Five Middle-Grade Books… that go on a journey

THE LAST WILD by Piers Torday

The Last Wild book cover of a boy riding a stag.

This is a story about a boy named Kester. He is extraordinary, but he doesn’t know that yet. All he knows, at this very moment, is this:


1. There is a flock of excited pigeons in his bedroom.
2. They are talking to him.
3. His life will never be quite the same again…

Kester lives in a land in quarantine. A deadly virus has killed all the animals except pests and it’s expected to be equally dangerous to humans. But when Kester realises he can talk to the pests, he finds they have great hope invested in him.

Reading age: 9-12 A fantastic and thrilling adventure with a sincere message. One for animal lovers. And, oh, how much would I love to be like Kester and speak to animals too!!

THEY THREW US AWAY by Daniel Kraus, illustrated by Rovina Kai

They Threw Us Away book cover of a blue bear standing at the foot of a trash pile, with a yellow bear and pink bear in the background.

Buddy wakes up in the middle of a garbage dump, filled with a certain awareness: he’s a teddy bear; he spent time at a Store waiting for his future to begin; and he is meant for the loving arms of a child. Now he knows one more thing: Something has gone terribly wrong.

Soon he finds other discarded teddies–Horace, Sugar, Sunny, and Reginald. Though they aren’t sure how their luck soured, they all agree that they need to get back to the Store if they’re ever to fulfill their destinies. So, they embark on a perilous trek across the dump and into the outer world. With ravenous rats, screeching gulls, and a menacing world in front of them, the teddies will need to overcome insurmountable challenges to find their way home.

Reading age: 10-14 I gave my teddybear so many extra snuggles after reading this book. It’s just brilliant, and heartbreaking, and I could not put it down. I was with those bears every step of the way!

WED WABBIT by Lissa Evans

Wed Wabbit book cover of a toy rabbit with an evil rabbit shadow.

You’re called Fidge and you’re nearly eleven. You’ve been hurled into a strange world. You have three companions: two are unbelievably weird and the third is your awful cousin Graham. You have to solve a series of nearly impossible clues. You need to deal with a cruel dictator and three thousand Wimbley Woos (yes, you read that sentence correctly).

And the whole situation – the whole, entire thing – is your fault.

Reading age: 9-11 This book is so weird, and funny, and strangely heartbreaking and oddly inspiring. It’s a cool little oddbod.

PETER NIMBLE & HIS FANTASTIC EYES by Jonathan Auxier

Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes book cover of a boy with a swag bag running over the rooftops of London with Big Ben in the background.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is the utterly beguiling tale of a ten-year-old blind orphan who has been schooled in a life of thievery. One fateful afternoon, he steals a box from a mysterious traveling haberdasher a box that contains three pairs of magical eyes. When he tries the first pair, he is instantly transported to a hidden island where he is presented with a special quest: to travel to the dangerous Vanished Kingdom and rescue a people in need.

Along with his loyal sidekick a knight who has been turned into an unfortunate combination of horse and cat and the magic eyes, he embarks on an unforgettable, swashbuckling adventure to discover his true destiny.

Reading age: 8-12 Loved this page-turner-y book: it’s just so wonderfully weird and gloriously gruesome. And Sir Tode is the best!

ROOFTOPPERS by Katherine Rundell

Rooftoppers book cover of two kids jumping across roof tops at dusk.


Everyone tells Sophie that she was orphaned in a shipwreck – found floating in a cello case on the English Channel on her first birthday. But Sophie is convinced her mother also survived.

When the Welfare Agency threatens to separate her from her guardian and send her to an orphanage, Sophie takes matters into her own hands, starting with the only clue she has – the address of a cello-maker in Paris. On the run from the authorities, Sophie finds Matteo and his network of rooftoppers – urchins who walk tightropes and live in the sky. In a race across the rooftops of Paris, will they be able to find her mother before it’s too late?

Reading age: 9-11 This is enchanting and magical: a beautiful journey that feels like a new world, exploring the rooftops of Paris. I adored this book and found it absolutely captivating.

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