The best books for middle grade readers about getting picked on for being different

Lauren A. Mills Author Of Minna's Patchwork Coat
By Lauren A. Mills

Who am I?

Like most children, I’ve experienced being teased for appearing different in some way. I learned to defend the strange outfits my mother made for me and the bizarre hairdo of eight pigtails my older sister dared me to wear to school. As a teen, I wore a patchwork jacket made of quilt scraps to my new school and came home in tears. I’ve always felt that if we really knew one another on a deeper level and shared each other’s stories we would realize that we’re all made up of the same stuff inside and would not feel prejudice or the need to scorn outward aspects that don’t matter.

I wrote...

Minna's Patchwork Coat

By Lauren A. Mills

Book cover of Minna's Patchwork Coat

What is my book about?

Lauren Mills reimagines her beloved picture book, The Rag Coat, in an expanded story about a resilient little girl in 19th century Appalachia. Minna’s family is too poor for her to have a coat to go to school, but "people only need people," Papa reminds her. When Papa’s miner’s cough takes him away forever, Minna has a hard time believing that anything will be right again...until her neighbors work tirelessly to create a coat for her out of old fabric scraps. Minna must show her teasing classmates that her coat is more than just rags--it's a collection of their own cherished memories. She is wearing her entire community, with the insight that even some of the bullies have their wounds and secret joys.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

The Books I Picked & Why

The Hundred Dresses

By Eleanor Estes, Louis Slobodkin

Book cover of The Hundred Dresses

Why this book?

I love this heart-felt story with the rough lesson about doing nothing when someone is bullied. Wanda Petronski is a new girl at school who wears the same faded, wrinkled dress every day. When she hears other girls discussing pretty dresses she whispers to the most popular girl that she has one hundred dresses at home. This begins the constant teasing and questioning all about her dresses. One day Wanda does not show up at school and the classmates receive a letter from her father saying that they’ve moved where there are others with funny names like theirs. The one hundred dresses Wanda had drawn at home are then shared for the art contest. It is too late to apologize and the narrator decides she will never again stand by and do nothing.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

The Moorchild (Aladdin Fantasy)

By Eloise McGraw

Book cover of The Moorchild (Aladdin Fantasy)

Why this book?

I absolutely love this book and have both listened to it and read it more than once. There are so many layers and insights especially for those who feel out of place and are bullied for being different. It is about a girl who is half-human and has Moorfolk (faerie) banished from the fae for her inabilities and exchanged for a human baby. As she grows, her odd abilities are noticed and feared. Despite the taunting and blood-thirsty actions of the village folk, she gives of herself and ultimately takes the risk to retrieve her adopted parents’ human baby. She has the inner strength to venture out and be her unique self.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

A Little Princess

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

Book cover of A Little Princess

Why this book?

This classic has been a childhood favorite and unique in that a pampered wealthy girl left at a boarding school by her father goes from riches to rags and her character grows with it. I love how kind she remains to all and uses her imagination to tell stories to herself and her attic mate to battle the brutal hardships they are enduring. Of course, she is at last rewarded in the end. It is such an inspiring story to use one’s imagination and fortitude to endure difficult times and to be generous and kind to others despite your own suffering. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

By Mildred D. Taylor

Book cover of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Why this book?

I listened to this book while driving home to Massachusetts from Virginia and was so engrossed I nearly had an accident. It takes place during the 1930’s depression in Mississippi and told from the point of view of Cassie, a smart and resourceful 9-year-old black girl. Her innocence and integrity create a contrast to the experiences of cruel racial intolerance of the neighboring white people. It is told very realistically and is a must-read no matter what background you are from. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Anne of Green Gables

By L.M. Montgomery

Book cover of Anne of Green Gables

Why this book?

I wish I had read this classic as a child. I first read it when David Godine asked me to illustrate it in 1989 (unavailable now except for the recent Lithuanian edition). Who could not love the spirited 11-year-old orphan girl who was mistakenly adopted by the Cuthberts who wanted a boy? I love the way the eccentric Anne creates the life she wants through her imagination and despite her sorrowful beginnings and what she sees as her shortcoming (her carrot-red hair). Her colorful language and her love of life and beauty are infectious and she eventually wins over those who oppose her. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Closely Related Book Lists

The best beach reads for when you want to smash the patriarchy and still enjoy your vacation

Sharisse Coulter Author Of The Big If Sharisse Coulter

The best middle grade books for chess lovers

Alysa Wishingrad Author Of The Verdigris Pawn Alysa Wishingrad

The best books with aliens that are not science fiction

Cat Jordan Author Of Eight Days on Planet Earth Cat Jordan

The best sci-fi (and one non sci-fi) books for young adults

Julian R. Vaca Author Of The Memory Index Julian R. Vaca

Distantly Related Book Lists

The best science fiction and fantasy books on social justice

Rysa Walker Author Of Now, Then, and Everywhen Rysa Walker

The best books that explore ancestral trauma

Michelle Grierson Author Of Becoming Leidah Michelle Grierson

The best middle grade books to fall into

Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson Author Of The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson

The best books in post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction

Nikita Slater Author Of Sanctuary's Warlord Nikita Slater