Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

Jacci wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Jacci Turer, Author of two YA books in The Birthright Series. And, you can currently get the first one, The Cage on Smashwords.com for free. But, I'm currently working on a middle ..."

Hi Jacci, Glad to have you on board.

I will have to check out your books, Jacci. I am partial to YA books. It is my favorite section of the library. I usually suggest them to my 5th grade students at the end of the school year. The problem is that some of the YA books have too much "adult" content. I will only suggest ones that I have previously read and would allow my own 11 year old to read. I'm glad to meet you!!!

Hello. My name is Julie and I'm a bookaholic. I read widely but my original love was F & SF and I still love a good YA coming-of-age/fulfill a prophecy story. Tamora Pierce is one of my recently found go-to authors.

I'm also Mom to 2 voracious middle-grade readers. My older son will be starting 5th grade and likes the classics such as Little House on the Prarie (and its various spin-offs and extensions) and the Illustrated Classics versions of Gulliver's Travels and Robin Hood. My younger son will be starting 3rd grade and in the last 4 months has devoured the entire Guardians of Gahoole, Warriors, and Beastquest catalog. He tends to go through cyclical obsessions, so I don't know how much longer the fantasy stage will last and what genre will capture his interest next (he went through several years of ONLY reading non-fiction).

One of the problems we have historically had is finding appropriate books as their "reading level" far outstrips their maturity level. So the majority of books written about children their age are so easy as to bore them, yet the books that would hold their attention are about 13 - 15 year olds and have interpersonal stuff that also bores them or isn't appropriate for 8 1/2 and 10 year olds.

Julie wrote: "Hello. My name is Julie and I'm a bookaholic. I read widely but my original love was F & SF and I still love a good YA coming-of-age/fulfill a prophecy story. Tamora Pierce is one of my recently ..."

Welcome Julie, It's great to have you in the group. Sounds like you have a couple of keen readers to satisfy. I hope you find some useful information on here.
Cheers

Julie, sounds like you might be able to add some recommendations to the MG Boy Books Thread.

Beth wrote: "I will have to check out your books, Jacci. I am partial to YA books. It is my favorite section of the library. I usually suggest them to my 5th grade students at the end of the school year. Th..."

Thank you Julie! I'm excited to hear what you think. JT

Thanks!






S.W. wrote: "Richard wrote: "Hi, All!

Richard Knaak here! I write fantasy. Simon & Schuster is my main publisher. I'm old-fashioned, so I like to write my novels so that a wide range of ages can enjoy them...."

Richard wrote: "Hi, All!

Richard Knaak here! I write fantasy. Simon & Schuster is my main publisher. I'm old-fashioned, so I like to write my novels so that a wide range of ages can enjoy them. Have to say, a..."

Oh My! Richard, your book The Legend of Huma is one of my all-time favorites!!! I was so excited to see you here!!! Thank you so much for letting us know about your new book...I will be signing up shortly.
PLEASE KEEP WRITING...it is AWESOME to meet you!!!

Beth

Welcome, Julie. I love that your third-grade son loved Guardians of Gahoole! I look forward to reading your comments.
LJ

Julie wrote: "Hello. My name is Julie and I'm a bookaholic. I read widely but my original love was F & SF and I still love a good YA coming-of-age/fulfill a prophecy story. Tamora Pierce is one of my recently ..."

Have you heard of the 39 clues series? It is quite awesome. I love children's fiction and I have 3 excuses of my own. I have 3 kids that are 12,11 and 7.
The first book is the Maze of Bones. Start there!

Julie wrote: "Hello. My name is Julie and I'm a bookaholic. I read widely but my original love was F & SF and I still love a good YA coming-of-age/fulfill a prophecy story. Tamora Pierce is one of my recently ..."

Hi Julie,

I found your comments about your kids and their love of reading very interesting. I have a blog that reviews middle grade ebooks that might be of interest to you. Many of these books are also available in paperback. But...perhaps none of the books I have reviewed would be at a level that holds their interest. I have tried to indicate which books I think are suitable for advanced middle grade readers based on reading ability, not necessarily genre or plot. Have you considered encouraging them to write reviews? I would love to host some kids' points of view on my blog.

