BESTbooks
Welcome to Amy’s Bookshelf! Here, teachers will find carefully curated book lists for each grade level from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Moving forward, new lists filled with book recommendations will be published weekly. Sometimes, these lists will be organized around a specific theme, like a holiday or seasonal event. Other times, they will feature rockstar books – books practically guaranteed to get your students reading.
Before jumping into reading recommendations, a few words about how books are selected.
First, it is so important that teachers prioritize reading interest over reading level. Students will often choose to read well above or below their reading level if they are particularly interested in a book or topic. Teachers only hurt students by limiting them to a specific selection of titles grouped according to an arbitrary number or level. Think of the books on these lists as starting places for you and your students, but if a student wants to read up (or down), that is a-ok.
Also, please note that these lists lean heavily toward modern selections as opposed to the classics many teachers are familiar with. A true renaissance is happening in children’s literature today, and the books coming out are truly exciting. One of the factors that makes this such an exciting time for kid lit is how diverse the selections are in terms of genre, characters and subject matter. These lists will feature fiction and nonfiction selection as well as graphic novels, novels written in verse, and more.
Any book list or classroom library worth its salt includes books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters, racially diverse characters, characters with disabilities, characters in the foster care system, characters from a wide variety of socioeconomic and religious backgrounds, and so on. Importantly, the diversity of the characters doesn’t always need to be the focus of the literature – in other words, a book featuring a black character or gay character doesn’t need to be about those individuals exploring their blackness or their gayness; those characters can have kid problems that apply to all children regardless of their race or sexual orientation. Similarly, students should be encouraged to read stories featuring people of diversity all year long – not just during a month set aside to celebrate a specific heritage.
One final note: today’s children’s literature does not shy away from frank discussions of gender, race, sex, sexuality, abuse, mental illness, and more – nor should it. I will not censor books from these lists based on these controversial areas. What books you recommend will depend on the specific district you work in and your clientele. I encourage you and your students to read widely without fear.
Eighth Grade
Eighth grade students are on the cusp of high school, so the books on this list are reflective of their level of increasing maturity. Many of the books on this list are appropriate for middle school and high school students.
Just so you know, Bored Teachers may get a small share of the sales made through the Amazon affiliate links on this page.
1. Refugee
by Alan Gratz
2. Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
In a dystopian world where the economy has crashed, people around the world log into the Oasis, a virtual reality platform. The creator of the Oasis, an eccentric billionaire, has died and left his fortune buried somewhere within the game. This story follows teenager Wade as he gets closer and closer to the treasure, a dangerous game when so many want what he is close to having.
3. Journey by Aaron Becker
This is a wordless picture book that is about a girl who, using a magic marker, draws herself an escape from the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s sort of a Harold’s Purple Crayon for adolescents and adults, with a more nuanced story and theme.
4. Peter and the Starcatchers
by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Humor authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson imagine an origin story for Peter Pan. How did Peter end up in Neverland and what happened to his parents? Why is Hook afraid of crocodiles? Where did Tinkerbell come from, and who are the lost boys? All these questions and more are answered, and this book is both a page-turner and laugh-out-loud funny.
5. Keeper of the Night
by Kimberley Willis Holt
Keeper of the Night takes place in Guam, and the story is richly populated with details enough to make the reader feel like they’ve stepped into Isabel’s world. Isabel’s mother has died, leaving her family reeling. Isabel wants to piece her family back together, and this is the story of how she does so.
6. The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens, or Bod, is a toddler who inadvertently escapes from Jack, who murders his family. Bod winds up in the local graveyard and is raised by ghosts. When Bod reaches adolscence, however, he wants to stretch his legs and explore away from his ghost family, a proposition that could prove very dangerous to him, indeed.
7. Science Verse
by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Science is delivered here in raucous poetic form. The author and illustrator combine to create an inna
8. Moonshot
by Brian Floca
Moonshot is Brian Floca’s retelling of the Apollo 11 moon landing in picture book form. Floca is well-known for creating picture books about the machines that humans take journeys in, and as with his other works, this one is marvelous.
9. Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Moose Flanagan lives on Alcatraz in the 1930s, when the prison housed the likes of Al Capone. Moose is one of 23 children living on the island because their parents work as prison guards or cooks or doctors. The kids get into all sorts of trouble on the small island, and this is a highly engaging story about those anctics. There are three other Alcatraz books after this one.
10. Flying Lessons and Other Stories
edited by Ellen Oh
This short story collection is a compendium of stories from today’s top teen authors, and there’s something for everyone, including a short story in verse.
11. Touching Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen
Instead of going to juvey, Cole Matthews is sent to the remote, Alaskan Circle Justice, a rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders like himself. Cole is attacked by a white bear, what is sometimes called a spirit bear, and left for dead. The attack changes Cole’s outlook and this is ultimately a story of redemption.
12. Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White
by Melissa Sweet
American icon E.B. White is perhaps best known for Charlotte’s Web, but he was a prolific writer who wrote essays, contributed to the New Yorker, and published many other children’s books, too. This book is a lengthier picture book biography of White that includes many letters and other family artifacts that give readers an insight into this iconic American writer.
13. Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor
by Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin, the renowned spokesperson for autism, shares her insight into the various ways a person can solve a problem. The message of this book is that there is more than one way to look at the world, to think about things, to use your imagination and to arrive at a new idea. Grandin does this by looking at inventions and the thought process behind them.
14. The Night Diary
by Veera Hiranandani
Nisha watches her home country of India divide into India and Pakistan in 1947, and suddenly, Muslims and Hindus are being killed crossing the new border. Nisha’s family decides they, too, must cross, and she fears for her life during the long journey.
15. Zen Shorts
by Jon J. Muth
A giant panda moves into the neighborhood and begins telling children ancient Zen tales in this picture book. Author/illustrator Jon Muth followed up the popular Zen Shorts with a number of other Zen tales (including Zen Ghosts and Zen Ties) which are all worth reading.
16. Bound by Ice
by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace
The ship Jeannette sets sail for the Arctic from San Francisco, looking for a route to the North Pole. The ship becomes locked inside Arctic ice and sinks after two years adrift. The crew escape on lifeboats and make a harrowing journey back to civilization that not all survice.
17. Super Women: Six Scientists Who Changed the World
by Laurie Lawlor
Six mini biographies are included in this book. Each paints a portrait of a lesser-known woman scientist who relentlessly pursued her studies despite obstacles in her path, many of which were gender-based. The biographies are accompanied by photographs, and the whole package is an engaging read.
18. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth
Three of today’s well-known poets, Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, write poems in honor of their favorite poets.
19. Stormy Seas: Stories of young boat refugees
by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Eleanor Shakespeare
Contrasted with Refugee, at the start of this list, this book is a collection of five true stories about refugees who boarded a boat in search of a better life. Many infographics are included alongside the stories with more historical informatin.
20. Strong Inside
(Young Readers Edition) by Andrew Maraniss
Perry Wallace was the first black man to play college basketball in the Southeastern Conference. He accepted an offer to play ball at Vanderbilt and crossed into a world where hatred and racism were deeply entrenched. This is his story.
21. The Magician and the Spirits: Harry Houdini
by Deborah Noyes
Harry Houdini, in addition to being a magician and stage performer, had a fascination for the occult. He spent much time investigating whether or not accounts of contact with “the other side” were real or just stage illusions like his own.
22. Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card
Set in the near future, the earth has been attacked by aliens called buggers. The earth must mount a resistance force before the aliens come back, and the military turns to elite child genuises. Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is the best of the best and he is taken from his family and trained to be the military general that will lead the fight against the aliens.
23. The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
A band of dwarves plus the unlikely companion of hobbit Bilbo Baggins set out to steal back treasure from the dangerous dragon Smaug. This classic novel is a prequel to the longer Lord of the Rings trilogy.
24. Better Nate Than Ever
Nate Foster wants to star in a broadway show more than he wants anything else in life, but he knows he will never get close if he remains in his homestate of Pennslyvania. He learns that there is an open casting call for a musical and makes a daring trip to New York City to be there for it.
25. Not your Sidekick by C.B. Lee
Jessica’s parents are superheroes, but Jessica is not. She just wants to get an internship to help her get into a good college. The internship she ends up getting is in the employ of her parents’ arch enemies but allows Jessica to work alongside Abby, who she has a secret crush on.
26. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Calpurnia’s grandfather is a naturalist, and the two of them bond when she asks him some scientific questions about grasshoppers. Their relationship grows, as does Calpurnia’s interest in science.
27. The House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
Matt is a clone of El Patrón, who divided his cells in a test tube and then placed his developing embroyo in the uterus of a cow. The world sees Matt as an abomination but Matt didn’t ask to be created, and now that he’s here, he’s grappling with his identity and navigating the dangerous world occupied by El Patrón.
28. Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir
by Margarita Engle
Margarita lives in Los Angeles, except when she lives in Cuba during the summer with her mother. Margarita loves Cuba and lives for those summer months. But the United States is trapped in the Cold War, and when Cuba becomes a central part of the conflict, Margarita’s two sides are suddenly at war.
29. Forget Me Not
by Ellie Terry
Calliope has never felt like she fits in, which is perhaps why she turns to the night skies. She loves astronomy, and the stars do not judge her for having Tourettes like the kids at school do. It’s only when Calliope’s mom moves her to another new school that she finally starts to make friends.
30. The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
It’s the Socs versus the Greasers in this iconic novel about Ponyboy and his buddies. The boys live on the outskirts of society and sometimes scuffles break out between the two groups. One night, things go too far.
31. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Virginia is a plus-sized teenager, which makes everything about being a teenager harder. She feels pathetic next to her perfect family, especially her perfect brother. But then a serious accusation is levied against her brother, and the family’s world is rocked to its core.
32. Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Steve Harmon is 16 and is being tried for murder after he was the lookout in the shooting of a drugstore owner. Steve, prior to the murder trial, was an amateur filmmaker so he transcribes his experiences, and Monster is the result.
33. Lucky Broken Girl
by Ruth Behar
Ruthie Mizrahi’s family has moved to the United States from Cuba. Here, she suffers a horrific accident that leaves her in a full body cast for an entire year. Because Ruthie can’t move, the book is mostly her inner monologue, which grows over the bedridden year.
34. The First Rule of Punk
by Celia C. Perez
Malú learns the first rule of punk from her dad, and it’s “be yourself.” Which is all fine until Malú colossally messes up her first day of school. She decides to try her dad’s advice and assembles a punk band of misfits, finding herself along the way.
35. Breakout
by Kate Messner
Nora’s summer vacation plans are majorly messed up when the nearby prison experiences a high-profile prison break. Suddenly, the neighborhood is on house arrest. This is a multi-genre novel told in many formats including comics, poems, and letters.
36. Flowers for Algernon
Algernon is a lab mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his IQ, and soon this surgery is applied to Charlie Gordon. The operation successfully increases Charlie’s intelligence, but only temporarily, and he is forced to watch himself regress. It’s a book both heartbreaking and important.
37. The Alchemist: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
by Michael Scott
This is the first in a six-book fantasy series. This particular installment is about Nicholas Flamel, the famed alychemist. Legend has it, he did not die in 1418, as his tomb states, but that he lives on today making the elixir that keeps him immortal. But when a modern day villian sets out to steal Flamel’s magic book, two kids step in to stop him.
38. The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin
Millionaire Samuel W. Westing dies at the beginning of the book and the tenants in his building are named as heirs in his will. The tenants are paired off and told the first team to solve the puzzle contained in the will will inherit Westing’s entire fortune.
39. A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
At the beginning of the book, protagonist Conor is fighting a number of monsters – bullies at school, a monster in his nightmares, and the grief associated with an ill family member. Then a real monster shows up and Conor is forced to face some truths within himself.
40. Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean Myers
Perry volunteers for the Vietnam War, and he is sent to the front lines where he must face the horrors of war.
41. When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
Miranda receives mysterious notes that predict the future. So, when the notes instruct her to write a letter, she feels she must do as she is told. There is a nice mystery woven in, and some time travel to boot.
42. Mortal Engines
by Philip Reeve
In this fascinating and creative futuristic world, cities have been turned into rolling behemoths that hunt down and tear apart other cities. This is the first book in a four-part series. There is lots of world-building and some excellent character development.
43. The Book of Boy
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
A protagonist known as Boy is bullied for his hump and so spends his time along in the woods communing with the animals. He is found by a man named Secondus who hires Boy as a servant. Secondus has a mission, which involves thieving ancient relics with Boy’s help.
44. Willa of the Wood
by Robert Beatty
Willa is a night spirit, and she hates humans for the havoc the wreak on nature. She steals from humans as revenge, but one day winds up hurt, leaving her vulnerable during daylight hours.
45. Grenade
by Alan Gratz
Grenade is the story of two young men. Hideki, who is in the Japanese army during WWII, and Ray, an
46. Olivia Twist
by Lorie Langdon
In this spin on Oliver Twist, Olivia is raised among Long street thieves until her uncle takes her into high society after a thieving episode goes wrong. But even though she is allowed to live a life of comfort, she cannot forget the London orphans and so sneaks away to offer her help.
47. The Seventh Most Important Thing
by Shelley Pearsall
Arthur finds himself facing a judge after he threw a brick at a garbage truck and hit the Junk Man in the arm. The Junk Man offers to let Arthur do community service with him, who sets Arthur to combing through trash searching for a list of seven important things.
48. The Thing About Jellyfish
by Ali Benjamin
Suzy’s best friend dies in a drowning accident, but Suzy is convinced the accident was caused by a jellyfish sting. In her grief, she retreats into her imagination and comes up with a plan to prove her theory correct.
49. Summer of the Gypsy Moths
by Sara Pennypacker
Aunt Louise has taken in her niece Stella, and Stella loves living with her aunt. Until that is, Louise opens her home to another foster child, Angel, who Stella does not get along with. Aunt Louise dies and the two girls decide not to tell anyone.
50. Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
Lily and Dunkin are both dealing with heavy situations. Lily was born a boy but knows she’s a girl, whereas Dunkin has bipolar disorder. The two become friends and help each other cope.
Other book lists from Amy’s bookshelf you’ll love:
- 50 Must-Read Books for Kindergarteners
- 50 Must-Read Books For First Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books for Second Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books For Third Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books for Fourth Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books For Fifth Graders
- 50 Must-Read Books For
Sixth Graders - 50 Must-Read Books for Seventh Graders
