70 Fun Facts About Middle School Book

In The Giver, 12-year-old Jonas is selected to become the community's what?

He inherits every memory of the time before Sameness, including colour, snow and pain.

Who wrote The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner?

She won a second Newbery for it four years after her first, and it became one of the most challenged books in American schools.

In Hatchet, what happens to the pilot that strands Brian Robeson in the Canadian wilderness?

Brian crash-lands in an L-shaped lake with only his windbreaker and a hatchet.

Who gave Brian the hatchet he survives with in Hatchet?

He learns to make fire with it and eats everything from turtle eggs to the grouse he calls fool-birds.

In Holes, where is Stanley Yelnats sent to dig after being wrongly convicted of theft?

There has been no lake there for over a hundred years, which is rather the point of the digging.

Who wrote Holes, which won both the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal?

He also wrote the Wayside School books; the 2003 film starred Shia LaBeouf as Stanley.

In Wonder, what is the name of the boy with a facial difference who starts mainstream school?

Auggie has Treacher Collins syndrome; the author got the idea after her own son reacted with distress to a girl with a facial deformity.

In Wonder, Auggie starts fifth grade at which private school?

Mr Tushman asks Jack Will, Charlotte and Julian to give him a tour before term starts.

In The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson turns out to be the son of which Greek god?

That breaks an oath the three eldest gods swore never to have children, and it is why Zeus suspects Percy of stealing his master bolt.

Percy's school friend Grover in The Lightning Thief turns out to be what kind of creature?

He steers Percy to Camp Half-Blood, where Chiron the centaur trains demigods.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers as tribute to take the place of whom?

Katniss is 16 and from coal-mining District 12; Prim is 12 and her name has only been in the reaping once.

Who is Katniss's fellow tribute from District 12, the baker's son who once gave her bread?

Their drunken mentor Haymitch is the only living District 12 victor.

In Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Greg Heffley insists his book is not a diary but a what?

Jeff Kinney spent eight years on the first book, and it ran online at Funbrain before it was ever printed.

Who is Greg Heffley's loyal best friend, who later got his own spin-off series?

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal came out in 2019.

In Bridge to Terabithia, how do Jess and Leslie get into their secret kingdom?

The author based the story on the death of her son's friend, who was struck by lightning in 1974.

In Bridge to Terabithia, Jess first meets Leslie when she does what?

He had trained all summer to be the fastest runner in fifth grade.

In Number the Stars, Annemarie helps Ellen Rosen escape occupied Copenhagen to which neutral country?

They cross from her Uncle Henrik's coastal home, using a fake funeral for a made-up Great Aunt Birte as cover.

In The Outsiders, the greasers' rivals, the wealthy Socs, get their name from what word?

S. E. Hinton started the book at 15 and used her initials so male reviewers would not dismiss it.

Who narrates The Outsiders?

His brothers Darry and Sodapop are raising him; Francis Ford Coppola filmed the book in 1983.

In Where the Red Fern Grows, what does Billy name his two coonhounds?

He saw the names carved in a tree on the walk home from Tahlequah after two years of saving up the $50.

Where the Red Fern Grows is set in which mountain region?

It is autobiographical fiction drawn from Wilson Rawls's own childhood there.

In A Wrinkle in Time, Meg and Charles Wallace travel through space and time to rescue which family member?

Calvin goes with them; they fight The Black Thing that has invaded several worlds.

Who wrote A Wrinkle in Time?

It won the 1963 Newbery Medal and opens her Time Quintet.

In Tuck Everlasting, what has made the Tuck family immortal?

Ten-year-old Winnie Foster sees Jesse Tuck drink from it and he stops her from doing the same.

Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the true story of a woman left alone on an island for how many years?

Karana's real-life counterpart, Juana Maria, lived alone on San Nicolas Island in the 19th century.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry follows the Logan family in which state in the 1930s?

Unlike most Black families around them, the Logans own their land, which is what the whole story turns on.

In Maniac Magee, the orphan Jeffrey Magee is allergic to which food?

He can also untie any knot and runs everywhere he goes in the segregated town of Two Mills.

In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca's grandparents drive her across the country to find whom?

Sal tells them the story of her friend Phoebe on the way; the book won the 1995 Newbery Medal.

In Esperanza Rising, Esperanza's family flees Mexico for farm work in which US state?

Her father is murdered the day before her 13th birthday and her step-uncle takes the ranch.

Bud, Not Buddy follows an orphan travelling from Flint to Grand Rapids, in which state, during the 1930s?

Bud goes from Flint to Grand Rapids; the book was the first to win both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award.

In The Westing Game, sixteen strangers are invited to rent apartments in which building?

Samuel Westing made his fortune in paper and his will turns the tenants into players in a game.

In Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal names her scruffy dog after what?

She finds him wrecking the store; her father is known as The Preacher.

In Freak the Mighty, big, kind-hearted Max teams up with the brilliant Kevin, who has which condition?

Kevin rides on Max's shoulders and together they become Freak the Mighty; the film version was called The Mighty.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins joins Gandalf and how many dwarves on the quest to the Lonely Mountain?

Bilbo is hired as the fourteenth member because thirteen was thought unlucky.

In The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, the family drives from Flint to leave which member with his grandmother?

Kenny, the middle child, narrates; the family arrives in Birmingham just before the church bombing.

Out of My Mind is narrated by Melody Brooks, a brilliant girl who has which condition?

She cannot speak or walk, and the book is about everyone finally realising how much is going on in her head.

In The City of Ember, Lina and Doon follow clues left by the Builders to escape a city that is where?

Ember's lights are failing and its storerooms are running out; the sequel is The People of Sparks.

