Middle School – Diversity & Inclusion

The Best Man. Richard Peck

With humor and insight, Newbery Medalist, Richard Peck, follows a boy from elementary school to middle school navigating school and family dynamics. Starts with a wedding disaster and ends with a great one. . (3 – 5)

Better Nate Than Ever

Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York for an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, knowing this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom. In the sequel, Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, Nate finds out that Broadway rehearsals are nothing like he expects: full of intimidating child stars, cut-throat understudies, and a secret admirer!  (5 – 9)

 

George

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George really wants to play Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web. Will she be able to?  (3 – 6)

 

Gracefully Grayson

Grayson has been holding onto a secret for what seems like forever: “he” is a girl on the inside. Will new strength from an unexpected friendship and a caring teacher’s wisdom be enough to help Grayson step into the spotlight she was born to inhabit?  (5 – 7)

The Liberation of Gabriel King

In Georgia in 1976, Gabriel, a white boy, and Frita, a black girl, overcome their fears of bullying and prejudice together as they enter 5th grade.  (4 – 5)

 

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher

From camping trips to scary tales told in the dark; from new schools to old friends; from imaginary cheetahs to very real skunks –– the Fletchers’ school year is anything but boring. Meet the Fletchers: four boys, two dads, and one new neighbor who just might ruin everything. (3 – 5)

 

The Misfits

Four best friends try to survive seventh grade in the face of all-too-frequent taunts based on their weight, height, intelligence and sexual orientation/gender expression. The characters, including an open and unapologetically gay boy, are not cast as victims, but as self-empowered agents of change who will stand as solid role models. (6 – 9)

 

The Pants Project

Liv knows he was always meant to be a boy but he hasn’t told anyone yet – not even his two moms. Now, his new school has a terrible dress code, he has to wear skirts! The only way for Liv to get what he wants is to go after it himself with a mission to change the policy and his life. (3-6)

 

Playground: A Mostly True Story of a Former Bully

A realistic look at bullying from the perspective of a young teen in middle school, who is both a target and perpetrator of bullying. The book also deals with divorce and having a gay parent. (Some explicit language)  (6-9)

 

The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang.

Two fifth-grade friends, Lydia and Julie, are determined to uncover the secrets of popularity by recording, discussing, and replicating the behaviors of the “cool” girls. Julie has two dads. There are seven books in the series, and the second looks at bullying. (4-6)

 

Riding Freedom

A fictionalized account of the true story of Charley (Charlotte) Parkhurst who ran away from an orphanage, posed as a boy, moved to California, drove stagecoaches and continued to pass as a man her whole life. (4-6)