Chase Bowers
Addie and the Magic Jar
A solid magical adventure for early chapter readers who want a bit more plot complexity than standard picture books but less intensity than YA fantasy.
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Night At The Museum, Battle At The Smithsonian
by Michael Anthony Steel
Middle grade · ages 8–12 · 720L · 2009
A fun, fast-moving tie-in that leans on the film's charm; solid for kids who love the movies, but the book doesn't add much beyond plot recap and lacks the visual magic that made the film memorable.
Jane's Island
by Marjorie Hill Allee
Middle grade · ages 8–12 · 720L · 1988
A quiet, early-20th-century survival story where a girl's competence is the point—no melodrama, no rescue narrative, just island living done well.
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
Middle grade · ages 8–12 · 730L · 1993
Dahl's masterpiece for this age — weird, darkly funny about real suffering, and genuinely moving about how kindness builds chosen family.