30 Modern, Middle Grade Classics

Summer is right around the corner and I don’t know if you hear this at your library, but we often have parents come in asking for classics to give to their children to read over summer break. This request usually makes me cringe on the inside, while I try to find something that will make the parent happy and that the child will enjoy. I’ve also seen/heard a lot about the lack of diversity in children’s classic literature, or when the diversity is present, it is portrayed in an inaccurate and antiquated way.

So, I curated a list of middle grade titles that I think would be great to highlight as modern-day classics – books with more diversity, great storylines, and characters you won’t soon forget. I tried to keep the list filled with fairly recent books (think the past 5 years) and I know I’ve missed a BUNCH of titles that you would most likely add, so please do – in the comment section below.  Enjoy!

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30 Modern, Middle Grade Classics

• As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds
• The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
• Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley
• Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
• Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
• Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
• I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín
• The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
• Inside Out & Back Again by Thannha Lai
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik
• The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau
• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
• The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee
• Pax by Sara Pennypacker
• The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
• Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
• Serafina’s Promise by Ann E. Burg
• Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
• The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye
• The Warden’s Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
• The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• The Wednesday Wars  by Gary D. Schmidt
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
• Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

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