Every Hero Has a Story: Middle Grade Reading List

Middle grade literature is filled with heroes of all types. This list includes superheroes, an Army lieutenant, a spy, a babysitter, a lunch lady, and a Jedi in training.

• Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger
  When Lenny Flem, Jr.'s best friend, Casper, buys a fake mustache and uses it to brainwash the entire country into committing robberies, Lenny teams up with TV star Jodie O’Rodeo to  unmask his friend as the fraud he really is. 
• El Deafo by Cece Bell
  When she starts public school, Cece's Phonic Ear hearing aid makes her stand out as different from her classmates, until she discovers that the device also gives her a superpower - access to the teachers' private conversations.
• Star Wars: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown
  The learning curve is steep for Roan, a native of Tatooine when he is accepted to the Jedi Academy instead of the Pilot Academy.
• Ruby Redfort: Look into My Eyes by Lauren Child
  Ruby Redfort, a precocious middle schooler is recruited into a secret society known as Spectrum, where she finds herself in pursuit of a truth others have died trying to uncover.
• Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
  In letters addressed to his favorite author - some sent, others saved in diary - Leigh Botts records the details of the events in his life, such as a classmate routinely stealing from his lunchbox, and his struggle to cope with his truck driver dad’s long absences. 
• About Average by Andrew Clements
  Jordan Johnston, a girl who feels terribly average, becomes an unlikely hero when disaster unexpectedly strikes her school. 
• Crunch by Leslie Connor
  When Dewey is left to look after his parents' bike shop, he never imagines that a gas shortage will make their business crucial to the town's survival, or that he will catch a thief stealing parts from the shop.
• Hunter Moran Saves the Universe by Patricia Reilly Giff
  Troublemaker Hunter Moran and his twin brother, Zack, suspect a local dentist is planning to destroy the town with a bomb, and they begin gathering evidence to expose him. 
• Superheroes by Jimmy Gownley
  Disguised as their superhero alter egos, Amelia McBride and her friends wage war against a rival group, the Legion of Steves. This is third of eight books in the Amelia Rules! series. 
• Fashion Kitty by Charise Mericle Harper
  On her birthday, Kiki Kittie makes a wish and suddenly becomes Fashion Kitty, a superhero with the power to solve fashion crises. 
• Babymouse: Our Hero by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
  In this second book of the beloved graphic novel series, Babymouse faces off against her nemesis, Felicia Furrypaws, in a game of dodgeball, which she hates.
• Squish: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
  An amoeba named Squish imagines that he is his favorite  superhero, Super Amoeba, as he goes through his regular day-to-day life at school.
• The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic by Uma Krishnaswami
  In this sequel to The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, Dini and her best friend, Maddie, reunite in Washington, DC for a movie premiere starring their favorite Bollywood star, Dolly Singh, whose many bizarre troubles they must try to solve. 
• Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett Krosoczka
  In this first book of a series, Hector, Terrence, and Dee discover that the lady who serves their lunch is actually a superhero with a variety of kitchen-themed gadgets which she uses to defeat enemies such as a robot substitute teacher. 
• Mary Anne Saves the Day by Ann M. Martin
  When Mary Anne's babysitting charge comes down with a very high fever, her quick thinking saves the little girl's life.
• Capture the Flag by Kate Messner
  While stranded in an airport due to snow, Anna, José, and Henry discover that the Star Spangled banner has been stolen from a DC museum, and they take it upon themselves to uncover it from the thieves, who are also snowed in. 
• Postcards from Pismo by Michael Scotto
  In this contemporary epistolary novel inspired by Dear Mr. Henshaw, Felix Maldonado writes to Marcus Greene, an Army lieutenant serving in Afghanistan whose advice helps Felix when his own brother decides to enlist.