There’s just something about middle grade fiction that speaks to so many emotions. To the challenges and the process of growing up that make them essential reading.

I’ve also found that the character and plot development is often superior to many young adult and adult fiction books. Maybe it’s because they have to catch and keep a young person’s attention and so there has to be a real plot and interesting characters right away. Or maybe because they have to write more simply and straightforwardly than books for older people. Whatever the reason, I come away from my middle grade reads feeling satisfied. Like I learned something, gained valuable insights, or just had fun reading in a way that I often don’t with “grown up” books.

What makes must read middle grade book?

Obviously taste is subjective, and what one person loves another person could really, um, not. But, when books win awards for outstanding children’s literature, there’s usually a pretty good reason! Now, not all of these fall into that category, but many do.

A book is a must read if it has important life lessons that can help you grow and become a better person. The characters develop and change as the story goes along; and you as the reader grow and change along with them. The story often helps you as the reader look at the world from a different perspective.

All of these books are on this list because I feel they have these qualities. So, here are some of my must read middle grade books, in no particular order:

Witch of Blackbird Pond

Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare, is one of my all-time favorite books. Speare is known for her historical fiction, and this one won the Newbery Medal in 1959.

It begins in 1687 and tells the story of Kit Tyler, an English girl born and raised in Barbados. She is the wealthy granddaughter of a prominent plantation owner. Kit travels to Puritan Connecticut to live with an aunt she’s never met and finds she doesn’t fit in with the very different way of life. She ends up meeting an old woman, who also doesn’t fit in, and they become friends. Will Kit learn to be more like her cousins, will she ever fit in? Prejudices and superstitions threaten from all sides.

I love it because it shows the strength of character Kit has. And that even though your beliefs may differ from someone else, judgments, prejudices and treating people badly just because they’re different is not ok.

Wrinkle in Time

Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle is the first book in a fantasy/sci-fi series that won the Newbery Medal in 1963.

It tells the story of Meg Murray and how she travels through space and time along with her little brother and friend to save her dad, who is a scientist, and has disappeared. They are helped by a neighbor who turns out to be a supernatural being. They travel to other planets and meet fantastic creatures on their journey.

It a fun story, full of challenges, surprises and requires a lot of emotional growth from Meg.

Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli has been one of my favorites since I was about 12. It won the Newbery Medal in 1991.

This book covers themes of racism, inequality and how we have the power to come together as a community. It tells the story of Jeffrey, “Maniac” Magee who is an orphan boy looking for home when he stumbles upon the town of Two Mills, which is racially segregated east and west. He has a special talent for athleticism and being helpful to people, and becomes a local legend.

I love this book because instead of the main character really changing and growing a lot, its the others around him that he has a positive affect on. By being himself, and being ignorant of the tensions that divide his adopted town, he draws others together.

Wonder

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio is about a 10 year old boy with severe facial deformities who is entering school for the first time in 5th grade because his parents want him to experience the world and find a place in it outside his loving home. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell real friends from fake, to stand up for others in the face of bullies and to see people for who they are on the inside.

I love this book because it changed my heart and couldn’t wait for my kids to read it. It is filled with wit, wisdom and character-building precepts courtesy of English teacher Mr. Browne, that I think is a beautiful way for children–and adults–to find compassion for others.

Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1978 and is a beautiful tribute to friendship and growing up.

It’s about 2 unlikely friends who create a secret magical–to them–place in the woods near their homes. Here they can play and rule in their land of Terabithia. Some of the book deals with bullying and understanding that people have stories that we often don’t know about, but should treat them kindly anyway.

SPOILER ALERT FOR PARENTS: Near the end of the book, one of the children dies in an accident and the other characters deal with their grief and guilt.

I love this book and recommend my children to read it because of the themes that it deals with and life lessons that the characters learn. From dealing with class differences, having compassion for others, and friendship, this story stays with you for a long time.

Tuck Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt is consistently on lists of the top chapter books for children and has won several awards.

It tells the story of a wealthy girl in a small town at the turn of the 20th century. She is bored with her life, stuck behind the fence of her house and always made to act like a lady. One day she sneaks out to the woods across the road and sees a teenage boy drinking from a spring. She wants some water, but he insists she not drink it, and she isn’t happy about it. Finally he has to tell her why not–because it will give her eternal life.

