Our Middle Grade book spotlight this week is the second part of a series we started in our last spotlight! Over the next few weeks, we will be working our way through the alphabet as we use letters for inspiration as each title starts with the next letter in order. This week we are moving on to the second part of the alphabet with books that start with a G through L giving us six amazing books to explore; we have everything from nonfiction to graphic novels, some of our new titles, and some page turning fantasy adventures. Next week, we will pick up with the letter M. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthatoz as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new Middle Grade book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Gregor the Overlander by Susanne Collins--When Gregor's toddler sister, Boots, accidentally tumbles into an air duct in the laundry room, he follows after her, and the pair find themselves in an entirely different world. Desperate to leave the foreign "Underland," where humans are overpowered by giant rats, cockroaches and bats, Gregor starts to plan their escape. But before he has a chance to leave, rumors start to circulate through the Underland--is Gregor the liberator (or overlander) the trapped humans have been waiting for? Is Gregor's missing father being held hostage by vicious rats? Readers will be mesmerized by the intriguing plot and swift action. A real page-turner.
How they Croaked by Georgia Bragg--Combining the dark tone of the book's subject matter with a sort of black humor all its own, author Bragg creates a tome as witty as it is informative. Readers meet 19 prominent historical figures, from George “Little Mouth of Horrors” Washington to Marie “You Glow, Girl” Curie, spotlighting the marvelous, fascinating, and oftentimes disgusting circumstances surrounding their deaths. In addition to the main profiles, Bragg also provides information on associated topics such as scurvy, leeching, and mummification, tying them into the individual being profiled.
Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson--Emmie is shy, quiet, and artistic. Katie is athletic, outgoing, and popular. One day in middle school, their lives intersect in surprising ways when an embarrassing note falls into the wrong hands.
Jake the Fake Keeps it Real by Craig Robinson--Having faked his way into the Music and Art Academy, a performing arts school for gifted students where his talented older sister rules, sixth-grader Jake, a jokester who can barely play an instrument, will have to think of something quick before the last laugh is on him.
Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts by Erika Lewis--When Kelcie Murphy, a foster child raised in the human world, is accepted into the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts, she discovers that she's a Saiga, one of the most ancient beings in the Otherworld who are able to wield elemental magic and are also kin to the Otherworld's most infamous traitor. Kelcie begins her training and hopes to learn her true parentage, but things get complicated when she unlocks a slumbering weapon that could destroy the entire school.
Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen--The lives of five kids from different backgrounds intersect during World War I. Twelve-year-old Felix, from Austria-Hungary, sees Archduke Ferdinand killed and must flee with his mother. A German girl named Elsa helps them escape. British Kara works as an orderly on a Red Cross train, while French Juliette tries to find her family. Finally, Dimitri struggles at the Russian Front. As the war goes on, the teens' paths cross once again and they forge a friendship that helps them survive.