For a 7-year-old who just finished
by Kate DiCamillo
Pick 1 of 3
by Tae Keller
Age fit: 8–12 · 750L (~4th grade) · Right at their current reading level · Middle grade · 2020
A rare middle-grade book that treats grief and cultural identity with real weight—the magic is a metaphor, not an escape, and Lily's growth is earned, not gifted.
Pick 2 of 3
by Cynthia Kadohata
Age fit: 9–12 · 760L (~4th grade) · Right at their current reading level · Middle grade · 2004
A Newbery Medal winner that earns it—luminous, unsentimental, and genuinely about how love and small moments sustain a family facing real hardship and loss.
Pick 3 of 3
by Erin Entrada Kelly
Age fit: 8–12 · 750L (~4th grade) · Right at their current reading level · 400 pages · Middle grade · 2020
A rare middle-grade novel that uses the Challenger disaster as backdrop for genuine interior lives—the three narrators are distinct and complex enough that kids recognize themselves in unexpected places.
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