The story is about immortality and how it may not be as great as it seems. It’s also about friendship and doing the right thing and what it means to be alive.

I love this book because of the simple, yet complex theme that it tackles and does so in such a concise and interesting way. It’s a short book, with prose that is easy to follow, but the story is engrossing and well done.

The Little Prince

Originally written in French by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince is a very short story with profound meaning about living life in the best way possible.

The story is told by a narrator, an aviator crash landed in the Sahara Desert. He’s trying to repair his plane when he meets “the little prince.”

The little prince has come from a tiny little planet where he lived alone with a beautiful rose. He decided to visit other planets to see if there was somewhere he might like better because he felt the rose wasn’t treating him well.

The book then describes the other planets and what he finds there, finally arriving on Earth and meeting the narrator. It’s largely a commentary on childhood versus adulthood and what makes life beautiful.

I love it because it’s simple, yet vague and can seem complicated at times. There’s symbolism and great life lessons to be taken from it.

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry rivals Witch of Blackbird Pond in my favorites. Winner of the Newbery Medal in 1994 and is often read in middle school English classes.

It tells the story of a boy named Jonas as he approaches his 12th birthday in his Utopian community. Everything is planned out and organized to give citizens the best outcome.

After Jonas is given a unique job and learns from The Giver he begins to see his community isn’t all he thought.

I love this book because it is both exciting trying to discover what’s really wrong in this society. It’s also terrifying once you discover what is happening. It also shows you what can happen when one person is willing to stand up for what he believes in.

There are 3 other books in the series, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and The Son that follow the characters that Lowry wrote several years later that I highly recommend.

This list is by no means complete, but these must read middle grade books are a great place to start! What are your favorite middle-grade reads? Tell me in the comments below!

The post 8 Must Read Middle Grade Books appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

This week the girls read books that were on their lists that have also been made into movies because they wanted to watch them. I also finished the book I’d been working on, and Britton has been working through his book as well.

These books of the week were fun to get through, and some that I didn’t expect to like as much as I did.

Here’s the list and what we think, in no particular order:

Mr. Popper’s Penguins: This is a pretty short book written in 1938 about a man who loves learning about far away places, especially the Antarctic. One day Mr. Popper gets a letter from an Admiral on an expedition who tells him he was sending him something special–a penguin! It really turned the Popper family upside down. Then they end up with a whole dozen!

Kaia and Cambry say: We liked it, but because it’s a little old fashioned it wasn’t as exciting of a book as we’re used to. The movie is very, very different than the book because it’s set in modern times, and only the basic facts are kept the same.
Rating: 3.7 stars

Because of Winn-Dixie is by the beloved Kate DiCamillo, and does not disappoint. It’s the story of a little girl who moves to a new small down and has no friends and is lonely. Then she finds a stray dog and names him Winn-Dixie. During the summer all the good things that happen to her are because of her really friendly dog, Winn-Dixie. She goes on to make friends with people around town and learns some good lessons about people too.

Kaia and Cambry say: It’s a really good book. Kaia says it’s her favorite book that isn’t a graphic novel (which is saying something!) Cambry says she likes the personality of the little girl and the funny parts.

The movie is a pretty faithful representation of the book, which is nice.
Rating: 5 stars

This is one of the books that I read when I was younger and really liked it. Then Cambry came home from school and told me she’d read it with her class and really wanted to see the movie–and we know the rules about that ; )

Indian in the Cupboard is the story about a boy, Omri, who gets a plastic Indian brave from his friend for his birthday. He also gets an old cupboard that locks from his brother and and a key that fits from his mother. Omri put the Indian in the cupboard over night. The next day he opened the cupboard he discovered the Indian was a real man named Little Bear!

The rest of the story tells about the friendship between Omri and Little Bear and some adventures they have. It’s a really good story of friendship, learning to do what is right, and respecting other people. There some old-fashioned cultural references to be aware of though.

