5 More Wonderful MG Books to Get Young Readers Excited to Go Back to School!

Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea
This book follows one year of a fifth grade class, revealing the lives of seven students at a Vermont school. Their new teacher, Mr. Terupt, will leave kids longing for their own new teacher this year. From new girl to bully, and prankster to geek, there are many different students’ points of view (and socio-economic backgrounds) explored both in and out of school. The engaging writing and short chapters help keep this book moving right along. Once your little one finishes this book, they can follow it up with the next two in the series, Mr. Terupt Falls Again and Saving Mr. Terupt.

El Deafo, by Cece Bell
This graphic novel memoir follows Cece as she begins her first day at a new school. With a giant hearing aid strapped to her chest, she sets out on an adventure in fitting in and finding friends. Her antics are sometimes hilarious—doesn’t every student want to know what the teachers are saying in the teacher’s lounge?—but her condition also isolates her. Calling herself “El Deafo, Listener for All”, with her hearing aid as her superpower, Cece deftly explores living life with a physical disability in this heartwarming and honest book.

Somebody on This Bus is Going to Be Famous, by J.B. Cheaney
Every morning, bus driver Mrs. B pulls up to a stop where no one gets on or off. Her bus is full of middle school kids, and they each have their own theory about that clandestine stop, eventually coming together to work through the mystery. The author easily transitions between the very different viewpoints of the characters, as eachgrapples with their own issues, their own dreams, and their own individual (and relatable) aspirations. In the end, someone on that bus is going to be famous. With a little bit of a sleuth story and some self-discovery mixed together with nine distinct characters, this book is a really fun ride.

The Worst Class Trip Ever, by Dave Barry
Eighth-grader Wyatt and his classmates from Culver Middle School head to Washington D.C. on a class field trip, and when his best friend Matt is kidnapped everything about the trip goes horribly wrong. Bomb threats, chases, antics, and drama interlace with plenty of humor as Wyatt works to rescue his friend. The ludicrous plotline will not keep your kids away from their next class field trip, but it may be enough to keep them excited for outings, alert, and paying attention!

Matilda, by Roald Dahl
Brilliant Matilda has grown up with crude parents and an oblivious brother. A voracious reader who has been devouring books from a very young age, when she finally sets off to school she meets her archenemy, Miss Trunchbull. This classic book has enough action and adventure to keep it moving along, despite the tyranny and outsized evil of the headmistress character. Thanks to Dahl’s signature wicked humor and heart, your reader will root for Matilda as she fights back against the spiteful adults in her life.
What back-to-school books are your young reader excited about?