Katie Bartlett, Author

Let’s just say that there are some awesome books for Middle Grade readers right now.  I wish I’d had these options when I was going through Elementary / Middle School.  All of these selections are content appropriate, they cover diverse topics, and they are well written.  Enjoy!

Books I Like A Lot:

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.  Middle Grade.  Probably one of the best middle grade novels I’ve read to date.  Had me laughing out loud, sniffling, and unable to put it down.  No surprise it won the Newberry!  I hope children in the post Harry Potter world can still appreciate a character driven novel like this one.

The Giver by Lois Lowry.  Middle Grade.  This book is a well written Newberry winner from 1994.  I really enjoyed it but couldn’t help thinking how similar is was to the current YA dystopian bestseller Matched (which I also read, enjoyed, and reviewed).  The tone, style of writing, and structure of the world mirror one another.  Didn’t anyone else notice this?

Child of the Silent Night by Edith Fisher Hunter.  Middle Grade.  The story of Laura Bridgman, the first death-mute-blind girl to go to school.  One of my favorite books when I was a kid, it still doesn’t disappoint.  I read it out loud with my girls, and they were begging not to stop.  There is a place for biographies in this world!

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  Middle Grade.  Another well-deserved Newberry winner by Lois.  This one deals with the Holocaust.  What a tough subject matter to introduce to young children, but she does it in an honest, straightforward manner.