I Can Only Draw Worms
by Will Mabbitt (Author)
It’s an absolutely adorable book with jusssssst enough counting to call it a counting book. With silliness and misadventure on every page, your kiddo is sure to enjoy it! We’ve read this one front to back and back to front, and it always gets laughs. Listed by Penguin Workshop as 3-5 years, I think the range of kids that will appreciate the humor is probably 3–8+. Enjoy!
Q&A – Middle Grade Explained
Remember when you just went into a bookstore and picked something that looked interesting…. I miss that.
In my quest to navigate my kiddo’s twelve-page Scholastic Book Club form, I found a panic-attack-worthy maze of options and suggestions. Does one look for a new favorite series by grade? Guided Reading Level? Lexile? Age Group? Word count? And how does one know when their reader is going to be happy with Early Leveled Readers, First Chapter books, Middle Grade books or beyond into Young Adult? And how much do the lines between each overlap? Seriously, at what point is a child ready to evolve their social and reading skills above Henry and Mudge?
I knew I needed help if I was going to be able to keep make super mom picks, so I went to the source – the authors. And I started with the incredibly elusive Middle Grade category.
My team of Middle Grade authors were excited to jump aboard and help me demystify where chapter books end and a Middle Grade world begins. Below are just a few of the responses I got on my quest from Vijaya Bodach, Connie Kingrey, Marcia Strykowski, Debbie Vilardi, Melody Delgado, Vicky Alvear Shecter, and Jan Coates.
Q- Has anyone ever described the Middle Grade bracket to you in a way that stuck or was easily relatable?
VB -Yes, the library shelves. MG books are those meant for 8-12 year-olds. MG is truly referring to the middle years, encompassing the time between when children first become independent readers until their teen years. It has the most diversity in the type of books from family and school stories to stories about saving the world. The main characters needn’t even be human!
MS– I work in a public library where we label all MG as J (for juvenile) which lies between chapter books and young adult. The reading level is above chapter books and the situations are younger than YA.
MD – When someone described MG as the middle grades in elementary school, so 3rd and 4th graders, it made sense to me. I use writing lexiles to make sure I am staying on the reading level for that age group. The challenge is to not use a huge vocabulary, but not to speak down to readers either.
I wanted to get some perspective on how the book sets out to connect with the kid so I knew how the kid would connect with the book. How does the author learn ‘what’s the what’ in that age bracket to make the book not only cool and relevant but to expand their reading skills as well?
Q- When you set out to create an MG novel – what goes into diving into that mindset? Do you have a real-life person you draw from or situation you place yourself in to reach that pre-teen audience?
VAS – I once had a middle-grader come up to me after a school presentation and say, “You know what I love about your book? It sounds you’re talking to me!”
Middle-grade fiction and nonfiction, in my view, should be full of personality and voice in a way that reflects this age-group’s exuberance. Anubis Speaks! straddles the genre, which is sometimes referred to as creative or narrative nonfiction, because while all the facts about ancient Egyptian beliefs, rites, and practices are true and established (I had the work vetted by an Egyptologist), Anubis’s personality as narrator is pure fiction.
I try to make the copy feel like I’ve pulled a kid aside, and whispered, “OMG, you won’t believe how they took the brains out of a body they were mummifying!” or “Pssst, I swear, I’m not making this up–King Tut engraved images of Egypt’s enemies on the bottom of his golden sandals so he could grind them into the ground all day long!”
In giving school presentations over the years, I’ve learned that by the time kids enter middle school (usually by 7th grade), they feel they have to hide their passion for learning because it’s considered “uncool.” I think they fear being labeled nerds for getting excited about a subject.
But 3rd, 4th, 5th (and sometimes 6th, depending on the kid) graders go ALL-OUT with their enthusiasm about learning. I try to mirror that energy before it get subsumed by encroaching hormones.
CKA – When I dive into a middle grade novel, I think first about the main character as if he’s onstage. Does he bounce when he walks? Does he have raised eyebrows and an expectant grin as if he’s always ready to hear the punch line of a joke?
Since my background is theatre, I think of all the ways I can acquaint the audience (reader) with my middle grade character in the most active way possible. What does he look like? How does he move? What does he say? What do other characters say about him?
Then I try to make him, his world, and his problem so intriguing that my reader won’t change the channel for the next 200 pages.
Q- The term “Middle Grade” or (MG) can be tricky to understand as parents and even to explain as authors. How do create your own guidelines for writing style, voice, content moderation, and/or vocabulary?
VB– I write a lot of nonfiction for MG readers and one of the things I love about this age is that kids are reading independently so I don’t have to control the vocabulary. Also, as the world is opening up for them, they enjoy learning about new and fascinating things apart from their own experiences. I keep in mind that kids are natural scientists and strive to bring clarity and wonder in my writing.
MS – For some reason, my main characters often end up to be 13-years-old, which is fine since kids usually like to read about children a bit older them themselves. I keep the characters on the young side of 13 (no teenage angst or romance beyond a kiss on the cheek) and I make sure their hopes, desires, and situations are relatable to the middle grade range of 8 to 12. Vocabulary is clean but certainly not dumbed down at all.
DV – I think the easiest for me was just to know it wasn’t the same as middle school. It comes before. Ages 8 (fluent readers) through 12. My writing guidelines are to stick with the voice of the character or age group. If the main character sounds authentic, the rest will follow, especially when using a firs person or close third person POV.
