MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS

The 2024 Middle Grade Recommended Reading List

Download the 2024 Middle Grade Recommended Reading List PDF.

A First Guide to Cats: Understanding Your Whiskered Friend  by Dr. John Bradshaw

A First Guide to Dogs: Understanding Your Very Best Friend  by Dr. John Bradshaw

A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea  by Michelle Cusoliton

Absolute Zeros: Camp Launchpad  by Greg Smith

All in a Drop: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World  by Lori Alexander

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream  by Tanya Lee Stone

Ask an Astronaut: My Guide to Life in Space  by Tim Peake

Astrotwins–Project Rescue  by Mark Kelly

Bill Nye's Great Big World of Science  by Bill Nye and Gregory Mone

Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor   by Temple Grandin

Can You Crack The Code?  by Ella Schwartz

Can You Hear the Trees Talking: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest  by Peter Wohlleben

Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM  by Tonya Bolden

Chasing Space: Young Readers’ Edition  by Leland Melvin

COVID-19 and Other Pandemics: A Comparison  by Don Nardo

Crazy Contraptions: Build Rube Goldberg Machines that Swoop, Spin, Stack, and Swivel  by Laura Perdew

Dream Big! How to Reach for Your Stars!  by Abigail Harrison

Engineering Solutions for Wildfires  by Carol Hand

Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table  by Isabel Thomas

Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science  by Jeannine Atkins

First Look at a Black Hole: How a Photograph Solved a Space Mystery  by Danielle Smith-Llera

Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space  by Libby Jackson

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World  by Reshma Saujani

Hothouse Earth: The Climate Crisis and the Importance of Carbon Neutrality  by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson

How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other  by Naomi Klein

How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest Adventure  by John Rocco

Kate the Chemist: The Awesome Book of Edible Experiments for Kids  by Kate Biberdorf

Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss  by Danica McKellar

Last Gate of the Emperor  by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen

Life on Earth - and Beyond: An Astrobiologist’s Quest  by Pamela S. Turner

Maker Comics: Build a Robot  by Colleen AF Venable

Maya and the Robot  by Eve L. Ewing

Meltdown: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima  by Deirdre Langeland

Mr. DeMaio Presents!: The Biggest Stuff in the Universe  by Mike DeMaio

Our World Out Of Balance: Understanding Climate Change and What We Can Do by Andrea Minoglio

Radar and the Raft: A True Story About a Scientific Marvel, the Lives it Saved, and the World it Changed  by Jeff Lantos

Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson  by Katherine Johnson

ReThink the Internet  by Trisha Prabhu

Rube Goldberg and His Amazing Machines  by Brandon T. Snider

Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space  by Tam O'Shaughnessy

Science Comics: Rockets  by Anne Drozd and Jerzy Drozd

Science Comics: Robots and Drones  by Mairghread Scott

Science Comics: Solar System  by Rosemary Mosco and Josh Chad

Science Comics: Rocks and Minerals  by Andy Hirsch

Secret Coders  by Gene Yang

See You in the Cosmos  by Jack Cheng

Seen: Edmonia Lewis  by Jasmine Wells

SOS: The Song of the Sea  by Stephen Cosgrove

Start Now! You Can Make a Difference  by Chelsea Clinton

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind  by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

The Botany of Desire Young Readers Edition  by Michael Pollan

The Curie Society  by Heather Einhorn, Adam Staffaroni and Harvey

The Dark! Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves  by Lindsey Leigh

The Deep! Wild Life at the Ocean’s Darkest Depths  by Lindsey Leigh

The Disappearing Spoon and Other True Tales of Rivalry, Adventure, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of Elements  by Sam Kean

The Endangereds: Melting Point  by Philippe Cousteau and Austin Aslan

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science  by Joyce Sidman

The Invention of Hugo Cabret  by Brian Selznick

The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World  by Temple Grandin, Ph.D.

