2025 TD Summer Reading Books for Older Children

Updated February 27, 2025
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Alterations
Xu, Ray
Paper Book
For fans of Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese and Svetlana Chmakova's Awkward, this funny yet poignant middle-grade coming-of-age story highlights the struggle of feeling invisible while yearning to be seen by all.    ...
Anzu and the realm of darkness
Nguyen, Mai K.
Paper Book
5 Worlds meets Spirited Away in this tale of a girl fighting her way back home after getting trapped in the spirit world. Anzu has just moved to a new town during Obon, a time for families to remember and celebrate their ancestors. Ever since her obaachan died,...
The Bellwoods Game
Krampien, Celia
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Doll Bones and Hocus Pocus, this "beautifully creepy" (Kirkus Reviews), highly illustrated middle grade novel follows a girl who hopes to fix her outcast status through a game in the haunted woods, only to discover that some legends shouldn't be...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Ellen outside the lines
Sass, A. J.
Paper Book
Winner of a Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor! A heartfelt novel about a neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons for fans of Rain Reign and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World. ...

Also available in eBook format.

Endangered animals atlas
Jackson, Tom
Paper Book
Endangered Animals Atlas is a richly informative book for animal lovers everywhere, with an important and timely focus on the endangered animals around the world that need our protection.  In this follow-on to Football Atlas,...
A first time for everything : a true story
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
*Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature* A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been a...
Isabel in Bloom
Respicio, Mae
Paper Book
A middle-school girl discovers a connection between her home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S. through a special garden in "this sweet and heartfelt novel that explores how bumpy beginnings can offer chances for new growth" (The New York Times) A National Council...
Kwame crashes the underworld
Farmer, Craig Kofi
Paper Book
Winner of the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award Discover a stunning middle grade fantasy about a boy hurled into the Ghanaian underworld to help his grandmother save humanity, perfect for fans of Tristan Strong and Amari and the Night Brothers.
Into the Sock-Verse
Youssefian, Shidan.
Paper Book
Have you ever lost a sock? It's in the Sock-Verse! Get ready to embark on a series of toe-tally awesome adventures that follow a band of misfit socks as they journey through this new whimsical world. Enter Freddy: a skater sock who gets caught in a dizzying spin-cycle and is...
Lunar boy
Wibowo, Jessica
Paper Book
Stonewall Children's Literature Award Winner 2025 Rainbow Book List Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2024 NPR's Books We Love of 2024 GLAAD Media Awards Nominee 2024 Harvey Awards' Best Children's Book Nominee For fans of The Witch Boy and Squished,...
The new girl
Calin, Cassandra
Paper Book

Also available in eBook format.

One Home : Eighteen Stories of Hope from Young Activists
Khan, Hiba Noor.
Paper Book
Join writer and activist Hiba Noor Khan as she takes you on an inspiring journey across the globe to meet eighteen young activists who are taking a stand against climate change. Every person has a right to live on our planet, a right to call somewhere on this earth their home....
Out of my dreams
Draper, Sharon M.
Paper Book
Melody flies to London to speak at a convention about differently abled kids in this "warm and beautifully told" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) sequel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling middle grade novels Out of My Mind and Out of My Heart.

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

The Racc Pack. 1
Cooke, Stephanie
Paper Book
Live life in the trash lane with this first entry in a hilarious middle grade graphic novel series about a family of sneaky raccoons from graphic novel superstars Stephanie Cooke and Whitney Gardner! Meet the Bins family, a trio of raccoons in the risky business of dumpster...
Safiyyah's war
Khan, Hiba Noor
Paper Book
Song of the sea the graphic novel
Sattin, Samuel
Paper Book
A lush graphic novel about family adrift and the magical adventure that brings them together. Based on the award-winning film, this gorgeous adaptation includes a bonus story from the film's creator. Many years after the disappearance of their...
Special delivery : a book's journey around the world
Faber, Polly
Paper Book
An original and unique story following the journey of one book across the globe, from a printing press in a factory far, far away, over land and across the sea, to the hands of a young boy.
Time to roll
Sumner, Jamie
Paper Book
In the eagerly anticipated sequel to Jamie Sumner's acclaimed and beloved middle grade novel Roll with It, Ellie finds her own way to shine. Ellie is so not the pageant type. They're Coralee's thing, and Ellie is happy to let her talented friend shine in the...
World tour: the ultimate journey around the globe
Collins Kids.
Paper Book
Pack your bags, it's time for a round-the-world adventure! Get ready for a whirlwind tour of the entire world through stunning photographs, colourful maps, and lots of fascinating facts. Eye-catching, educational and engaging, this beautiful hardback book is...

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