Take Five: New Middle Grade Books in October

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. 

Here are five new books that come out this month. Ah, October. Hoodie weather. Pretty leaves. Apple and pumpkin everything. Impending long, cold, dark winter. Needing to get out my Happy Light. Okay… maybe I should stop listing things fall brings.

But it does bring a nice batch of new books! So we’ve got that going for us!

As always, a list of five is only sharing a tiny bit of what’s new this month. Check your local library for other new releases!

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.

A Split Second by Janae Marks (ISBN-13: 9780063212367 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 10/01/2024, ages 8-12)

New York Times bestselling author Janae Marks delivers a stunningly crafted and twisty mystery about the tests of friendships that examines what matters most when everything can change in a split second—perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Anne Ursu.

That clock can’t be right. When Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday celebration, she’s surprised to find herself in her bedroom. Last she can remember, she had fallen asleep next to her best friends at her slumber party in her basement, and it was October. But now she’s alone, and her phone says it’s April 8. Elise doesn’t understand. How could she have woken up six months later?

No one else is acting like anything strange has happened, yet Elise can’t remember the last half year. To make matters worse, her friends refuse to talk to her and Elise doesn’t know why. She also has no idea how she got signed up for photography club or why her former best friend, Cora, is talking to her again. Is it a memory problem? Could it be magic? Every day that passes takes Elise further from the world she knew. Thankfully, Elise has Cora to lean on in this new reality, and the two come together to investigate why Elise woke up in the future—and, more important, how to get her back to her past and away from this nightmare.

Deer Run Home by Ann Clare LeZotte (ISBN-13: 9781339021904 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 10/01/2024, Ages 10-14)

Effie is Deaf, and no one in her family speaks sign language, her language. This moving story of survival and found family, inspired by a true court case, is perfect for fans of Wonder and Out of My Mind.

* “Quietly extraordinary.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Elegantly weaves a heartbreaking story with hope.” —School Library Journal, starred review

Effie and her older sister, Deja, have recently moved into their father’s trailer after an incident at their mom’s house. Daddy communicates with Effie by pointing, stomping on the floor, and making thoughtless jokes. Even if they did understand each other, could she tell the terrible secret she carries when telling feels impossible—and dangerous?

But what if telling is the only way to be seen?

This tender, spare, emotionally charged story about the impact of abuse and the power of love explores what it feels like to be an outsider in your own family and to awaken—through friendship, writing, and kinship with the natural world—to a new understanding and appreciation of yourself.

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin (ISBN-13: 9780593527542 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 10/08/2024, Ages 10-13)

A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, this middle grade historical adventure follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother’s disappearance.

Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…

Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II—Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.

The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother’s disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?

Bird Nerd by Jennifer Ann Richter (ISBN-13: 9780823456567 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 10/22/2024, Ages 8-12)

Thoughtful, nerdy fifth-grader Nyla sets out to win her school’s bird watching competition, while balancing old friends with new in this heartfelt debut.

Nyla Braun has always been called a nerd at her Philadelphia school. But that hasn’t stopped her from pursuing her nerdy hobbies, especially when she has best friend Tasha by her side. When a birding tournament between Nyla’s class and a class from a suburban school is announced, Nyla sees her chance to get the respect she deserves. If they win, that is. The Burb Birders will be tough competition.

With the contest underway, Nyla soon catches the attention of the most popular girl in class, who also wants to win, setting off a chain of small disasters as Nyla tries to balance old friends and new and the pressure to be cool when you really just want to be yourself.

Told with warmth and gentle humor, debut author Jennifer Ann Richter’s Bird Nerd combines a deep love of nature and birding with the story of a young girl learning to discover her own confidence and values.

On the Block: Stories of Home by Ellen Oh (Editor) (ISBN-13: 9780593648445 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 10/22/2024, Ages 8-12)

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes an inspiring middle-grade anthology that follows the loosely interconnected lives of multigenerational immigrant families, the residents at the Entrada apartment building. Edited by Ellen Oh, a founding member of WNDB.

“The beauty of their shared home does not come from any single person, but instead from the sum of their experiences” -Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

12 Families. 12 Cultures. 1 Building.

Welcome to the Entrada, home to these everyday Americans, including

• the new kid on the block, who is both homesick and curious
• a Popsicle-bridge builder, a ghost hunter, and a lion dancer
• their families, friends, and neighbors from all around the world!

Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this anthology features award-winning authors Tracey Baptiste, David Bowles, Adrianna Cuevas, Sayantani DasGupta, Debbi Michiko Florence, Adam Gidwitz, Erin Entrada Kelly, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Andrea Wang, and Jasmine Warga. These inspiring stories celebrate family, friendship, culture, and American immigrant life today.

Filed under: Take 5