Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

What you consider classic might depend on your age . . . without giving anything away here, let's define classic as pre-1980.

Yup, younger than me!

Ok, I'll start. Soonie and the Dragon, an original fairy tale with humor, heart, and strong female characters, but unfortunate illustrations that just don't appeal.

Thanks Cheryl! That sounds like a great story.

Here's one of my favorites:
by William Steig.

The indomitable hound dog Dominic decides it's time to go on a journey and runs into the Doomsday Gang. Steig's writing is just so much fun to read out loud -- funny and charming.

One of my favorites when I was little was The Incredible Journey, also about a dog on an expedition - kind of. :)

I love Steig's fable, but Sheila Burnford's book reads as if true. And it's actually two dogs and a cat. I need to reread both of these, now that I'm grown, & see if they appeal in the same way that they did then.

Books that are both classic and historical fiction are the horse stories by Marguerite Henry. I loved them as a child, and those that I've reread are still special to me now, four decades later. I can't pick just one to mention, but Justin Morgan Had a Horse is especially illuminating of a special place and time, and King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian is a terrific story that won a Newbery.

King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
Marguerite Henry

Anyone else love THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH? It's next on my list to read with my boys at bedtime (yes, we still read together, even at 10 & 12!). I don't think they would pick it up on their own, but I bet they like it once we get into it.

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "One of my favorites when I was little was The Incredible Journey, also about a dog on an expedition - kind of. :)

I love Steig's fable, but Sheila Burnford's book reads as if true. And it's actua..."

I remember The Incredible Journey. Thanks for bringing it up. I too will read it again.

My favorites were the Maud Hart Lovelace books. I especially liked the teen years - Heaven to Betsy, and Betsy in Spite of Herself. Did anyone else read those?

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Books that are both classic and historical fiction are the horse stories by Marguerite Henry. I loved them as a child, and those that I've reread are still special to me now, four decades later. I ..."

You have amazing taste! ;-)
I was the youngest child and read the books my siblings were reading (loved it, of course). I loved Danny Dunn, Tom Swift, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Boxcar Children, and Louis L'Amour (when I could sneak his books past my mom).

Oh I loved Phantom Tollbooth. I read it every few years even now. And my son read it more than once in MG years, too.

I finally read the Betsy-Tacy books a couple of years ago - I preferred them when the girls were little - but I can certainly imagine that, as I teen, I would have loved watching her grow up.

How old is The Witches? I loved that book and enjoyed the movie. lol

Mention of Phantom Tollbooth sets off memories of a linked series of 'related' books, books that could be read on a "meta" level, with social or spiritual insights, hidden meanings, or other rewards for the careful reader.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry somehow led me to read Mister God, This Is Anna by Fynn which was a provocative stepping-stone to the reading & rereading of The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Because of books like those, and like The Princess and the Goblin and The Secret Garden, I've learned that I prefer stories with ideas, books that give me something to think about.

In the good old days, books for kids weren't all about the page-turning action-adventure - they were tasty, and they were also substantial enough to be chewed & savored.

The Princess Bride ranks among my favorites, even though I hadn't read the book until last year -- better than the movie, if that was possible! Brilliantly amusing. I read the 20th anniversary edition, and Goldman's forward was almost as good as the story.

Each of these books could have it's own thread, there is a lot to savor here! I have not read Mister God, so I'll have to check that one out.

M.G. wrote: "Anyone else love THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH? It's next on my list to read with my boys at bedtime (yes, we still read together, even at 10 & 12!). I don't think they would pick it up on their own, but I..."

My 10-year-old just read it and loved it!

Connie wrote: "My favorites were the Maud Hart Lovelace books. I especially liked the teen years - Heaven to Betsy, and Betsy in Spite of Herself. Did anyone else read those?"

Not sure if I read them as a kid but I know I read the later books as a teen and loved them. Read the whole series as an adult and loved them all.

They're even fun from a historical perspective! One of the fascinating bits I remember is from when Betsy was in Europe. There was a destitute lady at the boarding house that ate by herself - because she was nobility and couldn't mix with the common people. And it wasn't one sided; the common people wouldn't have thought it appropriate for her to join them. That's really hard to wrap my head around but (according to what I've read) there are still remnants of the nobility class system in Europe today.

Did you know they re-released the whole series in paperback in the last couple of years?

Yes, I was so happy because they were out of print for a while. I bought all of the new versions. But I did have one that I kept from my teen years - Betsy's Wedding. I thought this would be a heartwarming book to read/have when I was a new bride. I found out recently that it's a collectible - worth $70! But I'll keep it forever just because it's sentimental.

Connie wrote: "...I found out recently that it's a collectible - worth $70!"

Yeah, what else can you buy for $70 that will last as long and bring you as much happiness? :)

Just having the joy of reading Phantom Tollbooth with my 5th grader, which was also one of my favorite books at around the same age.

Laura Ingalls Wilder (my favorite was The Long Winter)
The 14 original Oz books authored by L. Frank Baum
The Secret Garden and A Little Princess

And while this may date me, somewhere around 7th grade I complained to my parents that I was bored and had read all of the good kids books, so they handed me Dragonflight and my reading life changed drastically.

M.G. wrote: "The Princess Bride ranks among my favorites, even though I hadn't read the book until last year -- better than the movie, if that was possible! Brilliantly amusing. I read the 20th anniversary edit..."


The Princess Bride is one of the only books that I can read over and over and it never gets old! I picked it up after seeing the movie as a child and read it so much it fell apart. I wish there really was a sequel but oh well.

