"In this riveting coming-of-age survival story in verse perfect for fans of Alan Gratz, a fire lookout-in-training must find her courage when a wildfire breaks out on her watch.
Twelve-year-old Opal has a secret: she's deathly afraid of fire. Still Opal is preparing to become a fourth-generation lookout on Wolf Mountain, deep in the New Mexico wilderness. She, Mom, and Gran live at ten thousand feet in a single room at the top of a fire tower. They are responsible for spotting any hint of smoke before it becomes an uncontrollable blaze.
Instead of training for the lonely life of a lookout, Opal wishes she could be starting seventh grade in Silver City, attending real classes with kids her own age and even going to afterschool clubs like FFA. But Wolf Mountain has other ideas. When Mom makes the long trek to town for supplies and Gran goes missing, Opal is the only one to spot a tell-tale spiral of smoke moving up the mountainside. She'll have to be braver than she's ever been as she heads into the woods, beyond Wolf Ridge's old blackened burn scar, to face down a fire on her own. But when a fire is what took her father away, and Opal herself knows the sting of smoke and lick of flames, how can she be brave enough when it really counts?"
"Set in the '60s at a summer camp, The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall is a spooky, atmospheric middle-grade story for fans of classic ghost stories, unlikely friendships and intriguing mysteries.
Bee's mom has a job in New York City for the summer, so Bee is being sent to summer camp. She's not excited about it. Being around other people is hard for her, plus she knows nothing about campfires, she's not a good swimmer and she's never even been in a canoe.
When she first arrives, things go pretty much as she expected. The other girls either make fun of her or ignore her, and the woods surrounding the camp give her the creeps: she keeps hearing elusive music coming from somewhere in the distance, and there's something unearthly about it.
But then Zippy comes on the scene - an oddball like Bee, but with a lot more confidence and hard-won knowledge gleaned from many summers spent at this exact camp. And most importantly, Zippy has also discovered mysterious behavior going on at the camp: the older girls from the Hawks cabin are sneaking out to do . . . something. They're always exhausted, and their flashlight batteries are running out at an alarming rate. But their counselors are never woken up by girls sneaking out, no one on staff doing nightly rounds ever sees them outside the cabin, and even when they start doing a bed check at night, the girls all seem to be in their bunks.
Zippy and Bee are on the case, and with the help of an unlikely ally, they try to figure out what the Hawks are up to. But they soon discover there's more going on than just the usual summer-camp hijinks. How are the Hawks getting out at night? What is the deal with the (very cute) mysterious boy who seems to be working with the groundskeeper? Where is the distant music coming from? And what does the reclusive camp founder know about all of it?"
"A fun-and-friendship-filled follow-up to Maven Takes the Lead in the must-read middle grade series from Girl Scouts of the USA, starring a group of fifth graders who love making the world a better place. This novel written by New York Times bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta is perfect for fans of The Baby-Sitters Club and American Girl's Girl of the Year series.
Anika loves animals.
She loves bird-watching in her backyard, volunteering at the animal shelter with her Girl Scout troop, and caring for her elderly neighbor’s parrot. Anika wants a pet, but her parents have a long list of reasons to say no, including that they aren’t sure Anika is up for the responsibility.
When Anika discovers a stray dog in her neighbor’s backyard, she decides to take charge all on her own. Between friend fights at school and her mom working harder than ever, Anika could use the distraction. This is something she wants to handle herself. But then the pup doesn’t show up for a few days and Anika is worried something is wrong. With time running out, it’s up to Anika to build a web of support strong enough to bring the dog to safety.
Look out for more incredible middle grade books from Girl Scouts:
Maven Takes the Lead, the first book in this Girl Scout Novel series, available now!
The Ultimate Friendship Journal, available now!
Take Action: You Can Make the World a Better Place, coming Fall 2025"
"Perfect for fans of The Great British Baking Show and Clue, this enchanting and rollicking follow-up to The Cookie Crumbles follows two best friends caught up in a twisty mystery when jewels go missing at a high-stakes baking competition.
Baker extraordinaire Laila Thomas and budding journalist Lucy Flores are living it up at the top of the junior high food chain as eighth graders. But between busy schedules and kinda-boyfriends, these two best friends haven’t gotten to hang out as much. So, when Jaden, an ex-competition rival, begs the duo to step back into the world of cooking competitions and crime—the answer is yes.
Jaden is desperate: His father is accused of stealing prized jewels on the set of an amateur kids’ holiday baking show. The plan is for Laila to smash the competition while Lucy investigates behind the scenes—but their half-baked plan gets turned totally upside down when Lucy ends up in front of the cameras instead.
As the investigation and competition heat up, Lucy and Laila’s bond is put to the ultimate test. Can they solve this bakeoff mystery, or will they—and their friendship—crack under pressure?"
"Meet Amina Banana! She's a determined and clever third grader, and star of a new chapter book series with a STEM twist. Perfect for readers of The Questioneers and Junie B. Jones!
Amina loves bananas, science, and all things yellow! Her family recently arrived from Syria to Indiana, and she's starting at a brand-new school in a brand-new country. She's excited but also nervous, especially about making friends! But she develops the perfect formula to get everything just right:
Speak English + wear a perfect outfit + be a good student + eat American food = Make American Friends!
When the first few days are harder than Amina imagined, she's left worrying: why doesn't her formula add up?"
