5 Helpful Books for Kids Anxious About Starting Middle School

Middle School: Big Fat Liar, by James Patterson and Lisa Papademetriou, illustrated by Neil Swaab 
Starting middle school is hard enough without having to worry about your older trouble-making brother making life even more difficult for you. That’s what’s happening to our plucky protagonist Georgia Khatchadorian, whose lying brother Rafe, from Middle School: Get Me out of Here, is “famous in all the wrong ways.” Will Georgia make it through school without being embarrassed to death? You’ll have to read this hilarious book by superstar author James Patterson to find out!

How to Survive Middle School, by Donna Gephart 
The title of this book alone would have been enough to get middle school-aged me to pick it up in hopes of a strategy! In How to Survive Middle School, rising 6th grader David Greenberg wants to be a YouTube star. But he also doesn’t want to leave elementary school. David makes videos of himself and his hamster Hammy, trying to follow in the footsteps of his idol is Jon Stewart. When these videos take off, David will have to deal with both middle school and internet stardom.

Schooled, by Gordon Korman
Public middle school is a major shock to the system of Capricorn “Cap” Anderson, who has been homeschooled by his hippie grandmother on a commune for his whole life. Imagine trying to adjust to middle school social life if you’ve never watched tv before, or used money? Let’s just say that Cap, and Claverage Middle School, will never be the same again.

Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life (Dork Diaries Series #1), by Rachel Rene Russell 
As an avid diary writer myself, I absolutely adore this hilarious series which looks and reads like a real diary, with a confessional tone and awesome doodles and illustrations! Nikki Maxwell has been awarded a scholarship and is going to be starting at a fancy prep school for 8th grade. Sounds great, but sadly no one talks to Nikki on her first day. Will she make new friends? Read all about it in her diary, and perhaps it will inspire your middle schooler to start a diary of their own to work through their own school dramas. If you like this one from Rachel Rene Russell, you’ll also surely love her other middle-school centric series: The Misadventures of Max Crumbly.

Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt 
This beautiful book is perfect for any middle grade reader who has ever felt lonely or bullied or like they didn’t fit in. (That’s all of us, no?) Ally is dyslexic, and has been able to hide it from all of her teachers up until she ends up in Mr. Daniel’s class. With his help she is able to overcome this challenge and realize just how smart and gifted she truly is. If your child struggles with reading, this inspiring book will make them feel less alone.