Wonder World Book Cafe'

Sena's life on his farm in Ghana is difficult, and he'd do anything to help his family. A story of survival, human trafficking (a world-wide crisis), filled with adventure and anguish, heartbreak, and hope.

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 Geetha's important story will be loved by middle grade readers with its relatable topics such as immigrating to a new and very different country (from India to the U.S.), bullying, friendship, music, the healing power of nature, and young people who strive to make an incredible difference in their community. 

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Celebrating 100 episodes with Alice Hoffman's When We Flew Away A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary. In this fictional account grounded in historical accuracy, middle grade readers meet Anne, a bright, hopeful young girl living freely in a world without fear, before the world starts to unravel, urgently. Start with this novel, then read The Diary of Anne Frank.

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Rex Ogle's memoir, Free Lunch, is his first of three. Here, as a sixth grader, Rex endures domestic abuse. School is safer, yet not without the struggles that come from living in poverty. Rex's honest account of tough topics with glimmers of hope make this a favorite of many readers.

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12 year-old Effie is deaf and uses ASL (American Sign Language), but nobody in her family knows ASL, nor do they care to learn. Effie is courageous and through trusted people, friendship, poetry, and deer, she comes to know herself.

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Best friends, Ariel and Tomah, live in intertribal housing in the heart of a city. Ariel's auntie becomes an all too common, devastating statistic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Their powerful story, written in verse, is one of tradition and healing.

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This middle grade novel, Popcorn, bring readers preteen, Andrew who suffers from serious anxiety and OCD. These serious topics are combined with plenty of doses of relatable mishaps and hilarious moments! Quick moving with plenty of illustrations throughout.

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Through the eyes of 12 year old cousins enjoying summertime fun on a Cree Reservation in Northern Alberta, Canada, middle grade readers learn about the atrocities of Indian Residential Schools, history not widely known in Canada and the United States.

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An unlikely friendship between 12 year old Alex and 107 year old Josey. Alex has done something terrible. Josey has lived through the Holocaust. How can these two possibly support each other? Storytelling at its finest!

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12 year-old Valeria (AKA Magic) plays soccer on an elite all-boys team. On the field she's strong, rebellious even, and the top-scorer. When the coach (her grumpy abuelo) cuts her from the team, she has tough decisions to make. The Beautiful Game addresses topics so relatable for middle school students: family drama, young crushes, social media issues, sports’ team parties, and females navigating their maturing bodies.

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