A new month brings some new and amazing middle grade reads. Today, I’m sharing a list of 14 awesome middle grade books to read in December 2020!
There are so many great middle grade books to read in December 2020 that will make perfect Christmas gifts, too! If you buy them as a gift or get them at the library for your child, they’ll love these new stories.
Whether you’re a teacher, a parent or simply just love to read middle grade books, than this list is for you! With fantasy, contemporary and everything in between, you’ll find the best middle grade books to read in December 2020.
And in case you missed it, I shared a list of 40 new young adult and adult book releases for December 2020, yesterday!
December 1st
Fantasy • Knopf Books for Young Readers
The Girl Who Drank the Moon meets Pax in this fantastical tale of a wolf who forms an unlikely alliance with Baba Yaga to save the forest from a wicked tsar.
Since she was a pup, Zima has been taught to fear humans — especially witches — but when her family is threatened, she has no choice but to seek help from the witch Baba Yaga.
Baba Yaga never does magic for free, but it just so happens that she needs a wolf’s keen nose for a secret plan she’s brewing … Before Zima knows what’s happening, the witch has cast a switching spell and run off into the woods, while Zima is left behind in Baba Yaga’s hut — and Baba Yaga’s body!
Meanwhile, a young village girl named Nadya is also seeking the witch’s help, and when she meets Zima (in Baba Yaga’s form), they discover that they face a common enemy. With danger closing in, Zima must unite the wolves, the witches and the villagers against an evil that threatens them all.
A pioneering new graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey, the author and illustrator of the internationally bestselling Dog Man and Captain Underpants series.
In Cat Kid Comic Club, Li’l Petey, Flippy, and Molly introduce twenty-one rambunctious, funny, and talented baby frogs to the art of comic making. As the story unwinds with mishaps and hilarity, readers get to see the progress, mistakes, and improvements that come with practice and persistence.
From debut author Van Hoang comes Girl Giant and the Monkey King, a tale packed with magic, adventure, and middle-school woes — perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Roshani Chokshi.
Eleven-year-old Thom Ngho is keeping a secret: she’s strong. Like suuuuper strong. Freakishly strong. And it’s making it impossible for her to fit in at her new middle school.
In a desperate bid to get rid of her super strength, Thom makes a deal with the Monkey King, a powerful deity and legendary trickster she accidentally released from his 500-year prison sentence. Thom agrees to help the Monkey King get back his magical staff if he’ll take away her strength.
Soon Thom is swept up in an ancient and fantastical world in where demons, dragons, and Jade princesses actually exist. But she quickly discovers that magic can’t cure everything, and dealing with the trickster god might be more trouble than it’s worth.
Contemporary • Delacorte Books for Young Readers
The seven kids who bonded in Mr. Terupt’s fifth-grade class are in eighth grade now and reunited with their beloved teacher. Readers will once again be inspired by how the kids face their challenges and by the adults who help them along the way.
Jeffrey, Alexia, Anna, Danielle, Luke, Peter, and Jessica are thrilled to have their beloved teacher, Mr. Terupt, back for the school year as their biweekly advisor. They still rely on him for guidance in everything, including these predicaments: Jeffrey wants to make varsity wrestling, but at what cost? Worried that she may have the same cancer gene as her mom, Alexia takes a DNA test — only she’s scared to open the results. Neglected by her soon-to-be-married mom, and wounded by Jeffrey’s callous brush-off, Anna keeps her hurt feelings bottled up — until she can’t. Danielle has ups and downs with her diabetes, but her budding romance with Luke proves to be the real challenge. Luke’s tackling lots of difficult schoolwork, none of it harder than letting Danielle know he likes her. Anxious about her dad’s return, Jessica pours her heart into writing poetry. Angry at what he thinks is a betrayal, Peter gives Mr. Terupt the silent treatment.
To celebrate their remaining time with Mr. Terupt, the students hatch bucket-list type projects to make the school year important, memorable, and way bigger than just the group. Will the gang stick together down to the final project? Will their friendships endure after the difficult goodbye?
A joyful middle grade novel based on the Netflix holiday film Jingle Jangle A Chistmas Journey, starring Phylicia Rashad, Forrest Whitaker, Anika Noni Rose, Keegan Michael Key, and newcomer Madalen Mills, about an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention, that if they can get it to work in time for the holidays, could change their lives forever.
