Middle Grade Books 2021
Bloom: The Surprising Seeds of Sorrel Fallowfield
Nicola Skinner, Flavia Sorrentino
Sorrel Fallowfield is so good at being good that teachers come to her when they need help remembering the school rules – and there are LOTS. Luckily, Sorrel doesn’t have any trouble following them, until the day she discovers a faded packet of Surprising Seeds buried under a tree in her backyard.
Now she’s hearing voices, seeing things, experiencing an almost unstoppable urge to plant the Seeds in some very unusual places… and completely failing to win her school’s competition to find The Most Obedient Child of the School.
And all that’s before flowers start growing out of her head…
Jungledrop
Abi Elphinstone
Eleven-year-old twins, Fox and Fibber, have been rivals for as long as they can remember. Only one of them will inherit the family fortune and so a race is afoot to save the dwindling Petty-Squabble empire and win the love of their parents. But when the twins are whisked off to Jungledrop, a magical Unmapped Kingdom in charge of conjuring our world’s weather, things get wildly out of hand. An evil harpy called Morg is on the loose. And if she finds the long-lost Forever Fern before the twins, both Jungledrop and our world will crumble.
Suddenly, Fox and Fibber find themselves on an incredible adventure in a glow-in-the-dark rainforest full of golden panthers, gobblequick trees and enchanted temples. But, with the fate of two worlds in their hands, will the twins be able to work together for once to defeat Morg and her dark magic?
My Name is River
Emma Rea
When Dylans’ farm is snatched away by a huge global company, he can’t just sit back and watch. But the journey to rescue his home takes him deep into the heart of the Amazon. With the help of Lucia, a street kid armed with a thesaurus and a Great Dane puppy, he uncovers dark and dangerous secrets and learns some surprising truths.
The Weather Weaver
Tamsin Mori
11-year-old Stella has returned home to Shetland to spend the summer with her Grandpa, but it’s nothing like she remembers. Grandpa is lost in his grief for Gran, the island is bleak and Stella feels trapped, until she encounters an old woman, Tamar, who can spin rainbows and call hurricanes. With the help of Nimbus, a feisty young storm cloud, Stella begins to learn the craft of weather weaving. But when her cloud brain-fogs Grandpa and The Haken (a sea witch) starts to close in, she realises that magic comes with big responsibilities. It will take all her heart and courage to face the coming storm…
Guardians of the Planet
Clive Gifford, Jonathan Woodward
This environmentally positive book contains everything children need to become guardians of the planet. Kids can learn how to become keepers of the coasts, friends of the forests, home heroes and much more through a mix of compelling facts, creative activities and proactive tips.
Anisha, Accidental Detective: School’s Cancelled
Serena Patel, Emma McCann
Anisha can’t wait to show off her volcano project at the science fair…and maybe win the prize trip to the national space centre. But when the volcano explodes and floods the school, Anisha is disqualified. It’s so unfair, because it wasn’t her fault! Can Anisha, her best friend Milo, a pet rat, and a high-school vlogger catch the culprit?
Earth Friends: Fair Fashion
Holly Webb
Researching her school project on Fairtrade has been a real eye-opener for Maya. She loves clothes and is appalled to find that her favourite sparkly T-shirts are made by poor children in other countries who lead very different lives from her own, privileged one. She knows she must do something about it, but how can she make a difference without revealing her pop star secret to the world?
Max Takes a Stand
Tim Allman, Nick Shepherd
Max is on a quest to make the world a better place. From hiding his parents’ car keys to preparing vegan dinners, Max is determined to help save the planet through positive direct action! But with hilarious and often disastrous results can Max’s enthusiasm pay off in the end?
The Creature Keeper
Damaris Young
Creepy Direspire Hall sits glowering on the moors – and if you stray too close then beware the growls and scary sounds from within… When animal lover Cora learns that Direspire’s mysterious owner is looking for a new Creature Keeper, she realises this might just be the chance she’s looking for to save her parents’ farm. But Direspire Hall is a spooky place and the strange creatures who live there are nothing like Cora is expecting.
As Cora settles into her new life, it soon becomes clear that Direspire has its secrets, and that somebody will do whatever it takes to keep them…
The Mapmakers’ Race
Eirlys Hunter, Kirsten Slade
Four children temporarily lose their parents just as they are about to begin the race that offers their last chance of escaping poverty. Their task is to map a rail route through an uncharted wilderness.
