Top Ten (or so) Middle Grade
Books to Awaken the Inner Reader in Every Child
We all have them, our go-to books that we use for those
students in grades 3-5 who have yet to be bitten by the reading bug. You know them. They are the kids who can’t seem to stick
with a book from start to finish. They browse the stacks day after day but,
despite your recommendations, have trouble deciding on a book to read. Whether you call them reluctant, dormant,
developing readers, or late bloomers, they all need help discovering what kinds
of books will really grab them and open the gate to becoming a reader.
I have told the story of my winding, rocky
path
to becoming a reader here at The Nerdy Book Club before.
Like all of you, I am determined NOT to let
a child leave my fourth grade class without loving to read.
I know posting here is just like preaching to
the choir.
However, even after 20 years
of teaching, I always learn something new or gain affirmation with each new
post I read.
It is my hope with this
post to share some tried and true titles that I use. But to keep the
possibilities growing, I hope you will comment with YOUR own go-to books.
Then we can all discover (or rediscover)
books that might set a student on the path toward becoming a lifelong reader.
Graphic Novels
There are still many
teachers and parents who have yet to embrace the value of graphic novels. Yes,
they are “real reading” and kids (and adults) love them. To students who may be
intimidated by lengthy books with few pictures, graphic novels can be just what
they need to discover that reading can be fun.
With these books gaining such popularity in recent years, authors are really
jumping on the graphic novel bandwagon.
There are graphic novels that will appeal to every reader: girls, boys,
fantasies, historical fiction, biographies, classics, you name it.
Some series my fourth graders love include:
The Amulet
series,
Squish,
Smile/
Drama,
Bone,
The Lightning
Thief,
Lunch
Lady,
Sidekicks,
Big
Nate,
Wonkenstein,
Daniel Boom and
of course,
Babymouse.
Diary-Style Books
We have Jeff Kinney to
thank for the onslaught of diary-style books that are available today.
Of course many students LOVE the Diary of a
Wimpy Kid series.
This series became so
wildly popular that it didn’t take long for other authors to follow suit. Pictures,
funky fonts, or colors often support the text in diary books. Books and series
such as
Dork
Diaries,
Amelia’s
Notebook,
Dear
Dumb Diary,
Justin
Case and
Tales
of a Sixth Grade Muppet are always winners in my class.
Origami Yoda Series
Once students discover
this entertaining series (
The
Strange Case of Origami Yoda,
Darth
Paper Strikes Back and
The
Secret of the Fortune Wookie) it does not return to the shelves until at
least Christmas. The combination of humor, relatable yet quirky characters and
great illustrations makes students want to read all of these books.
They appeal to older readers as well. My desk
is always filed with little origami yodas for weeks after.
Series
Marty McGuire
Recently I have added
Marty McGuire to my class library.
Students love Marty because she is not a “girly” girl.
She loves to catch frogs, dig for worms and
hates to wear dresses.
Although I hope
there will be more to come, currently there are two in the series:
Marty McGuire
and
Marty
McGuire Digs Worms.
Non-Fiction
With some middle grade
readers, fiction is just not their favorite genre. Some non-fiction books that
have been popular in my room include
Guinness
Book of World Records,
Ripley’s
Believe It or Not, National Geographic For Kids magazine, sports books, animal
stories and anything gross.
You also can’t
go wrong with biographies of their favorite people in pop culture.
This year our short biography about the boy
band
One
Direction is well worn.
Tried and True
Yes, there are many
new and interesting titles. However, let’s not ignore the many wonderful books
that have stood the test of time. My favorite go-to book for students who think
they don’t like to read is
Skinny-Bones
by Barbara Park.
It has just the right
combination of humor and sports (baseball).
It is not a difficult read and, at 128 pages, it is not too long or
short. The students can really relate to Alex, his interactions with the bully
TJ and some of the wacky things he does in this book.
I know I am leaving out some real gems here. So please
comment with your never-fail books for middle graders so we can all add to our
growing lists.
