Hello readers! It’s almost March and that means it’s time to read some middle grade books. I LOVE middle grade and doing this readathon every month. Back in 2021, I did this tag and when I was making my book tag masterlist, I saw it and decided I want to do it again.
Did y’all see last year that the Goodreads Choice Awards took away the middle grade category? I don’t see many people reading MG in the book space, so I always look at that list to see what I should read.
This tag was created by The Curly Reader. She is usually one of the hosts of the readathon, but isn’t in 2024.
What is the last middle grade book you read?
Wow, it really has been a while. I read Good Different in the summer of 2023. This one follows an autistuc girl named Selah who has all these rules for appearing normal. She is struggling with fitting in an socializing and school and wonders if there is something different about her.
I am telling you as an autistic person, this is the most relatable story I’ve ever read. Any masking autistic person also has a list of rules just like this. It’s like allistic people just know social rules, but autistic people have to learn and memorize them to appear ‘normal’.
What is a middle grade book someone read to you as a child?
At the end of each school day in 5th grade, our teacher would do one of two things with us. One, we would watch the Andy Griffith show, or two, he would read to us. Most of the time, it was Little House on the Prairie. But, he also read us a bunch of folk tales.
These were not required reading and we didn’t have to do any sort of schooling or tests for them. He just sat us down for the last 30 or so minutes a few times a week and read to us.
I have thought about going back and reading these books again. But, I am afraid they are racist. Can anyone tell me if they’ve read these as an adult and know if they are unbearably racist? I remember there being a lot of indigenous people in the books, but I think they were not treated well. I know it would be realistic for the characters to be racist, but I’m talking about the book in general.
I do not have many fond memories of being in school, but that teacher reading to us or playing us the Andy Griffith show is one of the best. I was a bit traumatized when he told us what actually happened in the story of Cinderella.
What was your favorite middle grade book as a child?
I, like many others at the time, loved reading Goosebumps. I remember my school’s librarian was so bitter about how much we loved these books. She told me once that she wanted to remove all the Goosebumps books so kids would read something else. Why did she actually care, though? 😂
Anyway, my absolute favorite was Cuckoo Clock of Doom, which follows a kid who turns back the hand on his dad’s new grandfather clock and starts rapidly aging backwards.
Did you guys read Goosebumps? What was your favorite if you did?
What is your favorite middle grade book as an adult?
This one follows Kyle, who is a lover of games. He wins the opportunity to be the first person in a new library where there will be an escape room.
This library is unlike any other. It was built by the Willy Wonka of board games named Mr. Lemoncello. There are robots that sing to kids, VR games, holograms of historical figures, and all kinds of fun.
This book also references tons of other middle grade books, which I love. It is so fun and I really think anyone who enjoys books, games, and libraries would love this book.
Who is your favorite middle grade author?
Alex Gino! I love Alex Gino’s books. All of them are LGBT or disability centered and are the type of stories that will have you thinking about them for a long time after.
What middle grade book do you think should be required reading in school?
If you remember being in middle school, you may also remember that sexual assault was normalized among the boys. This book centers that conversation.
It follows a girl named Ana who is going to a new school. She has to do this unessay. Basically it’s a project where you can do anything except an essay for it. Our MC decides to do hers on Rachel Riley, who everyone in school hates but no one will tell her why.
Sexual assault is something that so many girls and women face in their lives and really need to be told how to handle it. They need to be told what to do if someone is touching them and they don’t want to be touched. They need to know they have bodily autonomy. And, I think this book would be a great conversation starter for anyone in that age group.
What is your favorite middle grade book cover?
This book is really dark, but the cover is so beautiful. It is inspired by both Malala Yousafzai and Shyima Hall. Bascially, it centers child slavery.
But, THIS COVER. It’s one of the best I’ve seen out there.
What is your favorite middle grade book to movie adaptation?
I would have to say the Series of Unfortunate Events TV show. That movie they did many moons ago was an actual mess, but this show was so good. It also made me realize who Beatrice actually was, which I never figured out in the books. The entire bookseries is so vague and many questions are left unanswered.
If you enjoyed this post, heck out my Book Tag Masterlist for more book tags I’ve done!
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