Good Books Young Troublemakers

I was lucky enough to attend PLA in Minneapolis at the beginning of April and came back so inspired! There were amazing keynote speakers, so many incredible sessions, and an exhibit hall that you would not believe! It was a jam packed three days of sessions and networking opportunities. 

Photo from goodbooksyoungtroublemakers.org

There was one session in particular, presented by Tanvi Rastogi, a school librarian in Minnesota, that I'm still thinking about. Her presentation was titled Speak Up!: Using Middle Grade Books to Build Allyship Muscles. I run a 'tween book club that I feel is pretty successful, but for a while I've been hoping to add more depth to the book discussion. That's where Tanvi's presentation comes in. Tanvi introduced us to Good Books Young Troublemakers (GBYT), an organization that Tanvi founded in 2021. It's an organization that, "uses middle grade books to teach kids how to use their voices and create good and necessary trouble for a lifetime." 

Signing up for a free account gives you access to incredible book club guides for great middle grade books, each of which allows readers to practice their "troublemaking" skills. When emailing with Tanvi about sharing this information here, she said that the discussion guides, "can look overwhelming. I always tell folks to take what they need from them by incorporating a GBYT question or two into their book clubs or by using some of the facilitator talking points to help guide a discussion on a particular topic." I've looked through some of the guides, and can tell you they are an excellent resource! 

If you're interested in learning more about Good Books Young Troublemakers you can visit the website, or reach out to Tanvi at hello@gbyt.org.

Immigration Books for Kids

Photo from readbrightly.com

In a timely article from readbrightly.com, Laura Lambert highlights books for children that speak to the immigrant experience in the United States. She asks, "what does [immigration] mean to a 3-, 6-, or 12-year old?" Included in her list are picture books like, What is a Refugee?, Danbi Leads the School Parade, and Yuyi Morales's award winning Dreamers. 

To see the full list of titles you can read the article here.

[Books for Kids About the Immigrant Experience in America. Lambert, L. Updated in 2026. readbrightly.com]

https://www.readbrightly.com/books-about-immigration-for-kids/

Meet Christopher Roubique @ Oak Creek Public Library!

Photo provided by M. Dietrich

The Oak Creek Public Library will be hosting Wisconsin author Christopher Roubique for the launch of his debut middle grade book Mythspeaker, on Thursday, February 26^th at 6:30p.m.

 

Registration is highly recommended. https://events.getlocalhop.com/meet-oak-creek-author-christopher-roubique/event/Y7HaBFPDHf/

 

A little about the book….

 

Perfect for middle-grade readers ages 8-12 years, Mythspeaker will be published by Viking Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House. For fans of Race to the Sun and the Aru Shah series, this epic fantasy adventure inspired by Indigenous American mythology follows a band of misfit children who must pull off an impossible heist in order to save the world!

 

A little about the author….

 

Christopher Roubique grew up in rural Wisconsin and filled his time—and his heart—with the joys of fantasy and science fiction. His own books leap from those same joys, folding in his Cajun and Indigenous heritage, passion for mental health, and plenty of fantastical creatures. He lives in Oak Creek and has squeezed his wife and daughter beside all those stories in his heart too.

Get in the Taylor Swift Era

Image by Thomas from Pixabay

Every era is library era but is your library in their Taylor Swift era? You could be with some help from a recent ALSC blog post!

Blogger Ann Bailie pulled together some middle grade reading suggestions for Swift's new album Life of a Showgirl. The post also links to more suggestions and a Swift karaoke program. Pair these reading suggestions with friendship bracelets and T. Swift trivia for a winning program for tweens!

We've held two Taylor Swift programs at our library that garnered a great response from the community and have another one in the works for December 13 (Taylor Swift's birthday). The first two were specifically for tweens but after some disappointment from our younger patrons that they couldn't attend this upcoming program is for ages 5-12. We'll dance, craft, and play games to celebrate our favorite showgirl's birthday. 

Do you have any Taylor Swift plans in the works?

Stop here to see Ann Bailie's reading list. [The Reading List of a Showgirl. Bailie, Ann. ALSC blog. October 12, 2025.]

SLJ Free Online Middle Grade Event - March 6

Steph Cherrywell, a librarian in the Monarch Library system and a writer writes: "I’m participating in the “Finding Yourself” panel about identity at SLJ’s “Middle Grade Magic” virtual event on March 6th to discuss my middle grade novel Unboxing Libby. I want to spread the word! Registration is free and there are a number of other panels and speakers people might be interested in as well."

Join School Library Journal on March 6 for our seventh annual Middle Grade Magic virtual event, a day-long celebration of authors and creators dedicated to crafting literature for kiddos ages eight through 12. Get a first look at some of the most anticipated new titles for your young readers, from modern coming-of-age tales to eye-popping graphic novels to immersive fantasy.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to check out the virtual exhibit hall, chat directly with booth reps, download educational resources, and enter to win prizes and giveaways.

