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The ReadDown

Books to Get Your Child Reading

Encourage your young reader as they dive into new stories! These books are perfect for kids at a middle grade reading level.

  1. 1
    The Last Kids on Earth Book Cover Picture
    The Last Kids on Earth Book Cover Picture
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    The Last Kids on Earth

    by Max Brallier

    Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, average thirteen year old Jack Sullivan has been living in his tree house, which he’s armed to the teeth with catapults and a moat, not to mention video games and an endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew scavenged from abandoned stores. But Jack alone is no match for the hordes of Zombies and Winged Wretches and Vine Thingies, and especially not for the eerily intelligent monster known only as Blarg. So Jack builds a team: his dorky best friend, Quint; the reformed middle school bully, Dirk; Jack’s loyal pet monster, Rover; and Jack’s crush, June. With their help, Jack is going to slay Blarg, achieve the ultimate Feat of Apocalyptic Success, and be average no longer! Can he do it?
    The Last Kids on Earth Book Cover Picture
    The Last Kids on Earth Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $13.99

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  2. 2
    My Father's Dragon Book Cover Picture
    My Father's Dragon Book Cover Picture
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    My Father’s Dragon

    by Ruth Stiles Gannett

    When Elmer Elevator hears about the baby dragon being held captive on Wild Island, he knows just what to do. First, he packs his knapsack with important supplies, like chewing gum, lollipops, and lots of rubberbands. Then he stows away on a ship headed for theisland. Along the way, Elmer meets many exotic animals. Each tries to sidetrack him, but Elmer has sometricks up his sleeve . . . or more precisely, in his knapsack. One way or another, he will rescue the dragon!
    My Father's Dragon Book Cover Picture
    My Father's Dragon Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $6.99

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  3. 3
    The Night Diary Book Cover Picture
    The Night Diary Book Cover Picture
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    The Night Diary

    by Veera Hiranandani

    It’s 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders. Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn’t know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it’s too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can’t imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together.
    The Night Diary Book Cover Picture
    The Night Diary Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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  4. 4
    Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers Book Cover Picture
    Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers Book Cover Picture
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    Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers

    by Anna James

    Since her mother’s disappearance, eleven-year-old Tilly Pages has found comfort in the stories at Pages & Co., her grandparents’ bookshop. But when her favorite characters, Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Wonderland, start showing up at the shop,Tilly’s adventures become very real. Not only can she follow Anne and Alice into their books, she discovers she can bookwander into any story she chooses. Tilly’s new ability leads her to fun and exciting adventures, but danger may be lurking on the very next page…
    Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers Book Cover Picture
    Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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  5. 5
    Clean Getaway Book Cover Picture
    Clean Getaway Book Cover Picture
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    Clean Getaway

    by Nic Stone

    Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, take a trip with this New York Times bestseller and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover that the world hasn’t always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren’t always what they seem–his G’ma included.
    Clean Getaway Book Cover Picture
    Clean Getaway Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $16.99

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  6. 6
    Wonder Book Cover Picture
    Wonder Book Cover Picture
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    Wonder

    by R. J. Palacio

    August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. Wonder begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
    Wonder Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $17.99

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  7. 7
    Holes Book Cover Picture
    Holes Book Cover Picture
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    Holes

    by Louis Sachar

    Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
    Holes Book Cover Picture
    Holes Book Cover Picture
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    Mass Market Paperback
    $8.99

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  8. 8
    My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich Book Cover Picture
    My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich Book Cover Picture
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    My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich

    by Ibi Zoboi

    Twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet has lived with her beloved grandfather Jeremiah in Huntsville, Alabama ever since she was little. As one of the first black engineers to integrate NASA, Jeremiah has nurtured Ebony-Grace’s love for all things outer space and science fiction—especially Star Wars and Star Trek. But in the summer of 1984, when trouble arises with Jeremiah, it’s decided she’ll spend a few weeks with her father in Harlem. Harlem is an exciting and terrifying place for a sheltered girl from Hunstville, and Ebony-Grace’s first instinct is to retreat into her imagination. But soon 126th Street begins to reveal that it has more in common with her beloved sci-fi adventures than she ever thought possible, and by summer’s end, Ebony-Grace discovers that Harlem has a place for a girl whose eyes are always on the stars.
    My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich Book Cover Picture
    My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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  9. 9
    The Penderwicks Book Cover Picture
    The Penderwicks Book Cover Picture
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    The Penderwicks

    by Jeanne Birdsall

    This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon they are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel’s sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures. The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will—won’t they? One thing’s for sure: it will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget.
    The Penderwicks Book Cover Picture
    The Penderwicks Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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  10. 10
    The Phantom Tollbooth Book Cover Picture
    The Phantom Tollbooth Book Cover Picture
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    The Phantom Tollbooth

    by Norton Juster

    For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason. Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams!
    The Phantom Tollbooth Book Cover Picture
    The Phantom Tollbooth Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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  11. 11
    Harbor Me Book Cover Picture
    Harbor Me Book Cover Picture
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    Harbor Me

    by Jacqueline Woodson

    It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat–by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for “A Room to Talk”), they discover it’s safe to talk about what’s bothering them–everything from Esteban’s father’s deportation and Haley’s father’s incarceration to Amari’s fears of racial profiling and Ashton’s adjustment to his changing family fortunes. When the six are together, they can express the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. And together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives.
    Harbor Me Book Cover Picture
    Harbor Me Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $8.99

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