Adults aren’t the only readers who want to read to escape, to get away or to prepare for a destination in their future. Here’s a book list to spark travel and wanderlust in middle grade readers.
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Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Five years. That’s how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, crisscrossing the nation. It’s also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all…but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after”.
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Twelve-year-old Emily is on the move again. Her family is relocating to San Francisco, home of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger, a game where books are hidden all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles. But Emily soon learns that Griswold has been attacked and is in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch.
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite
When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime. You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything Actually, a lot.
My Awesome Japan Adventure: A Diary about the Best 4 Months Ever!
“Ever heard of micro sushi? Have you played karuta before? Neither did I, until I spent four months in Japan living with a Japanese family.”
Dan, the narrator of My Awesome Japan Adventure, is a typical American fifth grader, who spends four months with a Japanese family as an exchange student. Although he initially finds it difficult to adjust, Dan is soon having fun wherever he goes—and recording all of his adventures in a diary. With the help of his Japanese foster brother and sister, Daisuke and Mari, Dan visits a Ninja village, tries new foods, learns brush painting, and shares the inside scoop on Japanese school life. Readers of all ages will love experiencing life in Japan from a kid’s point of view!
United Tates of America by: Paula Danziger
Skate Tate hates change. But her whole life is changing at once. It’s just not fair! Sixth grade is tough. Her new school is bigger, the classes are harder, and Skate’s group of close friends is growing apart.
Only her Great Uncle Mort (GUM for short) can help her deal with it all. He’s not afraid of anything. When tragedy strikes, GUM sends Skate and her family on a road trip that will change their lives forever–starting with Plymouth, Massachusetts. Skate is taking it all down in her scrapbook, but will she ever learnhow to handle what lies just around the corner?
Yasmin the Explorer by: Saadia Faruqi
Every explorer needs a map! Baba encourages Yasmin to make one of her own. But when Yasmin loses sight of Mama at the farmer’s market, can her map bring them back together?
A Walk in London by: Salvatore Rubbino
London is calling! Come along on a mother-daughter day trip as they wend their way past the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, through Trafalgar Square, and on to Covent Garden. Listen closely and you might just learn a secret about the Whispering Gallery in Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Then it’s on to the Tower of London and the river Thames, where a fold-out surprise awaits. Readers will be enchanted by Salvatore Rubbino’s cheerful, sophisticated illustrations and abundant trivia about the one and only city of London. Cheerio!
