Outstanding International Books for Middle Grade

Updated April 1, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Catherine's war
Billet, Julia
Paper Book
"A shining story of a young girl who struggles to come of age and find her place in a world fraught with danger." --Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hitler Youth * Winner of the Youth Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival (voted by readers) * Winner...
Beasts
Bjerkeland, Ingvild
Paper Book
From Norway comes an international horror hit that is shudderingly terrifying and deliciously original. The world has been overrun by hitherto unknown beasts. Society has collapsed: the power is gone, cars are abandoned across the highways, and anyone left is hiding from the...
Save our forest!
DÃ¥snes, Nora
Paper Book
A Bookshop.org Best Graphic Novel of 2024 ALA Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List CCBC Choices 2025 ILA Social Justice Literature Award 2025 Fiction Book Award Winner A Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist A We Are Teachers Best Book The...
Johnny, the sea, and me
Escobar, Melba
Paper Book
A timid ten-year-old boy meets Johnny, a gruff islander who will change his life, in Johnny, the Sea, and Me, a heartwarming middle-grade novel by Melba Escobarabout finding yourself and your place in the world-featuring illustrations by award-winning...
Bone talk
Gourlay, Candy
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal (UK)Shortlisted for the Costa Prize (UK)Sunday Times Children's Book of the WeekThe Guardian Book of the MonthThe Times Books of the Year"Hotly Anticipated Historical Fiction for Young Adults" Amazon.co.ukIt is 1899. Ten year old Samkad thinks...
Island of whispers
Hardinge, Frances
Paper Book
A remarkable and ultimately heartwarming story of grief, family, kindness, and being true to yourself. Multiple starred reviews and a rave from the New York Times Book Review, which praised it as "incredibly hopeful." Part gothic thriller and part seafaring...
Music for tigers
Kadarusman, Michelle
Paper Book
From Governor General's Literary Award finalist Michelle Kadarusman comes a novel about a young violinist who discovers her mother's family secretly harbor a sanctuary for extinct Tasmanian tigers in the remote Australian...
Wildful
Kurimoto, Kengo
Paper Book
New York Times Best Children's Books of 2024 Kirkus Best Books of 2024 Shelf Awareness 2024 Best Books of the Year The Globe 100: The Best Books of 2024 Poppy's mother hasn't been the same since Gran passed away. She stays inside and watches TV, unable...
Dropping beats
Lessore, Nathanael
Paper Book
"Funny, bursting with heart, goofy, wise, and did I mention- wildly wonderfully funny." --Jon Scieszka, First National Ambassador of Young People's Literature and Founder of Guys Read A hilarious and heartfelt young YA comedy about the misadventures...
Plasticus maritimus : an invasive species
Pêgo, Ana (Marine biologist)
Paper Book
"Clever...beguiling....Readers age 11 and older are likely to finish this book feeling both persuaded and uplifted. Beauty has a way of doing that." --Wall Street Journal For young readers comes an imaginative guide to ocean plastics, filled with tips...
The barren grounds
Robertson, David
Paper Book
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home until they find a secret portal...
The girl who rode a shark & other stories of daring women
Ross, Ailsa
Paper Book
An inspiring biographical collection celebrating the adventurousness and ingenuity of girls and women around the world. Now more than ever, the world is recognizing how strong women and girls are. How strong? In the early 1920s, Inuit expeditioner Ada Blackjack survived for two...
Biggest fake in the universe
Rundberg, Johan
Paper Book
The bluff of a lifetime... It started off innocently enough. Mo just wanted to catch a girl's eye. She was this super-talented and mysterious skater girl who looked like she had the universe all figured out. So Mo did what any self-respecting nerd would do: He put aside his chess...
The Night Raven
Rundberg, Johan
Paper Book
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year Shortlisted for the Global Literature in Libraries YA Translated Book Prize A USBBY Outstanding International Book Mika is not your average twelve-year-old--and she's about to prove it. It's 1880, and in...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.