Display: Outstanding Intermediates

Outstanding Intermediates

The chapter books in this display are in our Intermediate section and received at least one starred review in a national book review journal this year.

I Am Not a Number
By Jenny Duprius
Orca Book Pub, 2016. Intermediate. 32 p.
When Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school, she is confused, frightened and terribly homesick.

Mango and Bambang: the Not-a-Pig
By Polly Faber
Candlewick Press, 2016. Intermediate. 135 p.
Bambang, a displaced tapir, requires a great deal of coaxing and comforting to help him acclimate to the big city, and Mango is just the girl for the job. But when Mango faces a nerve-racking challenge of her own, will Bambang be able to return the favor?

Where are You Going, Baby Lincoln?
(Tales from Deckawoo Drive #3)
By Kate DiCamillo
Timid Baby Lincoln has always lived in the shadow of her bossy sister. One day she decides to take a “necessary” journey into the unknown all by herself.

Skunked
(Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet #1)
By Jacqueline Kelly
Henry Holt, 2016. Intermediate. 106 p.
When Travis discovers an abandoned baby skunk, he can't help but bring it home and take care of it. But when Travis discovers Stinky's litter-mate, Winky, who is in need of some help, things get complicated around the Tate house.

The Sea Pony
(Piper Green and the Fairy Tree #3)
By Ellen Porter
Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. Intermediate. 114p.
On an island off the coast of Maine, where children ride lobster boats to school, Piper wants a horse but finds, instead, another object hidden in the red maple tree.

Juana & Lucas
By Juana Medina
Candlewick Press, 2016, Intermediate. 88 p.
A spunky young girl from Colombia loves playing with her canine best friend and resists boring school activities, especially learning English, until her family tells her that a special trip is planned to an English-speaking place.

The Poet’s Dog
By Patricia MacLachlan
HarperCollins, 2016. Intermediate. 88 p.
A dog with unusual communication talents loses his poet owner before rescuing two children trapped in a snowstorm and leading them to the poet's cabin, where the children explore the memories that the poet has left behind.

Life According to Dani
By Rose Legercrantz
Gecko Press, 2016. Intermediate. 103 p.
It's Dani's first summer vacation and she is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. Dad is still in hospital but he calls every day, and Ella and Dani stay busy building huts, fishing, exploring, and swimming.

Comments

Review: Fowl Play

Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Review: Alice with a Why

Alice with a Why By Anna James New York: Penguin, 2026. Fiction. 240 pgs. In 1919, in the aftermath of the first World War, Alyce is living with her grandmother in the English countryside. Her grandmother, also named Alice, tells Alyce (with a y) stories from her childhood adventures in a wonderful land filled with white rabbits and mad hatters. Alyce doesn't really believe the silly stories, she just misses her father who was killed in the war. One day, Alyce receives a mysterious invitation to tea, and subsequently falls into a pond where she is transported to Wonderland. Her grandmother, of course, is that Alice. Alyce is prompted by the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and March Hare to seek out the Time Being and put an end to the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. Thus begins Alyce's adventure through Wonderland. I have a certain soft spot for the original story of Alice in Wonderland. It is one of my particular favorites and I often have a hard time reading new int...

Review: Blood in the Water

Blood in the Water By Tiffany D. Jackson New York: Scholastic, 2025. Fiction. 255 pages. 12-year-old Kaylani McKinnon can't help but feel like a fish out of water. She's a Brooklyn girl spending her summer on Martha's Vineyard surrounded by wealthy family friends in their mansion. All she really wants is to stay home all summer where she her incarcerated father can easily reach her, and she can keep working to find ways to prove him innocent of fraud and embezzlement. Despite her protests, she finds herself on the island with the snooty granddaughters of her host. Soon after Kaylani's arrival, a popular teen boy is found murdered and she decides to conduct her own investigation. As she tries to discover what happened to Chadwick Cooper, Kaylani finds that not everything on Martha's Vineyard is as perfect as it appears. Thrillers for middle grade readers can be hard to find, but Tiffany D. Jackson succeeds in her first middle grade novel. A quick moving plot, tight d...

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