Great Kindle Unlimited Middle Grade Books

Charlie Reese is an 11-year-old with a temper and an obsession with making wishes — and she wishes for the same thing every time. Temporarily living with her aunt and uncle because of her family’s instability, her life changes in the best way when she finds a stray dog to belong to and makes a neighborhood friend who is kind to her and sees the best in her, even when she makes mistakes. This is a bighearted story about mistakes, forgiveness, empathy, and family. There is one reference each to family issues like a depressed mother, a dad who is incarcerated, and a high school-age older sister who smokes cigarettes. Ages 8+

If you like The Wild Robot, but would rather not read a book with a movie adaptation (some educators dislike it when kids spoil the book by watching the movie), then Cog is your next best bet. This book stands on its own merits and features a robot with the physical appearance of a 12-year-old boy who has to save his inventor when she’s captured by an evil corporation. It’s so heartwarming, funny, and moving. Ages 8+

Real Friends is Shannon Hale’s graphic memoir of her middle school experience with real friends — and girls who weren’t quite friends. Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends since Shannon came out of her shell in early elementary school. She had earlier been the shy middle child who never felt like she quite fit in anywhere. But with Adrienne, it was like she could finally exhale. But when Adrienne starts hanging out with the popular girl, Jen, Shannon suddenly doesn’t know where she fits in anymore. As we go through the stressful roller coaster years with Shannon, each chapter highlights her relationship with one of the girls in the new friend group. This is a realistic, moving depiction of the roller coaster that middle school friendships can be, and how affirming it can be to find true friends. Ages 9+

After the death of his best friend, 12-year-old Tristan visits his grandparents in Alabama, where he accidentally “tears a hole” into the mythological world of Alke, where African gods and African American folk heroes exist. Throughout the trilogy, Tristan learns to deal with his grief and embrace his role as storyteller. Kids who adore the Percy Jackson series will love the inventive world-building and adventure, and be drawn to the celebration of culture expertly woven into the narrative. Ages 10+

Twelve-year-old Aru often feels out of place—she’s Indian American, lives in a museum apartment with her archaeologist/curator mom, and doesn’t quite fit in with her peers. While trying to impress her classmates, she lights a forbidden lamp and accidentally unleashes the Sleeper, an ancient demon who freezes time and threatens the world. Aru soon learns she’s a reincarnated hero from Hindu mythology and must set off on a magical adventure to unfreeze time and protect the world. Middle grade readers will love the fast-paced action and clever humor. This series is also a fantastic introduction to Hindu mythology. Highly recommend! Ages 9+

What would you do if you had the power to reach through time and space and retrieve anything you want, including your mother, who is no longer living (in this universe, anyway)? When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn’t under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal’s office for the third time in three days, and it’s still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. A sassy entropy sweeper, a documentary about wedgies, a principal who wears a Venetian bauta mask, and heaping platefuls of Cuban food are just some of the delights that await in his mind-blowing novel gift-wrapped in love and laughter. Ages 9+

A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Ages 9+