The Cybils are the long-running Bloggers’ Literary Awards given to books for children and teens. I’ll be breaking the finalists into three groupings based on reader age. Here are the finalists in the categories that focus on middle grade books: Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels, Middle-Grade Fiction and Middle-Grade Nonfiction.

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE-GRADE SPECULATIVE FICTION

Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe

In the Red by Christopher Swiedler

Mulan: Before the Sword by Grace Lin

Rival Magic by Deva Fagan

Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVELS

Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith

Class Act by Jerry Craft

Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song

Go with the Flow by Karen Schneemann and Lily Williams

The Runaway Princess by Johan Troïanowski

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

MIDDLE-GRADE FICTION

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

The Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

MIDDLE-GRADE NONFICTION

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure by John Rocco

Normal: One Kid’s Extraordinary Journey by Magdalena Newman and Nathaniel Newman, illustrated by Neil Swaab

Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species by Ana Pego and Isabel Minhós Martins, illustrated by Bernado P. Carvalho 

STEM in the Final Four by Meg Marquardt

This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illustrated by Drew Shannon

The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth by Wade Hudson (Editor), Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editor)