Ask any author which book first kept them up reading all night. That book is probably why they became an author. In fact, reading is the single best way to learn to write well. Not just reading, but reading for pleasure, as widely, deeply, and often as possible.
We asked TWC’s author-instructors for a few recommendations to add to your summer reading list. This selection is for middle grade readers–generally kids between ages 8 and 12. Here you’ll discover unique genres, formats, and authors to enchant young readers. Each book has its own special magic, even if there’s no actual magic involved. Check out our list and encourage your kids to grab one or two this summer–or read them all!
(More recommendations coming for teens and adults coming soon)!
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From Erin Madigan White, TWC Instructor who writes for children and young adults, and who has a few of her own
Have an Adventure
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
This Newbery Honor book is part mystery, part adventure and takes place in New York City. Magnolia, age 10, sets out to find the owners of all the socks left at her family’s laundromat. A fun, sweet read for early middle grade readers (ages 7 – 11).
Secrets, Sports and More
Where Ella Went by Laurie Morrison
My 8th grader and I both loved reading this recent release. It’s a creative, multi-format mystery told in texts, emails, journal entries, and more. It features an 8th grade girls soccer team in New Jersey! Funny, sad, heartfelt, and relatable for upper middle grade readers (ages 10 – 14).
What a Mystery!
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
This award-winning mystery was inspired by Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game. It alternates between the present time where 12-year-old Candice and her neighbor Brandon are trying to solve a puzzle in her grandmother’s South Carolina hometown, and the historical figures involved.
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From Mike Allegra, TWC Instructor, dad to college-age kids, and children’s book author extraordinaire
Fantastic Fantasy
Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow
This book is a warm, whimsical, steampunk-y delight. The eccentric cast of characters includes boxtrolls, cabbageheads, sea cows, and the evil members of The Cheese Guild.
Unlikely Friends
Ivy and Bean (vols. 1-12) by Annie Barrows
This is my favorite chapter book series (for emerging readers). Annie Barrows understands how kids think, behave, and connect with one another. Because of this, Ivy and Bean aren’t just well-drawn characters, they feel real. You like them, you root for them, and you’re happy to join them on their adventures.
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From Joanne Ruelos Diaz, TWC Instructor, yoga teacher, children’s book author, and mom
Make Time for a Classic
Harriet the Spy by Louis Fitzhugh
I know I’m not the only writer who will recommend this book. In fact, I have a special anniversary edition that features tributes written by 14 authors including Judy Blume, Rebecca Stead, and Meg Cabot. I think we all relate to Harriet scribbling in her notebook. And I imagine, all of us wanted a special tool belt and to spy from a dumbwaiter!
One Airport, Many Stories
You Are Here Connecting Flights edited by Ellen Oh
I found this book incredibly interesting, and I think young writers will, too. It features interwoven stories set in a Chicago airport, and each chapter features one character that is written by a different award-winning and bestselling East and Southeast Asian American author. So cool.
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From Talia Tucker, TWC Instructor, YA Romance and Horror novelist
Never Too Old for a Picture Book
Jeong is Jeong by Jessica Yoon
We think middle grade readers, and adult readers, too, can find meaning and enjoyment in a good picture book! The one explores the Korean concept of Jeong that is hard to define but felt everywhere. It’s cozy, sweet, and gives us a word for that connection we feel with our loved ones that we build over time.
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From Judith Lindbergh, TWC Founder/Director whose kids are now grown, but whose first writing teacher was the illustrious Madeleine L’Engle!
Tesser Well
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
How could I recommend anything more perfect for middle-grade readers than A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle? A journey through space and time of epic proportions where children discover the power of their deepest convictions as they try to save their father and, in the end, themselves. Madeleine is well known for her timeless quote: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” If you haven’t read this yet, even if you’re already grown up, you are missing something truly magical.
Mystery, Time Travel, and more
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Inspired by and deeply infused with the experience of reading A Wrinkle in Time, this novel takes place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where Madeleine lived (and where I first took her class). Stead’s novel about sixth grader Miranda and the mysterious note she finds in her school library book feels fully alive with the unique experiences of a kid growing up in that slightly scruffy part of town in the late 1970s.
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These titles and so much more are available your local independent bookstore. (Some of our local favorites include Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ, The Collective Bookstore in Verona, NJ, The Nature of Reading in Madison, NJ, Words in Maplewood, NJ, and Howling Bassett Books in Lambertville, NJ). Or check out TWC’s kid picks shelf on Bookshop.org.
Here’s to many long, happy summer days of reading!