Cornelia Funke's Inkheart was first published in which language?

Its original title is Tintenherz; Inkspell and Inkdeath complete the trilogy.

Christopher Paolini began writing Eragon at what age, after finishing home school?

His parents self-published it in 2001 and novelist Carl Hiaasen spotted it and passed it to Knopf.

Eoin Colfer pitched Artemis Fowl as "Die Hard with" what?

Fairy officer Holly Short is based on John McClane, and Artemis on the villain Hans Gruber.

In Redwall, the young hero Matthias is what kind of animal?

He is a novice at Redwall Abbey who dreams of being like the legendary Martin the Warrior.

Which villain pursues the Baudelaire orphans in a different disguise in every book?

Captain Sham is one of his disguises; there are thirteen books in the series.

Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, is the pen name of which writer?

There are thirteen books, and Sunny Baudelaire's dialogue is mostly translated baby-talk.

Tui T. Sutherland's Wings of Fire series is about which creatures?

It has sold more than 30 million copies and spent over 200 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel Smile is about her own struggles with what, from sixth grade onward?

It began as a webcomic on Girlamatic before Scholastic's Graphix imprint published it in 2010.

Kwame Alexander's Newbery-winning basketball novel The Crossover is written entirely in what form?

Twins Josh and Jordan Bell are the players; it won the 2015 Newbery Medal.

In Hello, Universe, four middle schoolers' stories collide when one of them becomes trapped where?

Virgil, Kaori, Valencia and the bully Chet each tell part of a single summer day; it won the 2018 Newbery.

In Stargirl, Leo's family moves from Pennsylvania to which state, where he meets Stargirl?

Grace VanderWaal played her in the 2020 Disney+ film.

In Flipped, Juli Baker's long protest is about saving what?

Bryce Loski, who has spent years avoiding her, secretly feels terrible when she is pulled out of it.

In Chasing Vermeer, Calder and Petra try to recover a stolen Vermeer painting in which city?

The painting is A Lady Writing, and the thief taunts the city through newspaper adverts.

In The Mysterious Benedict Society, what is the name of Mr Benedict's villainous twin brother?

Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance are the recruits; Disney adapted the first two books.

In Al Capone Does My Shirts, Moose Flanagan's family moves to which island for his dad's prison job?

It is 1935 and Capone really was an inmate; the sequels include Al Capone Shines My Shoes.

In Cynthia Lord's Rules, Catherine writes rules to help her younger brother David, who has what?

She also befriends Jason, a boy at David's therapy clinic who communicates with a word board.

The One and Only Ivan is narrated by a silverback gorilla who has spent 27 years living where?

It is based on the real Ivan, who lived in a mall in Washington state; the book won the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Jason Reynolds's Ghost is the first book in a series about kids who take up which sport?

Castle Cranshaw earns the nickname Ghost; the follow-ups are Patina, Sunny and Lu.

Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir written in what form?

It covers her childhood in the 1960s and won the National Book Award and a Newbery Honor.

In When You Reach Me, Miranda helps her mom prepare to appear on which real game show?

The book is set on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 1978 and 1979 and won the 2010 Newbery Medal.

Ella Enchanted retells which fairy tale, with a heroine cursed at birth to obey every order?

Gail Carson Levine's book won a Newbery Honor in 1998 and became a 2004 film with Anne Hathaway.

Anne Frank's diary was written while her family hid for two years in which country?

Miep Gies saved the diary and gave it to Anne's father Otto, the family's only survivor; it has been published in more than 70 languages.

The Warriors (Warrior Cats) series is written by a team of authors under what shared pen name?

Victoria Holmes came up with the concept and wrote the storylines until 2017; there are nine six-book arcs.

In Ranger's Apprentice, the orphan Will is chosen to serve the King of which country?

John Flanagan first wrote the stories to get his son interested in reading, then turned them into The Ruins of Gorlan ten years later.

How many novels make up C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was written first but is numbered second in editions that follow Narnia's own timeline.

In Among the Hidden, why must 12-year-old Luke Garner stay out of sight?

Families are limited to two children because of food shortages; the book was one of the ten most-taught in US middle schools in 2013.

In The Graveyard Book, what is the name of the boy raised by the ghosts of a graveyard?

Neil Gaiman got the idea in 1985 watching his two-year-old son pedal a tricycle around a graveyard, and set out to write something like The Jungle Book.

The Graveyard Book was the first book to win both the Newbery and which British children's prize?

It also took the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and illustrator Chris Riddell made the Kate Greenaway shortlist for the same book.

In The Phantom Tollbooth, what is Tock, who rescues Milo from the Doldrums?

Tock tells Milo that only by thinking can he escape the Doldrums, where the Lethargarians spend their days killing time.

In Fish in a Tree, sixth-grader Ally Nickerson is eventually identified as having which condition?

Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt modelled the teacher Mr. Daniels on her own sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Christy, and calls the book a giant thank-you note to him.

In The War That Saved My Life, Ada and her brother Jamie are evacuated from London to which county?

Ada, kept indoors by her abusive mother because of her clubfoot, secretly teaches herself to walk so she can leave with Jamie in September 1939.

In Alan Gratz's Refugee, Josef Landau's family flees Nazi Germany aboard which real ship?

The three storylines span 1938 Germany, 1994 Cuba and 2015 Syria; the Cuban officer Josef meets turns out to be Isabel's grandfather.

In The Girl Who Drank the Moon, what does the witch Xan accidentally feed the baby Luna?

Xan normally feeds abandoned babies starlight; the mix-up gives Luna magic so dangerous it must be sealed away until her thirteenth birthday.