2023 Gift Guide: Middle Grade for Ages 8-14
November 28, 2023 Comments Off on 2023 Gift Guide: Middle Grade for Ages 8-14
In the fourth installment of this year’s Gift Guide, we’re turning our attention to middle-grade reads that aren’t graphic novels (those will get their own installment next!). I’m especially proud of this grouping, which includes standard middle grade (ages 8-12), as well as upper middle grade, an expanding category aimed at middle schoolers who might not be ready for the comparative heaviness of young adult literature. All but two are new this fall. (I had to throw in The Swifts and What Happened to Rachel Riley? even though they were included in round-ups earlier in the year, because they are too good not to recommend one more time for the people in the back.)
I was especially picky when choosing these titles—translate: I read and rejected, read and rejected—because I’m finding an increasing disconnect between what publishers are publishing and what today’s young readers want to read. Many of you have echoed my struggle to find shorter, faster-paced stories that hook readers straight out of the gate, that are funny and fun but still amount to something meaningful and authentic. Others have readers who tear through books so quickly that the challenge becomes finding something meaty, challenging, original. Some of you have complained that there aren’t enough realistic middle grade with boy protagonists (you’re correct). Others have kids who only read fantasy or nonfiction. I hope you will find all of these needs answered in the collection below, which truly offers something for every kind of reader.
All these books are in stock at Old Town Books, where I work as the children’s buyer, so especially if you’re local, I hope you will consider supporting our beautifully curated store!
And for those looking for more stand-out 2023 middle grade, check out my Summer Reading Guide here and here and my Spring Break Reading Round-Up here.
Titles are arranged from youngest to oldest, so if you have readers closer to ages 12-14, you’ll want to scroll down.
« Read the rest of this entry »Protecting Our Planet: An Earth Day Round-Up
April 20, 2023 Comments Off on Protecting Our Planet: An Earth Day Round-Up
Fun fact: the second post I ever penned for this blog was for Earth Day 2012, when my then four-year-old daughter turned to me and said, “Aren’t we supposed to care about the Earth every day?” YES!
Heeding this call, the children’s publishing world has exploded in recent years with offerings about the natural world, many packed with fascinating nuggets and gorgeous art. While spring remains prime time for many of these releases, there’s no longer quite the urgency to time them around Earth Day. In other words, parents and educators alike are proving themselves game to purchase and enjoy these books with children all year long. Hurrah!
I often talk about how reading aloud to my children has been one of the best ways I’ve found as a parent to slow down, even on the days when time with my kiddos hasn’t felt savor-worthy (wink, wink). It’s also true that sharing picture books about the natural wonders outside our front door has sharpened my own powers of observation. I take as much—maybe even more?—enjoyment from these books as my kids do, perhaps because my own childhood was so devoid of them. Alongside my children, these picture books have made me more curious, knowledgeable, and appreciative about our planet. At a time when news headlines are rightly alarming us about the nearly irreversible dangers of climate change, these books instill in me a tiny grain of hope. With these books, we can get the next generation to care. We can make sure they know that this planet, our one beautiful home, is worth fighting for.
What a gift for our children to hone their observant eyes on the flowering tree, the squirmy worm, and the hummingbird’s work. What a gift for them to grow up with an appreciation for clean air and fresh water. What a gift for them to discover, early on, that young people have always been the drivers behind environmental activism.
In this vein, I am sharing four outstanding new non-fiction picture books with you today. The first two are focused specifically on the environmental movement, while the second two inspire awe about the biodiversity of Planet Earth, the reason we must fight so hard in the first place.
Titles span ages 4-10.
« Read the rest of this entry »2022 Gift Guide Addendum (Or, a Last Hurrah Before Hibernating)
December 15, 2022 Comments Off on 2022 Gift Guide Addendum (Or, a Last Hurrah Before Hibernating)
It’s my final blog post of 2022, and I’m closing out the year with a BANG! Today’s book was actually the first book I chose for this year’s Gift Guide, only I had to replace it when the publication date got pushed again and again…and again. For awhile there, it looked like it wasn’t going to come out in 2022 at all, but it’s finally here, and it’s very much worth the wait! So consider this your 2022 Gift Guide ADDENDUM.
I’ve previously established my kids’ obsession with polar bears, not to mention that we probably own every book published on the subject, fiction or non-fiction, so I won’t belabor that now. What I will tell you is that none of the polar bear books on our shelves—none of them!—hold a candle to this one. Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann are no strangers to spectacular narrative non-fiction. Their 2020 title, Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, meticulously researched and brilliantly executed, won the prestigious Sibert Medal for best informational picture book of the year (plus it was a 2020 Gift Guide pick!). But consider this: honeybees aren’t actually that cute; vital, of course, but not exactly a species you’d like to cuddle. So, imagine Fleming and Rohmann turning that same artistry onto the subject of polar bears—arguably the cutest (albeit deadliest) animals alive!—and you’ll understand why kids are going to swoon over this book.
It’s not just the stunning, oversized oil paintings on every page that make this the standout title of polar bear troves. (Seriously, though, can we talk about the gatefold in the middle of the story?!) Equal parts entertaining and educational, Polar Bear (ages 4-9) is read-aloud gold. The dramatic, lyrical text puts us front and center in an epic, year-long journey of survival. It’s a nail-biter of a odyssey, fueled by instinct and love and threatened by an ever-changing landscape, as a mother polar bear shepherds her two cubs across months and miles of obstacles to find the ice they desperately need to survive. (Rest assured: they all make it.)
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What to Read to Your Kids 