The Secret Science of Sports. The Math, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering Behind Every Grand Slam, Triple Axel, and Penalty Kick  by Jennifer Swanson

Stainslaw Lem’s the Seventh Voyage  by Jon J Muth

The True Meaning of Smekday  by Adam Rex

The Ultimate Kid's Guide to the Universe: At-Home Activities, Experiments, and More!  by Jenny Marder

The Ultimate Kid's Guide to Weather  by Jenny Marder

The Year We Fell From Space  by Amy Sarig King

Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas  by Gwendolyn Hudson Hooks

To the Moon!: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship  by Jeffrey Kluger and Ruby Shamir

To Fly Among the Stars: The Hidden Story of the Fight for Women Astronauts  by Rebecca Siegel 

Unlocking the Universe: The Cosmic Discoveries of the Webb Space Telescope  by Suzanne Slade

Vega’s Piece of the Sky  by Jennifer Torres

We Dream of Space  by Erin Entrada Kelly

What Is a Solar Eclipse?  by Dana Meachen Rau and Who HQ

Where Are the Aliens?: The Search for Life Beyond Earth  by Stacy McAnulty

Where Are the Constellations?  by Stephanie Sabol and Who HQ

Where Is Yellowstone?  by Sarah Fabiny and Who HQ

What Breathes Through Its Butt? Mind-Blowing Science Questions Answered  by Emily Grossman

What Linnaeus Saw: A Scientist's Quest to Name Every Living Thing  by Karen Magnuson Beil

Where Is the Congo?  by Megan Stine and Who HQ

Where Is the North Pole?  by Megan Stine and Who HQ

Who Is Greta Thunberg?  by Jill Leonard and Who HQ

Who Was the First Man on the Moon?: Neil Armstrong  by Nathan Page

Women's Art Work: More Than 30 Female Artists Who Changed the World  by Sophia Bennett

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World  by Rachel Ignotofsky

Women in Space: 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity-Breaking Adventures  by Karen Bush Gibson

Abigail Z

Glen Yermo Elementary

Candlewick Press book bundle

Andrew L

Golden Hill Elementary

JPL visit

Andrew S

El Sol Santa Ana Science and Arts Academy

Sky Zone pass

Ava T

Courreges (Roch) Elementary

JPL visit

Brynn B

Heritage Oak Private Education

Zoom call with Dr. Nield

Cooper H

Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary

Boomers Golf tickets

Delaney M

Other

Zoom call with Dr. Nield

Elina P

Running Springs Elementary

Zoom call with Vicky Fang

Emma T

Serrano Intermediate

JPL visit

Esha D

John O. Tynes Elementary

Candlewick Press book bundle

Fareeza I

Tustin Memorial Elementary

30-Second Dance Party button

Hailey M

Wood Canyon Elementary

Zoom call with Dr. Nield

Harry L

D. Russell Parks Junior High

Lerner book bundle

Jadeyn A

Serrano Intermediate

$20 Amazon gift card

Jayden J

Woodbury Elementary (Irvine)

Coding lessons

Jeremiah P

El Sol Santa Ana Science and Arts Academy

Sky Zone pass

Josiah L

Homeschool

Sky Zone pass

Julia R

Sequoia Elementary

JPL visit

Kelly C

Santiago Elementary School

Orbital VR show tickets

Leila P

Serrano Intermediate

$50 Amazon gift card

Lexey D

Cabrillo Point Academy

Greystone book bundle

Lincoln D

Newland (William T.) Elementary

30-Second Dance Party button

Madelyn M

VanDamme Academy

Zoom call with Dr. Nield

Matthew J

Orchard Hills

JPL visit

Musa Y

West River Academy

Bazic backpack

Nate C

Robinson Elementary

Zoom call with Dr. Nield

Nihitha M

Serrano Intermediate

Zoom call with Dr. Nield

Rinal J

Heritage Oak Private Education

JPL visit

Ryan M

The Pegasus School

JPL visit

Sahas Y

Brywood Elementary

JPL visit

Samuel M

Paularino Elementary

30-Second Dance Party button