Summer Reading 2023: Middle School

Critically acclaimed when it was first published, Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting has become a much-loved, well-studied modern-day classic.

What if you could live forever? Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family's property whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never growing older. But then Winnie must decide whether or not to keep the Tucks' secret – and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey.

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Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend to it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.

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"[These] works, especially the books of Norse and Greek myths, were and remain crucial to me, and now to my own children. The interest in mythology that was kindled by those two books has endured throughout my life, and has directly influenced my own writing in countless ways…The Norse book was always my favorite, though. I must have read it a dozen times at least by the time I was nine or ten." — Michael Chabon

The Caldecott medal-winning d'Aulaires once again captivate their young audience with this beautifully illustrated introduction to Norse legends, telling stories of Odin the All-father, Thor the Thunder-god and the theft of his hammer, Loki the mischievous god of the Jotun Race, and Ragnarokk, the destiny of the gods. Children meet Bragi, the god of poetry, and the famous Valkyrie maidens, among other gods, goddesses, heroes, and giants. Illustrations throughout depict the wondrous other world of Norse folklore and its fantastical Northern landscape.

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Soon to be a Netflix original movie!

"If you want to keep your kid occupied for a long time, get them hooked on the Redwall series. They'll love these compelling books about peace-loving mice and warmongering rats." - readbrightly.com

Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well... until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming – Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde – Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice – a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back... and become a legend himself.

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"This Nancy Drew book is the one you should get. I personally do not like to read, but this book made me want to keep reading. This one does start off a little slow but it gets REALLY good about halfway. I would definitely say the end melts your heart and makes you so happy. This is a perfect read for young detectives!" - Amazon.com review

Prompted by the concerns of a young child, Nancy investigates a small studio on the Chatham estate. She discovers that there is a connection between the mysterious occurrences at Ship Cottage and her search for a treasure island. With only half of a map, Nancy sets out to find the man who possess the rest of the map that will pinpoint the location of buried treasure. Constantly beset by danger and intrigue, Nancy courageously outwits her enemies and solves one of the most challenging cases in her career as a teenage investigator.

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A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)

When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because he was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too. The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her – well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.

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“A Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read it so often, I know it by heart. Meg Murry was my hero growing up. I wanted glasses and braces and my parents to stick me in an attic bedroom. And I so wanted to save Charles Wallace from IT.” ―Meg Cabot

Meg Murry, her brother Charles, and their friend Calvin, embark on a journey through space and time, assisted by three otherworldly women, when they set out to find Meg's father, a physicist who disappeared while experimenting with time travel.
✸ Check out this eBook through the NYPL

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Four adventurous siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie – step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change... and a great sacrifice.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, which has been drawing readers of all ages into a magical land with unforgettable characters for over sixty years. This is a stand-alone read, but if you would like to explore more of the Narnian realm, pick up The Horse and His Boy, the third book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

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“It’s a story about a young boy and his two hunting dogs and... I can’t even go on without getting a little misty.” — The Huffington Post

“We tear up just thinking about it.” — Time on the film adaptation

Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two dogs. So when he's finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his own – Old Dan and Little Ann – he's ecstatic. It's true that times are tough, but together they'll roam the hills of the Ozarks. Soon Billy and his hounds become the finest hunting team in the valley. Stories of their great achievements spread throughout the region, and the combination of Old Dan's brawn, Little Ann's brains, and Billy's sheer will seems unbeatable. But tragedy awaits these determined hunters and Billy learns that hope can grow out of despair.

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Written for Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies worldwide and established itself as a modern classic.

"Get your child started on Tolkien early so that, when life begins to rear its ugly head for him, he’ll be prepared to weather his burdensome quest against the traitorous Sarumon friends in his life, against the relentless pestering Gollum teachers in school, against the heinous Orc bosses in the workforce—right on through to the end." - AJ, Amazon.com Reviewer

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

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“The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery Agatha Christie has ever written.” — New York Times

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die... Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

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Read the book behind the movie!

Margaret Simon, almost twelve, likes long hair, tuna fish, the smell of rain, and things that are pink. She's just moved from New York City to Farbook, New Jersey, and is anxious to fit in with her new friends – Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. When they form a secret club to talk about private subjects like boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret is happy to belong. But none of them can believe Margaret doesn't have religion, and that she isn't going to the Y or the Jewish Community Center. What they don't know is Margaret has her own very special relationship with God. She can talk to God about everything – family, friends, even Moose Freed, her secret crush.

Margaret is funny and real, and her thoughts and feelings are oh-so-relatable – you'll feel like she's talking right to you, sharing her secrets with a friend.

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Read the book behind the acclaimed new movie!

"I fell hard for Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy the second I opened it. More than any other heroine I'd read, this one sounded like me. For Catherine, and for me, there is no easy solution to the cages life makes for you. Sometimes the power is in deciding to be yourself in whatever cage you're in." -- Vera Brosgol, author of Be Prepared

This historical fiction classic, told in the form of a diary, has drawn in generations of readers and is a Newbery Honor Book. Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man – any rich man, no matter how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call – by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest. Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father? Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it! Catherine, a spirited and inquisitive young woman, narrates in diary form the story of her fourteenth year in the year 1290.

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"An extraordinary book... it will be read year after year." - Horn Book

"Should appeal to all rugged individualists who dream of escape to the forest."-- The New York Times Book Review

Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in New York City with his family, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountains to live in the woods--all by himself. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel, he intends to survive on his own. Sam learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that changes his life forever.

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“A powerful and provocative novel." — New York Times

In Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce new children, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test – when he must try to save someone he loves – he may not be ready.

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Anne Shirley is an eleven-year-old orphan who has hung on determinedly to an optimistic spirit and a wildly creative imagination through her early deprivations. She erupts into the lives of aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a girl instead of the boy they had sent for. Thus begins a story of transformation for all three; indeed the whole rural community of Avonlea comes under Anne's influence in some way. We see her grow from a girl to a young woman of sixteen, making her mistakes, and not always learning from them. Intelligent, hot-headed as her own red hair, unwilling to take a moral truth as read until she works it out for herself, she must also face grief and loss and learn the true meaning of love. Part Tom Sawyer, part Jane Eyre, by the end of Anne of Green Gables, Anne has become the heroine of her own story.

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"A fascinating medley of word games, disguises, multiple aliases, and subterfuges--a demanding but rewarding book." - Horn Book

"A supersharp mystery... confoundingly clever, and very funny." - Booklist (starred review)

This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. They could become millionaires-it all depends on how they play the tricky and dangerous Westing game, a game involving blizzards, burglaries, and bombings! Ellen Raskin has created a remarkable cast of characters in a puzzle-knotted, word-twisting plot filled with humor, intrigue, and suspense.

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“Richly imagined and unfailingly eloquent and entertaining, its appeal is timeless and universal. If a reader reads only one Arthurian tale, let this be it.”—Booklist

Before there was a famous king named Arthur, there was a curious boy named Wart and a kind old wizard named Merlyn. Transformed by Merlyn into the forms of his fantasy, Wart learns the value of history from a snake, of education from a badger, and of courage from a hawk – the lessons that help turn a boy into a man. Together, Wart and Merlyn take the reader through this timeless story of childhood and adventure.

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