They overcome the many obstacles posed by nature—bears, bees, bats, river crossings, cliff falls, impossible weather—but can they survive the treachery of their competitors?
Cast Away: Poems for our Time
Naomi Shihab Nye
How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already? Do you ever think about it? Where does this plethora of leavings come from? How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk?
National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems
The Secret Explorers and the Rainforest Rangers
SJ King
Meet the Secret Explorers – a band of brainiac kids from all around the world. Everyone in this diverse group of young experts has a speciality, from outer space to dinosaurs, and each story follows a character who gets chosen for a “secret exploration”.
In this fun, fact-filled children’s book, we join rainforest expert Ollie on an exciting mission to rescue a lost baby orangutan in the steamy rainforest of Borneo. Joined by engineering expert Kiki, they set out in a glider to search for the friendly ape. Along the way, they encounter greedy plantation owners who are plotting to destroy the forest to expand a palm oil plantation, and learn about the threat to animals and plants due to deforestation.
Wild World Heroes can download a free eBook of The Secret Explorers and the Rainforest Rangers from Google Play Books! Find out more about this special offer from DK here.
A Poem for Every Summer Day
Allie Esiri
Within the pages of Allie Esiri’s gorgeous collection, A Poem for Every Summer Day, you will find verse that will transport you to striking summer scenes and inspire adventure.
Effie the Rebel
Laura Wood
Dark forces are at work at Highworth Grange school: the student council has been taken over by a tyrannical villain with his own agenda. With the help of her brilliant band of misfit friends, a bad-tempered parrot, and a former nemesis, can Effie save the school she loves before it’s too late?
Hoot and Howl across the Desert : Life in the world’s driest deserts
Vassiliki Tzomaka
Readers are invited to travel across some of world’s driest landscapes and discover the remarkable animals and plants that survive in desert climates, both hot and cold. Along the way, they will encounter over 300 rare and little known plants, animals, reptiles, birds and insects, casting new light on desert environments and revealing the abundance of life underlying their barren image.
Worst. Holiday. Ever
Charlie Higson
Stan is going on holiday to Italy with his (fifth) best friend Felix and a load of strangers. Stan is absolutely terrified. Luckily, his mum’s given him an emergency list that includes how to survive a shark attack, and what to do if he gets kidnapped. Stan thinks that a better list would include how to cope with odd food, and what to do if he accidentally calls Felix’s mum ‘mum’ in front of everybody. And it soon turns out Italy is full of dangers and things that can go wrong. One thing’s for certain, Stan’s not going to come back the same boy he left. He just hopes he comes back at all…
Wild City
Ben Hoare, Lucy Rose
Wild City travels the globe, exploring how animals have adapted to live alongside humans, in busy cities including New York, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Stockholm, London, Alexandria, Singapore, and Mumbai. Discover hawks by a world-famous shopping street, snakes slithering through city sewers, and penguins waiting patiently to cross the road. Feature spreads take a closer look at the animals, showing how some wander in plain sight while others hide away in our homes, and we meet wildlife heroes from around the world—ordinary people doing extraordinary things to make our wild neighbours feel welcome.
Fantastically Great Women Scientists and their Stories
Kate Pankhurst
As a child Mae Jemison imagined herself reaching for the stars and that’s exactly what she did: she became the first African-American woman to go into space. When Elizabeth Blackwell was told women weren’t allowed to be doctors, she didn’t take no for an answer. Tu Youyou spent months on a remote island during the Vietnam War to try and invent a treatment for malaria – and she did it.
Including comic strips, family trees, maps and more, Fantastically Great Women Scientists and Their Stories is a celebration of women who made some of the world’s most important scientific breakthroughs.
Endangered Animals: And How You Can Help
Sam Hutchinson, Sarah Dennis
From rainforests to deserts and polar regions to open oceans, read about living things that are extinct, those that are endangered and a handful that are even thriving. Then discover what you can do to help. Hope is not lost!
Tamarind & the Star of Ishta
Jasbinder Bilan
Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, Chinty, who died soon after she was born. So when she arrives at her mother’s ancestral home, she’s full of questions for her extended family. But instead of answers, Tamarind finds a sad and beautiful mystery …
Helping Our Planet
Jane Bingham
We are bombarded by warnings about the health of our planet, but what can we actually do to help? This hands-on guide is filled with suggestions for everyday actions and choices that will help readers take better care of the Earth. Armed with this informative and helpful book, they can feel ready to make a positive difference.