Best,
Laurie

http://kidsebookfinder.wordpress.com/...

Julie wrote: "Hello. My name is Julie and I'm a bookaholic. I read widely but my original love was F & SF and I still love a good YA coming-of-age/fulfill a prophecy story. Tamora Pierce is one of my recently ..."

Julie, the problem of a reading level which is way ahead of a student's maturity level is one I often faced as a librarian. Newbery award and honor books are usually well-written enough that even though a child faces an adult problem, it is sensitively handled. Make sure your sons feel free to ask you about anything that they don't understand. The online Children's section of "Book Page" has helpful reviews, although the print edition skimps space for kids and young adult books.

I'm glad you've joined GMGR! Carolyn Bristol

Hello, everyone,

I am new to the group and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kevin and I live in California. I find myself reading a lot of the same books as most middle graders and I was super excited to see a group dedicated to the same genre.

I am married with one child and another on the way. I mostly enjoy sci fi and fantasy which tends to be what most middle schoolers are reading nowadays.

I just finished a novel, and am waiting to hear feedback on it, especially from parents on whether or not they feel it is appropriate for their teens.

Kevin wrote: "Hello, everyone,

I am new to the group and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kevin and I live in California. I find myself reading a lot of the same books as most middle graders and I ..."

Hi Kevin,
Great to have you in the group. I hope you can find heaps of information and sicussions of interest.
Cheers

Hi everyone,
I'm Hamilton C. Burger. I write MG fiction and I am the author of the Apple Grove Gang series. There are currently 2 books out, the 3rd due sometime in November. I look forward to interacting with everyone here. HcBurger

Welcome, Hamilton.

Hello Jacci and welcome to the group. I'm looking into releasing my next middle grade book (second in the series Finn's Travels) on Smashwords. Any advice?

Jacci wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Jacci Turer, Author of two YA books in The Birthright Series. And, you can currently get the first one, The Cage on Smashwords.com for free. But, I'm currently working on a middle ..."

Hi Hamilton,
Welcome to the group. That's a great name for a series. Kinda makes me think of the Knothole Gang. What's the premise?
Serena

Hamilton wrote: "Hi everyone,
I'm Hamilton C. Burger. I write MG fiction and I am the author of the Apple Grove Gang series. There are currently 2 books out, the 3rd due sometime in November. I look forward to inte..."

Thanks guys!
The Apple Grove Gang takes place in 1960, in small town Apple Grove.

Four kids (3 boys and 1 girl) take on all adventures that come their way. Full of lots of action and lets kids turn their imaginations loose.

Hi all. I'm P.A. Kernan from Chester, County Pennsylvania. I'm adding my new title, Jack Calhoun and the Perfect Baseball: A Boy's Baseball Adventure during the Civil War to the donated books section in the hopes of getting a review.
This is for anyone who is interest in historical fiction with a sports twist. Be happy to gift to anyone interested.
Thanks

P.A. wrote: "Hi all. I'm P.A. Kernan from Chester, County Pennsylvania. I'm adding my new title, Jack Calhoun and the Perfect Baseball: A Boy's Baseball Adventure during the Civil War to the donated books sect..."

Hi P.A.
Welcome to the group. I'll be adding your book to the donated list soon.
Cheers

Hi, my name is Angela and I'm an MG author. I'm loving reading the comments and getting the fabulous mg reading suggestions you all post. Every Thursday night there's a Twitter Chat with MG authors (search #mglitchat if you're interested) and one night, the moderators agreed to make a list of all the mg books listed! Woot! Here's the list: http://mglitchat.blogspot.com/2012/07...

Also, I'm passionate about strong girl protags...love reading them and writing them. This Thursday, 8/30 (1 day only) my MG book with FIVE awesome strong girl characters, Fifties Chix: Travel to Tomorrow is just 99 cents on Amazon amzn.to/SZR8E8 (<--cut and paste link). So if you appreciate time travel and female protags and middle grade, check it out on the cheap ;-)

Thanks for all your contributions. Reading your posts are so encouraging!

