Posts Tagged For Teachers

Don’t Pigeon-Hole Middle Grade Readers

Book stack including Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar, Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee, Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar, Witchlings book 1 by Clairbel Ortega, and Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

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.

Book stack including Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar, Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee, Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar, Witchlings book 1 by Clairbel Ortega, and Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

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.

Book covers 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 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.

Book covers including
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.

Tour the Mixed-Up Files Blog!

Middle Grade Authors

Middle Grade AuthorsThank 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!

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First, let me introduce you to the wonderful Mixed-Up Files members. It’s an amazing group of writers, librarians, and teachers who all love middle grade, and can’t wait to share it with the world.

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I hope you enjoyed the tour! We look forward to hearing from you.

Charlotte for President!!

It’s Presidents Day here in the USA, a day that never fails to make me consider what qualities make a good and effective leader.

Compassion?

Courage?

Brains?

Creativity?

Seeing the list made me wonder where I last saw all of these characteristics in one person. The answer was easy – the very last Middle Grade book I read – Meg Medina’s MERCI SUAREZ CHANGES GEARS. Merci would make an excellent president.

And so would so many other Middle Grade characters. I jotted down a few names from my childhood reading. (They’d be plenty old enough by now). Ramona Quimby (remember her No Smo King campaign?), Peter Hatcher (anyone who can manage Fudge can manage the White House), and Cassie Logan (who knew more about standing up at the age of 9 than most adults ever will) rose to the top of the list. Each one of them would make an excellent world leader.

As would wise, kind, and clever Charlotte from CHARLOTTE’S WEB. (Why limit ourselves to people?)

I had so much fun playing with this idea that I asked some of my author friends to help me out and nominate a Middle Grade Character they’d most like to see as President. Lucky for me (and for our readers) they had some great suggestions.


The Nominees

Karuna Riazi, Author of The Gauntlet and The Battle

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“Valencia Somerset from HELLO UNIVERSE. As she says herself in the book, she has a name that seems like you could follow it into battle. She’s smart, she’s sweet, she has big dreams, and I think her and her new friend Kaori Tanaka would be an awesome running team.”

 

 

Jarrett Lerner, Author of Enginerds and Revenge of the Enginerds

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“Beatrice Zinker (from Shelley Johannes’s books)! She is a courageous, creative, out-of-the-box (in fact upside down!) thinker. And perhaps most importantly, she has a big, kind heart.”

 

 

 

Melissa Roske, Author of Kat Greene Comes Clean and Mixed-Up Files Member

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“I would elect Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Yes, Mr. Wonka is a bit odd, but his heart is always in the right place and he gets things done. And let’s not forget the free candy.”

 

 

Lindsey Becker, Author of The Star Thief

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“Hm, first thought was Ramona Quimby, but she’s probably blowing things up at JPL…
Folly from HOW TO STAGE A CATASTROPHE is a born leader with big ideas. I’d give him a vote.”

 

 

 

Heather Murphy Capps, Author and Mixed Up Files Member

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“How about Nancy Drew? She’s methodical, diplomatic, takes no prisoners, observant, and kind!”

 

 

 

Andrea Pyros, Author of My Year of Epic Rock and Mixed-Up Files Member

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“Anne Shirley, from the ANNE OF GREEN GABLES series. She’s smart and strong-willed (a president needs a strong backbone) and hard-working. Plus, though Anne hasn’t had it easy in life, she still finds a way to survive and thrive. A role model for us all!”

 

 

Rob Vlock, Author of Sven Carter & the Trashmouth Effect and Sven Carter & the Android Army

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“Ooh, I think I’d pick Bartimaeus from Jonathan Stroud’s BARTIMAEUS series. Sure, he’s a sarcastic, irreverent (and arguably evil) djinn, but I think he’d be a big improvement for our country!”

 

 

 

Samantha Clark, Author of The Boat, the Boy, and the Beast and Mixed-Up Files Member

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“I’d vote for Gaby from Varian Johnson’s THE GREAT GREEN HEIST. She’s my kind of president with organic food and sharing.”

 

 

 

David Neilsen, Author and Mixed-Up Files Member

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“I nominate Hermione Granger. She’s the smartest character out there, level-headed, strong, and would have the country running at peak efficiency in no time!”

 

 

 

Rosanne Parry, Author of Heart of a Shepherd, Second Fiddle, Written in Stone, and The Turn of the Tide and Mixed-Up Files Member

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“I’d nominate Tenar from the Wizard of Earthsea series if I was choosing from my childhood reads.”

 

 

 

 

Janet Sumner Johnson, Author of The Last Great Adventure of the PB&J Club

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org“Mikayla (Mickey) Delgado (from TAKEDOWN by Laura Shovan). She works harder than anyone to accoplish her goals, and doesn’t give up when things get hard. Best of all, she inspires others to stand up for themselves, too.”

 

 

 

Which Middle Grade character would you nominate for President this Presidents Day? Please share below, so we can add them to our list. And, if you’re looking for a more traditional Presidents Day book list, check out this one by Michele Weber Hurwitz.