Middle grade readers span a wide range of ages and grade levels. The interests, obsessions, and reading level of your average 8-year-old can be wildly different than that of your average 12-year-old.
But as you zoom in, that same wide range can also be seen within a single class of middle grade readers—and within a single reader themselves. Sometimes as teachers, librarians, parents, and authors, we get tunnel-vision when trying to recommend books to readers. “Oh, you loved a dragon book? Here’s another dragon book.” or “You liked this author, here’s another by that same author.”
Rather than a simple this-book-is-just-like-that-book mindset, I’d encourage all of us to look more deeply at books and readers and think about how to find matches in a multiplicity of ways.
What are we reading in 5th grade?
To illustrate the point, I’ve assembled a few locker snapshots—a quick look at some of the middle grade books my fifth graders are reading and loving at the moment. In addition to the breadth and diversity of books represented, I hope you will also notice some of the more unlikely pairings and juxtapositions within the locker of an individual reader.
This reader has Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar, Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee, Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar, Witchlings book 1 by Claribel Ortega, and Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga. They’ve chosen three different genres (historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction, and fantasy) across two different formats (prose novels and novels-in-verse). Some are in series; some are standalone books; some are by the same author but not in a series. While all the books feature strong female characters, some of them are more isolated, some are in an ensemble cast, and some are in a storyline that embraces LGBTQIA+ themes.
This reader has The Great Treehouse War by Lisa Graff, Sidekicks by Dan Santat, Breakout by Kate Messner, The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie, a Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel by Ann M. Martin, Four Eyes by Rex Ogle and Dave Valeza, and House Arrest but K.A. Holt. This reader is exploring genres from horror to adventure to contemporary realistic fiction. They love graphic novels but also prose novels and combinations. (Breakout is a clever medley of prose, images, newspaper articles, etc.) They are reading a wide variety of authors and stories featuring both solitary characters and those in big groups.
This reader has Crushing It by Erin Becker, Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind by Misa Sugiura, Pax Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen, and three Warriors books by Erin Hunter (in two different series). For genres, there is realistic fiction and several varieties of fantasy including high fantasy, low fantasy, and talking-animal fantasy (which should be an official genre in my mind). There are novels in alternate voices and regular prose, and there are old standby series plus brand-new debut books.
Broadening Horizons
One way to broaden students’ reading horizons is to share a wide-range of books with them. As a teacher, I do a weekly First Chapter Friday book share, and I try to consciously include a variety of books by many different authors and in many different formats and genres. Librarians are another great resource, as they often curate book lists and displays around themes. The book list section on our website is another treasure-trove of a resource for finding new books.
For middle grade authors, I encourage you to also think broadly about the readers who might be interested in your book. Your book is never just one thing. It’s not “only” a grief book or “only” a sports book. You might entice readers by the genre of your book or by the setting. Readers might be looking for a big laugh or a solid cry. Someone may be drawn to your book for the range of characters represented or for the family-issues at home or for the musical instrument that keeps your main character grounded.
Every reader is a multiplicity of interests, experiences, and backgrounds. Rather than pigeon-holing middle grade readers, let’s embrace all their wide-ranging quirky quirks and help them fall in love with all kinds of books, stories, formats, and genres.
Thank you all so much for reading our posts, participating in awesome giveaways, and your thoughtful comments. We’d love to know what your favorite part of our site is!
We’re opening up to new members soon! Let us know in the comments if you’re interested in finding out more. We’ll make sure you know when the new member post goes live. Until then, we hope you’ll browse through our site. You can start working on a blog post to share with us that will be your first, if you’re accepted. 😊 Here’s a bit about 
