We can all use a bit more joy in our lives and particular books can bring joy to us in spades. Here’s a list of books designed to do just that for the middle grade readers in our lives.
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Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood by Kwame Mbalia
Black boy joy is…Picking out a fresh first-day-of-school outfit. Saving the universe in an epic intergalactic race. Finding your voice—and your rhymes—during tough times. Flying on your skateboard like nobody’s watching.
And more! From seventeen acclaimed Black male and non-binary authors comes a vibrant collection of stories, comics, and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood.
Long Road to the Circus Hardcover by Betsy Bird
In this story, we meet 12-year old Suzy and her family as they live the farming life in Michigan long ago. While everyone else is satisfied with living at home for all of their days, Suzy is not. She has a dream for something bigger: to see the world. Itching to find a way to make it happen, she starts working with her Uncle on Madame Marantette’s farm, a former celebrity with a world-renowned circus. Completely unexpected, but also completely meant to be, Suzy learns to ride an ostrich to help Madame Marantette earn a world record. And it turns out that this is exactly what Suzy needs to discover her dreams and grab onto them with her vice-like grip. Suzy is a small girl with a big mind of her own, taking risks and demonstrating the kind of grit we all need to stay true to ourselves.
Joy by Corrinne Averiss
Fern’s Nanna has not been herself of late. And when Mum remarks that all the joy seems to have gone out of her life, Fern decides to fetch the joy back. With her catching-kit at the ready, she goes to the park and finds joy in all sorts of unusual places. Whooooshh!
But Fern soon realizes that joy doesn’t fit in a bag, or a box or a tin! How will she manage to bring some back to Nanna?
Hope Springs by Jamie Berry
Eleven-year-old Jubilee Johnson is an expert at three things: crafting, moving, and avoiding goodbyes. On the search for the “perfect place,” she and her Nan live by their Number One Relocation Rule—just the two of them is all they need. But Jubilee’s starting to feel like just two is a little too close to alone.
Desperate to settle down, Jubilee plans their next move, Hope Springs, Texas—home of her TV crafting idol, Arletta Paisley. Here she meets a girl set on winning the local fishing tournament and a boy who says exactly the right thing by hardly speaking at all. Soon, Jubilee wonders if Hope Springs might just be the place to call home.
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson
Ryan Hart loves to spend time with her friends, loves to invent recipes, and has a lot on her mind—school, self-image, and family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means changes like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. Because Ryan is all about trying to see the best. Even when things aren’t all she would wish for—her brother is infuriating, her parents don’t understand, when her recipes don’t turn out right, and when the unexpected occurs—she can find a way forward, with wit and plenty of sunshine.
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
This was a wonderful read about a middle school girl finding her way and finding her voice, ultimately realizing that she can change the trajectory of her life by simply changing the way she looks at it. Lessons in life, family, friendships and sense of self were wrapped into every page and I found myself rooting for Yumi to find her voice and use it to connect with those around her, a lesson we can all use from time to time.
