March Madness: 7 Favorite Middle Grade Books

(Video mashup by Ridiculous Chicken)

In a previous blog post, The Binge Review, Ep. 2: Netflix and Books, I mentioned that I was reading 100 Cupboards for the second time. Interestingly, author Shannon Kaper talked about the same book on her YouTube channel in a vlog about Middle Grade March. I can promise you I was nearly finished with the book when I saw her video because I can't read that fast! 😹

Last week (I'm writing this in advance, so I finished the book around 3/3/2020), I finished that book and have since started the second book in the series, Dandelion Fire. I am reading this one for the first time. For some reason, the first time I read 100 Cupboards, I must have had a lot of books I wanted to read, so I didn't continue with the series at the time.

Middle grade literature has a special place for me because it's when I not only fell in love with reading, but also decided I wanted to one day be a writer (and I am). My book Winterborn is middle grade, and I'm also working on a few others, some of which blur into young adult, and some that are solidly middle grade.

I thought it might be fun to talk about some of my favorite middle grade children's books in this blog post and why they are so special to me. These are not ranked in any particular order, and I think that would be impossible for me to do. Nor is this list intended to be all-inclusive. So, if you are looking for something besides Harry Potter, then this list is for you.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986)

Most of the time, a movie doesn't measure up to the book it's based on. This isn't exactly one of those times. The reason I say that is because both the author and Hayao Miyazaki have done phenomenal jobs with the main idea of the story. Mr. Miyazaki took a few creative liberties with the book, but I love all of his movies. The differences did not hurt the story, and it was a work of art in and of itself. On the other hand, reading the book after seeing the movie shouldn't be a chore at all because there is still so much to be discovered. I won't spoil the surprise by outlining any of those here, but I was very happy with it. This is one case where I say you must do both: read the book and watch the movie. In my case, I watched the movie first, and I wasn't disappointed in either one.

Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh by R. L. LaFevers (2011)

I think most of us fell in love with archeology and Egyptology when we first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then I became familiar with Barbara Michaels, whose paranormal mysteries often included a reference to Egyptology, one of her areas of interest. Then there was The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, and so on. In this short series, Theodosia's parents are archeologists, and they run a small museum in England. Theodosia is a very mature little girl who has a special gift and, along with her cat Isis, finds herself wrapped up in many mysteries. The Last Pharaoh is the fourth book in the series, and this time she is off to Egypt. It was just a lovely story. There were always rumors of a fifth book, but the author was working on other books, as well. Even if there are only ever four books, they're worth your time, but the fourth, this one, was my favorite.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (2006)

I discovered this one during my Children's Literature class while working on my Master's degree. First, in case I haven't told you, I have a thing about bunnies. According to a cousin, it's something passed through the blood on that side of the family. There are rabbits everywhere in my house, and, contrary to the belief of at least one individual, it is not some pagan fertility symbolism. Really. 

Edward Tulane is the name of a toy rabbit, a very prideful rabbit who faces a number of challenges, beginning when he is thrown overboard a ship while crossing the Atlantic. It's probably more of a younger middle-grade level, but it's almost heartbreaking. Edward endures many hardships--being dressed as a girl and being homeless, just to name a couple--hardships that break him and change him, all while longing to be back in the house on Egypt Street (there's Egypt again) with the little girl who loved him.

The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber (1950)

My sister found this one in a classroom bookshelf. It's pretty old, and I'm surprised I had never heard of it. I feel like you almost have to be an adult to really appreciate this one. The prose is almost musical with series of similar-sounding words and calls to mind the works of Lewis Carroll. While it is a fairy tale, there is some humor, and the villain is very dark. He is overly attached to his niece, so when suitors come calling, he always has an impossible task for them in order to win her hand. You might recall Many Moons, which was more of a picture book about a sick princess who asked her father for the moon. Then there is The White Deer, also by Thurber. It has some really nice imagery, but this one was my favorite of his.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2000)

I mentioned this one in an earlier post. Set during the great depression, a young girl is sent to live with her bold, unpredictable, and a tad scary grandmother who is exceedingly resourceful when it comes to accomplishing her goals. Not only does it give the reader a better appreciation for what people went through during that time, but it's pretty funny, too. My favorite parts were the grandmother's exaggerations: "That girl is so skinny, she could rest in the shade of a clothesline!" 😹 The only question is whether Mary Alice, her teenage granddaughter, will die of embarrassment before the year is over.

Half Magic by Edward Eager (1954)

I've always been a sucker for middle grade books about magic, and I discovered this one while helping my children to find AR books for school. If you were a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia, you might also appreciate these books about children dealing with magic by Eager and written around the same time. One boring summer, Jane and her siblings discover a magic coin that only grants half of a wish, but which half? As you can probably imagine, there are a lot of ways for things to go wrong. As the Amazon blurb says, "You must wish for twice as much as you want... What is half of twice a talking cat?" There is also Seven-Day Magic, The Time Garden, and others in the Tales of Magic series. 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)

Lastly, although not necessarily a children's story, is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. As with most books, the movie doesn't really do it justice. I'll try to describe how I remember it. I'm not entirely sure if I have all of the details right. I believe it was originally a short story (1977) but later expanded to a novel. It was updated in 1991, which probably explains why the book feels more modern to me. The book details Ender's growth from the time he is accepted to Battle School at the age of 6. In a futuristic world where the number of children in a family is limited, the government is looking for exceptional individuals. Because Ender's older siblings were both intellectually promising but not quite right for the job, his parents were allowed to have a third. Ender's brother is too aggressive, and his sister isn't aggressive enough. In Battle School, students are separated into houses, not unlike Hogwarts, but teams battle against each other. There is hazing and bullying, and Ender must prove himself. While Ender's Game is not necessarily a children's book (the character continues to age, and the book talks about what becomes of his older siblings as adults), it has become a favorite for readers at this age and beyond. 

I discovered all of these books as an adult and felt that they were worth keeping. Perhaps, at some point in the future, I will talk about the books I actually grew up on.