Our Middle Grade book spotlight this week is focused on books that have Red and Pink Covers!!! As we celebrate Valentine's Day, let us get into the spirit of this holiday by reading some books that feature the two primary colors of this day. Since we are choosing these books based on their front covers, then we have an amazing selection that are all completely different from realistic to mystery, novel in verse to historical, and even some award winners! These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthcolorfulcovers 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!!
Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year by Nina Hamza--Ahmed Aziz's epically bad year started when he turned twelve and his family moved from Hawaii to Minnesota so that his father could receive treatment for an illness. As one of the only kids of color in his new school, Ahmed becomes the target of a bully. However, as much as he hates to admit it, he does actually like his English teacher and he's enjoying learning about his deceased uncle and his family's Indian Muslim heritage. Now, if he only knew how to make Minnesota less frigid, he may warm up to the place.
Dream, Annie, Dream by Waka T. Brown--In 1987 Kansas, Japanese American middle school student Aoi Inoue dreams of playing professional basketball and becoming a superstar. But first, she'll have to make the basketball team and land a role in a play. Things are looking up at the beginning of seventh grade when she makes the basketball team and lands a role in a school production of "The King and I." However, she overhears hurtful comments that she only got the part because she's Asian and begins to notice other opinions and assumptions about her by others. Determined not to let these attitudes limit her, Aoi forges ahead with her dreams, determined to prove everyone wrong.
Stand Up Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim--Eleven-year-old aspiring comedian Yumi Chung stumbles into a kids' comedy camp and is mistaken for another student. Knowing it's the chance of a lifetime, she decides to play the part and figure out the rest later.
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga--When violence erupts in her seaside home in Syria, young Jude and her mother flee and go to stay with family in America. Though she's seen American movies, Jude doesn't feel prepared for the loud, fast lifestyle that Americans lead, nor is she prepared for starting a new school with the label of Middle Easterner. But Jude soon meets new friends, enjoys her family, and just might try out for the school musical.
Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by Susan Vaught--Autistic middle-schooler Jesse, witnesses the arrest of her father for allegedly stealing money from the library fund. Convinced of his innocence, Jesse recruits her one and only friend, Springer, to investigate. They begin interviewing suspects, even confronting a trio of bullies, but Jesse begins to think that she’s not cut out for crime fighting since she will sometimes "get stuck on lots of stuff, like words and phrases and numbers and smells and pictures and song lines and what time stuff is supposed to happen." When a tornado hits the town, Jesse finally thinks she can show people what she’s made of, and maybe even help her father at the same time.
Knockout by K.A. Holt--Told in assonant free verse, Levi was once a premature baby who suffered from respiratory problems; he recovered, and now in seventh grade, he struggles to demonstrate to his divorced mother and over protective brother that he is okay--so when his father suggests he take up boxing he falls in love with the sport, but he still must find a way to convince his family to set him free to follow his dream.