I’ve come across many adults (myself included) who are interested in reading more middle grade books, but aren’t quite sure where to start.
The why doesn’t really matter. Maybe they’re just interested in the age group and the whimsical, light-hearted content that’s hard to find in adult books. Maybe they’re reading to find books for their own mid-grade reader. Whatever the reason, knowing where to start can because hard because, I’ll let you in on a little secret, there are a lot of middle grade books.
Sometimes I hear adults concerned that middle grade books will be “too young” for them, and that’s a legitimate concern. I mean, they’re not written for us, right? But there are some mid-grade books out there that are wonderful and deep and whimsical and funny and definitely have things to offer adults as well as middle grade readers.
I’ve been reading more middle grade books since I started working at a library. Since I make decisions over what we order, I thought it would be helpful for me to actually, you know, read what our kids are reading and see where their preferences lie. But you know what? Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I just fell in love with MG books.
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is a genre freebie, so I decided to tackle middle grade, because I’ve found so many wonderful books that I wanted to share.
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
Reasons to Read:
āæ Tackles grief in a relatable, accessible way.
āæ Giant new world to explore, full of danger and wonder.
āæ Small characters with big personality.
āæ Lots of folklore you’ll recognize, brought to life on a page.
āæ Endless adventure and hilarity.
Nevermoor
Reasons to Read:
āæ Super fun and whimsical world.
āæ But, you know, with a dark underbelly.
āæ Very reminiscent of how I felt reading Harry Potter years ago.
āæ Plenty of fabulous characters to fall in love with.
āæ All sorts of different magic and abilities.
Amelia Fang
Reasons to Read:
āæ Super cute pictures to go with the text.
āæ Because who doesn’t like pretty pictures?! No one, that’s who.
āæ Really cute, quirky cast of characters.
āæ Fantasy, but fantasy lite, for beginners.
āæ Fun (and funny) adventures and quests.
Ben Braver
Reasons to Read:
āæ Half mid-grade book, half graphic novel.
āæ Mid-grade humor at its finest!
āæ Sure, maybe a little juvenile, but who doesn’t still laugh at fart jokes?
āæ See? You’re already smiling now, aren’t you?
āæ Superheroes! But with sometimes not awesome powers.
āæ Because powers are a mixed bag, okay?
Twist
Reasons to Read:
āæ The nostalgia! Oh, all the nostalgia.
āæ Set in the ’80s, which is a good time for … most of us adults?
āæ Really cute cast of “monsters” to fall in love with.
āæ Really creepy vibes, but not too creepy.
āæ So maybe … horror lite?
āæ Characters coming to life is always a good trope.
The Ghost Collector
Reasons to Read:
āæ Really heart-wrenching story about grief and acceptance.
āæ Inspired by Cree culture.
āæ Super unique world of ghosts overlaid on our world.
āæ The opportunity to meet lots of ghosts, including non-human ones.
Scary Stories for Young Foxes
Reasons to Read:
āæ Adorable animal protagonist.
āæ Scary stories … for people who need a little less scare.
āæ Short stories that tell a bigger story.
The Boy With the Butterfly Mind
Reasons to Read:
āæ Some fantastic ADHD rep, from a protagonist with ADHD.
āæ Tackles the issue of behavior and even medicating really well.
āæ Lost family. And then found family.
āæ And all the warm, fuzzy feels that go along with that.
āæ Some pretty serious tugs on your heartstrings.
Bob
Reasons to Read:
āæ Fun book set in Australia about rediscovering the past.
āæ It’s cute and whimsical and funny, all wrapped into one.
āæ Really cute illustrations!
āæ Also a little bit about growing up and growing older.
Wishtree
Reasons to Read:
āæ From the perspective of a tree.
āæ Heartwarming story of immigration and community.
āæ But also with animal protagonists!
āæ Really unique, poignant story with many layers.
What a fun list. I need to try some of these books!
My TTT .
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I hope you enjoy them if you do check them out!
I want to read Scary Stories for Young Foxes and am waiting for Tristan Strong to come in on Overdrive. I own the first Morrigan Crow book and keep meaning to make time for it. This was a perfect weekly topic!
I hope you get Tristan Strong soon! It was such a good read. October is so long to have to wait for the sequel. xD I hope you love Nevermoor, too! It’s one of my favorite series now, and … again with the waiting thing. I’m really bad at it, and it seems like that’s all I do these days. xD
I love middle-grade books! Katherine Applegate’s novels are especially awesome. I also really like Cynthia Lord. Weirdly, I’ve only read one of the books on your list. I’m definitely going to check out the rest of them.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I hope you enjoy them when you get a chance to read them! I’ve loved Katherine Applegate’s work since I was little and started with Animorphs. Gosh, that makes me feel so old, but I’m just thrilled that she’s still writing things we can love. :3 Looking forward to her upcoming book The One and Only Bob, too!
I’ve only read a little in this age group (since the time I WAS a kid, that is), but I definitely recommend the Wingfeather Saga if you haven’t read it yet (On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness being the first in that series). I’ve read half the series so far and just love them so much!
My daughter is just heading into this age group, so I’ll definitely look into some of these in your list as I try to keep her from falling away from reading.
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I’ve actually got ARCs of that, which I plan on reading soon! They’re re-releasing the series, and I jumped on the chance to read them! So glad to hear you loved them. They look really good, and I should be picking them up soon, so I’m looking forward to that even more now!
You should definitely try Amelia Fang if she enjoys typical fantasy things like unicorns and vampires and such. My daughter’s nine and it’s her new favorite series. Ben Braver is also very much along the lines of the humor in, like, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants, so I’ve been recommending it for kids who like those books. š
My one disappointment with the ARCs of the re-releases is that they don’t include the illustrations. I’ve seen some of them now various other places, including during the book reading Andrew Peterson has been doing on his Facebook page nightly, and they’re really neat. I’ve been keeping an eye out for the ARCs of the last 2 books to be available, and once they’re all 4 out, I’m hoping there will be some kind of box set available.
Thanks for the specific recommendations!–I’ll start with those!
I haven’t read any of these books, but I’ve heard great things about Nevermoor and Amelia Fang. I love the title for Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky.
Some MG books I love include Dragon Pearl, The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao, and the 5 Worlds series.
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It’s quite a title isn’t it? That’s what first caught my attention when the book was announced! The sequel is called Tristan Strong Destroys the World, so … you know, just upping the stakes here. xD
I’ll have to look into those! I’ve got a hold on Dragon Pearl already, and I want to read all of the Rick Riordan Presents books eventually. :3
Interesting YA books. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2020/03/ttt-032420.html
I really need to read Tristan Strong – it looks so cool!
You should! It was such a great book.
I think your blog eats my comments. Just when I post the server hitches and then it’s gone. š
But on to happier things. I love this post. I was tempted to write one like that as well but then I ran out of time. Meh, maybe some other time. I’m so happy to see Morrigan on here and Tristan (still gotta read that one, and I will) and Wishtree seems really intriguing to me. So it’s from the pov of a tree? So cool! <3
Yeah, my host seems to be having some downtime issues, unfortunately. =/ It’s been a real hassle. Sorry for the hiccup!
The time thing is a real struggle. You should definitely write one anyway when you get a chance. š I so recommend Tristan, though! I hope you get a chance to read it soon. :3 A lot of Applegate’s books are from interesting perspectives. Wishtree is from a tree. The One and Only Ivan is a gorilla. I thought the tree perspective was pretty unique and interesting, though.
I love Nevermoor so much! I recommend it to Harry Potter and fantasy fans all the time!
I still have to read Scary Stories for Young Foxes, though. I saw some people saying they thought it could be a contender for the Newbery. Gotta say I’m glad New Kid got it, though!
I knooow. I’m actually pretty sure it was your website (whether you or Briana wrote the post, I don’t remember now) that finally convinced me to pick up Nevermoor. Because I’m silly and apparently needed convincing? xD Are you looking forward to the third book this year?!
Really? I hadn’t heard that! I ran out of time and didn’t get to finish it (so I’m waiting for it to come back around again … ugh, wait lists), but I really enjoyed the part I read! I’ve already recommended our library get it, but I’ll have to look up the Newbery thing, because that’ll pretty much sell it to my director, since she tries to get the big award winners in, at least.
I just finished The Trials of Morrigan Crow yesterday and OMG I absolutely LOVED it! It gave me such OG Harry Potter reading vibes and I was totally here for it. I’m kinda gutted that I don’t have the second book to start right away and with all of this corona going around I don’t know when I’ll venture to the bookstore next š I’m definitely keen to try out more MG now! I just recently got the eARC for Gargantis (book two of Malamander series) and I’m so keen to read it š Great list, Sammie!
Yaaaaay. Right?! I haven’t felt that way about an MG read since HP, I’m pretty sure, and that was forever ago. xD Now you need to read Wundersmith. And then Hollowpox comes out at the end of this year! Shame that you’ll have to wait for the second one, though. D:
Great list! I don’t read much middle grade these days but one I enjoyed last year was Asha and the Spirit Bird, it was magical.
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I hadn’t heard of that before. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Tristan Strong was a great book! (I just finished it.) And now I have to wait soooo looooong for the sequel….
If you’re looking for more horror-lite MG books, Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces books fit the bill on that for me. I really enjoyed the two that have been released so far, and I’m looking forward to the two yet-to-come.
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I know, riiiight?! Ugh it’s soooo far away, and I’m so looking forward to it.
I actually almost put that on my list! But I know I’ve talked about it before a while ago when I read them, so I decided to go with something i hadn’t talked about as much. xD I really enjoyed that series, and I’m looking forward to what she does with the last two seasons. :3
Ooh, Nevermoor sounds good! It’s been on my TBR for a while. I think Wishtree has too maybe? š
I can’t recommend Nevermoor enough. I always say that if you loved Harry Potter, you’ll love Nevermoor!
I haven’t read any of these, but one of my favorite middle grade reads is The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. I also enjoy all of Rebecca Stead’s books. š Great topic choice!
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Oh, I’ll have to look those up! Thanks for the recommendations. š
Aaaw scary stories for young foxes looks so cute!
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