Middle school is a great time to nurture a love of learning and reading within your child or students. Introducing middle school students to classic books is a great way to open the door to imaginative learning. Share your favorite books and look for ways to talk about middle school books to keep a love of reading alive in your middle schooler! Check out this book list of classic literature for middle school students!
1. Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a great family story full of adventure and experiences. This middle school classic is ideal for boys or girls. The entire family or class will enjoy reading about the fun times of Peter Pan and Wendy, as they face challenges.
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2. A Wrinkle in Time
In this middle school classic, a comfortable family enjoys time at home together as they have a nice snack. A Wrinkle in Time is a great adventure story that shows how an unearthly figure comes into their home to show them some things they don't know about time.
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3. Holes
Holes is a favorite of many middle school students. This touching story of loyalty is great for a book club or literature circle. Avid readers may enjoy this book so much that they want to read the sequel, which follows the characters after they leave the ranch.
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4. The Outsiders
This classic novel is perfect for middle schoolers, who face many challenges as they mature. This realistic fiction book is great for helping students see things through and how characters can be relatable to their own lives and friends.
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5. The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild is a favorite book among children of all ages. It follows a dog in the Yukon, where he learns to be a leader. This story of survivalist and perseverance is a book that draws middle school boys in and lets them join Buck on his adventures through the Yukon.
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6. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Middle school boys may find that it is easy to relate to Tom Sawyer. Fun-loving and spirited, Tom seeks adventure in his sleepy town, along the Mississippi River. This middle school book has a sequel that is well known, too!
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7. The Secret Garden
Perfect for middle school girls, The Secret Garden is a story packed full of adventure. As Mary, the British girl in the story, weathers life and her own personal tragedies, she meets others who help her find strength and kindness within herself, as they all bond in a secret, hidden garden.
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8. Walk Two Moons
This award-winning book is a great choice for middle school girls. The content is more mature and addresses real-life events that some teens must deal with as they grow up. Books for girls, like this one, can inspire strength and courage.
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9. The Pigman
Written in the 1960s, The Pigman is a young adult book that contains many mature topics. It is a story full of friendship and happy events, but it is peppered with loss and grief and other topics of mature nature as well. Even adult readers may enjoy this story.
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10. King Arthur
Packed with adventure and the wild nature of knights and battles, King Arthur is a great book to use to get your middle schooler inspired by fiction books! This magical book inspires bravery and adventure as the characters face challenges and work to overcome them.
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11. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
This American novel is a great opportunity for middle school boys to dive headfirst into the adventures of a young boy their own age. Huckleberry Finn is set in a time of slavery and bears the scars of racism. It is a powerful novel with themes of overcoming and appreciating the dignity of human beings. It is adventure packed and ideal for young readers crossing into the young adult genre.
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12. The Cricket in Times Square
The first in a series of many others to follow, The Cricket in Times Square is a childhood favorite among middle school students. A cricket befriends a mouse and a cat in American society in this story. Heartwarming and sweet, this is another family story everyone can enjoy.
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13. The Black Stallion
This classic novel is about a boy and a horse. While awaiting rescue, the young boy and the wild horse face adventure together.
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14. Harry Potter
Loved worldwide, the Harry Potter series is a big hit among middle school-aged boys and girls. As Harry explores the world of magic and witchcraft, he makes many friends and enemies along the way.
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15. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
This beautiful coming-of-age novel is a story of friendship and belonging. Many middle school girls will relate to this story and its main character. While her friends have their own religions and beliefs, Margaret shares a very special relationship with God.
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16. Lord of the Flies
Written in the 1950s, Lord of the Flies is still a classic today. Young boys who find themselves stranded on an island must learn to live. Through panic and horror, they must face the days ahead and figure out the best chances of survival.
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17. Island of the Blue Dolphins
A picture of courage and bravery, Karana lives alone in isolation for many years. She sets up a home for herself and learns to survive the elements of nature all alone. She is twelve years old and lives the next eighteen years in solitude.
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18. Esperanza Rising
Living her life in a privileged and lavish way, Esperanza finds herself facing a totally new way of life when the Great Depression hits, and she is forced to flee her home and work in a labor camp. She must face many challenges and find a way to make it better for herself and her mom.
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19. Hunger Games
This worldwide bestseller and its sequels are big hits for the author, Suzanne Collins. These young adult books tell the story of how winning and losing can also mean life and death. Follow Kat as she steps in for her sister and competes in a life or death challenge, as she must decide about things that will help or hurt her.
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20. A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a timeless classic that tells the story of a miserable old man who has the chance to see his life in a different light and make some changes that can impact his future. This inspiring tale will help teens see the value of perspective.
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21. Tuck Everlasting
This classic tale of Winnie, a young girl who discovers a fountain of youth on her family's land, is beautifully written for young readers. Faced with the decision of drinking from the spring or spilling the secrets of a family who has, this story is the perfect fiction tale of a young girl wrestling with choice.
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22. Bud, Not Buddy
Bud, Not Buddy is an American classic, set in the time of segregation and blatant racism, this story portrays a young boy off in search of his father. Readers will connect to the character and relate to the hardships a young boy can face.
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23. The Book Thief
Bold and full of mature topics, this young adult novel is a favorite among teens and adults. The Book Thief is a novel that offers topics that aren't always shared so freely with young readers. Grief and sadness run through this story, as readers process the storyline.
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24. The Hundred Dresses
The Hundred Dresses is a beautiful story of love and friendship. As Wanda is bullied for always wearing the same exact dress each day, her classmates know she doesn't own a hundred dresses, as she claims. One day, her classmates take a stand, and the dynamic changes for Wanda. Middle school girls will enjoy this beautiful tale full of sympathy and caring.
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25. Little Women
Set during the Civil War, Little Women is a tale of four girls, all different in their own ways. Based on the author's childhood, this classic follows four sisters as they live life in their own ways and face their own happiness and challenges.
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26. Where the Red Fern Grows
Ten-year-old Billy is the happiest boy around when he gets two dogs of his very own, Ann and Dan. This emotional story follows their adventures throughout the Ozarks, as Billy bonds with his pups. This touching story is one that will leave an impact on young readers.
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27. The Giver
As Jonas is assigned a very special role in his community, he begins to understand life and all it means, in a completely different way. This book is the first in a book series, packed full of rich details and questions. This book and the others in the series sets the tone for students to dive deep into forming opinions and questioning how things look to be versus what they really are.
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28. The Whipping Boy
Suspenseful and peppered with humor, this tale of adventure and wild nature provides readers with a busy storyline of a prince and a pauper trading places and avoiding losing a battle with the ones who have taken them hostage.
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29. Johnny Tremain
As Johnny is bright-eyed and hopeful for a promising future as a silversmith, he suffers an injury that leaves him in search of a new path. He becomes a horse boy and messenger, which leads him to become involved in many pivotal events in the history of our country and with the government.
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30. Sign of the Beaver
Tasked with caring for his family cabin, Matt must learn more about himself in order to truly be a benefit in this award-winning chapter book. He meets new people and learns more about his own culture in the process.
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31. Hatchet
The sole survivor of a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian must learn how to survive the harsh wildness alone with not much more than the clothes on his back and a single hatchet. As Brian weathers the wildness and elements they bring, he begins to mature and learn more about himself than he ever thought possible.
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32. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
This childhood classic is full of fun and adventure, as the main character embarks on a voyage into a new and unknown world. Throughout her journey, Dorothy meets many interesting characters and tries to avoid the wicked ones.
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