Kaia and Cambry Say: I like the story and the creativity and that it was really interesting. Cambry liked the movie better, Kaia liked the book better.
Rating: 3.5 stars

This is one of my favorite Sci-Fi books/series. Ender’s Game is about a very young boy who is recruited to an elite Battle School to help defend the planet (future Earth) in an interstellar war. Ender excels there, and is made a leader of other military trained children where they participate in mock battles that will determine the fate of the world.

The movie version that came out in 2013 starring Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield is pretty different from the book, but worth a watch for sure!

Britton says: This is a really good book and I’m glad you told me to read it! It has a very interesting look about the future and shows that small kids can do incredible things.
Rating: 4.5 Stars

When I started Rules of Magic I didn’t know that it was a prequel to Practical Magic. I haven’t read that one, so I didn’t realize it. You definitely don’t need to have read Practical Magic for this one.

It tells the story of the Owens siblings who have grown up with with strict rules from their mother to limit their realization that they are witches. The most important rule of all is to not fall in love or there will be dire consequences. We follow the two sisters and brother throughout their lives as they embrace who they are, find and lose love and learn about life.

It’s a really interesting story and compelling to read. Hoffman really makes you care about the characters and what will happen to them.
Rating: 4 stars

These are our books of the week. Check back next week for new reads!

The post Books of the Week April 17 appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

I am an avid reader. When I was two years old my mom put all of my books in the bottom drawer of my dresser so that I had access to them whenever I wanted. If I was being too quiet, she would come check on me only to find all of them spread around me with at least one on my lap open and me studying the pictures and trying to read the words.

So, when I became a mom I knew that I was going to raise readers too. I had grand visions of recreating what I loved to do as a toddler.

But you know what happens to grand parenting visions when you have real, live children…they don’t always look quite the same.

All three of my kids were early readers. My oldest likes to read often for fun and can often be found with a book in his hand. My youngest adores stories and has a goal to be the best reader in her class this year.

But the middle one. Oh my. She is the definition of a reluctant reader who needs lots of encouragement. Getting her to read just what she’s required is hard! She doesn’t want to do it and honestly, I’ve struggled because it’s not something I understand very well.

But, because books are so important in our family, these are some things that I have done to encourage my children to read and they’ve have helped her become a better reader and enjoy it more.

Encourage children to read by starting early.

This one is pretty basic. Because when they’re little, it’s pretty easy. Read to them every day as much as you can. Before nap time, bed time, and any time in between. You choose the books, and they mostly listen to what you read. Creating that habit and culture of books in your home is essential.

I mean, there could be some children like Matilda, Roald Dahl’s character who has parents who discourage reading, who still loves it anyway. But, you’re much more likely to need to encourage your children to read.

Some ways that I practiced this was by talking to them all. the. time. I kept books all over the house. We played games involving stories (I’ll get to more on that in a bit). And I just made books an expectation.

Though, like I said before, this worked with only two out of three. There’s still more to do.

Encourage children to read by reading aloud longer than you think

One of the most important things you can do is keep reading out loud to them, even after they can read for themselves. When my oldest was in preschool, I learned about The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It’s not only full of books for every age, but includes “proven techniques and strategies for helping children of all backgrounds and abilities discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.”

The philosophy of the book is that you should always read to your kids–even when they’re big enough to read for themselves. Because it helps them learn how words are should be pronounced and the flow of language. One day they will be more likely to pick up books in the future.

We LOVED the suggestions in that book because the books are just so good. Some books I’d never heard of that became favorites, and it includes classics that I hadn’t thought of reading to him at his age.

As he grew as an independent reader we kept up reading together before bed and took turns reading every other page. That’s actually something we still do, even though he’s in middle school. We’re currently (slowly) working our way through Harry Potter.

Encourage children to read by understanding their point of view

If you have a child that just won’t read, or it’s a struggle all of the time, ask some questions to help them–and you–understand where their reluctance is coming from.
What are they feeling?
Are they reluctant because they are struggling to understand the words or pronounce them?
Are they nervous to make mistakes?
Are they too tired at reading time?
Can they see and understand the words?

We found out that with my daughter, she didn’t ever want to read aloud (so I would actually know she was reading and didn’t just look at the page) because she was afraid of making a mistake because she doesn’t like looking “bad” at anything.