Nice to meet ya and happy reading!

Hi Angela, Thanks for the info about the MG authors chat. I just watched your interview on your website. Very fun and interesting! I'll be sure to get your book on Thursday! I love Fifties stuff :-)

Thanks, L.S.! How kind! Can't wait to see what you think ;-)

Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE, a funny and light paranormal about a girl who gets hit by lightning and can then hear ghosts. It was released just this summer from Bloomsbury and I'm enjoying great reviews (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...) and it is listed in the link Angela pasted above for the #mglitchat hot summer reads (thanks Angela!).

Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you all about books! I'm also active on Twitter, if anyone wants to hang out there. @joannelevy

Joanne wrote: "Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE, a funny an..."

Hi Joanne
Great to have you on board. I hope the group helps you find some great reads.
Cheers

Angela wrote: "Thanks, L.S.! How kind! Can't wait to see what you think ;-)"

Hi Joanne, I heard about your book through Angela on this site and am looking forward to reading it soon! I've written a middle grade novel with a similar title and theme that I published this summer also. Great paranormal minds think alike :-) I wish you much success!

S.W. wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMALL MEDIUM AT LA..."

Thank you!

Hi Joanne, I heard about your book through Angela on this site and am looking forward to reading it soon! I've written ..."

Thanks so much, L.S.; Great paranormal minds, indeed! Wishing you much success as well-your book sounds like great fun!

Joanne wrote: "S.W. wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMALL..."

Thanks, Joanne. And I just realized that I actually learned about your book from your friend Bev Katz Rosenbaum who posted earlier on this site. (not Angela) Anyway, I checked out your website for your book and it's awesome! I've been trying to make mine more middle grade friendly but am new to this sort of promoting...so it's still in progress :-)

Joanne wrote: "Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE, a funny an..."
Hi, Joanne,
Welcome to the group. I looked up your book and oh, my, that is an impressive number of reviews! How did you manage all that in such a short time? Please share, if will you, the secret of your success.
Serena

Serena wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMALL MEDIUM AT LA..."

Hi Serena, thanks so much. I've been working hard to get the word out about my book through social media, mostly. I am on Twitter and Facebook and have connected with a lot of teachers and librarians and have sent out sets of bookmarks to any who want them. I'm pleased about all the reviews as well and am grateful that so many people were moved enough by SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE to want to take the time to review it-I consider that quite an honor.

Beth wrote: "Richard wrote: "Hi, All!

Richard Knaak here! I write fantasy. Simon & Schuster is my main publisher. I'm old-fashioned, so I like to write my novels so that a wide range of ages can enjoy them...."

First chance I've had to get back here. Thanks for the kind words, Beth and best of luck! Always appreciate hearing that something I've written has touched a reader.

Joanne wrote: "Serena wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Hi there! I've just stumbled upon this group and joined, as I'm always looking for more MG reads and ways to get the word out about mine. I'm Joanne, the author of SMA..."

Joanne, Thanks for the tip!

Kevin wrote: "Hello, everyone,

I am new to the group and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kevin and I live in California. I find myself reading a lot of the same books as most middle graders and I ..."

Hi Kevin,

I would love to read your book! As a librarian that works with upper elementary children and those jumping off into middle school, I'm always looking for that next book to talk-up. I am like you and really like books of this genre. Thanks for letting me know about it! This has really been a great place for me to learn about new authors and books. (I suggest purchases for our library all of the time and need help finding new (GOOD) junior and YA fiction.)

Good Luck!
Beth

Hello, all!

I'm Teresa Flavin, a children's book illustrator who has evolved into an MG fantasy author. My first novel, THE BLACKHOPE ENIGMA, was published by Candlewick last fall and the sequel, THE CRIMSON SHARD, is released next Tuesday in the USA. Both books are Junior Library Guild Selections, which is a big honor. I have a Goodreads author page where I just posted a new book trailer for CRIMSON SHARD. I'm looking forward to hearing about other great MG reads here!

