The Eighth Day of Christmas
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Middle Grade Books!
Right now, all the "cool kid" in children's literature are writing YA books. YA is ALL the rage. Think Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and many other greats. Don't get me wrong, I love YA literature. However, those books target an audience that is usually leaning toward a high school crowd. The popularity of young adult fiction often causes kids in middle school to pick them up waaaaay too soon. So, here are some "MG" books (think more 4-6 grade) for those kiddos in your life who need a book that is just right for them
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick wowed us all when he wrote The Incredible Invention of Hugo Cabret (which wowed us all again when Martin Scorsese made it into the movie Hugo last year.) In his second, very thick, book, Selznick tells the parallel stories of a young girl, Rose, who is deaf and a young boy, Ben, who is searching for his long lost father. Just like in Hugo Cabret, Selznick combines the story with pages and pages of illustrations that are as much a part of the story as the words are. For those kids who like Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck is a sure win!
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer
One of my students, and then one of my colleagues, told me about this fantastic book. It tells the intertwining tale of 3 youngsters who all come together through...Scrabble! Duncan Dorfman learns that he has a power, that of being able to read via his finger tips. When he decides to let the kids at school know about his secret, despite his mother's warning, adventures abound. I have a bunch of kids who are really into Scrabble and they were so excited to see their hobby represented in this book.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
You will laugh, you will cry, you will want to read this again and again. This is one of the most read and loved books by my students in the past year and it is the book I will be reading with my Girl's and Books Book Club in the new year. Ivan is a silverback gorilla kept in a cage in the middle of a mall. His owner got Ivan when he was just a baby but when he could no longer keep Ivan in the house, he decided Ivan would become the center attraction in a shopping mall. Ivan is eventually joined by other animals, like the elephant Stella who tells Ivan lots of stories. Told from Ivan's perspective, in poetic form, The One and Only Ivan will open your heart and soul as the quest to save Ruby, a new elephant, becomes Ivan's mission. This story is based on a real silverback gorilla named Ivan who has spent the last 18 years in the Atlanta Zoo. Sadly, the real Ivan passed away just a few months ago but you can read about his real life incredible journey here.
Here are some other great MG books that I highly recommend (and my 5th graders obsess over):
The Warrior Series books, written by Erin Hunter (the pseudonym for the 3 real authors)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio (my FAVORITE book of 2012)
Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood, illustrated by Jon Klassen
The Summer Island Series by Robin Russel
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
The Time Warp Trio Series by Jon Scieszka
Right now, all the "cool kid" in children's literature are writing YA books. YA is ALL the rage. Think Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, and many other greats. Don't get me wrong, I love YA literature. However, those books target an audience that is usually leaning toward a high school crowd. The popularity of young adult fiction often causes kids in middle school to pick them up waaaaay too soon. So, here are some "MG" books (think more 4-6 grade) for those kiddos in your life who need a book that is just right for them
Brian Selznick wowed us all when he wrote The Incredible Invention of Hugo Cabret (which wowed us all again when Martin Scorsese made it into the movie Hugo last year.) In his second, very thick, book, Selznick tells the parallel stories of a young girl, Rose, who is deaf and a young boy, Ben, who is searching for his long lost father. Just like in Hugo Cabret, Selznick combines the story with pages and pages of illustrations that are as much a part of the story as the words are. For those kids who like Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck is a sure win!
One of my students, and then one of my colleagues, told me about this fantastic book. It tells the intertwining tale of 3 youngsters who all come together through...Scrabble! Duncan Dorfman learns that he has a power, that of being able to read via his finger tips. When he decides to let the kids at school know about his secret, despite his mother's warning, adventures abound. I have a bunch of kids who are really into Scrabble and they were so excited to see their hobby represented in this book.
You will laugh, you will cry, you will want to read this again and again. This is one of the most read and loved books by my students in the past year and it is the book I will be reading with my Girl's and Books Book Club in the new year. Ivan is a silverback gorilla kept in a cage in the middle of a mall. His owner got Ivan when he was just a baby but when he could no longer keep Ivan in the house, he decided Ivan would become the center attraction in a shopping mall. Ivan is eventually joined by other animals, like the elephant Stella who tells Ivan lots of stories. Told from Ivan's perspective, in poetic form, The One and Only Ivan will open your heart and soul as the quest to save Ruby, a new elephant, becomes Ivan's mission. This story is based on a real silverback gorilla named Ivan who has spent the last 18 years in the Atlanta Zoo. Sadly, the real Ivan passed away just a few months ago but you can read about his real life incredible journey here.
Here are some other great MG books that I highly recommend (and my 5th graders obsess over):
The Warrior Series books, written by Erin Hunter (the pseudonym for the 3 real authors)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio (my FAVORITE book of 2012)
Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood, illustrated by Jon Klassen
The Summer Island Series by Robin Russel
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
The Time Warp Trio Series by Jon Scieszka
Hello, can i ask you something? I’m looking for children books with “scary” animal illustrations like the big bad wolf (or a fox) eating pigs (or seven kids or Red Riding hood or birds in Chicken Little) or being pictured with a fat stomach. Could be any other animal as well. I need it for my research I’m doing. Have you seen any book of this sort? Any sort of help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteNice blog, by the way!
nelly
Hi Nelly!
ReplyDeleteAre you looking for a book where the character and illustrations are scary or where there are illustrations depicting a scary character? I know lots of books with "scary" characters but it sounds like you are looking for one where the illustration is scary too. Yes? Let us know! Anyone have any ideas?
Meg
OO! I have one! The Spider and the Fly, with illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi. That might be something with both scary characters and scary illustrations. The fly dies in the end...also scary.
ReplyDeleteThe lion eats Pierre in Pierre by Maurice Sendak (Nutshell Library).
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I remember the kids being eaten in Pat the Beastie by Henrik Drescher...?
The boy in Whatever by William Bee gets eaten by a tiger at the end... Not particularly scary illustrations, but still...
Nick Bantock's version of The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly...?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete