Middle Grade books

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

Chris Grabenstein

Random House, $16.99 ages 9-12

A dozen seventh-graders are locked into a technologically-sophisticated new library, challenged to escape using only their imaginations with a tip of the hat to both “Willie Wonka” and “Survivor”-style reality shows. (June)

Ariol
Thunder Horse

Emmanuel Guibert. Illustrations by Marc Boutavant.

Papercutz, $12.99, ages 7-10

The misadventures of this bespectacled, school-age donkey and his anthropomorphic animal friends continue in these humorous tales, told in cartoon form. (June)

The Thing About Luck

Cynthia Kadohata. Illustrations by Julia Kuo

Atheneum, $16.99, ages 10-14

The 12 year-old daughter of migrant workers is left with her grandparents and her younger brother during the harvest, forcing her to make the best of a bad situation in this novel by Newbery Medalist Kadohata. (June)

Clueless McGee and The Inflatable Pants

Jeff Mack

Penguin Young Readers, $12.99, ages 7-12

When a school trophy goes missing, PJ McGee is determined to crack the case and prove he was framed after being disqualified from the science fair in this “Diary of a Wimpy Kid’-style graphic novel. (June)

SYLO

DJ MacHale

Razorbill, $17.99, ages 10-16

In this first of a planned trilogy, when people start dying on his serene Maine Island and the town is quarantined by a rogue division of the U.S. Navy, 14 year old Tucker Pierce must escape the to the mainland to find the truth. (July)

The Apprentices

Maile Meloy. Illustrations by Ian Schoenherr

Putnam, $16.99, ages 10+

Magic and alchemical mischief continue in this sequel to “The Apothecary,” set in 1954, as the three heroes, scattered across the globe, try to reunite and head off nuclear disaster. (June)

Kelsey Green, Reading Queen

Claudia Mills. Iillustrations by Rob Shepperson.

Ferguson /Farrar, Straus, $15.99, ages 7-10

Scheming and family functions stand in the way of a third grader’s single-minded pursuit to win her school’s monthlong reading contest. (June)

Primates
The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas

Jim Ottaviani,. Illustrations by Maris Wicks

First Second, $19.99, ages 10-14

This graphic novel offers a look at primatology with vivid profiles of three protegees of British archaeologist Louis Leakey, highlighting their distinct contributions to the study of primate behavior. (June)

The Mouse With the Question Mark Tail

Richard Peck. Illustrations by Kelly Murphy

Dial, $16.99, ages 8-12

On the run from school yard bullies, an orphan mouse find himself in Buckingham Palace during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in this follow-up to “Secrets at Sea” by Newbery winner Peck. (July)

P.S. Be Eleven

Rita Williams-Garcia

Amistad, $16.99, ages 8-12

In this sequel to the Newbery Honor Book “One Crazy Summer,” Delphine returns to Brooklyn from Black Panther camp to face her unconventional family and the turbulent events shaking her life of 1968. (June)