LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS
The ISY Library collection is in constant growth. These books are hand picked featured books suitable for Middle School students.
Featured Middle School Books
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Mia’s Secrets: She lives in a motel, her parents hide immigrants, and she wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get successfully through this year. Recommended for Middle School Students. Recommended for Middle School Students.
Evil Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
During a spy school game of Capture the Flag, twelve-year-old Ben Ripley somehow accidentally shoots a live mortar into the principal’s office—and immediately gets himself expelled. Not long after going back to the boring old real world, Ben gets recruited by evil crime organization SPYDER. And he accepts. Recommended for Middle School Students.
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman
The Unteachables are a notorious class of misfits and academic train wrecks. Like Aldo, with anger management issues; Parker, who can’t read; Kiana, who doesn’t even belong in the class—or any class; and Elaine (rhymes with pain). The Unteachables have been removed from the student body and isolated in room 117. Recommended for Middle School Students.
All He Knew by Helen Frost
Henry has been deaf from an early age―he is intelligent and aware of langauge, but by age six, he has decided it's not safe to speak to strangers. When the time comes for him to start school, he is labeled "unteachable." Because his family has very little money, his parents and older sister, Molly, feel powerless to help him. Henry is sent to Riverview, a bleak institution where he is misunderstood, underestimated, and harshly treated. Recommended for Middle School students.
Show me a Sign by Ann Clare Lezotte
Mary has always felt safe on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard. Her great-great-grandfather was an early settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there -- including Mary -- are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. She is proud of her lineage, but a scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island's prevalent deafness. Recommended for Middle School students.
Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick
Seventh-grader Frankie, who has various sensory disorders, is determined to find her missing best friend, Colette, before it is too late. Recommended for Middle School students.
Design Like Nature by Megan Clendenan
Did you know that lamps can be powered by glowing bacteria instead of electricity? That gloves designed like gecko feet let people climb straight up glass walls? Or that kids are finding ways to make compostable plastic out of banana peels? Biomimicry, the scientific term for when we learn from and copy nature, is a revolutionary way to look to nature for answers to environmental problems such as climate change. Recommended for Middle School students.
A Shot in the Arm by Don Brown
This book explores the history of vaccinations and the struggle to protect people from infectious diseases, from smallpox—perhaps humankind’s greatest affliction to date—to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommended for Middle School students.
Plagues: The Microscopic Battlefield by Fallyn Koch
This book takes readers across the microscopic battlefield to get to know the critters behind history’s worst diseases. We delve into the biology and mechanisms of infections, diseases, and immunity, and also the incredible effect that technology and medical science have had on humanity’s ability to contain and treat disease. Recommended for Middle School students.
Hard-boiled Bugs for Breakfast by Ruth Chan
Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast is guaranteed to make readers laugh, imagine, write, and dream. From a lizard playing a mandolin (although not very well) to the surprised guest of honor (at a birthday party he threw for himself), there’s something for everyone in this book. Recommended for Middle School students.
How to Build an Insect by Roberta Gibson
In the pages of this book, you’ll find a workshop filled with everything you need, including a head, a thorax, an abdomen, and much more. This wonderfully original take on insect anatomy will spark curiosity and engage even those who didn't think they liked creepy, crawly things! Recommended for Middle School students.
The Way of the Hive by Jay Hosler
Follow Nyuki on a lifelong journey as she annoys her sisters, avoids predators, and learns to trust her inner voice as she masters the way of the hive. Recommended for Middle School students.
Pea, Bee, & Jay: Wannabees by Brian Smith
Who knew being queen could sting so much? All Bee really wants to do is play with hertwo best friends, Pea and Jay. But when she’s replaced by Lenny—an ambitious bee hungry for power—as queen of her hive, the friends set out to prove Lenny isn’t exactly who he seems to be. Recommended for Middle School students.
My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valerio
The author grew up in Brazil, watching white butterflies visit the vegetable patch behind his house. As he got older, he learned more about these unique and beautiful insects, which can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Recommended for Middle School students.
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
Life is harsh in Chennai's teeming streets, so when runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects look grim. Very quickly, eleven-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter--and friendship--on an abandoned bridge. Recommended for Middle School students.
