Hello, and welcome to a new monthly release post! March is a packed month for new middle grade releases and I’m thrilled to share so many favorites with you. My list of March 2024 middle grade books includes a companion title to one of my favorite 2022 releases, my top Kate DiCamillo middle grade, two first books in a series, a couple of verse novels, one non-fiction, one anthology, and a debut I’m seriously rooting for. As always, this is not an exhaustive list of releases but rather a list of promising titles I’ve read and loved or are on my radar.
🚌 Coyote fans, rejoice! The sequel to the beloved The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise is out March 5. I’ll be waiting for my audiobook from Libro.fm. It’s not on this list of new releases, so I wanted to acknowledge it right here!
Want to browse even more March 2024 middle grade releases? Join my Patreon community for an extended printable list with 10 more middle grade books, including a notebook style middle grade book, another stellar debut novel, and a nonfiction title from a veteran author.
Join our Patreon community to get the printable version of this list! You’ll also get access to the extended March releases list, other kid lit resources, like our seasonal guides and educator interviews, to inspire you.
15 New Middle Grade Books Releasing in March 2024
Here are 15 wonderful new middle grade books out this month:
Kyra, Just for Today ⭐️
Published: March 5, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 320 pp | Age 10+
In this companion to A Song Called Home, Kyra’s mother is an alcoholic in recovery. She could always count on having her best friend, Lu — until now. Lu has new friends and splits her time between both friend groups, eventually asking Kyra to join them sometimes. Kyra is also getting bullied for being bigger than most other 13-year-olds. Already, Kyra does so much at home: cooking, and even helping her mom out with her cleaning job. But then her mother starts acting weird, leading Kyra to believe that she’s relapsed. I loved how the author shows readers that recovery is not linear and I enjoyed watching Kyra feel safe in her own skin. Hand to fans of Sumner’s Maid for It and readers who love books featuring food and cooking.
Ferris ⭐️
Published: March 5, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 240 pp | Age 8+
DiCamillo’s stories can be hit or miss for me, but this one I adored. It’s about Emma Phineas (also known as Ferris because she was born under a Ferris wheel), whose family is having a chaotic summer. Her younger sister Pinky is determined to be an outlaw, her grandmother Charisse is insistent that she’s seeing a ghost, and her father’s brother is separated from his wife and living in their basement. Despite how stressful all these circumstances sound, this book is more funny and heartfelt than anything else, as Ferris and her family find love and tenderness for each other.
Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd
Published: March 5, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 192 pp | Age 9+
This fun SHORT series opener (yay for short MG) is immediately reminiscent of friendship group books like The Babysitters Club. Gigi and her two friends, Zeina and Caroline, decide to start a tutoring club in the library to help them save up some cash for an art summer camp. Gigi’s parents think being an artist is not a promising career option and would rather she focus on math and the sciences, so she neglects to tell them about the club and her plan. The girls add wannabe goth Emma to their team, and business begins. They must navigate business planning, crushes, tricky clients, and worried parents to keep their business (and their friendship) afloat. The vibes were so sweet in this one, and kids who love entrepreneurial stories, books by Debbi Michiko Florence, and friendship-based realistic fiction will love it.
Free Period
Published: March 5, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 272 pp | Age 9+
Besties Helen and Gracie are always causing trouble together, pranking their schoolmates, and getting called to the principal’s office. But after one prank goes wildly wrong, ending in the police getting called in, everyone’s had enough. Their principal insists they do something good. Forced to work with know-it-all Madison on their school council, the two girls get involved in period activism, but the school, PTA, and some parents are not on board, especially when their good intentions don’t work out as planned. This book is really funny and quirky, and I loved Helen and Gracie’s friendship. It also sheds light on period inequity and explores different ways kids can make their voices heard. I wish it’d been shorter (and think it could have been), but I think this will appeal to kids looking for funny, prank-related stories starring girls — with a hint of seriousness.
The Color of Sound
Published: March 5, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 336 pp | Age 10+
I’m halfway through this novel about a violin prodigy on a self-imposed hiatus who encounters the 12-year-old version of her mother during a visit to her grandparents. I was hesitant to read this because of the synesthesia element, but it is so well written and includes many interesting elements such as Jewish culture, improv, time travel, and mother-daughter relationships.
The First State of Being ⭐️
Published: March 5, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 272 pp | Age 10+
Sweet Michael Rosario is shy and anxious about Y2K. The only bright spot in his life besides his doting but BUSY (working three jobs) single mother is his babysitter Gibby, whom he might have a crush on. One day, Gibby and Michael spot an unusually dressed teenager hanging around their housing complex, and after a confrontation, they realize he’s a time traveler from the future named Ridge. The First State of Being is a brilliant, highly readable middle grade book from the QUEEN of character-driven middle grade literature. This expansive sci-fi feels at once introspective and cinematic, leaping off the page like something made for a movie. Entrada is gifted at conjuring fully formed characters whose fears and inner lives are wholly and sensitively rendered. I LOVED the little twists and turns as we get small peeks into what Michael and Gibby’s futures become. This book will help young people and all readers reflect on our past and future as a human community, especially in terms of health advances, animal extinction, and the potential for technological development. It also highlights the love and fight in a mother and the need to view life through a positive lens a la The Conklin theory. Just so good! Erin is a star!
Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem (Blue Stars #1) ⭐️
Published: March 5, 2024 | Graphic Novels | 176 pp | Age 8+
This is an entertaining graphic novel about cousins Maya and Riley (Black and Muscogee) who end up living with their grandmother when Maya’s parents are deployed and Riley’s parents move back in with her grandmother. The two girls get off to a rough start, exacerbated by their personality differences. Maya is reserved, studious, and science-focused while Riley is outgoing, friendly, and artsy. At school, the girls quickly realize that their vice principal is suspicious, slashing arts, robotics and any budgets possible in favor of increasing the number of detention classrooms. With their grandmother’s advice about using their voices firm in their mind, the girls hatch a plan to expose VP Balderdash’s schemes. I loved many things about this series starter, including the natural, subtle way both girls share about their heritage and the way they find home and community with their grandmother. This is also super short (under 200 pages), and the superhero and planning scenes feel like something out of a Spy Kids movie.
Force of Nature
Published: March 5, 2024 | Verse, Non-Fiction | 304 pp | Age 9+
This verse novel is inspired by the life of Rachel Carson and presents a well detailed account of her childhood, passion for nature, and love for her mother. It also features art by Sophie Blackall. Although I love verse novels, I didn’t know much about Carson’s life and wasn’t as invested in this one. However, the writing is nostalgic and poetic and the illustrations complement the text nicely. Fans of Rachel Carson and poetry will love this.
Walkin’ the Dog
Published: March 12, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 240 pp | Age 12+
Passive Louis is known at home for his laidback approach — very different from everyone else’s in his family. When he gets a dog-walking gig that leads to more and more clients, Louis is surprised by how much he enjoys the job, especially when it brings him in contact with a new friend named Agnes. When he figures out some worrying truths about his new friend, Louis will need to take action for once in his life. This is such a funny, wry look at a life-changing summer in Louis’s life, and Lynch does a great job of bringing all the characters in Louis’s small town to life. However, as beautiful as the writing is, this is a slower-paced, more mature story (with one instance of profanity to boot) that I think will resonate better with older middle schoolers and adults.
Louder Than Hunger
Published: March 19, 2024 | Verse | 528 pp | Age 10+
In John Schu’s debut middle-grade verse novel, he pulls back the curtain to let readers into a fictionalized depiction of his struggle with an eating disorder and life in a facility fighting against the condition. This book is truly a gut punch and flies by so quickly for such a thick novel with a tough subject matter — a testament to Schu’s great writing. Perfect for readers looking for more body image books and fans of Lerner’s A Work in Progress.
Next Stop
Published: March 19, 2024 | Graphic Novel | 272 pp | Age 9+
Pia heads out on a desert sightseeing road trip on which one of the stops is a famous lake which many believe has magical properties. Pia has a secret: she’s hoping that the lake will bring back her younger brother who died in a drowning accident several months ago. Along the way, she gets to know the odd group traveling together, including a candy-distributing grandma, a reluctant tween traveler, a couple with ever-bickering kids, and an elderly couple hoping for a health miracle. I liked the camaraderie of the travelers and the flashbacks in every chapter that show us Pia’s life before and just after the accident. I also really liked that the plot is sad but not too heavy. This is great for readers who enjoy sad books or stories featuring a road trip.
Exclusion and the Chinese American Story
Published: March 26, 2024 | Non-Fiction | 288 pp | Age 10+
This is my first time reading the Race to the Truth series, and boy, is it good! As someone who rarely enjoys nonfiction, I was shocked that I flew through this history of Chinese immigrants and the development of Chinese-American identity. The author writes accessibly and feeds readers information so expertly, weaving in stories with history and vital lessons for our modern day. This is excellent reading for AAPI month (and always).
Listen to This
Published: March 26, 2024 | Romance | 224 pp | Age 10+
I’m a huge fan of Jennifer Blecher’s writing and this is her most fun book yet. It follows tweens Lily and Will who are dealing with middle school pressures, evolving friendships, and pushy parents. Come for the romantic vibes and stay for the musings on childhood privacy, parental oversharing, and finding your place when you’re suddenly outside your best friends’ circle. Great for ages 10+
On All Other Nights
Published: March 26, 2024 | Anthology | 304 pp | Age 9+
This forthcoming anthology that follows 14 different kids through the Passover is on my Kindle. It features a variety of formats and genres, including verse, prose, non-fiction, and even historical fiction, and includes stories by Joshua Levy, Chris Baron, Laurel Snyder, Adam Gidwitz, and Veera Hiranandani.
Olivetti ⭐️
Published: March 26, 2024 | Fantasy, Mystery | 256 pp | Age 9+
In this exceptional debut novel, a boy and a typewriter work together to solve the mystery of his missing mother. The Brindley family has been through the wringer but seem to be on the mend after “Everything that happened before” when all of a sudden, their mother leaves the house in tears, witnessed only by her Olivetti typewriter, which she pawns immediately for the precise sum of $126. The pawn shop owner’s daughter accosts Ernest, the third out of four Brindley kids, right after he steals back the Olivetti, which he discovers can type back in response. The two work together, Ernest, reluctant, Quinn confident and opinionated, to retrace his mother’s steps and figure out why she ran away. This reads like an instant classic, and although some readers may be dubious about the talking typewriter element, it is excellently executed — better than many anthropomorphized animals and creatures have been in books. It’s a bit of a tearjerker, but so sweet and so real — and yes, you will ADORE Olivetti’s wit and heart, and you will wish you had a talking typewriter, too.
Join our Patreon community to get the printable version of this list! You’ll also get access to the extended March releases list, other kid lit resources, like our seasonal guides and educator interviews, to inspire you.
There they are: 15 fantastic middle grade titles to read this March! Which of these have you read and loved? What did I miss? If you want 10 more phenomenal March releases that I enjoyed, join our Patreon community to get that list.
ilovebooks1464 says
Ohhh, I want GIGI SHAN IS NOT A NERD so much! Thanks for sharing the great post.