Books You May Have Missed 2022: Middle Grade

Award-winning author Amina Luqman-Dawson pens a lyrical, accessible historical novel about two enslaved children's escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom. Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there's no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail....

"Meet best friends Gabby Jordan, Priya Gupta, and Mindy Kim. They're different in just about every way -- personalities, hobbies, family, and more -- but they have a few important things in common: they're all in the same class, they absolutely love animals, and for reasons that are as varied as the trio themselves none of them can actually have any pets. Unable to resist the adorable temptation any longer, the girls decide to come up with a way to...

"Colorful mosaics, playful flowing forms, imaginative facades--Barcelona shines with the buildings of Antoni Gaud̕. How did the son of a Catalan blacksmith become a world-famous architect? The first years of Gaud̕'s life were challenging. Because of an illness, young Gaud̕ couldn't attend school and was often alone. Many of his days were spent out in nature, which he would later call his great teacher. Even during his training as an architect in...

"Rebecca Strand was just sixteen when she and her father fell to their deaths from the top of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in 1839. Just how they fell--or were they pushed?--remains a mystery. And their ghosts haunt the lighthouse to this day. . . Gabe tells this story every day when he gives the ghost tour on Toronto Island. He tries to make it scary enough to satisfy the tourists, but he doesn't actually believe in ghosts--until he finds himself...

"As a mail carrier, Victor Hugo Green traveled across New Jersey every day. But with Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation since the late 1800s, traveling as a Black person in the US could be stressful, even dangerous. So in the 1930s, Victor created a guide--The Negro Motorist Green-Book--compiling information on where to go and what places to avoid so that Black travelers could have a safe and pleasant time. While the Green Book started out small,...

"When Carnegie Hall opened in 1891, no one could have predicted its incredible success. With talented artists like Duke Ellington and scientists like Albert Einstein gracing its stage, Carnegie became a place where all people could join together and be entertained... Violinist Isaac Stern, the son of Jewish immigrants who fled to America to escape the Holocaust [had] his dream of performing on Carnegie Hall's legendary stage [come] true many times...

"Eleven-year-old homeschooled Katie experiences the ups and downs of growing up and 6th grade--from bad haircuts and friendship breakups to new experiences, new friends, and a new understanding of her OCD"-- Provided by publisher.

"A young girl's wish to help out in her family's seaside café gets out of hand when she accidentally summons a rescue squad of fairytale princesses."-- Provided by publisher.

In the wilds of Scotland, a secret colony of beavers have been hiding in plain sight, safe from humans who crave their fur, until Dunwattle, a young beaver kit, exposes their hidden colony and faces a fate worse than death. Deep in the wilds of Scotland, land of ancient warrior kings and myths, there is a deep secret. The secret is a colony of beavers, a species that is craved for their fur pelts, but vilified for what humans consider to be the destruction...

"Sylvie and her mother and grandmother are beloved, trusted healers in their medieval French village, though some whisper that fifteen-year-old Sylvie and her grand-mere deal in more than herbs and medicines ... After her grandmother dies, and an attempt to use magic to heal her mother's grief brooks tragic consequences, Sylvie leaves her village in search of a teacher"-- Provided by publisher