8 Feel-Good Middle Grade Stories to Start the Year Off Right

Short, by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Julia is short for her age but grows in big ways over the course of one summer. Cast as a munchkin in a local university production of The Wizard of Oz, Julia meets a crew of quirky and endearing characters who help her come to terms with her appearance, her sense of self, and the loss of her beloved dog.

The Penderwicks series, by Jeanne Birdsall
This classic series follows the adventures of the four Penderwick sisters; Rosalind, the caring and responsible eldest sibling; Skye, the energetic tomboy; dreamy and artistic Jane; and their youngest sibling, Batty, a shy and innocent animal lover. The series is as fun to read out loud to your kids as it is to let them curl up with on their own. Each story gives that warm, happy, safe feeling that the best books do.

Because of Winn Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo
When Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida with her preacher father, she discovers a lost dog in the Winn Dixie supermarket. His friendly nature sets her up for a summer of meeting a whole cast of people around town. Like Opal, who grieves for the mother who abandoned her, the people she meets also have painful pasts they want to overcome. Opal’s pitch-perfect voice and the beautiful, complex friendships she forges make this award-winning book a forever classic.

Better Nate Than Ever, by Tim Federle
Nate Foster is ready to be a Broadway star. If only he didn’t live in nowhere Jankberg, Pennsylvania, he knows he’d make it big on the Great White Way. So, when he learns that they’re casting for E.T. the musical in the big city, he’s determined to make his dream come true. Armed with a not-so-convincing fake ID, his mother’s credit card, and his best friend Libby, Nate is ready to take New York by storm. This huge-hearted book is laugh-out-loud funny and happy-making.

Bayou Magic, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
While spending the summer in the bayou with her grandmother, Maddy loves the magic of the landscape and wonders if the mysterious creature she sees underwater is a mermaid. After an oil leak threatens the bayou, Maddy suspects she might be the only one who can help. This lush tale of friendship, magic, and family is full of heart and hope.

When Friendship Followed Me Home, by Paul Griffin
When former foster kid Ben Coffin finds a scruffy dog named Flip and befriends the librarian’s daughter, Halley, he thinks he’s finally starting to fit in for the first time. Until everything changes and he realizes he might be more alone than ever. With the help of Halley’s magician father, Ben starts to see that there might be magic in his own life after all.

Finding Perfect by Elly Swartz
Struggling with a long-distance Mom and a best friend who might move away, Molly Nathans tries to hold things together with a plan to win the Lakeville Middle School slam poetry contest. She knows this will set everything right. As she rehearses, she starts to notice new habits and, no matter how perfect she aims to be, it gets harder and harder to keep things from spinning out of control. Swartz’s debut explores the myth of “perfect” in a heartfelt, realistic way.

The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin
Equally funny and profound, this heartwarming novel about a Taiwanese-American girl trying to “find herself” in the Chinese year of the dog explores universal themes of friendship and family. Pacy navigates her parent’s culture and her own while trying to understand how to piece them together. Lin’s charming ink drawings bring this classic and intelligent story to life.