500 Books Before Middle School: April 2026Like this list

20 items

• A Home on the Page

  Yang, Kao Kalia, 1980-

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  After a hateful message is spray-painted on her family's mailbox, Nou's sense of home is upended. She asks her parents if they can move somewhere else, to which they respond: "America is your home."

• Rock and Roll

  Thompson, Ruby Amy,

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  A rock named Rock and a bread roll named Roll have very different characteristics and strengths. But they also have a lot of similarities, such as loving to get dressed up and doing well under pressure.

• Theo Tan and the Iron Fan

  Sutanto, Jesse Q.,

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  After Theo Tan inherited his older brother Jamie's fox spirit, Kai, he and Kai embarked on a perilous mission to expose the corruption at Reapling Corporation. They succeeded but learned that Jamie was not allowed to move on after death and is now…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dr. Zeus

  Patterson, James, 1947-

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  Twelve-year-old Nick Andino is visited by Zeus and Hermes who reveal that he must complete an epic quest and save one of his ancestors in ancient Greece or his family will be erased from history.

• Reach

  Rimington, Celesta,

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  After a ruined morning caused by Harlan, his pesky, attention-seeking new stepbrother, Denver slips into the woods and finds an isolated, talking ponderosa tree called Spiro.

• Eureka

  Chang, Victoria, 1970-

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  With violence increasing against Chinese immigrants in 1884 San Francisco and threats against her family, 12-year-old Mei Mei's parents send her hours north to the community of Eureka, where they believe she will be safe and where schools are…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Daughter of Death

  Forgettable, Fern,

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  Thirteen-year-old Rosemary and her classmates ready for Fern's School for Wayward Fae's annual Yule Hunt, a scavenger hunt in which participants must solve a series of puzzles for a special prize.

• Calm.

  Hayes, Gail,

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  Two characters, Bubble and Slug, present children with two different ways to react to various situations.

• The Baseball Encyclopedia

  Kostival, Alec,

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  Provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of the game of baseball with visual aids, describing its rules, player positions, game strategies, history and leagues in the U.S. and around the world.

• The Claiming

  Warga, Jasmine,

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  Even though Teddy and Lila successfully banished the fire maiden, Teddy's nightmares continue. Teddy looks forward to starting school with Lila, who, along with her brother, is his only real friend.

• Pug the Unicorn

  May, Kyla,

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  When Bella learns that a unicorn might live in the town woods, she and Baron von Bubbles set out to investigate, but things get complicated when Bubbles gets lost in the woods.

• Dexter

  the Stand Up Dog

  Kelso, Bonnie,

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  A dramatization of the true story of Dexter, the three-legged dog who became social media-famous during the COVID-19 lockdowns for learning how to stand and walk on his hind legs like a human.

• Love Rolls in

  Downing, Erin Soderberg,

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  Brother and sister Henry and Ruby help care for the animal sanctuary their family runs on a farm, and confront a new challenge when a puppy with injured back legs arrives at their veterinarian mother's clinic and struggles to trust people and other…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• X Marks the Haunt

  Currie, Lindsay,

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  When a lost crypt key awakens a dark force at Graceland Cemetery, 12-year-old Will, armed with his graveyard know-how, teams up with his friends to uncover the spirit's identity and end the haunting for good.

• The Road From Nowhere

  Avi, 1937-

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  Fourteen-year-old Ollie lives in Gatchett's Gluch, a small silver mining town in the Colorado desert. He hopes to find silver in order to help his mother and younger brother Gus move away from the town. Then a geologist arrives in town who knows…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Eva Saves the Day

  Elliott, Rebecca,

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  Eva and her classmates are excited to dress up as superheroes and go on class picnic by the river to celebrate Be a Swooper Hero Week, but Eva and Lucy get a chance to be a real superhero when they find 25 mysterious eggs.

• The Ink Witch

  Cherrywell, Steph,

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  Nearing the end of a long, boring summer, transgender Becca Slug wants something exciting to happen, and expresses as much to the large spider living outside of her family's lodge, Cape Disappointment Beach Inn.

• The Legend of Chocolate Hills

  Stilton, Geronimo,

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  Geronimo Stilton finds himself in the middle of a new mystery when he receives a letter from an old friend telling him to come to the Chocolate Hills as soon as possible, and he travels to an island in the Philippines with the best detective in New…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Big Cats, Small Cats

  Jazynka, Kitson,

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  Provides facts about 101 wild and domesticated cats ranging from tigers and cheetahs to Ragdolls and Persians.

• 500 Books Before Middle School

  View on jeffcolibrary.org

  Inspire a deep and lifelong love of reading with JCPL's 500 Books Before Middle School, a literacy program for elementary-aged students.