Middle-Grade Novels
Henry Reed, Inc.
by Keith Robertson
Henry Reed, the son of American diplomats stationed in Naples, spends his summer with his Aunt Mabel and Uncle Al in Grover’s Corner, New Jersey. To fulfill a school assignment to observe "free enterprise" in action, Henry decides to start a research business, which he names Henry Reed, Inc. He establishes his headquarters in an old family barn and eventually partners with his 12-year-old neighbor, Midge Glass. Together, they engage in a series of ambitious, often humorous, and occasionally chaotic money-making ventures, including selling local wildfire, drilling for oil, and truffle hunting.
Older fans of Homer Price will enjoy this misadventure, first in a five-book series.
Pocket Bear
by Katherine Applegate
On one of her daily neighborhood jaunts, a cynical but loyal cat named Zephyrina rescues a dirty, old bear from a dumpster. Like all the treasures she finds, Corporal Z, as her friends call her, brings the bear to "Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured," the house of a Ukrainian refugee mother and her daughter, Dasha, who restore abandoned stuffed animals.
The cat presents her new find to his best friend, a tiny, 3.5-inch stuffed bear made during World War I. He's a pocket bear, one of many miniature "lucky charms" presented to soldiers before they went off to the front lines. Now, years later, Pocket serves as the unofficial leader of the stuffed residence of Second Chances.
Pocket recognizes the new toy as a Steiff original, a bear made by the enemy during the same war. He also knows that, since all the Steiff teddies were reported lost at sea, this new addition to Second Chances is worth a lot of money and could help pull Dasha and her mom out of poverty.
With themes of selfless love, friendship, and forgiveness, this contemporary novel will introduce young readers to a little-known piece of WWI history.
Please note: Because Zephyrina rescues abandoned toys around town, she's called a Kleptocat. While narrating one portion of the story, she calls a stranger willing to feed her canned food a "sucker." Additionally, one character says, "You've landed here by fortune's grace."
Keep 'Em Flying
by Nell Branum
Sixth-grader Riley Abercrombie enters a Historical Society essay contest about her great-grandmother, who served as a "Rosie the Riveter" during World War II. After winning the contest, Riley earns a cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Kansas City, the location where her great-grandmother once worked in a factory. While attending a Rosie the Riveter festival at an aircraft museum, a famous antique rivet gun goes missing. Riley, convinced she can find the thief, begins a real-life investigation. Teaming up with a new friend named Marcus, Riley chases clues through vintage aircraft and museum artifacts. Along the way, they find themselves in peril and must navigate a situation where an innocent person is wrongly accused.
This is the first installment of the Heroes on the Homefront Series, a Christian fiction mystery collection.
Mary Poppins
by P.L. Travers
Flying in on an East Wind, Mary Poppins arrives at the nursery and immediately begins unpacking her carpet bag full of treasures. The children are hopeful that she will be different from all the previous nannies they've had to endure.
Though a bit vain, somewhat demanding, and seemingly oblivious to her own magic, she daily takes the children on grand adventures that teach them some of life's greatest lessons. Each chapter is a stand-alone vignette of a British nanny and her two Edwardian-era charges.
Please note: Fans of the film adaptation might be surprised, or even taken aback, by the harshness of Mary Poppins' tone within the text.
Parents, Be Aware
Holding on for Dear Life
by Dusti Bowling
Ever since his mom died, 13-year-old Canyon Cress has watched his dad bury himself at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Desperate to keep his family together, Canyon spends every extra minute taking care of his younger sister and practicing to be the best bull rider he can be. He's determined to win the Junior World Championship and make his dad proud. Maybe then, his father will snap out of his drinking stupor and be his old self again.
The trouble is, Canyon has suffered numerous concussions over the years. One more bad buck, and he may not be able to continue. How will he prove his worth to his dad if he can no longer ride?
This contemporary fiction, set in the wilds of southern Arizona, touches on themes of grief, alcohol addiction, father-son relationships, masculinity, chasing dreams, finding purpose, and carrying on family legacies.
Things to know: Like most bull riders, Canyon relies on a lucky charm to help him have a successful ride. At one point in the story, Dad drives drunk and angry with Canyon in the back of the car. And Canyon enters a contest without his dad's permission.
The following words are repeated throughout the text: darn it, crap, stupid, and sucks. God's name is also taken in vain a few times, and Canyon hears his grandmother say the f-word, although the word itself does not appear in the text of the book.
Just for you, Mom
Between Shades of Gray
by Ruta Sepetys
Like so many of their neighbors, Lina, her mother Elena, and brother Jonas are ripped from their home in Lithuania and forced onto cattle cars with other civilians, beginning a brutal, months-long journey to Siberia. Together they endure the unimaginable.
Determined to document their experiences for their missing father and to pass secret messages to other prisoners, Lina draws pictures whenever and however she can. Despite the horrors, Lina finds strength in her art, her family, and a budding romance with fellow deportee Andrius.
This historical fiction is based on true accounts of Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians deported to the Arctic Circle by Stalin during WWII. In 2018, the story was renamed Ashes in the Snow for a screen adaptation.
Best in Show
by Kate Albus
When their grandmother passes away, orphaned siblings William, Edmund, and Anna are shipped off to the English countryside along with hundreds of other children who are escaping the air raids that threaten all of London. They have high hopes that their temporary guardians will want to keep them not just until the war ends, but permanently. Together, they find comfort in their strong bond, their shared love of books, and the kindness of the village librarian, Nora Müller.