A delightful middle grade story based on the Netflix holiday film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey! A holiday tale set in the snow-covered town of Cobbleton, Jingle Jangle follows eccentric toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker) whose fanciful inventions burst with whimsy and wonder. But when a betrayal by a former protege (Keegan-Michael Key) leaves Jeronicus withdrawn and down on his luck, it’s up to his bright and adventurous granddaughter, Journey (newcomer Madalen Mills) — and a singularly magical invention — to save the day. From the imagination of writer/director David E. Talbert and producer Lyn Sisson-Talbert, featuring original music by John Legend, Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan, and Michael Diskint. Jingle Jangle reminds you that anything is possible … if you believe.
It’s not the big bad wolf that stops Little Red Hoodie from getting to grandma’s house in this rollicking take on the fairy tale — Red can’t follow directions!
Follow Magic Wand Lane to Glass Slipper Boulevard, right on Beanstalk, left on Breadcrumb, down the Garden Path, and you’re there, said Little Red Hoodie’s mom, but Red wasn’t exactly paying attention.
Before she knows it, she’s hopelessly lost in the forest — and to make matters worse, someone has stolen her basket of goodies. It’ll take the whole forest to undercover the thief and get the directionally challenged Little Red Hoodie back on track to Grandma’s house.
A companion to the delightfully irreverent Goldilocks, Go Home!, this latest from Martha Freeman features all the wit and charm of the first book as well as cameos by Bobby (Baby) Bear, the Pig Brothers from HoGTV, Chicken Little, and many more. Marta Sevilla’s clever drawings effortlessly capture the spirited banter among characters as Little Red Hoodie and Bobby Bear take turns narrating the story.
Folklore • Roaring Brook Press
Real life and fairy tales collide in Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy, book one in the new middle-grade Never After series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Descendants series, Melissa de la Cruz.
Nothing ever happens in Filomena Jefferson-Cho’s sleepy little suburban town of North Pasadena. The sun shines every day, the grass is always a perfect green, and while her progressive school swears there’s no such thing as bullying, she still feels bummed out. But one day, when Filomena is walking home on her own, something strange happens.
Filomena is being followed by Jack Stalker, one of the heroes in the Thirteenth Fairy, a series of books she loves about a brave girl and her ragtag group of friends who save their world from an evil enchantress. She must be dreaming, or still reading a book. But Jack is insistent — he’s real, the stories are real, and Filomena must come with him at once!
Soon, Filomena is thrust into the world of evil fairies and beautiful princesses, sorcerers and slayers, where an evil queen drives her ruthless armies to destroy what is left of the Fairy tribes. To save herself and the kingdom of Westphalia, Filomena must find the truth behind the fairytales and set the world back to rights before the cycle of sleep and destruction begins once more.
Mystery • HMH Books for Young Readers
In this standalone companion to The Van Gogh Deception, Art and Camille team up once again to solve a large museum theft, using one of the biggest heists in history to help them solve the case. Perfect for fans of Dan Brown and the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Book Scavenger series.
Something’s brewing at the National Portrait Gallery Museum in Washington, D.C. twelve-year-old Art is sure of it. But his only proof that a grand heist is about to take place is iced mocha, forty-two steps, and a mysterious woman who appears like clockwork in the museum.
When Art convinces his best friend, Camille, that the heist is real, the two begin a thrilling chase through D.C. to uncover a villainous scheme that could be the biggest heist since the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum theft in 1990. With a billion dollars’ worth of paintings on the line, the clock is ticking for Art and Camille to solve the conspiracy.
Humour • Random House Books for Young Readers
“For centuries, humans have consumed information through their eyes and our ears,” said Dr. Backbridge. “Here is my prediction. In the not-too-distant future, we are going to ingest information. You won’t need to read a book or attend lectures. The chemicals in these pills will do your learning for you.”
12 year old Jake’s middle school is about to be shut down. Jake and his friends know their school’s worth saving-if they could only figure out how! When Jake spies a bowl of jellybeans at the hotel where his mom works, he eats them. But uh-oh-those weren’t just jellybeans, one of the scientists at his mom’s conference is in the process of developing the first ingestible information pills. And THAT’S what Jake ate.