EVENT HOURS: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET

#MiddleGradeMagic

All live sessions will be on Zoom. Make sure to log in to your work or personal Zoom account before the day starts to avoid having to log in for each session.

The Virtual Environment is optimized for 1024 X 768 screen resolution. Joining the environment with a cell phone is not recommended. Please make sure your computer and browser are up to date. Chrome tends to work best. The event platform does not support IE11 + Windows 7 or older versions.

CE certificates are available in the event environment for all keynotes and panels, whether you view them live or on-demand. Certificates are not provided for sponsored content.

If on the day of the event you find that you are unable to access the environment or join a session, please know that sessions will be available for on-demand viewing within 24 hours, and the entire event will be accessible for three months from the event date.

By registering for this event or webcast, you are agreeing to School Library Journal Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct Policy and agreeing that School Library Journal may share your registration information with current and future sponsors of this event.

Having trouble registering? Contact the Event Manager.

Middle Grade Fiction - What is It?

In 2024,  SLJ's Teen Librarian Toolbox blog will be doing a deep dive into examining and illuminating middle grade fiction. Karen Jensen recently kicked off their "Mind the Middle Project" with a resource, infographic-filled post. The series will continue throughout the year.

Karen writes: "This year as we kick off our Mind the Middle Project, I thought we would start at the beginning and talk about what, exactly, middle grade is and how it compares to YA (young adult/teen fiction). As someone who has dedicated their life and this blog to working with teens, you may be wondering why we have decided to dedicate portions of 2024 talking about middle grade literature. The truth is, just as each generation evolves and changes, so does the literature that is written for them. A lot of middle grade fiction today is written for the younger teen audience. In fact, many long writing YA authors are also now writing middle grade fiction. This is that evolution that I mentioned. I feel that a lot of middle grade fiction that is published today would have been published as young adult 20 years ago. But markets, like demographics, change. And I find myself reading and recommending more and more middle grade literature to young teens.".

Click here to read all about it and access the great resources. [Mind the Middle Project: What IS Middle Grade Fiction Anyway?. Jensen, Karen. Teen Librarian Toolbox blog, School Library Journal. January 1, 2024.]

ICYMI: Melissa's Story and #sharpieactivism

Recently, author Alex Gino shared a blog post about using #sharpieactivism to correct copies of Melissa's Story.

"I made a mistake when I named my first published middle grade novel. A big mistake. I used a name for my main character that she doesn’t like for herself (i.e. George, the title of the book) instead of her actual name. My main character’s name is Melissa, and I apologize to her, to the larger trans community, and to all of my readers for the error. I’m sorry.

She is not real, so I can’t hurt her feelings, but the title of my book makes it seem as though it is ever okay to use an old name for a person when they have provided you with a different name that works better for them. I want to be clear – it isn’t.

I know. The cover is beautiful. Iconic, even. But here’s the thing: so many transgender people have been told that we are beautiful/handsome as a reason not to transition, myself included. We are told that we will mar something special, as though looking pleasant to others is more important than being ourselves. As if it’s not more important than seeing who’s really there, scars and all."

Click HERE to read the entire post - - examples on how folks have corrected their copies AND a downloadable Canva dust jacket are included!

OH!  One last thing... "P.S. Librarian-type folks? The OCLC master has been edited so if you re-download, Melissa’s Story should appear as an alternative title."

15 LGBTQ Graphic Novels for Middle Graders, courtesy of Book Riot

Looking to amp up your LGBTQIA+ graphic novel offerings?  Check out THIS sweet, sweet list recently shared on Book Riot!

The list contains well-known favorites as well as newer titles to hit the shelves.

Did your favorite make the list?  Anything you would add?

Middle Grade Collection

Pixabay

Most librarians have a few ideas for collections that they would do if they only had the space and time. A middle grade collection is one of mine.  The article "Dedicated Middle School Collections in Public Libraries: A New Trend?" in School Library Journal, though, is inspiring me to just go for it.

Space is the biggest issue at my library. It is a small one. There is hope for a new library but that's a few years down the road. I struggle finding the right place for the collection. After reading the SLJ article along with one in Booklist, I need to carve out a space even if not ideal in order to make it easier for young people in 5th to 8th grade to find books. (In my community, the intermediate school is 5th-6th grade and middle school is 7th-8th grade. I'm using that as the basis for my middle grade collection.)

I lied. Time is always a problem! Thankfully, I work with an amazing Technical Services department that is well trained and good at planning. They're supportive of ideas that promote the collections and improve the patron experience.

Do you have a middle grade collection? How do you define middle grade? 4th-6th? 6th - 8th? Is it a thriving collection?