"In this timely contemporary middle grade novel from award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman, two girls find their private struggles against their influencer mothers going very public
Quiet, introverted Hadley and rough-around-the-edges Willow have one big main thing in common: both their moms have gained a huge online following sharing every detail of their lives. Hadley's mom-Phoebe of @PhoebeAndJay fame-loves to share all the terrible, down and dirty bits about raising kids while Willow's mom Rosalind at the up-and-coming @MoonbeamsAndMarigold basks in the glow of motherhood.
If getting all her life's moments (including an almost decade old viral potty training video) shared online isn't enough, Hadley's starting a new school in a new neighborhood and desperately trying to keep her mom's identity a secret while Willow is struggling with a recent life-changing announcement from her mom who, it turns out, is not getting out of the influencer world anytime soon.
As the two girls build a friendship on a private Instagram page and share the pains of having a momfluencers, they come up against the same question-how long will they have to share their lives with everyone?"
"“This beautifully crafted novel sings and soars.”—Nikki Grimes, author of Ordinary Hazards
Dylan seeks solace through birdwatching and poetry in the woods behind his grandfather’s auto shop—but when he rescues an injured hawk, he must learn to confront the broken parts in himself in this powerful middle-grade novel-in-verse.
15-year-old Dylan has always felt like an outsider in his small town. Isolated when he was younger as the result of his unpredictable, now absent mother and feeling like a disappointment to his grandfather who has stepped in to raise him, Dylan finds relief in the woods behind his grandfather's auto shop. Amidst the cool quiet of the trees, Dylan thrives on bird watching and writing poetry. But one afternoon after spotting an injured hawk, Dylan finds himself pushing out of his comfort zone to track down help for the bird—and ends up rescuing a part of himself in the process.
In this luminous middle-grade novel-in-verse on navigating the lonely tumult of self-discovery amid complicated family history, Dylan relays his story with bracing emotional clarity."
"'Big Nate is funny, big time.' Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Meet beloved comic-strip character Big Nate – The Boy with the Biggest Head in the World – as he stars in his own super-funny series, perfect for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey.
BIG NATE IS GOING TO MAKE YOU LAUGH. BIG TIME!
Big Nate has got his heart set on leading his sports team to victory! But it won’t be easy.
He’s stuck with Gina, his all-time worst enemy and really rubbish player!
Gina is at the top of Nate’s list of Things I Can’t Stand – but will she stand in the way of his greatness?"
"Do you love cookies? Have you ever felt alone in a room full of people? This novel is for you.
It's the summer after sixth grade when a group of classmates turn up at the library at the same time. They know each other, but they're not friends. The truth is, they each spend a lot of time alone. Which is why it's so unexpected when Tilly, Jada, Eleanor, and Mateo create a cookie baking business together. It just kind of happens.
The problem is their plans keep falling apart. But each failure only makes them more determined to make something-anything-work. Because what they need more than anything is an escape from the loneliness and anxiety that comes with middle school. They want to be a part of something. And in the end, the one thing that goes right is their decision to count on each other."
"2024-2025 Nebraska Golden Sower Award Nominee
2024-2025 South Carolina Book Award Nominee
2023 Northeastern Minnesota Book Award Winner
Twelve-year-old Maia's parents say she's lucky to have smelled the smoke, lucky to have pulled her sister, Amelia, out of their burning house. But is it really 'lucky' when Amelia's in the hospital? And is it “lucky' when Maia knows it was her candle that started the fire?
When she's sent to spend the summer with her grandparents in Minnesota while her sister heals, Maia discovers that her demons are intent on following her. Maia barely knows her grandparents, she desperately misses her sister and home, and she's not thrilled to be spending the summer with Grandpa Howard on his motorcycle rides, where he spends all day keeping watch for forest fires. There are no kids in Gram and Pop's small town—just the chatty nine-year-old neighbor and a friendly, stray dog.
But Maia will soon learn that nature is a powerful teacher, and sometimes our greatest strengths show themselves when we have to be there for someone else. As she begins to figure out how to face her guilt, she'll discover there's a fine line between fear and adventure."
"A girl's summer camp experience gets complicated when she falls for a newcomer in this entry in the new tween middle grade rom-com Spotlight Sprinkles series!
All school year long, Quinn couldn't wait to get to summer camp. She's so excited to see her summer besties! But then things get turned inside out when a really cute new camper named Harry arrives. He just moved from London, and he and Quinn have so much in common. But it looks like she's not the only one lovestruck by Harry. She thinks her frenemy, Kayla, secretly likes him, too! What will Quinn do now?!"
"A girl's summer plans to get her crush to notice her are upended by a surprise guest in this entry in the new tween middle grade rom-com Spotlight Sprinkles series!
This is going to be the summer Julie finally catches the attention of her crush, James! She has the perfect outfits, ice-breaking jokes, and a list of places she can oh-so-casually run into him. At least that was the plan until Julie's parents decided to surprise her by inviting a friend to their beach house for the next three weeks.
Honestly, Julie's not even sure she would call Sophia a friend, but one thing is for sure: having to play nice with Sophia who is always hanging around was not on the agenda. Now, Julie has no idea how this summer is going to go—especially since she's unexpectedly feeling flutters around a new friend, Liam…and she thinks he might like her, too.
Can Julie figure out how she feels about James and Liam? Or will having Sophia around ruin everything?"