JC – What I love about being a middle grade author is that kids that age are on the brink; they’re still kids, although in today’s crazy always-with-you world, there’s a lot of pressure for them to grow up too quickly. I find I’m always channeling my 11-year-old self while writing, and it seems first person, present tense works best for me in MG. When I visit schools, I always come away thinking that kids are still kids, with the same feelings, worries, silliness they’ve always had, which I love!
Q – What do you find the hardest about sticking to that narrow 8-10ish age group?
VB– I write the gamut from preK to YA and the hardest stories are the ones that fall in-between MG and YA. If I even find myself in that spot, I skew the content so it fits firmly in one category or the other so that there’s no confusion where it should be shelved.
MS – I don’t find it difficult to stick to that age group. I enjoy writing for various age groups and don’t find it difficult at all to stick to the middle grade level once I have my character and storyline plotted out.
I also needed suggestions! Who better to answer that than a bunch of folks who have spent some serious time in the field sifting through what makes a successful book from a snore? For my final question, I asked my authors…
Q – So… aside from your own books, which MG authors would you suggest?
VB– In alphabetical order: Kate di Camillo, Karen Cushman, Eoin Colfer, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson, Richard Peck, Rick Riordan, JK Rowling, Louis Sachar, Laura Amy Schlitz, EB White, Jacqueline Woodson and so many more!
Little Owl’s Snow
by Divya Srinivasan (Author, Illustrator)
As the forest creatures all bed down to sleep through the cold, Little Owl feels like the forest is empty. But when the snow falls and the winter animals come out to play, Owl discovers a winter wonderland! Excellent fall to winter expression for a child’s understanding about what happens in nature when the temperature drops, but beyond the lesson on hibernation, there is something about Srinivasan’s illustrations that make these books magical. The colors and distilled imagery really land the feeling of a silent forest as well as lively playtime in a fresh snowfall. Little Owl’s Snow is a wonderful follow-up to Little Owl’s Night and Little Owl’s Day.
The Boy Who Went to Mars
by Simon James (Author, Illustrator)
Stanley was replaced by a Martian when his mom left for a work trip. Thankfully, it was just an overnight trip, because the Martian did not do well with Earth’s rules and customs. He would not wash up at night. He complained about dinner. He even got in trouble at school. It was a great relief because once mom got home, the Martian went back to Mars and Stanley came back– just in time for hugs. Handling change in his own special way, Stanley is relatable to the kid in us all. Sweet, unusual, and full of love, The Boy Who Went to Mars is a beautiful read.
I’m in Charge!
by Jeanne Willis (Author), Jarvis (Illustrator)
Winning pair Willis and Jarvis give us a fun lesson on what it means to be in charge! Little rhino is ready to be his own master. He’s not going to share, he’s not going to listen, and he’s not going to take orders from anyone; that is, until he has an afternoon that changes his perspective completely! Great tale for kiddos that know it all, or are testing those boundaries. Beautiful illustrations cap the feeling tone of the African landscape and the adventure from little rhino’s point of view.
Cloth: 5-Step Handicrafts for Kids
by Anna Llimós (Author)
Beautiful and easy to follow, this book on cloth creations is sure to get the imagination going! With small, scalable projects that are sure to get big smiles, this offering is a great way to keep as a reference in a school art room or on hand for a rainy day!
Clay: 5-Step Handicrafts for Kids 1st Edition
by Anna Llimós (Author)
All you need is some air-dry clay and the possibilities are endless! Anna Llimós shows us again how its done with her super simple steps and fabulous projects. Gender-neutral ideas and plenty of great photos make this book a handy treat for any family or classroom. Skill set is scalable along with how deep you want to get with each idea so it works for many age groups. Great fun and a wonderful overall presentation.
The Patchwork Bike
by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Author), Van Thanh Rudd (Illustrator)
Imagination and ingenuity will take you anywhere. The Patchwork Bikeis a very personal, yet completely relatable story about how family and making your own fun can help surmount hardship. Set in an Australian village by the “no-go” desert, three siblings make their own bike out of bark, cans, flour sacks, and mom’s milk pot. The descriptions are simplified into child-like sounds, and drama and content is distilled to the most pure. Especially beautiful are the author and artist biographies in the back, folding in cultural and social issues, woven together with heart, and topped with page design so relevant it seems to whisper its own story from flip to flip. Most definitely a keeper.
Hello, Horse
by Vivian French (Author), Catherine Rayner (Illustrator)
An excellent combination of story and education set to some truly lovely watercolor art, Hello, Horsewalks a young boy through the initial apprehension surrounding horseback lessons. There is a gentle rhythm to the narrative that holds the viewer by the hand while snippets of information about horses and horse care are sprinkled throughout. Delicately paced and thoughtfully laid out, Hello, Horse makes a beautiful addition to any child’s library.
Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World
by Katherine Halligan (Author), Sarah Walsh (Illustrator)
Not HIStory, HERstorytells about 50 wonderful women’s earth-shaking biographies presented in a fun scrapbook layout. Artists, writers, scientists, and queens are featured in a bite-sized history lesson into some amazing females that changed the game in their fields. Fans of She Persisted and Miss R•EVOLutionaries will find the ultimate bedtime story source to replace Prince Charming in your little heroine’s life.
Book Turnip 