The Open Shelf Good Protocols
Reading settings

The middle years

The long middle, where so much is quietly decided.

Language American Sign Language is a language here, not an accommodation.
Format
Borrow or buy

The Whale Rider

Witi Ihimaera · The middle years · about ten and up

Kahu carries the name of the ancestor who came ashore on the back of a whale, and her great-grandfather cannot receive it, because the line is supposed to run through firstborn sons. She learns everything he teaches the boys, loves him without condition, and the tradition itself, speaking through the whales, recognizes its daughter.

Why it belongs Written in three weeks in a New York apartment for his daughters, who asked why the heroes were always boys. The film is on the Film Shelf; watch one, read the other, and ask what each telling sees that the other cannot.

  • The thread of years
  • Difference honored

In English

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窓ぎわのトットちゃん Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi · The middle years · about eight and up

The true story of a small girl who did not fit an ordinary school, and the headmaster who built one that fit her — a train-car classroom where a child was met as she actually was.

Why it belongs The free edge as a school: read the grain of the child before deciding what she can hold. The card leads in Japanese because whose language leads is itself the statement.

  • Attention and wonder
  • Difference honored
  • The table and the gathering

In Japanese, English, Vietnamese, Spanish audiobook

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A Kind of Spark

Elle McNicoll · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

An autistic girl in a Scottish village campaigns for a memorial to the women it once tried as witches, and refuses to be quiet about the line between them and her.

Why it belongs By a neurodivergent author. Being different, remembering the cost of being cast out, and organizing anyway — the middle years learning they have a voice.

  • Difference honored
  • Making and repair

In English audiobook

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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The Someday Birds

Sally J. Pla · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

An autistic boy crosses the country to reach his injured father, counting the birds he hopes to see along the way, in a road trip that never turns him into a lesson.

Why it belongs By an autistic author whose narrator is funny and precise and wholly himself. Attention as the thread that pulls a frightened kid across a continent.

  • Attention and wonder
  • The thread of years

In English audiobook

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

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Frankie's World

Aoife Dooley · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

A graphic novel about a girl who feels like she is from another planet, drawn in the bright style of its autistic Dublin illustrator.

Why it belongs Comics as the doorway for the reader who will not pick up prose. The form is the accommodation, built in rather than bolted on.

  • Difference honored
  • Making and repair

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

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When Stars Are Scattered

Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

A graphic memoir of two Somali brothers growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp, one caring for the other while hoping for school and a way out.

Why it belongs A true story told with and by the person who lived it, and a door straight into the lives of the Somali families this ecology holds.

  • Belovedness and the secure base
  • The table and the gathering

In English audiobook

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Momo

Michael Ende · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

Grey men persuade a city to save its time until there is none left for anyone, and a small girl who knows how to listen is the only one who can win it back.

Why it belongs The acceleration critique as a story a ten-year-old can carry. It should have been in the first library; it joins the middle years and the wider school at once.

  • Attention and wonder
  • The thread of years

In German, English audiobook

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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The Phantom Tollbooth

Norton Juster, ill. Jules Feiffer · The middle years · about eight to twelve

A bored boy drives a toy car through a mysterious tollbooth into a land where curiosity, words, and numbers are the only map.

Why it belongs Burnett & Evans' wayfinding as fantasy: you find the way by going, and boredom dies the moment attention wakes.

  • Attention and wonder
  • Making and repair

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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When You Reach Me

Rebecca Stead · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

A girl in 1970s New York receives notes that seem to know the future, and the mystery turns out to be made of friendship, time, and sacrifice.

Why it belongs Le Guin's paradox for the middle years: time folds, and kindness is the thread that survives the folding.

  • The thread of years
  • Belovedness and the secure base

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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The Tale of Despereaux

Kate DiCamillo · The middle years · about eight to twelve

A tiny, oversized-eared mouse who loves light, music, and a princess chooses courage and forgiveness against a world of dark and rats.

Why it belongs Peterson's small hero: the voluntary journey into the dungeon, and the choice to carry light back up the stairs.

  • The thread of years
  • Belovedness and the secure base

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Hatchet

Gary Paulsen · The middle years · about ten to fourteen

After a plane crash leaves him alone in the northern woods with only a hatchet, a boy is remade by what the wilderness demands of him.

Why it belongs Willink and Krenov in the wild: the self formed by genuine resistance from the material world, one hard-won skill at a time.

  • Making and repair
  • The thread of years

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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The Wild Robot

Peter Brown · The middle years · about eight to twelve

A robot washed ashore on a wild island learns to read its creatures and seasons, and becomes, unexpectedly, a mother.

