My now 14 year old got a book recommendation when she was in the 4th grade, that literally changed her world. And it came from a 6th grader in the library who she didn't even know. She was wondering around aimlessly and this kid said try this book it was one of my favorites. Up until that point she had not been a reader. But because he said it, and not me, she tried it. She has not put down books since and became an AVID reader. The book was Percy Jackson. I wish I knew who that kid was because he really had an impact on her.

My advice, as a kid at the library to help. They are way cooler then you.

Anonymous wrote:Chevy Chase library has Janet- she is the BEST! She’s found books for my kids at various ages for years. Highly recommend heading there and asking for her

Not the OP but we also go to this library. Do you just ask for her at the info desk?

If you haven't already been to this site, I recommend searching the book lists at https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/tag/middle-grade .

There are many different lists and they're organized by theme. I've had great luck filtering out books that appeal to my kids.

Anonymous wrote:Recommendations from Maryland Ass'n of School Librarians https://www.maslmd.org/most-recent-winners

This is an excellent suggestion! The Black-Eyed Susan Award Winner books are voted on by students through their school libraries across Maryland.

Recommendations from Maryland Ass'n of School Librarians https://www.maslmd.org/most-recent-winners

Anonymous wrote:Noyes in Kensington is kids books only. You may have better luck there.

Noyes is great, but a little young for a rising third grader who reads well and a lot.

Also not an in-person recommendation, but the Library of Congress website has kid-specific suggestions for reading and other related activities:

https://read.gov/kids/

For example, this sounds interesting:

https://read.gov/greatreads/

"Great Reads from Great Places
Every year, a list of books representing the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is distributed by the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book during the National Book Festival. Each book is selected by a local Center for the Book or state library and most are for children and young readers. Books may be written by authors from the state, take place in the state, or celebrate the state’s culture and heritage. Why not read the book suggested for your state or district and then learn, through these books, about the other places that interest you?

Click on a state to view suggested titles by states or download the complete lists."

Not an in-person recommendation, but the Mighty Girl website has great recommendations by grade level and, I think, genre.

Putting in a plug for Bethesda library! I have family members aged 11, 9, 7, and 3 who almost all love being there.

We liked Gaithersburg!

The children's librarian at Silver Spring (5th floor) is awesome. I don't know her name, but I was describing a book my kid wanted that I didn't know the title or author for, and she immediately recognized it and found it for us. I'm sure she could do recommendations too.

They also have shelves outside the program room at Silver Spring (again, 5th floor) that are stocked with recommendations by grade level. My kids really like those displays and often choose books from those shelves.

Anonymous wrote:The head children's librarian at Wheaton is excellent.

My kids don’t like Wheaton at all, the recommendations we got were so-so. I do want to point out that my DD (age 9) and I were searching for the American girl’s guide books in the children’s section and the search pulled up girl’s guide to p0rn, with an explicit picture of a woman on the cover. The kids computers should not be displaying adult content in my opinion.

The head children's librarian at Wheaton is excellent.