Here's what's new on the middle-grade shelf, the 2025 and 2026 books your child hasn't gotten to yet. There are goofy graphic novels and race-the-clock mysteries, a true Wild West swindle, a soccer caper, and a few tender ones that sit with the harder parts of growing up. You don't work through this one in order. Pick by what your child already loves, and one of these will fit.
Everything here is new, published this year or last, so it's the stuff that isn't sitting on every shelf yet. The range is on purpose. A child who only reads comics and a child who's ready for a 300-page adventure will both find their book here. Follow what your child already loves, funny, or spooky, or true, or sad in a good way, and you'll land in the right spot.