Intermediate Books

 2023 Intermediate Book Nominees

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The Artifact Hunters by Janet S. Fox, 2020

During World War II, a Czechoslovakian Jewish boy is sent to northern Scotland to live in a castle that houses gifted children who are learning to harness their magical powers to support the Allies' cause.

Book Trailers

Author Reads from the opening

Read-alikes:

13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Hettie and the London Blitz by Jenni L. Walsh

Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly

The School Between Winter and Fairyland by Heather Fawcett

The Memory Thief by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Shadow Hunt by Katherine Langrish

Haunters by Thomas Taylor

​A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus


Dragons vs. Unicorns by Dr. Kate Biberdorf with Hillary Homzie, 2020

​When her best friend is cast as a lead in their school musical, 10-year-old assistant director and community problem solver Kate the Chemist uses STEM-based science to identify a mystery saboteur.

​Book Trailer

Chapters 1 and 2 Read by the Author


Read-alikes: 

Absolute Hero by Valerie Tripp

The Friendship Code by Stacia Deutsch

Ada Lace, on the Case by Emily Calandrelli

Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of Room 11 by N. Griffin

Lark Holds the Key by Natasha Deen

The Candy Caper by Tom Watson

Maya and the Robot by Eve L. Ewing

The Read McCoys by Matthew Swanson

​Moving Day by Meg Cabot



Guts by Raina Telgemeier, 2019

Developing a chronic upset stomach that she initially dismisses as a bug, young Raina discovers that her symptoms are related to her anxieties about school, food and changing friendships, in a story based on the Eisner Award-winning author's childhood.

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Official Book Trailer


Read-alikes:

Small Things by Mel Tregonning

Stanley Will Probably Be Fine by Sally J. Pla

Best Friends by Shannon Hale

Doodleville by Chad Sell

Chunky by Yehudi Mercado

Button Pusher by Tyler Page

Your Turn, Adrian by Helena Oberg

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

​El Deafo by Cece Bell



InvestiGators by John Patrick Green, 2020

With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?

Book Trailer

Series Trailer

Read-alikes:

Agent Moose by Mo O'Hara

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

Pup Detectives by Felix Gumpaw

Max Meow by John Gallagher

Banana Fox and the Secret Sour Society by James Kochalka

Mothering Heights by Dav Pilkey

Cosmic Pizza Party by Nick Murphy

Catwad by Jim Benton

Snazzy Cat Capers by Deanna Kent-McDonald



Operation Frog Effect by Sarah Scheerger, 2019

​"Ms. Graham's fifth-grade class wants to promote change in the world; but when eight of them take an assignment too far, they must take responsibility for their actions and unite for a cause they all believe in"--.


Book Trailer

Read Aloud Chapters 1 and 2

Read-alikes:

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Paper Things by Jennifer Jacobson

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks

Confessions of a Former Bully by Trudy Ludwig

Just Right Jillian by Nicole D. Collier

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

​A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee


Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park, 2020

In Dakota Territory in the 1880s, half-Chinese Hanna and her white father face racism and resistance to change as they try to make a home for themselves.

Book Trailer

Chapter 1 Read Aloud


Read-alikes:

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

Letters From Cuba by Ruth Behar

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

View From Pagoda Hill by Michaela MacColl

The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez

Journey to a Promised Land by Allison Lassieur

Someplace to Call Home by Sandra Dallas, 2019

In 1933, when twelve-year-old Hallie Turner and her brothers, Tom and Benny, take to the road seeking whatever work they can get, they find kindness in small-town Kansas.


Book Trailer

Read Aloud


Read-alikes:

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

The Wonder of Charlie Ann by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Every Day After by Laura Golden

Empty Places by Kathy Cannon Wiechman

R My Name is Rachel by Patricia Reilly Giff

The Truth About Sparrows by Marian Hale

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, 2020

Omar and his younger brother Hassan live in a refugee camp, and when an opportunity for Omar to get an education comes along, he must decide between going to school every day or caring for his nonverbal brother in this intimate and touching portrayal of family and daily life in a refugee camp.


Book Trailer

Official Book Trailer

Read-alikes:

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Being Clem by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Child Soldier by Jessica Dee Humphreys

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf

Free Lunch by Rex Ogle

Boy, Everywhere by A. M. Dassu

The Banana-Leaf Ball by Katie Smith Milway

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry, 2019

"A young wolf cub, separated from his pack, journeys 1000 miles across the Pacific Northwest, dealing with forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before finding a new home. Based on the true story of a wolf called OR-7".

​Book Trailer

Read Aloud

Read-alikes:

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Every Burnford

Child of the Wolves by Elizabeth Hall

Blue Mountain by Martine Leavitt

Lost Shadow by Claire Gilchrist

​Guardians of the Taiga by Stacy Hinojosa

A Bear Named Trouble by Marion Dane Bauer

The Quest Begins by Erin Hunter

​A Search for Safe Passage by Frances Figart

Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2019

In 1893 twelve-year-old Audra lives on a farm in Lithuania, and tries to avoid the Cossack soldiers who enforce the Russian decrees that ban Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language; but when the soldiers invade the farm Audra is the only one who escapes and, unsure of what has happened to her parents, she embarks on a dangerous journey, carrying the smuggled Lithuanian books that fuel the growing resistance movement, unsure of who to trust, but risking her life and freedom for her country.

​​Book Trailer

Official Book Trailer

Read-alikes:

Mañanaland by Pam Munoz Ryan

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

Brother's Keeper by Julie Lee

Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai

Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange

A Faraway Island by Annika Thor

We Are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett