Middle Grade & Children’s – Page 28 – Trigger Warning Database

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman and illustrated by Sarah Watts

Twelve-year-old Emily is on the move again. Her family is relocating to San Francisco, home of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger, a game where books are hidden all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles. But Emily soon learns that Griswold has been attacked and is in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold and leads to a valuable prize… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Gun violence
Stalking

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, where Marvellers from all around the world come together to practice their cultural arts like brewing Indian spice elixirs, practising Caribbean steel drum hypnosis, and bartering with fussy Irish faeries. Ella knows some people mistrust her Conjuror magic, often deemed “bad and unnatural,” but she’s eager to make a good impression—and, hopefully, some friends… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Blood depiction
Kidnapping
Bullying

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Since as far back as Ben can remember, it’s been him, his devoted dad, and Sunshine–Ben’s little dog, who rarely leaves Ben’s side. It was Mom who did the leaving, and Ben’s about to spend a whole week with his suddenly present mother in the wilds of northern Minnesota. On the remote island she calls home, Ben will learn to camp, canoe, weather the elements, and weigh a burning question: when will she come back to where she belongs?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parental abandonment
Physical child abuse recounted
Forest fire

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Joel’s best friend Tony drowns while they are swimming in the forbidden, treacherous Vermilion River. Joel is terrified at having to tell of his disobedience and overwhelmed by his feelings of guilt.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a friend by drowning (theme)

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for a long time… When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends-not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack’s imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It’s up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Scars mentioned
Physical assault
Bullying

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

When Ned and his identical twin brother Tumble from their raft into a raging river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. But when a bandit king comes to steal the magic Ned’s mother, a Witch, is meant to protect, it’s Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community. Meanwhile, across the Enchanted forest that borders Ned’s village lives Aine, the resourceful and pragmatic daughter of the bandit king, who is haunted by her mother’s last words to her: ‘the wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his.’… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a mother
Attempted murder
Kidnapping & captivity
Drowning
Animal death (wolf)

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighbourliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Alcohol consumption mentioned
Disappearance of a child
Fire
Animal attack (birds)
Animal abuse & injury*

*Explanation : A dog is blinded by his previous abusive owner.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Ableism & ableist language
Abandonment
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a grandmother
Infanticide
Kidnapping & captivity
Animal injury

Obie Is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar

Obie Is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar

Obie knew his transition would have ripple effects. He has to leave his swim coach, his pool, and his best friends. But it’s time for Obie to find where he truly belongs. As Obie dives into a new team, though, things are strange. Obie always felt at home in the water, but now he can’t get his old coach out of his head. Even worse are the bullies that wait in the locker room and on the pool deck. Luckily, Obie has family behind him. And maybe some new friends too, including Charlie, his first crush. Obie is ready to prove he can be one of the fastest boys in the water–to his coach, his critics, and his biggest competition: himself.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slut-shaming
Homomisia
Transmisia & transmisic slurs
Deadnaming
Misgendering
Outing
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a grandparent
Physical assault
Bullying

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

Eleven-year-old Willodeen adores creatures of all kinds, but her favourites are the most unlovable beasts in the land: strange beasts known as “screechers.” The villagers of Perchance call them pests, even monsters, but Willodeen believes the animals serve a vital role in the complicated web of nature.

Lately, though, nature has seemed angry indeed. Perchance has been cursed with fires and mudslides, droughts and fevers, and even the annual migration of hummingbears, a source of local pride… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a mother in a fire recounted
Animal hunting
Animal death