The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna by Demi
The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna tells the enchanting tale of the child Krishna, who is sent by the God Vishnu to aid humanity. Hidden amongst the poor cowherds, Krishna uses his miraculous powers to fight an evil demon king who has overthrown the peaceful kingdom of Mathura. Recommended for Middle School students.
My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valerio
Geraldo Valério grew up in Brazil, watching white butterflies visit the vegetable patch behind his house. As he got older, he learned more about these unique and beautiful insects, which can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
The Mysterious Sea Bunny by Peter Raymundo
Shh, we are about to observe the one-inch-long sea bunny as it journeys sloooooowly across the ocean floor! Along the way, we'll learn some interesting facts: how it crawls upside-down using slime, how it breathes through its . . . um . . . fluffy-looking backside, and why predators would be in for an unsavory surprise if they ever got ahold of it. Recommended for Elementary students.
Inside Animals by Barbara Taylor
Discover how skeletons, organs, nerves and muscles fit together inside your favourite animals with detailed, scientific pictures that reveal more than meets the eye. From the mighty to the mini, prepare to be amazed at what these beasts are made of. Recommended for Middle School students.
The Not-so-itsy-bitsy Spider by Joe McGee
Wolver Hollow is not a normal town. The adults are too busy shuffling off to work at the old coffin factory to notice or care, but the kids know all about monsters, ghosts, and strange lights in the sky. Strange things happen in Wolver Hollow. Creepy things. Recommended for Middle School students.
Eva Evergreen by Julie Abe
Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before her thirteenth birthday. If she doesn't, she'll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it's a simple enough test: One: Help your town, do good all around. Two: Live there for one moon, don't leave too soon. Three: Fly home by broomstick, the easiest of tricks.
Operatic by Kyo Maclear
It’s almost the end of middle school, and Charlie has to find her perfect song for a music class assignment. But it’s hard for Charlie to concentrate when she can’t stop noticing her classmate Emile, or wondering about Luka, who hasn’t been to school in weeks. Recommended for High School students.
Swing by Kwame Alexander
While Walt focuses on his program of jazz, podcasts, batting cages, and a “Hug Life” mentality, Noah feels stuck in status quo.. until he stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Recommended for High School students.
The Lost Language by Claudia Mills
Sixth grader Betsy is the one who informs her best friend, Lizard, that thousands of the world's languages are currently threatened by extinction; Betsy's mother is a linguistics professor working frantically to study dying languages before they are lost forever. The girls embark on the adventure of trying to save Guernesiais, the language spoken on an island off the coast of France. Recommended for High School students.
Do Animals Fall in Love? By Anke Kohl
This book is a compendium of all the weird and wonderful ways the animal kingdom reproduces – courting rituals both elaborate and devious, extraordinary physiology, cleverly planned pregnancies, the most devoted fathers and the sweetest animal babies on Earth. Recommended for High School students.
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
After failing to come into her powers, sixteen-year-old Voya--a Black witch living in near-future Toronto--is forced to choose between losing her family's magic forever, a heritage steeped in centuries of blood and survival, or murdering her first love, a boy who is supposedly her genetic match. Recommended for High School students.
The Iridescence of Birds by Patricia Maclachlan
If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France, what would your life be like? Would it be full of color and art? Full of lines and dancing figures? Recommended for Elementary students.
How Artists See Feelings by Colleen Carroll
This direct, interactive approach to art promotes self-exploration, self-discovery, and self-expression. For children who want to know more about the artists whose works appear in the book, biographies are provided at the end. Recommended for Middle School students.
Red and Green and Blue and White by Lee Wind
It's a holiday season that both Isaac, whose family is Jewish, and Teresa, whose family is Christian, have looked forward to for months! They've been counting the days, playing in the snow, making cookies, drawing and writing poems. They enjoy all the things they share, as well as the things that make them different. Recommended for Middle School students.
The Golden Dreidel by Ellen Kushner
Sara wishes her family celebrated Christmas or at least had one of the pretty trees she sees at her friends' houses. But at her family's big Chanukah party, mysterious guest Tante Miriam gives Sara a one-of-a-kind gift: an enormous, golden dreidel. Miriam warns her to be careful, for when she spins it, she's spinning miracles. Recommended for Middle School students.
