Representation in middle-grade fiction is at an all-time high right now. Every season, I see more and more BIPOC authors sharing stories through the lens of their experiences, culture, and their environment.
It is what I wish I could have grown up with as an avid middle-grade reader in the 90s. However, I am now experiencing the joy of sharing these books with my children.
There have even been some stories that have made me a little emotional. My kids have looked at me with wild eyes, "why are you crying? This isn't sad". To them, reading about kids that look like them is normal. To me, it is incredible and new.
Middle-grade books by BIPOC authors to read with your young readers!
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls
Kaela Rivera
When a powerful desert spirit kidnaps her sister, Cece Rios must learn forbidden magic to get her back in this #ownvoices middle-grade fantasy debut perfect for fans of Storm Runner and Aru Shah and the End of Time.
Publication Date: 3/17/21
Efren Divided
Ernesto Cisneros
When Efrén's mother is deported to Mexico, he takes on greater responsibilities at home, as his father gets a second job to try to get the money to bring Amá home. An Own Voices novel by a talented debut author, about family, friendship, and tearing down the walls being built between all of us.
Publication Date: 5/12/21
Love Sugar Magic
Anna Meriano, Mirelle Ortega
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble is the debut book in a delightful, lighthearted, fun, and character-driven young middle-grade series about a family of Mexican American bakers who also happen to be brujas—witches!
Publication Date: Available Now
Cuba in My Pocket
Adrianna Cuevas
A middle-grade historical novel about a twelve-year-old boy who leaves his family in Cuba to immigrate to the U.S. by himself, based on the author's family history.
Publication Date: 9/21/21
Loteria
Karla Arenas Valenti
The turn of a card could change your destiny in this captivating middle-grade adventure based on the Lotería card game and perfect for fans of Coco. While searching for her missing cousin, a young girl is transported to a mythical kingdom, becoming entangled in a perilous game of chance.
Publication Date: 9/21/21
The Last Cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera
Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and discovers she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship and purged the memories of all aboard. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
Publication Date: 10/12/21
Rima's Rebellion
Margarita Engle
An inspiring coming-of-age story from award-winning author Margarita Engle about a girl falling in love for the first time while finding the courage to protest for women’s right to vote in 1920s Cuba.
Publication Date: 2/15/22
Merci Suarez Can't Dance
Meg Medina
In Meg Medina’s follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning novel, Merci takes on the seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love—and finding your rhythm.
Publication Date: 4/6/21
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna
Alda P. Dobbs A tale of one family's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border during the Mexican Revolution that is every bit as relevant and heartbreaking today Publication Date: 9/14/21
Catalina Incognito
Jennifer Torres
One Day at a Time meets Mindy Kim in this first book in a charming new chapter book series about Catalina Castaneda, a Mexican American girl with a magical sewing kit!
Publication Date: 3/22/22
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