, Shelby, Peter, and Georgia Blue Eyes--and her unsuspecting enemy, Adolf Hitler. Dear Chief of Police: You don't know me but I am a detective from New Jersey. I have uncovered a very interesting case down here. I have discovered that Adolf Hitler is alive and has come to Miami Beach to retire. He is pretending to be an old Jewish man... While she watches and waits, and keeps a growing file of letters under her bed, Sally's Hitler will play an important--though not quite starring--role in one of her grandest movie spectaculars.

A classic celebration of childhood, A. A. Milne's When We Were Very Young is a collection of poems that have touched the hearts of readers for more than 90 years. His verses sing with a playful innocence, weaving together the worlds of reality and enchanting make-believe. Published two years before Winnie-the-Pooh, careful readers will also discover the very first appearance of the Best Bear in All the World. These poems have been read and re-read to generations of children, and today, they can still find a cherished place on every bookshelf.

Her last name may mean "kings," but Ana María Reyes REALLY does not live in a castle. Rather, she's stuck in a tiny apartment with two parents (way too lovey-dovey), three sisters (way too dramatic), and a piano (which she never gets to practice). And when her parents announce a new baby is coming, that means they'll have even less time for Ana María. If Ana María can win a scholarship to the Eleanor School, New York City's best private academy, she'll be able to get out of her Washington Heights neighborhood school and achieve the education she's longed for. To stand out, she'll need to nail her piano piece at the upcoming city showcase, which means she has to practice through her sisters' hijinks, the neighbors' visits, a family trip to the Dominican Republic... right up until the baby's birth! But some new friends and honest conversations help her figure out what truly matters, and know that she can succeed no matter what. Ana María Reyes may not be royal, but she's certain to come out on top.

Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories. It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat – by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for "A Room to Talk"), they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them – everything from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes. When the six are together, they can express the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. And together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives.

Eleven-year-old Melody is not like most people. She can't walk. She can't talk. She can't write. All because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She's the smartest kid in her whole school, but NO ONE knows it. Most people--her teachers, her doctors, her classmates--dismiss her as mentally challenged because she can't tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by her disability. And she's determined to let everyone know it... somehow.

During the Great Depression, when Eleanor is nine, her family moves from her beloved America to Germany, from which her parents had emigrated years before and where her father has been offered a job he cannot pass up. But when war suddenly breaks out as her family is crossing the Atlantic, they realize returning to the United States isn't an option. They arrive in Berlin as enemy aliens. She fervently hopes for an Allied victory, yet for years she must try to survive the Allied bombs shattering her neighborhood. Her family faces separations, bombings, hunger, the final fierce battle for Berlin, the Russian invasion, and the terrors of Soviet occupancy. This compelling story is heart-racing at times and immerses readers in a first-hand account of Nazi Germany, surviving World War II as a civilian, and immigration.

For sheer storytelling delight and pure adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From young Jim Hawkins’s first encounter with the sinister beggar Pew to the climactic battle with the most memorable villain in literature, Long John Silver, this novel has fired readers’ imaginations for generations. A rousing tale of treachery, greed, and daring, Treasure Island continues to enthrall readers of all ages.