So, we had some discussions about risk taking, and how it’s ok to make mistakes. Then, shortly after that, she told us that the words were blurry. Turned out she needed glasses, so once she got those, she’s dramatically improved.

Taking the time to learn what’s happening in their head can be half the battle.

Encourage children to read by letting them choose their books

This one is hard, but especially important when you’re trying to encourage children to read. We, as parents, often research books that we think will be good for our children, (you can see some of my favorite recommendations here.) Or have ones we liked in our own childhood. And sharing them with our kids is great. But, sometimes, much to my annoyance, my kids seem to love the books I hate the most. (Why do they do that!?!)

So, what to do? Let them choose what books they want to read–within reason, of course. My middle daughter loves graphic novels. I don’t. But, she’s reading, and some of them aren’t as bad as they look. My girls will read some of them again and again.

But when they aren’t into a book, well…it doesn’t go as well. When my son was about 8 I bought him all of the Percy Jackson books in a set through the school’s book fair. I was really excited because he was at the right age and level, and I figured he’d be excited too.

Uh, not so much. He wanted nothing to do with it! He told me he just wasn’t interested. Once my mind stopped reeling, I realized that most often, letting them choose appropriate books they want is better.

Now–this is not a blanket statement. We also have a “required reading” list in our house. It’s comprised of books that are just good and should be read. So far, my son has said he’s really glad I “made” him read all of the books and wishes he’d read them sooner.

Encourage children to read by setting reading goals

Sometimes you just need the proper motivation. We went through our home library with a reading chart and made a list of books that each child wanted to read, and some books that I wanted them to read. There are about 20-25.

Now, they know which books they want to read, I know what they want to read, and I can follow along with them. We can read together if they want, and they can earn extra screen time privileges or more allowance when they finish a book. They also have to read a minimum of 20 minutes per day before electronics.

Download a copy of our chart here:

Encourage children to read by exposing them to lots of books

I mentioned this a bit farther up, but exposing your children to lots of books is a great way to encourage them to read.
Beyond just reading to them daily, this can include regular trips to the library, visiting book stores to browse–or buying books to create your own library at home.

Visiting the library–it’s truly a great way to expose kids to books. When they’re small story time is fun, interactive and social. Depending on where you live, and your children’s ages, there are many programs, activities and possibilities to learn and explore at the library.

Book stores–ah, there’s just something about a book store that makes my heart sing. And, it’s another place your children will be surrounded by books. There’s so much diversity in a book store, and obviously it’s meant for you to pick books to take home and keep forever–which can be important for some kids. This is a great route to go if you’ve borrowed something from the library that your child loves and you want to have a copy.

It’s also great for creating your own home library! A place where your child’s books live so they can visit them any time they want. We’ve gone back and forth between keeping lots of books in the kids’ rooms, and having most of them in one central place. It depends on your kids’ ages, space, and where you think they’ll read more.

For creating a home library you can also consider a subscription book box. My “reluctant reader” is starting to look forward to her books each month and deciding which ones she wants to keep and which she’s not so into. Read more about our favorite one it here.

Encourage children to read by making reading fun

Reading should be fun. So make it fun! It shouldn’t be serious and disciplined. Tell made up stories, play story-making games (the series from Story Cubes is great), make a craft related to the story, make a food related to the story if possible. Just, make it interactive and they’ll be so much more likely to respond positively.

Encourage children to read by reading yourself

This one is pretty self explanatory, but it may need mentioning. Let your kids see you reading–something other than social media on your phone! Children learn by example, and by seeing a parent read for fun, they’re more likely to want to as well.

It could be anything–from a newspaper (do people still get those?) or a magazine to a novel in print or digital.

Another option is audio books. I don’t particularly like them, but they’re all my husband “reads.” And they can be great while you’re doing other tasks–like washing dishes, cooking, driving in the car etc. as long as it’s kid appropriate ; )

Encourage children to read by just doing your best

Raising children who enjoy reading is not guaranteed, no matter what foundation you give them. And sometimes they’ll look like they’re taking steps forward, but then go back. But, the important thing is progress and enjoyment.

Hopefully these ideas will help you along the way to helping you encourage your children to read and become a confident reader. Good luck!

The post How to Encourage Children to Read appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.