Middle Grade Books for Gifting

I don’t remember if I did this last year, but I wanted to put together a list of recommended books for holiday giving. Mainly, we’ve been working our way through the 2025 Oklahoma Children’s Sequoyah list, and there are some great ones on there. The x’s on the image are marking the ones we’ve already read. Joss’s school librarian said they get a prize for reading all of them, so we’ve got a few more to go! Here are some of our favorites so far, plus a couple other recommendations.

“My Not-So-Great French Escape” by Cliff Burke

I really liked this one, and Joss did, too. It’s about a 12-year-old boy, Rylan, who’s trying to reconnect with his former best friend when they go to spend a few weeks working at a farm in France. He gets to meet kids from around the world and comes to realize that he doesn’t need to fit in with the “cool kids” in order to have a great time and build meaningful friendships. As someone who has never been a cool kid, this reminded me somewhat of my own camp experiences, and the importance of finding your people, whoever they may be.

In addition to his friendship troubles, Rylan also has to decide whether he wants to meet up with his father – whom he hasn’t seen since he was very, very young – while in France. Joss didn’t care for how this part of the story resolved, but while disappointing, it seemed realistic. And also reinforced the value of good friendships.

Plus, the setting was really unique, and there were some good characters.

“Squire and Knight” by Scott Chantler

This one is Joss’s favorite on the list, possibly because it’s a graphic novel.

“The International House of Dereliction” by Jacqueline Davies

If you like a non-scary ghost story, you’ll probably enjoy this one! The young protagonist is the daughter of two eccentric parents, one a university professor and the other a building inspector. Their daughter is left to explore her own interests – which are many – and they love discussing what they’ve learned throughout the day. As part of the mom’s university contract, the family is provided housing. However, the daughter and her father are so good at fixing the houses they move into, the university keeps forcing them to move into dilapidated homes, knowing they family will fix them up and the university can sell them at a profit.

Fed up with this, the mom convinces the other family members to refuse to fix anything in their latest home – arguably the worst yet. However, it’s right next door to “The International House of Dereliction,” and the young girl can’t resist the pull of the gorgeous old house and all its potential. And of course, there are ghosts living there!

I like the strong sense of family identity they have, and the love for learning, fixing and helping those who need help.

“You Are Here: Connecting Flights” by Ellen Oh

This one could be a great choice if you’re doing any holiday air travel! It is a series of interconnected short stories – each chapter focuses on an Asian American child stranded at the Chicago O’Hare airport. Each story is actually written by a different Asian American author. The kids experience prejudice in multiple forms – from friends as well as strangers – but ultimately find pride in their identity and community. Several of them have to stand up to people they love – and who love them – letting them know when things they’ve done or said aren’t OK. It can be awkward, but this is a great lesson in communication for anyone.

When we went to Chicago for the Parenting Media Association conference recently, we didn’t fly to O’Hare. However, we did see some Garrett Popcorn stands at Midway Airport, which features in “You Are Here.” I really wanted to try some, but we didn’t quite have time.

“The Wild Robot” series by Peter Brown

I already blogged about this when we saw the movie. But Joss and his friends all seem to love this series. Joss liked it so much, he asked for the second and third book in the series and tore through them. And it’s got a great message about protecting your friends, family and the environment.

“Cluedle: The Case of the Golden Pomegranate” by Hartigan Browne

I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher. When they reached out asking if I’d like a review copy, I said yes because it sounded right up Joss’s alley. It’s a series of short mysteries, and you play the role of detective, cracking codes and puzzles as you go along. The puzzles aren’t terribly difficult for the most part, but for Joss, they present a nice challenge. Some we’ve worked on together as part of our bedtime reading, but he has been able to get through some himself as well. If you have a kid who loves brain teasers etc., this is a fun choice. And there is another book in the series, too.

Working through a Cluedle puzzle with Joss’s favorite multi-tool

Here’s some more info from the publisher: “Set on a super yacht sailing the high seas, the reader—under the watchful eye of world famous Private Investigator Hartigan Browne—must tackle 50 brain-busting puzzles, each holding a clue to solving the larger mystery. Packed full of codes to crack, evidence to evaluate, clues to unravel, and maps to navigate, Cluedle is chockful of puzzling fun!”

What books are you gifting this year? Do you have any other kind of puzzle books to recommend? Tell us about them in the comments!