Zinnia and the Bees
Danielle Davis, Laura K. Horton
The hive of honeybees living in Zinnia’s hair is actually the least of her problems. Her best friend, who also happens to be her brother, has left home with no explanation. And the one thing that makes her happy and keeps her sane knitting has just got her detention. But the bees have a lot to say about it starting with finding her brother.
How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg
Emma Shevah
High-spirited Ivy believes she can talk to animals, while Nathaniel, a boarding-school boy, is obsessed with animal facts. They come together unexpectedly on a cold English beach with the arrival of a rare and wondrous sea creature: a giant leatherback turtle who lays her eggs in front of the world’s media. Soon they’re on a mission to make a difference to the world – even if they have to do it one animal at a time.
It’s Her Story: Marie Curie
Kaara Kallen, Rosie Baker
Marie Curie was the brilliant, trailblazing scientist who discovered radium and coined the term radioactivity. She is the only woman ever awarded two Nobel Prizes–one in physics and one in chemistry. She helped develop the use of X-rays and radiation therapies that have had a lasting impact on medicine and human health. This is her story.
The Wild Way Home
Sophie Kirtley
When Charlie’s longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie’s world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It’s become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins. For Charlie has unwittingly fled into the Stone Age, with no way to help the boy or return to the present day. Or is there?
Activists Assemble: Save Your Planet
Ben Hoare, Jade Orlando
The world can seem a scary place to live. Forests are burning, plastic is filling the oceans and the air is polluted. But we can all help save the planet – including you!
Become a real-life super hero and help to protect the environment – from quick and easy fixes to changes that could have a long-term global effect. Meet the famous faces leading the way in the worldwide crusade to be more environmentally friendly and take the quiz to find out just how green you truly are. . . and could be. This is our planet ― we can save it!
Our Planet: The One Place We All Call Home
Sir David Attenborough, Matt Whyman, Richard Jones
The official children’s book to the Netflix original documentary series, Our Planet, with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough.
The Boy Who Met a Whale
Nizrana Farook
Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing into view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side… Inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating adventure in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all…
The Last Bear
Hannah Gold, Levi Pinfold
There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life…
The Last Straw: Kids VS Plastics
Susan Hood, Christiane Engel
There’s no doubt about it—plastic is in almost everything. From our phones and computers to our toys and utensils, plastic is everywhere. But the amount of plastic we throw away is hurting the health of our planet.
Willow Wildthing and the Shooting Star
Gill Lewis, Rebecca Bagley
In the Wilderness, where magic and nature collide, there are magical creatures and strange powers at work. In this story the Wild Things – a group of children who have taken on the characteristics of the wild creatures they are named after – find that their camp has been destroyed by a flood. If only it would stop raining, then, perhaps, they could enjoy the meteor shower and the wishes that they make on the shooting stars would come true.
The Shark Caller
Zillah Bethell, Saara Soederlund
Blue Wing is desperate to become a shark caller, but instead she must befriend infuriating newcomer Maple, who arrives unexpectedly on Blue Wing’s island.
At first, the girls are too angry to share their secrets and become friends. But when the tide breathes the promise of treasure, they must journey together to the bottom of the ocean to brave the deadliest shark of them all…
Leo’s Map of Monsters: The Spitfang Lizard
Kris Humphrey, Pete Williamson
Leo Wilder must protect his village from the monsters that lurk in the surrounding forest. Armed with a slingshot, magical stones, and a strange map, Leo must track down a deadly Spitfang Lizard before it reaches the village. He is given one piece of advice-first they spit, then they bite. If a Spitfang’s throat swells up . . . run!
Twitch
M. G. Leonard
Twitch has three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for birdwatching. On the first day of the summer holidays, he arrives at his secret hide to find police everywhere: a convicted robber has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Can Twitch use his talents for birdwatching to hunt for the dangerous prisoner and find the missing loot?
The Wizard In My Shed
Simon Farnaby, Claire Powell
Meet Merdyn the Wild (the world’s most badly-behaved wizard), Rose (the world’s most ordinary girl) and Bubbles (the world’s best guinea pig) on a hilarious adventure that might just end in an epic wizard battle in the garden – if you’re lucky.