Before long, Jake is the smartest kid in the universe. But the pills haven’t been tested yet. And when word gets out about this new genius, people want him. The government. The mega corporations. Not all of them are good people! Can Jake navigate all the ins and outs of his newfound geniusdom (not to mention the ins and outs of middle school!) AND use his smarts to figure out how to save his school? (Hint-it will take someone smart enough to decipher an almost forgotten pirate legend!) It turns out, sometimes even the smartest kid has a lot to learn!
December 8th
Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl in this riotously funny, deliciously macabre, and highly illustrated tale of a hungry beast, a vain immortal man, and a not-so-charming little girl who doesn’t know she’s about to be eaten.
Beauty comes at a price. And no one knows that better than Ebenezer Tweezer, who has stayed beautiful for 511 years. How, you may wonder? Ebenezer simply has to feed the beast in the attic of his mansion. In return for meals of performing monkeys, statues of Winston Churchill, and the occasional cactus, Ebenezer gets potions that keep him young and beautiful, as well as other presents.
But the beast grows ever greedier with each meal, and one day he announces that he’d like to eat a nice, juicy child next. Ebenezer has never done anything quite this terrible to hold onto his wonderful life. Still, he finds the absolutely snottiest, naughtiest, and most frankly unpleasant child he can and prepares to feed her to the beast.
The child, Bethany, may just be more than Ebenezer bargained for. She’s certainly a really rather rude houseguest, but Ebenezer still finds himself wishing she didn’t have to be gobbled up after all. Could it be Bethany is less meal-worthy and more … friend-worthy?
December 22nd
In this fast-paced time travel adventure into the future, a girl and her dog set out to save the world from a deadly plague.
He smells terrible. He’ll eat literally anything. And he’s humanity’s only hope …
When 12-year-old Georgie makes friends with an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test-subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual reality 3-D version of the future. At first, it’s just a game. But when a deadly virus threatens to wipe out every pup on the planet, Georgie and her beloved (and very smelly) dog, Mr. Mash, along with best friend Ramzy, must embark on a desperate quest to save the dogs — and also all of humanity. And they have to do it without actually leaving the room. This high-concept, astonishing new novel from the author of Time Traveling with a Hamster takes us on an epic adventure, and asks the question: is it really possible to alter the future?
December 29th
In this 14th addition to the Bestselling Bad Kitty series, Kitty’s life is still hard. Really, really, really hard. She’s always being bothered, Puppy is always in her space (and drooling on her), and her plans for world domination seem to be at a bit of a stand still. So, when she gets the opportunity to go with her very favorite, generous, kind-hearted Uncle Murray to LOVE LOVE ANGEL KITTY WORLD, how on earth could she refuse?
Kitty is so excited — this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime! But what she doesn’t realize is that it will be an adventure just trying to get there … and when she and Uncle Murray end up in a precarious situation, they will have to rely on their wit and love for each other to get themselves out.
Another graphic novel in this fun series spin-off of The Baby-sitters Club, featuring Kristy’s little stepsister.
Karen is having a terrible day. Her favorite jeans are missing, there’s no prize in the Crunch-O cereal box, and Boo-Boo the cat won’t play with her. She even gets punished and sent to her room!
Karen tries everything to make her day better, but nothing is going right and her bad luck just won’t go away. Will this be the worst day ever?
Animals • Crown Books for Young Readers
Fans of The Tales of Despereaux, Pax, and Crenshaw will delight over this friendship story about a brash raven, a dutiful squirrel, and the human girl that brings them together. The perfect read for animal lovers.
Otto P. Nudd: The BEST bird in Ida Valley (at least according to him). While his buddies waste their days at the dump cracking jokes, Otto invents things with his human neighbor Old Man Bartleby in their workshop.
Marla: The Competition. This protective mama-squirrel will swipe Otto’s snacks from under his beak if it means another meal for her babies!
Pippa: The girl who loves the birds in Ida Valley, and Otto most of all. But when Bartleby”s latest contraption lands him in danger, the whole neighborhood — kids and critters alike — will have to join forces to save their oldest friend!
Pin for Later!
Leave a Reply