Hello Teresa,

Welcome to the group. It sounds like you and I are in the same boat. I'm a fantasy author as well.

Teresa wrote: "Hello, all!

I'm Teresa Flavin, a children's book illustrator who has evolved into an MG fantasy author. My first novel, THE BLACKHOPE ENIGMA, was published by Candlewick last fall and the sequel, ..."

Hi Teresa.
Welcome to the group. I hope you find lots of good info on here. Also, if you have any suggestions on threads etc please let me know.
Cheers

Kevin wrote: "Hello Teresa,

Welcome to the group. It sounds like you and I are in the same boat. I'm a fantasy author as well."

Thanks, Kevin!

S.W. wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Hello, all!

I'm Teresa Flavin, a children's book illustrator who has evolved into an MG fantasy author. My first novel, THE BLACKHOPE ENIGMA, was published by Candlewick last fall a..."

Thanks S.W.! Nice to be here.

Hello, my name is Anastacia, Stacey for short. I am so glad to have found this group dedicated to our middle grade readers! I am a lover of the written word and children's author. My website, www.LiveLoveWriteInspire.com, is dedicated to sharing great inspirational stories with kids and their parents/teachers. I look forward to joining in the many rewarding discussions taking place in this group!

Anastacia wrote: "Hello, my name is Anastacia, Stacey for short. I am so glad to have found this group dedicated to our middle grade readers! I am a lover of the written word and children's author. My website, www.L..."

Hi Stacey, welcome aboard, great to have you here.

Angela wrote: "Hi, my name is Angela and I'm an MG author. I'm loving reading the comments and getting the fabulous mg reading suggestions you all post. Every Thursday night there's a Twitter Chat with MG authors..."

Hi Angela,
Travel to Tomorrow sounds like a blast. I will be adding it to my to-read shelf!
Anastacia H

Hi everyone, I'm new to Goodreads and was happy to find this group. I live on the beautiful South Shore of Nova Scotia in Canada. I'm the mom of two girls aged 9 and 11 so I'm always looking for books that suit their interests. I also have a book of my own accepted for publication, but it will likely be close to a year before it is released.

Lisa wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm new to Goodreads and was happy to find this group. I live on the beautiful South Shore of Nova Scotia in Canada. I'm the mom of two girls aged 9 and 11 so I'm always looking for ..."

Hi Lisa,

Welcome to the group.... I love Canada. I'm on the opposite side of the globe to you (Oz). The closest I've been to where you are is Niagara.... awesome place.

Lisa,
Congratulations (on surviving parenthood so far and getting a book accepted).

Lisa wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm new to Goodreads and was happy to find this group. I live on the beautiful South Shore of Nova Scotia in Canada. I'm the mom of two girls aged 9 and 11 so I'm always looking for ..."
Hello, Lisa and welcome! I've heard these stories about publication schedules and I shudder. Well done and good luck.

Serena

Kekaju and the Hidden Swamp
Hi to everyone,
I am the author of middle grade fantasy, Kekaju and the Hidden Swamp. I look forwarded to exploring this group.

Robert wrote: "Kekaju and the Hidden Swamp
Hi to everyone,
I am the author of middle grade fantasy, Kekaju and the Hidden Swamp. I look forwarded to exploring this group."

Welcome Robert, great to have you on board.

Hi, I'm Tasha, mom to a 10 yo boy who is developing into quite the avid reader...to my extreme delight!! I also have a 6yo daughter who just learned to read on her own and I see her starting to follow in her brother's (and my) footsteps. No surprise to anyone here I'm sure, our house is FULL of books and my kids have grown up watching me devour books so reading is just something people DO. So, in looking for recs for my son on GRs I stumbled upon this group. I am really excited to join in here and find some good ideas for him to read.

He is currently reading Judy Blume's Superfudge series and enjoying it immensely. He reads all sorts of stuff but loves graphic novels and book series. He recently read the The Strange Case of Origami Yoda series as well. Recently he has been wanting to find a good Medieval times series. I'll look through the other threads to visit on more specific topics to see if I can find some good recs for him.

Looking forward to this group. :)