Best Classics Books for 7th Grade

Classic children's books have stayed in print because readers keep coming back to them, and many are still taught and talked about in middle school. This page collects award-winning classics from the 1940s onward. The Giver by Lois Lowry, a Newbery Medal winner, raises big questions about memory and freedom that suit seventh-grade discussion, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor portrays a Black family's strength in 1930s Mississippi. Lighter choices include a balloon voyage to a hidden island and two favorites by Beverly Cleary for quick, comfortable reading.