ALA Día Booklist - Grades 6-8Like this list

19 items

• Grow Up, Luchy Zapata

  Alessandri, Alexandra,

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  As they enter middle school, a group of friends face new challenges and the realities of growing up

• Uprooted

  a Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back

  Chan, Ruth, 1980-

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  When Ruth’s family moves from Canada to Hong Kong, reuniting with her mother’s family in the process, Ruth begins to learn that home is a place inside us all.

• Nearer My Freedom

  the Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself

  Edinger, Monica, 1952-

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  By transforming Olaudah Equiano’s 1789 autobiographical slavery narrative into poetry, this book makes an important historical document accessible and relatable. While reading like a classic adventure, Equiano’s suffering, terror, and unique voice…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kwame Crashes the Underworld

  Farmer, Craig Kofi,

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  Twelve-year-old Kwame helps his grandmother save humanity. The only problem? He has to venture to the Ghanaian underworld to do it.

• And Then, Boom!

  Fipps, Lisa,

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  How do you handle the surprises, heartbreaks, and fears that turn your world upside down? In this novel in verse, Joseph faces many tough challenges, but he stays strong and never gives up with the help of his friends.

• Invisible

  Gonzalez, Christina Diaz, 1969-

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  Nothing and no one is what they seem in this graphic novel about five very different Latinx students thrown together for a community service project at Conrad Middle School.

• What Jewish Looks Like

  Kleinrock, Liz,

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  Thirty-six vibrantly illustrated biographies, organized by six core Jewish values and with a particular focus on intersectionality, highlight the geographic and cultural diversity of Judaism.

• Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice

  Lapera, Anna,

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  Protagonist Mani contends with the challenges of middle school, including an upcoming family trip, constant harassment from male classmates (which goes ignored by her school administration), and learning about the mysteries of her family’s activist…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop

  Levy, Joshua (Joshua S.),

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  Every Sunday at 1:36 p.m., Finn and Ezra are sent back to Friday morning, perpetually reliving their bar mitzvah weekend in an interminable time loop. Why are they stuck in this time loop? Can they escape? (Also available as an e-audiobook on…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Daughters of the Lamp

  Lewers, Nedda,

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  During a family trip to Egypt, Sahara finds herself the unexpected guardian of Ali Baba’s treasure.

• The Beautiful Game

  Méndez, Yamile Saied,

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  Valeria “Magic” Salomón is the best soccer player in her town, so good, in fact, that she plays on the top boys’ team in the state. Due to an unfortunate incident, her teammates turn their backs on her, and she ends up playing for the Amazons, a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• It's All Love

  Reflections for Your Heart & Soul

  Ortega, Jenna

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  This inspirational book explores Ortega’s relationships with her family, her faith, her Hollywood career, and more.

• We Are Your Children Too

  Black Students, White Supremacists, and the Battle for America's Schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia

  Pearson, P. O'Connell (Patricia O'Connell),

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  Chronicles the powerful story of Black students in Prince Edward County, Virginia, who fought against white supremacists for their right to an education. Set during a time when schools were shut down to resist integration, the book unveils a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Find Her

  Reno, Ginger,

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  This middle-grade novel shines a light on missing and murdered Indigenous women as Wren, a young Cherokee girl, tries to find her mother, while finding lost pets along the way.

• A Long Time Coming

  a Lyrical Biography of Race in America From Ona Judge to Barack Obama

  Shepard, Ray Anthony,

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  This biography in verse focuses on six Black Americans and how they fought racism in different eras of U.S. history.

• Parachute Kids. [1]

  Tang, Betty C.

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  This graphic novel, inspired by the author’s life, follows three siblings as they navigate a surprise move to a new country and culture while their parents remain in Taiwan. (Also available as an e-book and e-audiobook!)

• Where Wolves Don't Die

  Treuer, Anton,

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  Still reeling from the death of his mother, Ezra Cloud wishes he could spend less time in Northeast Minneapolis and more time on the rez with his grandparents. When a school bully’s house burns down and Ezra is a prime suspect, a winter…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Brooms

  Walls, Jasmine

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  This fantasy graphic novel, described by the publisher as a "witchy Fast and the Furious" takes place in 1930s Mississippi, where a diverse cast of teens participate in forbidden broom races to practice autonomy in their life choices.

• Ash's Cabin

  Wang, Jen, 1984-

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  With basic supplies, newfound wilderness skills, and their beloved dog by their side, 15-year-old Ash, lonely and alienated, spends several weeks surviving in solitude in their late grandfather’s cabin, forging a life with the land until the…Read moreRead more of this annotation