New middle grade realistic fiction March 2026

 There have been SO MANY new books that came out in the last month!  So lucky us!  Here are two of my newest favorites.

"When Tomorrow Burns" by Tae Keller is about three middle school kids who are trying to figure things out.  They have been friends for a long time, but are struggling to remain friends because of the things they haven't felt confident to share with each other.  Nomi, Vi, and Arthur each have the own opportunity to tell their stories and through that story telling, readers get a full picture of how their relationships crisscross and intersect and divide.  And each of them believes in a prophecy that they read in a book that they found at the Museum of Lost and Found, a gallery where people could drop off paintings, sculptures and poems that one of Arthur's dads runs in the first floor of their apartment.  Part of the story line that keeps the kids together is trying to find the second book to try to figure out the true meaning of the prophecy as well.  But there are also storylines about how Vi is changing-her style, her friends, and maybe even a new boyfriend.  And how Arthur is changing and his feelings towards both girls and how Nomi copes with all these changes as she is a person who likes things factual and concrete and a lot of changes are subtle and related to feelings.  This was a wonderful story about friendship and prophecies and fate or choices, about choosing one friend over another, about trying to make things right when things go badly wrong, and about following through.  I thought this was great.  The characters feel like people you already know and their situations are perfectly executed.  I can't wait to give this to readers.  Check out this gorgeous cover!

The second one is called "Birdy" by N. West Moss.  It's about girl called Birdy but who's given name is May and her brother called Mouse, but who's given name is Michael.  Birdy and Mouse are moving in with a distant cousin named Mitzie and her husband, Shadow because Birdy and Mouse's mom died and there isn't anyone else to take care of them.  Mitzie and Shadow agreed to take care of Birdy and Mouse for the summer and see if they should find another more permanent home.  Mitzie isn't so sure that it's a great idea to take in Birdy and Michael, but Shadow is all in, except Shadow falls and breaks his foot trying to move furniture around in advance of Birdy and Mouse's arrival.  Once they get there, things are really different from where they had been living.  Birdy and Mouse lived in a small apartment with their mom in NY City, so it was always noisy and there were always lots of people around and lots of things to do.  Mitzie and Shadow live in upstate NY out in the woods, so it's quieter in someways (no sirens) and loud in other ways (lots of frogs and bugs making noise) and it's dark!  Gradually, Birdy and Mouse find that living with Mitzie and Shadow is pretty great.  They get to go to a day camp where they meet other kids who live close by and learn to swim.  One day their mom's brother, Clay, shows up.  Clay likes to be outside and shows up with a raccoon named Fingers and a goat named Patches and it turns out that Clay is a pretty great guy.  In trying to protect herself and Mouse, Birdy makes a really bad choice that cause Mitzie to question whether or not to trust Birdy, but things work out in the end.  This is lovely warm hearted story, with references to Dicey's Song By Cynthia Voigt.  There are themes of family and found family, love and taking care of each other and honesty.  I enjoyed this one a lot and I think middle grade readers are going to like this one too.