Julie wrote: "Just having the joy of reading Phantom Tollbooth with my 5th grader, which was also one of my favorite books at around the same age.

Laura Ingalls Wilder (my favorite was The Long Winter)
The 14..."

I'm thinking you must be near my age. . . I didn't read the Phantom Tollbooth until my boys were 10ish (and I have to say I wasn't that taken with it; it felt like the story was a bit thin, more a frame for some teaching), but the Little House books were huge favorites, and I also started reading the Pern novels about 7th grade (also Louis L'Amour).

All the horse books--Black Beauty, Marguerite Henry, though for some reason not The Black Stallion

And in about 3rd grade I absolutely loved Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald, which I think is out of print. Likewise The Lion's Paw, by Robb White.

Also C. S. Lewis and Louisa May Alcott.

The Lion's Paw! I haven't seen that book in years, but I remember loving it as a kid. I need to find that one again.

A couple years ago the boys and I read the whole LITTLE HOUSE series. I wasn't sure if they would like it, since there are girl protagonists, but they really loved the detailed, factual information about pioneer life -- digging wells, building log cabins, bear hunting, etc. And Wilder's language is so lyrical! They are great bedtime read alouds.

And I found that it was completely a new experience to read through her books as an adult, especially THE LONG WINTER -- I don't think I quite understood when I read it as a child how close that family came to starving to death.

I not sure The Lion's Paw is even still in print! I got a copy years ago at a book sale--it was a library discard. I liked his other books, but not as well.

Long Winter was my favorite, too!

And I also tried to move on to Farley when I had read all of M. Henry's horse stories, but they weren't the same. I think it's because they were more about the adventure, whereas Henry was more about the history and also more heartwarming.

I've never heard of Lion's Paw - off to investigate....

Just looked up THE LION'S PAW on Amazon. It's still available (though only as a pricey hardback . . . )

M.G. wrote: "A couple years ago the boys and I read the whole LITTLE HOUSE series. I wasn't..."

I have reread as an adult too and had the same impression of the Long Winter and quite a few other things. It amazed me how good those books are still even as an adult, even through time.

I think I've read everything there is about her and written by her - she wrote some interesting articles for farm journals before she wrote the books.

M.G. wrote: "Just looked up THE LION'S PAW on Amazon. It's still available (though only as a pricey hardback . . . )"

A few years ago I got one of my favorite books - Witches, Ghosts and Goblins, the Search for Miranda's Cat - for a reasonable price by setting an ebay alert on it and just waiting several months.

So no MG kids will understand the language without guidance, I still loved The Swiss Family Robinson! Easier is Abel's Island. But the best is A Little Princess!

E.S. wrote: "M.G. wrote: "Just looked up THE LION'S PAW on Amazon. It's still available (though only as a pricey hardback . . . )"

A few years ago I got one of my favorite books - Witches, Ghosts and Goblins, ..."

I'll have to give that a try!

The Lion's Paw is in my library system, so I got a chance to read it. Probably not worth buying if you've already got a big pile of books waiting to be read, but def. worth reading if you can get it ILL.

I'm glad you bumped the thread - I just joined a challenge that has me reading a book from each decade of the last century, or so, and am probably going to need ideas to find some for the older ones. So, who's remembered anything else?

What an interesting challenge -- it would be interesting to see how children's literature has changed. What about looking at the Newbery list? The award goes back to the 1920s.

The Newbery list is a great place to go for good books. I've been gradually filling in those I've not already read.

That's true - but in the Newbery club to which I belong, we're already up to the 1940s, iirc. And the award isn't actually all that much older than that...

Well, if any of you do think of a specific old title you just loved, let me know here.

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "That's true - but in the Newbery club to which I belong, we're already up to the 1940s, iirc. And the award isn't actually all that much older than that...

Well, if any of you do think of a speci..."

How about Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, publication date 1894. It's one of my family's favorites.

I remember reading that a couple of times as a youngster. I'll have to do so again, thanks for the reminder.

I signed up for a Children's Classic book (pre 1960s) Challenge at the start of the year, and kept up with it, even though I think the challenge itself lapsed. I did cheat a couple of times with early 60s books that I didn't know at all. I'll keep going next year too, since it's really interesting.

I'm going to sum them up in December, but thought you'd like a list of this year's reviews (all on my blog somewhere)

Aesops Fables
Five Children and It
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Princess and the Goblin
Beau Geste (abridged for children 12-16)
The Hobbit
White Fang
A Wrinkle in Time
Island of the Blue Dolphins
The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm
Treasure Island
The Jungle Book

I've still got a couple to go before the end of the year... plans are Paul Gallico's The Snow Goose, and Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl and other stories.

This list is pretty evenly matched between re-reads and first-reads. I loved some of the new ones and discovered I hated some of the old favourites. Times change...

Let's start a new challenge for it. I'd do that next year, for sure!

Do you want to start it? Or we could we do it as a thread here (or would it get too long?)

Jemima wrote: "Do you want to start it? Or we could we do it as a thread here (or would it get too long?)"

Love this idea! I'd love to join you, because I love the classics. Why don't you start a new thread in the General Discussions Section so that it has more visibility? Do you or Rebecca want to set it up, since I'm not familiar with the rules, etc?

I could set it up, but will have to think what rules we want. Jemima, I'll send you an email and we can invent some rules!

Plz announce here when it's set up so we don't miss it - I'd love to participate!