Our middle grade book spotlight this week is on books that feature music!! If you are anything like me then you love music; there always has to be some sort of song or rhythm going on in the background (because when it is quiet it is so weird) so why not have that carry over to what we read? All of these titles have music woven throughout, some even with their own playlist, and we have an amazing offering of realistic, humor, fantasy and even a graphic novel so there is something for everyone. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthmusicalstories 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!!
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.
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan--Beginning with Otto, a boy lost in a forbidden forest, and the three mysterious sisters he meets, the story follows the unfolding of a prophecy, a promise, and a magical harmonica. The harmonica finds its way through time to Friedrich in Nazi Germany, giving him courage to try to rescue his father. Then it comes to Depression-era Pennsylvania and two orphaned boys. From there it goes to young Ivy Lopez, who learns to play it and help her family. Each solo story converges in a celebration of music's power in life.
Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes--Garvey's father always hoped his son would be athletic, but Garvey is anything but. He'd much rather stick his nose in a science fiction book or stare at the stars than run or catch a football. Overweight and lonely, Garvey finds an unlikely refuge in the school choir, where he excels as their newest soloist. While finding his place in the world, Garvey might even find a new way of connecting with his father.
The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury--Twelve-year-old Amelia gets the opportunity to attend a boarding school and learn how to use music to create magic, hoping to become a Maestro like her deceased mother.
Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot--Thirteen-year-old Dinah Lance, the daughter of Detective Larry Lance of Gotham City, is practicing with her bandmates and planning to join the junior police academy when she realizes her superpower--a sonic canary cry. Dinah learns that her mother, who has a similar super power, used to be the Black Canary after a villain named Bonfire seeks revenge against her. When Bonfire kidnaps her mother, Dinah decides to learn to use her superpowers as the new Black Canary to rescue her.
Searching for Lottie by Susan Ross--Charlie is a gifted violinist, just like her namesake and great aunt Charlotte, who had disappeared during the 1938 Anschluss. Now a school assignment sends Charlie searching for information about what happened to her great aunt.