Middle Grade fiction is written for children from 8-12. Confident readers who want to take an armchair tour of the world can curl up with these great books set outside the United States. As with all my book lists, this is a work in progress and I encourage readers to leave suggestions for me in the comments. Books labeled with an * are #ownvoices narratives, meaning that the author is either from the country in which the story is set, or is a first generation citizen of their birth country.
Multiple Countries
- Refugee by Alan Grantz (tells the interlocking stories of refugees from Nazi Gernmany, Cuba in the 1990s, and today’s war in Syria)
Afghanistan
- One Half from the East* by Nadia Hashimi
Australia
- The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
China
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
India
- Younguncle Comes to Town by Vandana Singh, illustrated by Manjunath Kamath
Japan
- The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworh ( 1931 Newbery Medal)
Russia
- Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin (2012 Newbery Honor Book, 2012 Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children’s Literature Honor Book)
Sudan
- A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park
- The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Shane Evans
Sweden
- Ronia the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren (1984 Batchelder Award)
Zimbabwe
- The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (1995 Newbery Honor Book)
The Many Hats of Celeste Bocchicchio-Chaudhri 