Holiday Books for Middle Schoolers

Few characters embody the spirit of Christmas more fully than Kate Douglas Wiggin's Carol Bird. This classic Christmas story by the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm features a child as memorable and charitable as Dickens's Tiny Tim.

At the age of twelve, Minnie Swift is living through one of the toughest times in America's history, The Great Depression. She keeps a detailed diary over the span of one Christmas month.

Amy reminisces about her mother's final Christmas and the trials of training Sundance. Frustrated by Sundance's attitude and her mother's rigorous training schedule, Amy's holiday spirit is lacking until Sundance falls ill.

Jenny can't wait for the holidays, but her good mood quickly evaporates when she picks Dana as her "Secret Snowflake" in English class and finds out that her friend Sam is heading home to England for the holidays.

Unlike the traditional Santa Claus myth, Kringle is a coming-of-age story about an orphan who becomes a force for good in a dark and violent time. It is a tale of fantasy, of goblins, elves, and flying reindeer — and of a boy from the humblest beginnings who fulfills his destiny.