Best Middle Grade Books of 2012: A List of Lists

Happy December! This is the season when everyone seems to weigh in on the best of everything. There are so many sites and sources listing their favorite books right now that I wanted to put them all in one place. Here are some lists of the best books for young readers (especially middle grade), just in time for your holiday shopping:

The National Book Awards
     Winner: Goblin Secrets by William Alexander, plus four honor books
Newbery Medal and Honor
     Winner: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, plus two honor books
Amazon's Best Books of the Year
     A top 20 list including Amazon's #1 middle grade pick: Wonder by R.J.
     Palacio
School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year
     A pretty long list of picture books, fiction, and nonfiction. (Middle grade
     is mixed with young adult here.)
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction
     Top 25 list including cover art and brief reviews. Mixes MG and YA.
Kirkus Book Review Best Books of 2012
     100 books from picture books to young adult.
New York Times Notable Children's Books of 2012
    Mostly fiction, and separate lists for young adult, middle grade.
Barnes and Noble Best Kids' Books of 2012
     No ranking, no discernable organization, and being a celebrity seems to be
     a key factor in getting your book on this list. :)
Association for Library Service to Children's 2012 Notable Books
     A long list whose "Middle" category includes fiction, nonfiction, and even
     some picture books.
New York Public Library's 100 Childrens Books for Reading and Sharing
     The middle grade picks on this one are actually under Stories for Older
     Readers.
Oprah's 2012 Kids' Reading List
     This one includes some classics and was developed with help from the ALA
     and ALSC.
Parents' Choice Award Winners
     I had never heard of most of these, and their #1 choice (Star Wars: A
     Galactic Pop-Up Adventure) was a surprise.
National Science Teachers Association's Outstanding Science Trade Books for K-12
     A long list of books on a wide variety of science topics.
American Association for the Advancement of Science 2013 Middle Grade Finalists
     Four top nonfiction science books for middle grade readers.
Added 12/4/12: Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Middle Grade & Children's
     Chosen by voters, so a popularity contest by definition. But some great
     ones here! The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan was their top pick.
Added 12/17/12: The Wall Street Journal's Best Children's Books of 2012
     Only a few middle grade picks, but they're great ones...
Added 1/11/13: The Children's Literature Association of Utah's Beehive Award Nominees

And just to balance it all out with a little more science:

Squidoo Top 10 Science Toys for Kids

I hope that was helpful! The Goodreads Choice Awards will be announced tomorrow, and they had great picks among their finalists. (I may update this post to include their winners.) Come back Thursday to read MY top 5 middle grade picks for 2012!

Are there any lists I missed? Did your favorite middle grade books of 2012 make the cut?