What are some of the best books for a parent of a future middle schooler to read?

This may sound silly but “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is actually quite interesting. I was told they were originally written for parents to read to understand some of the things their children go through in middle school. Instead they took off as a hit for children. I read all of them with my son and I think they were worth reading.

I don’t know if you have a boy or a girl, but “Queen Bees and Wannabes” is a great book. It’s mainly geared toward girls. It was the inspiration for the movie Mean Girls. It offers great advice for helping a girl navigate the murky social waters of middle school and high school, letting her make her own choices, teaching her what to expect from those choices, and how to get her to take responsibility for her choices.

There are a couple of other books my daughter has that are really good and I can look up if you have a girl. They are great to read first, then give your daughter to read so you can talk about them together and deal with a variety of issues relating to pre-teen and teen girls. If you have a boy, I’ll let someone else offer suggestions!

Thank you for the suggestions! I have 2 boys, the oldest will start middle school next year. We have The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, my oldest has read them, I’ll have to read them too.

Something tells me that the very fact that you’re asking this question suggests that you don’t need to read any books at all. :-)

That said, I would read all of their required books along with them, so you can discuss them with your kids, and be knowledgeable about them when they have questions. Plus it’s just a real kick to go back and re-read those books, or catch one that you missed.

Harry Potter, anything Dickens, AA Milne, Winnie The Pooh, Little House on the Prairie Series – that’s what my parents read to me right up until I left the nest.

Thanks Minute and A Huff, I have read Harry Potter and several other books with my sons. I usually read a series before my oldest one reads it, so that I have a clue as to what the boys are reading and then I’m able to discuss it with them. Also, even if there is something that I disagree with in the book, I would rather allow my son to read it (within reason of course) and be able to talk about why I don’t agree and let him make up his own mind rather than tell him he can’t read it. However, what I am looking for are nonfiction, parenting type books. Books that offer insight and suggestions into dealing with the real world of middle school.

Goldie, I appreciate your confidence in my parenting skills, but I still feel pretty clueless about what kids face today, especially once they hit middle school. I think I am more naive than I realize (thus the term ‘naive’...lol) about what really goes on in middle school (and high school, but I’ll stress about that later…..)