middle grade Archives - Page 73 of 363

The Do More Club
by Dana Kramaroff (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Ever since twelve-year-old Josh Kline found an antisemitic note in his family’s mailbox in third grade, he has felt uncomfortable about his Jewish identity. At a new school where he’s pretty sure he’s the only Jew, he’s hoping to just keep religion out of everything . . . until the morning someone sprays swastikas all over the building. That’s when everything changes.

In one of the school counseling groups set up in response to the attack, Josh finally reveals that he is Jewish, and quickly finds out there’s more to the other kids in his grade too: All of them have their own struggles. Maybe Josh can do something to help–to “repair the world” as his rabbi teaches, by starting a Do More club to spread kindness. But making a difference is never simple, even when you have new friends by your side.

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Picture Day: (A Graphic Novel)
by Sarah Sax (Author / Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Seventh-grader Viv never looks forward to picture day. It’s just another day where she wears a boring braid and no one notices her. (Her two best friends, Milo and Al, don’t count, of course.)

But enough is enough. This year, she’s taking matters into her own hands. Literally. Viv grabs a pair of scissors, her phone for live-streaming, and, well, bye-bye braid.

Suddenly Viv is an over-night influencer at Brinkley Middle School. Everyone wants her help planning their next big moment–from haircuts, to dance proposals, activist rallies and mathlete championships. She hardly even has time for her friends anymore. It’s exactly how she dreamed of reinventing herself…right?

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