Why it belongs The free edge as fable: survival comes not from imposing a program but from reading the grain of the actual world.

  • Making and repair
  • Difference honored
  • Belovedness and the secure base

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Inside Out & Back Again

Thanhhà Lại · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

In free verse, a Vietnamese girl loses her home to war and remakes herself, word by word, in a bewildering Alabama.

Why it belongs Le Guin's carrier bag as refugee story, and Kaufman's growth through suffering: a life gathered back together after it is spilled.

  • The thread of years
  • Difference honored

In English, Vietnamese

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Brown Girl Dreaming

Jacqueline Woodson · The middle years · about ten and up

A memoir in verse of growing up Black in the 1960s and 70s, between South Carolina and New York, and finding the writer's voice.

Why it belongs The long arc made of small true moments — the thread of years a child can feel being woven, and the carrier bag of memory.

  • The thread of years
  • The table and the gathering

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Way of the Warrior Kid

Jocko Willink · The middle years · about eight to twelve

A boy dreading a hard summer is trained by his uncle in small daily disciplines that turn weakness, one by one, into strength.

Why it belongs The canon's own, discipline-equals-freedom for the middle years: you become capable by choosing the hard thing on purpose.

  • Making and repair
  • The thread of years

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Front Desk

Kelly Yang · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

A Chinese immigrant girl runs the front desk of the motel her parents manage, and quietly shelters others with even less.

Why it belongs Difference and the long arc: a child's practical genius and generosity inside real hardship.

  • Difference honored
  • The thread of years

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Other Words for Home

Jasmine Warga · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

In verse, a Syrian girl leaves a country turning dangerous and remakes a self in an American middle school.

Why it belongs The carrier bag of the refugee child, gathered back together word by word.

  • The thread of years
  • Difference honored

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Efrén Divided

Ernesto Cisneros · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

When his mother is deported, a boy becomes the parent to his younger siblings while trying to bring her home.

Why it belongs The child's side of the undocumented story on this shelf — beside The Table They Cannot Take and Making Room.

  • The thread of years
  • Difference honored

In English, Spanish

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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New Kid

Jerry Craft · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

A Black seventh-grader navigates a mostly-white private school, in a graphic novel that won the Newbery.

Why it belongs Difference honored with humor and honesty: being the only one in the room, drawn from the inside.

  • Difference honored

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Meg Medina · The middle years · about nine to thirteen

A Cuban-American girl balances scholarship pressures and a beloved grandfather whose memory is beginning to slip.

Why it belongs The thread of years across a whole family: growing up while an elder grows older, held at one table.

  • The thread of years
  • The table and the gathering

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Amal Unbound

Aisha Saeed · The middle years · about ten to fourteen

A Pakistani girl forced into indentured servitude holds onto her dream of school and her own voice.

Why it belongs Difference and the long arc: a girl's education defended as the thing no one can take.

  • Difference honored
  • The thread of years

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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The Bridge Home

Padma Venkatraman · The middle years · about ten to fourteen

Two runaway sisters and two homeless boys make a fierce, tender family under a bridge in Chennai.

Why it belongs Belovedness built from nothing — the chosen family that forms where the given one failed. Close to Good Protocols' own work.

  • Belovedness and the secure base
  • The thread of years

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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Wishtree

Katherine Applegate · The middle years · about eight to twelve

An ancient oak, narrator and neighbor, watches a street learn whether to welcome a Muslim family that has just moved in.

Why it belongs Difference honored and the table widened — belonging told from the patient view of a tree.

  • Difference honored
  • The table and the gathering

In English

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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The Birchbark House

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) · The middle years · about eight to twelve

A year in the life of Omakayas, an Ojibwe girl on an island in Lake Superior in 1847 — family, seasons, work, grief, and the world the old stories come from.

Why it belongs The lived world behind the earth-diver story, told from inside it — and the start of a series worth the whole shelf. Beside Le Guin, Woodson, and the circle already here.

  • The table and the gathering
  • The thread of years

In English audiobook

Borrow · Libby · borrow — opens Seattle Public's Libby; switch to your own library inside the appSeattle Public Library · Seattle Public LibraryKing County Library · King County LibraryFind a library · WorldCatBARD · available through BARD for eligible readersBookshare · available through BookshareWA Talking Book & Braille · ask the Washington Talking Book & Braille LibraryBuy · Bookshop.org · buy — supports the sourcing map

Buying may earn a small commission; all of it funds the sourcing of home-language editions.

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