The best middle grade books every grown up should read

It’s unfortunate that this recommendation (and my favorite book of all time ever in the history of our infinite universe) starts with a disclaimer. This book is problematic. If you read it with a kid (and I suggest you do, because it makes the experience even more delightful if you have the heft of a lovely child in your lap), I suggest skipping some of the language. (Like the Supreme Court says about porn, you’ll know it when you see it.) Still, at a time when the world seems dark and hard, this book is magic for a raw soul. It's about healing in the wake of grief, found family, how sticking our hands in the dirt can bring us back to life. 

Written in verse, this book is the rare piece of literature that has something to offer every single age group. I can imagine holding a baby and whispering Woodson’s poetry into their open ears. I can picture my own middle grade reader curled up on a couch being transported for the first time by the magic of Woodson’s language. And I remember my first encounter with this book as a grown up, read in a single sitting with a cup of coffee growing cold next to me as I absorbed Woodson’s captivating story. Which is to say, I don’t care how old you are, where you are from, what your own history says about you. I promise you will grow from reading this memoir.  

Nothing frustrates me more than parents who police their kid’s reading and claim that graphic novels are not “real” books. Although there a million reasons why this argument is bogus (ie, studies that show how graphic novels can expand critical thinking, etc.), the best argument I’ve found to fight this misguided thinking is to hand these parents a book like The Tryout. It’s about growing up Asian American in a small town in Texas, trying to fit in when you feel different than everyone around you, and about finding your voice in ways you didn’t expect. It’s funny and charming and bizarrely suspenseful. Will Christina make the cheerleading squad? Dude, I’m not embarrassed to tell you I was desperate to find out. 

Do not say I didn’t warn you: this book requires a box of tissues. It’s told from the perspective of a gorilla named Ivan, who is stuck in a glass enclosure in a shopping mall. Stay with me on this; I can feel you doubting me. When Ivan befriends a baby elephant named Ruby, who is taken from the wild, he begins to see his circumstances in a whole new way, and discovers that art might be a ticket to freedom. Okay, I know what you are thinking: I am a grown up. I do not read books told from the perspective of gorillas, nor do I read the book equivalent of cute YouTube videos of weird animal friendships. All I can say is: trust me. It’s brilliant. 

I’m willing to bet that if you’ve made it this far into my list, you’ve already read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. But if you read this book as a kid, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t count. Please read it again. The book may not 100% hold up (nothing does). Still, I spent one of my favorite afternoons recently rereading this classic, and realizing how much I missed when I read it the first time as a twelve-year-old desperately wishing for my period to finally arrive. It’s a portrait of a family, of what it’s like to feel your body changing without your permission, of worrying about not keeping up. Basically, it’s as relevant to me now at 45 as it was at 12.