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

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

Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

Until next time. That was chilling promise made to Ollie, Coco and Brian after they outsmarted the smiling man at Mount Hemlock Resort. And as the trio knows, the smiling man always keeps his promises. So when the lights flicker on and off at Brian’s family’s inn and a boom sounds at the door, there’s just one visitor it could be. Only, there’s no one there, just a cryptic note left outside signed simply as –S.

The smiling man loves his games and it seems a new one is under way. But first, the three friends will have to survive a group trip to Lake Champlain…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Graphic snakebite
Serious physical illness of a parent
Dead body
Death of an uncle
Death of a mother in a plane crash recounted
Shipwreck, on-page
Graphic animal attack (theme)
Bullying recounted

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie’s watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE.

With Mr. Voland’s help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help–or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted…… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death of a mother recounted