March's Middle Grade Winners

Reading wonderful middle grade novels takes me right back to my fifth grade self when I was first introduced to Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt and realized there was a huge difference between that type of book and the series novels I usually devoured. There are still lots of series novels out there, but there are so many great realistic fiction books to choose from that I'm rather jealous of the reading selection kids now have.

These three are all five star reads:

Shouting At the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt- I loved Fish In a Tree and have been waiting for another novel by Hunt for a while.  Delsie lives on Cape Cod with her grandmother since her mother is not able to care for her and she doesn't even know who her dad is.  Although she loves her grandma, she also longs for a "normal" family. One of her summer friends has returned to Cape Cod, but seems to be into different things than Delsie, and finds someone else to hang out with.  Luckily a new boy on the island turns out to be a good friend, and the two of them start to understand how loved they really are.  This is a little heartbreaking, but so, so good.  This may be even better than Hunt's first two novels.

Ruby in the Sky by Jeanne Zullick Terruolo - Ruby and her mom have just moved to a new town - perhaps their forever home. Unfortunately, Ruby's mom gets arrested on her first day at work after standing up for herself.  Instead of taking her lawyer's advice, Ruby's mom decides to take the matter to court, which draws a lot of attention to Ruby in school since everyone seems to know everyone's business in such a small town.  The only friend Ruby has is an older woman who lives in a shack and allows Ruby to feed animals with her, although there is a boy in Ruby's class who tries hard to befriend Ruby.  Ruby is intent on uncovering what the woman is hiding about her past, something that will surprise Ruby, and change the hearts of a community that has long been unkind to her.

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn - I love a good summer story, and this one is a winner. After summer plans go awry, Cat and her brother Chicken end up spending part of their summer with their mother's parents who they have never met before. While with them, they learn more about their mom and her childhood, and get to know these grandparents who are new to them.  Cat is also given some time to be a kid since she is mostly expected to help care for Chicken who has some special needs.  This is a story of family and belonging and growing up.  

These three books are all worth spending an afternoon curled up reading.  They are the kinds of stories I wish I had had more access to when I was growing up, and I'm so glad they are available for kids now.