Zee Grows a Tree by Elizabeth Rusch
On the morning little Zee Cooper is born, a Douglas-fir seedling emerges from the nursery bed at her family’s Christmas tree farm. As Zee and the tree grow up together, they experience many of the same milestones Recommended for Middle School students.
Santa in the City by Tiffany Jackson
It's two weeks before Christmas, and Deja is worried that Santa might not be able to visit her--after all, as a city kid, she doesn't have a chimney for him to come down and none of the parking spots on her block could fit a sleigh, let alone eight reindeer! Recommended for Middle School students.
Merry Witchmas by Petrell Marie
Ginger spends a lot of her time creating spells, and flying through the night on her broom. But she is different from the other witches - because she also adores Christmas! Even with Ginger's good deeds and endless Christmas cheer, she's never received a single visit from Santa. Recommended for Middle School students.
The One Thing You'd Save by Linda Sue Park
When a teacher asks her class what one thing they would save in an emergency, some students know the answer right away. Others come to their decisions more slowly. And some change their minds when they hear their classmates’ responses. A lively dialog ignites as the students discover unexpected facets of one another—and themselves. Recommended for Middle School students.
Becoming a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery
The animals the author has met on her many travels have taught her how to seek understanding in the most surprising ways, from being patient to finding forgiveness and respecting others. Gorillas, dogs, octopuses, tigers, and more all show that there are no limits to the empathy we can find in each other. Recommended for Middle School students.
Imagine by John Lennon
Join one little pigeon as she sets out on a journey to spread a message of tolerance around the world. Featuring the lyrics of John Lennon’s iconic song and illustrations by the award-winning artist Jean Jullien, this poignant and timely picture book dares to imagine a world at peace. Recommended for Elementary students.
If the World were 100 People visual guide to our global village by Jacqueline McGann
With almost 7.8 billion people sharing the earth, it can be a little hard to picture what the human race looks like all together. But if we could shrink the world down to just 100 people, what could we learn about the human race? What would we look like? Where and how would we all be living? Recommended for Middle School students.
Backward Science by Clive Gifford
This book is backwards! It starts at the end, ends at the beginning and travels back in history to show you what life was like before major inventions and discoveries. Step into a time before smartphones, television, cars or even the toilet; then learn about the major invention or discovery that changed the world. Recommended for Middle School students.
Crossing the Stream by Elizabeth Baitie
Ato and his friends have entered a competition to enter a very unique island bird sanctuary. Before that happens, Ato notices something is poisoning the community garden, and Ato sets out to track down the culprit. In doing so, he brings his estranged mother and grandmother back together, and begins healing the wounds left on the family by his father’s death years before. Recommended for Middle School students.
100 Ways to Make the World Better! By Lisa Gerry
This uplifting book inspires the next generation to step up and make the world a better place. In keeping with the Nat Geo Kids mission, it is full of practical, positive, and powerful ideas that every kid can consider, from simple acts of kindness to creative adventures to good-for-the-planet projects. Recommended for Middle School students.
48 Grasshopper Estates by Sara de Waal
Sicily Bridges can make almost anything from materials she finds around her. A little girl uses imagination and inventiveness to spread friendship through her community. But will she find a friend of her own? Recommended for Elementary students.
Jo Jo Makoons The used-to-be best friend by Dawn Quigley
Jo Jo is a spirited seven-year-old who moves through the world a little differently than anyone else around her. Even though she loves Mimi (who is a cat), she's worried that she needs to figure out how to make more friends. Because Fern, her best friend at school, may not want to be friends anymore, but why? Recommended for Middle School students.
Libby's Sweet Surprise by Lisa Schroeder
When she's not hanging out at her family's sweets shop, Libby loves walking her dog around London. She always meets the most interesting people like Ethan, who's her age and also has a dog. They become fast friends, until Libby finds out his family are the new owners of a competing store! Libby tries to keep her parents' business a secret, because she really likes Ethan and wants to be his friend. But the secrets start adding up. Recommended for Middle School students.
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