Operation YES: Sara Lewis Holmes

This lively book for middle schoolers chronicles the classroom activities and excitement of a group of sixth graders in a school located on an air force base in the US. Their new teacher, Ms. Loupe, uses improvisational drama techniques to stimulate imagination and problem-solving in her students. Once they catch on, classroom energy changes and disinterested students perk up.
When Ms. Loupe's brother is missing in action in Afghanistan and later rescued as a wounded soldier, the class rallies on her behalf, and his. Drama in the classroom and the real life drama ever-present for military kids could be a compelling draw for readers.

Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry

Brother is a sensitive kid growing up on a ranch in Eastern Oregon with his dad and four older brothers. Their mom lives in Italy, estranged from her husband and kids.

Dad commands an Army reserve unit that is called up for Iraq, taking with it many of the young men in their part of the state. Brother has to "toughen up" to help Grandpa keep the ranch going. He takes his job very seriously, wanting the ranch to remain just as dad left it, in good hands, including his own. But circumstances and people change and Brother learns to go with the flow. He hopes that whatever he does, his hard work will ensure his dad's safe return.
But life rarely goes according to plan and crises arise.

This book will be of interest to middle school young people, particularly boys who are considering what it means to grow up when parents leave for temporary duty in the military.

(Published by Random House, 2009).

Lenny's Space by Kate Banks

Nine-year old Lenny is quirky, intelligent and in love with the world. And he comments on what he notices, what he loves, what he intensely dislikes.
His difficulty is that he does not know when sharing all this information is wanted, needed, or appropriate.
Lenny is lonely, he yearns for a friend; and he is brushed aside by his mother, his teacher, his fellow students. No one really appreciates his uniqueness or his struggle to figure out his world until he meets Muriel, a savvy school counselor, and when he encounters his first friend, a boy named Van.
Writing with wisdom, humor and poignancy, the author shows us the strange, troubled, and fascinating daily life of a boy who might be labeled in many schools "impulsive," "willful" , or "clueless."
Grandma's Book Letter recommends this book for parents and counselors of middle school youth for insights about children who look,on the outside,like Lenny but whose thoughts and feelings are unique.

Alice Yazzie's Year by Ramona Maher

This unique picture book will appeal to many children who are ages 6-10. It offers gentle but persistent descriptions of daily life for Alice Ben Yazzie, in the months leading up to her twelfth birthday. Alice lives in Navajo country; the author intersperses her daily thoughts and activities with commentary on the condition of the land in Black Mountain country, the juxtaposition of old ways such as herding sheep, and the new ways, like learning computer drafting. Through this approach, she makes contemporary Navajo life more real and vivid for readers.

Aided by the soft colors and textures of Shanto Begay's drawings, readers will get an intimate look into Alice outdoors waiting for the yellow schoolbus, talking to a captive buffalo at the rodeo, and sleeping under her grandmother's picturesque woven rug. Begay dedicates his illustrations "to all the girls of the Navajo Nation who emobdy the spirit of Alice Yazzie. Grow into your holiness, into your lives. Sow and harvest compassion and strength."
Begay was born and raised in the Navajo Nation community of Shanto, Arizona. His artwork is famous and collected worldwide.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

"Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all."
Emily Dickinson

Frannie doesn't know what to make of the poem she's reading in school. She hasn't thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy." There is a new boy in her class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although he looks like a white kid, he says he's not. Who is he?

During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light--her brother Sean's deafness, her mother's fear of having another miscarriage, the class bully's anger, her best friend's faith and her own desire for "the thing with feathers."

Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells

India Moody lives in northern Virginia with her family. They are caught in the whirlwind and chaos of the Civil War. India, at 14, has intense questions about the war: why is it happening, is it about slavery, why do some neighbors fight for the North while others don uniforms for the South? Underneath it all is the unspoken question: what is war really like and why do people pursue it, often to hopeless ends?
Wells uses the probing of India as she navigates between her parents, the oncoming Union troops, freed slaves, and ravaged neighbors to ask these important questions which are contemporary in the age of Iraq and Afghanistan. She experiences the horrors of a battlefield while she presses to find her father who is in charge of ambulances and care of the wounded in his Rebel regiment.
Although the story of Civil War chaos and struggle has been told many times, this book offers a unique opportunity to readers, their parents and teachers to look at the issues it raises and come to their own conclusions.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson

This excellent teen novel was originally published in England by Greenwillow Books. It features Irish teen J.J. Liddy who discovers that time is "leaking" from his Irish world into the land of the fairies. When he attempts to stop the leak, especially because his mother has requested a gift of more time in her life, he finds out a lot about the history of his musical family. It seems his parents and grandparents, and now J.J. and his sibs, have been playing, composing and sharing the folk music of their area for as along as anyone can remember. The fiddle J.J. plays had belonged to his grandda, a fiddle with a story. So J.J. sets out to enter another land and learn music and background from the little people.
Lyrical, magical, humorous and practically brimming over with Irish tunes both on the page and in the lilt of the story, this is a great read for anyone ages 10-16.

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Lucky is a lively ten year old girl who lives in Hard Rock, California, population 43, with her foster mother, Brigitte. It's a desert town where Lucky desperately wants Brigitte to stay with her because he own mother died in a tragic accident in a desert rainstorm. She believes that Brigitte, however, wants to return to her home in France, sending Lucky back to her father. Lucky is unusual, humorous and imaginative. Her paid job, one of the very few in Hard Rock, is to clean up after twelve-step meetings at the local community center. When no one is aware, she eavesdrops on AA meetings and learns about Higher Powers. And wants to gain some for herself.
This Newbery Award winning book will delight most middle school girls, particularly those who like coming-of-age tales. Controversy over a single word in the text was ill-founded and should be ignored.

King and King

King and King, by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland, is a lighthearted tale of love and marriage among non-traditional young lovebirds. Pressured by his mother to get married, the prince rejects her choices and finds another prince who wins his heart.

Firegirl

Firegirl, by Tony Abbott.

Tom, a 7th grader, responds in shock and horror when Jessica, a disfigured burn survivor, joins his class at school. This is the story of Tom’s internal responses to Jessica’s physical appearance and the actions and words of their classmates, whose fear propels them into aggression and exclusion of their new classmate.

Rules

Rules, by Cynthia Lord.

Catherine, age 12, just wants to live a normal life, but that’s nearly impossible with a brother who has autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She devises rules for her brother to avoid embarrassment and conflict.