Cover Reveals - Middle Grade - XXXI

I Don't Know How the Story Ends by J.B. Cheaney

Goodreads

Isobel is reeled into the bustling beginning of the film world when she's shipped off to WWI-era Hollywood...
When Isobel is dragged on an extended vacation to Hollywood, she anticipates nothing but homesickness—especially with her father away at war. But that's before she meets Ranger, her fast-talking, movie-obsessed cousin. Ranger ropes Isobel and her sister Sylvie into helping him create the perfect film, but their adventures come to a screeching halt when the girls' father returns home with a serious injury. While Isobel and Sylvie struggle with their grief, Ranger uses the real-life tragedy as inspiration for his epic film, which might be just the thing to help the family heal.

Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den by Aimee Carter

Goodreads

Twelve-year-old Simon Thorn’s life has never been easy or normal, but things like being bullied at school and living in a cramped Manhattan apartment with his Uncle Darrell are nothing compared to his biggest secret: He can talk to animals.

But when his mom is suddenly kidnapped by a herd of rats, Simon finds out that he, his mom, and his uncle are all Animalgams—people born with the ability to change into an animal at will.

In search of his mom, Simon discovers the Animalgam Academy based at the Central Park Zoo. There he learns about the fractured five kingdoms that make up this secret world . . . and realizes he may be the only one who can save it.

This action-packed page-turner is perfect for fans of the Spirit Animals and The School of Good and Evil series.

Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate DiCamillo

Goodreads

Deckawoo Drive’s intrepid Animal Control Officer meets her match—or does she? A funny, heartfelt, and fast-paced romp from the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Francine Poulet is the greatest Animal Control Officer in Gizzford County. She hails from a long line of Animal Control Officers. She’s battled snakes, outwitted squirrels, and stared down a bear. "The genuine article," Francine’s dad always called her. She is never scared—until, that is, she’s faced with a screaming raccoon that may or may not be a ghost. Maybe Francine isn’t cut out to be an Animal Control Officer after all! But the raccoon is still on the loose, and the folks on Deckawoo Drive need Francine back. Can she face her fears, round up the raccoon, and return to the ranks of Animal Control? Join a cast of familiar characters—Frank, Stella, Mrs. Watson, and Mercy the porcine wonder—for some riotous raccoon wrangling on Deckawoo Drive.

Superheroes Don't Eat Veggie Burgers by Gretchen Kelley

Goodreads

Sixth grade would be a lot easier if your fantasies came true . . . or would it?
Middle school may be tough, but Charlie Burger has a plan for how he'll get through it: mind his own business and stay out of the limelight. But the sixth grade has other plans for Charlie. His best friend Franki starts acting weird--since when does she like to dance?--and everyone from his mom to his soccer coach is on his case all the time. Worst of all? The school bully, Boomer Bodbreath, seems to think Charlie has a bull's-eye on his back.

When Charlie's eccentric science teacher hands out writing journals instead of beakers and goggles, Charlie is convinced his year can't be saved. That is, until he starts writing stories about Dude Explodius, an awesome, studly superhero--and those stories start coming true.

Can a kid who's used to the sidelines suddenly take a shot at saving the world?

This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
Goodreads

Gary Paulsen is an adventurer who competed in two Iditarods, survived the Minnesota wilderness, and climbed the Bighorns. None of this would have been possible without his truest companion: his animals. Sled dogs rescued him in Alaska, a sickened poodle guarded his well-being, and a horse led him across a desert. Through his interactions with dogs, horses, birds, and more, Gary has been struck with the belief that animals know more than we may fathom.

His understanding and admiration of animals is well known, and in This Side of Wild, which has taken a lifetime to write, he proves the ways in which they have taught him to be a better person.

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands
Goodreads

Following a series of murders, an apothecary’s apprentice must solve puzzles and decipher codes in pursuit of a secret that could destroy the world in this suspenseful debut novel.

Christopher Rowe, apprentice to Master Apothecary Benedict Blackthorn, is learning all his master’s secrets—like how to decipher complex codes and puzzles, and how to transform simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions, and weapons.

Christopher’s beloved master guides him with a firm, steady hand—a confidence even more vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on London’s apothecaries. The murders grow closer and closer to Blackthorn’s shop…until Christopher is torn from his home with only a cryptic message and a warning from his master: “Tell no one what I’ve given you.”

Aided by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must race to decipher his master’s message—and follow a trail of deceit toward an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart.

When Mischief Came to Town byKatrina Nannestad

Goodreads

When Inge Maria arrives on the tiny island of Bornholm in Denmark to live with her grandmother, she's not sure what to expect. Her grandmother is stern, the people on the island are strange, and children are supposed to be seen and not heard.   But no matter how hard Inge tries to be good, mischief has a way of finding her.     Could it be that a bit of mischief is exactly what Grandmother and the people of Bornholm need?

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier

Goodreads

It’s been two years since Peter Nimble and Sir Tode rescued the kingdom of HazelPort. In that time, they have traveled far and wide in search of adventure. Now Peter and Sir Tode have been summoned by Professor Cake for a new mission: find a 12-year-old girl named Sophie Quire.
Sophie knows little beyond the four walls of her father’s bookshop, where she works as a bookmender and dreams of leaving the confines of her city walls. But when a strange boy and his talking cat/horse companion show up searching for a rare and mysterious book, she finds herself pulled into an adventure beyond anything she has ever read.

The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
Goodreads

Sophie loves the hidden shop below her parents' bookstore, where dreams are secretly bought and sold. When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets. Who will help them, and who will betray them?

Which new covers are your favorite?  Let me know in the comments!