Take Five: 2021 Middle Grade Recs

As part of our Mind the Middle project focusing on middle grade books, I’m going to try to do weekly Take Five lists, which is to say, five books on a certain theme. 

This summer the main theme is MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS OF THE PAST DECADE! Yes, I just yelled that. I’ll still do one post per month of new books out that month, but thought it might be fun to dig into some backlist titles that have stuck with me and would be a shame to miss out on. This may be shocking to you, but an awful lot of libraries don’t have amazing funding. And their shelves might not always have all the newest titles, but you might be able to find some older books that are just waiting for another checkout. We’re now firmly in the era of when books got overlooked during the pandemic, so I’m especially glad to take a look back at the things it would be a shame to miss.

These Take Five lists can help you with collection development, displays, reading lists, and more. I have a pretty giant list of potential Take Five themes, but if there’s something you’re desperate for a list for, let me know! All descriptions come from the publishers.

Let’s jump in the wayback machine and go to 2021!

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids edited by Cynthia L Smith

Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.

Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another (plus one scrappy rez dog).

They are the heroes of their own stories.

Featuring stories and poems by:
Joseph Bruchac
Art Coulson
Christine Day
Eric Gansworth
Carole Lindstrom
Dawn Quigley
Rebecca Roanhorse
David A. Robertson
Andrea L. Rogers
Kim Rogers
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Monique Gray Smith
Traci Sorell,
Tim Tingle
Erika T. Wurth
Brian Young

In partnership with We Need Diverse Books

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * An ALA Rainbow Book List Top 10 Title for Young Readers

Three kids who don’t belong. A room that shouldn’t exist. A year that will change everything.

Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Meg Medina, this debut middle grade novel from award-winning author Mark Oshiro is a hopeful and heartfelt coming-of-age story for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t fit in.

San Francisco and Orangevale may be in the same state, but for Héctor Muñoz, they might as well be a million miles apart. Back home, being gay didn’t mean feeling different. At Héctor’s new school, he couldn’t feel more alone.

Most days, Héctor just wishes he could disappear. And he does. Right into the janitor’s closet. (Yes, he sees the irony.) But one day, when the door closes behind him, Héctor discovers he’s stumbled into a room that shouldn’t be possible. A room that connects him with two new friends from different corners of the country—and opens the door to a life-changing year full of friendship, adventure, and just a little bit of magic.

“Sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating, but always full of heart, The Insiders carves out a space for us all to be our true selves.” —Kwame Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi

At a time when we are all asking questions about identity, grief, and how to stand up for what is right, this book by the author of A Thousand Questions will hit home with young readers who love Hena Khan and Varian Johnson—or anyone struggling to understand recent U.S. history and how it still affects us today.  

Yusuf Azeem has spent all his life in the small town of Frey, Texas—and nearly that long waiting for the chance to participate in the regional robotics competition, which he just knows he can win.

Only, this year is going to be more difficult than he thought. Because this year is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an anniversary that has everyone in his Muslim community on edge.

With “Never Forget” banners everywhere and a hostile group of townspeople protesting the new mosque, Yusuf realizes that the country’s anger from two decades ago hasn’t gone away. Can he hold onto his joy—and his friendships—in the face of heartache and prejudice?

Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles

AN NPR BOOKS WE LOVE SELECTION!
WINNER OF THE ILA SOCIAL JUSTICE LITERATURE AWARD!

Can sixth grader Wes save his neighborhood? “This book made me want to step aside, hand over the mic, and listen to Wes. A must-read.” —Mariama J. Lockington, author of For Black Girls Like Me

Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee—

Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That—and hanging out with the crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games—is what Wes wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to.

But when a powerful real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived in his whole life, everything changes. The grown-ups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they’re doing is arguing. Even Wes’s best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known without a fight. He’s always been good at puzzles, and he knows there must be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it before it’s too late?

Chrystal D. Giles’s timely debut explores community, social justice, family, and friendship, and asks what it means to belong—to a place and a movement—and to fight for a cause that you believe in.

How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby

With the help of new friends and a planetarium hotline, thirteen-year-old Pluto goes on a journey of self-discovery, in this poignant story about mental health from acclaimed middle grade author Nicole Melleby.

A Publishers Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2021
One of The Nerd Daily’s “Anticipated Queer Book Releases You Can’t Miss in 2021”
One of Lambda Literary’s “May’s Most Anticipated LGBTQ Literature”

“Gorgeous.” —BuzzFeed

The two most important things to know about Pluto Timoney: (1) she’s always loved outer space (obviously); and (2) her favorite season is summer, the time to go to the boardwalk, visit the planetarium, and work in her mom’s pizzeria.

This summer, when Pluto’s turning thirteen, is different. Pluto has just been diagnosed with depression, and she feels like a black hole is sitting on her chest, making it hard to do anything. When Pluto’s dad threatens to make her move to the city—where he believes his money could help her get better—Pluto comes up with a plan to do whatever it takes to be her old self again. If she does everything that old, “normal” Pluto would do, she can stay with her mom. But it takes a new therapist, new tutor, and new (cute) friend with a plan of her own for Pluto to see that there is no old or new her. There’s just Pluto, discovering more about herself every day.

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