Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

This thread is for dropping ideas, questions, resources, comments, and discussion about Task 5: Read a Middle Grade Novel.

A few resources to get you started:

http://bookriot.com/2015/08/31/middle...

http://bookriot.com/2015/08/26/update...

http://bookriot.com/2015/07/23/therap...

http://bookriot.com/2012/03/23/the-sw...

I am going to read The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.

I am going to read Harriet the Spy

I'm going to continue the series I read with my son this year with The Silver Door. We have been into the 1st one, and can't wait to get started on the second one!

Edit: This one is hard for me to pick a book, as it is a norm for me and my son at bedtime (he is 5).

I am going to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. I'm probably the only one that hasn't read the series yet! I will probably read it out loud to my 8 year old son and check off two categories...

Continuing on Rick Riordan with Sea Monsters.

Mine is going to depend on whatever my kiddo recommends. :)

Is The Marvels something that could be used in this section ? Anything with amazing illustrations appeals to me.

I recommend Circus Mirandus. It's listed as YA for some reason, but my 9-year-old grandniece loves it.

I'm going to read . done

I'm a teacher, so I read middle grade novels fairly often (currently teaching The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas for the third time, so have read it with classes as many times) but the one I'm choosing for this task is Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai. This could also double as my book by an author from Southeast Asia. I'm going to try to read 24 separate books and not count books more than once, but you know, if it's December 2016 and I'm down to the wire and haven't read another in those categories, I'll relax those rules :-P

I have had Wonder on my list for some time now, but given some of the other categories I feel as if I might want to take advantage of this category and go with something lighter. Tuck Everlasting is one of my favorites, but I'd like to try something new.

edit: Just stumbled upon The Jumbies--might have to go with that!

A friend recommended When Mischief Came to Town, so I think I'm going to give that one a try.

I'm going to read The Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. Great fun!

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Scavenger-...

I've wanted to read George by Alex Gino for some time and I think I'll slot it in here. It could also work for the transgender task but I'm trying not to double up :)

I am going to read Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure.

Tammi wrote: "I'm a teacher, so I read middle grade novels fairly often (currently teaching The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas for the third time, so have read it with classes as many times) but the one I'm choosing..."

Your post led me to Inside Out & Back Again, which is now on my list. Thank you!

I just finished reading Circus Mirandus with my class. I am going to read Freaky Fast Frankie Joe by Lutricia Clifton. It's a Battle if the Books book this year!

I'm going for a wrinkle in time for this one.

Just discovered a slew of fantastic recommendations for this category here:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

I'm going to read The Honest Truth.

After hearing Liberty talk about it on "All the Books", I'm going to read "The Girl Who Could Not Dream" by Sarah Beth Durst... Who doesn't love a book with a book store in the story?!

Going to read Augie and the Green Knight!

I'm leaning toward The Invention of Hugo Cabret for this one.

Would the His Dark Materials books by Philip Pullman count as middle grade?

I'm going to read Alistair Grim's Odd Aquaticum I read Alistair Grim's Odditorium and thought it was great!

Arlene wrote: "Would the His Dark Materials books by Philip Pullman count as middle grade?"

I think so. My kids enjoyed it when they were in middle school.

The Golden Specific, The Glass Sentence, and The Crimson Skew (published in mid-July 2016) were favorites of mine this year. The trilogy has been listed a number of times on middle grade lists.

I don't know what I'm going to read as there are so many choices to be made. I may set a personal challenge of reading 20 middle school novels this year.

I will probably go with something by Tamora Pierce for this challenge--she was one of my favorite authors in middle school and she's come out with some new books since then.

I love ya and middle grade books (even as an adult). Here are some of my favorites in case it helps someone else choose their book.



and
And any of the kids books by Roald Dahl and Rick Riordan

I imagine the first Harry Potter books is Middle Grade

For those of us who are not for US can you please explain what is middle grade? I have seen that the books for kids of Roald Dahl are considered middle grade. That means between 8 and 12?

I've been meaning to read Angela's Ashes for a long time now. do you think it would qualify here?

Caro wrote: "For those of us who are not for US can you please explain what is middle grade? I have seen that the books for kids of Roald Dahl are considered middle grade. That means between 8 and 12?"

This is what I found online:
Mg At A Glance

Age of readers: 8–12.
Length: Generally 30,000–50,000 words (although fantasy can run longer to allow for more complex world-building).
Content restrictions: No profanity, graphic violence or sexuality (romance, if any, is limited to a crush or a first kiss).
Age of protagonist: Typically age 10 for a younger MG novel, and up to age 13 for older, more complex books.
Mind-set: Focus on friends, family and the character’s immediate world and relationship to it; characters react to what happens to them, with minimal self-reflection.

Voice: Often third person.

Here is the complete link: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-e...

And Lindsay, I wouldn't say Angela's Ashes is middle grade. I think it's quite an adult read, but it's a great book! Maybe you could fit it in another task?

Thanks a lot for the answer! Is very clear for me now...

Caro wrote: "Thanks a lot for the answer! Is very clear for me now..."

Welcome!

Thank you! I remembered Angela's Ashes coming out when I was in elementary school and people being excited about it but not reading it because I was in a dragon phase. I definitely want to read it!

What do people think about Ricky Yancey's Monstrumologist series? It seems borderline YA, but some classify it as "children's horror." It's been on my TBR pile forever, so this would be a great excuse to start it :)

I am planning to read Sittin' Up by Shelia P Moses which I will probably read aloud to my children.

A list I like to peruse is from School LIbrary Journal. Here is their best list for 2015: http://www.slj.com/best-books-2015/

Lindsay wrote: "I've been meaning to read Angela's Ashes for a long time now. do you think it would qualify here?"

There are 2 books with that name Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is a memoir but now I see there is also Angela's Ashesby Jane Rollason. (That was a challenge on another website, to read 2 different books with the same title!)

Just read and really enjoyed Roddy Doyle's "A Greyhound of a girl" for this category.It had been on my TBR for quite some time.

Jess wrote: "I'm leaning toward The Invention of Hugo Cabret for this one."

I watched the movie on Dish last night, I may finally add it to my TBR list.

I'm going to read Coraline for this category

What is considered a middle grade novel? My kids were reading shakespear in middle school. How do i figure out what qualifies? I have a diana wynne jones book i had been wanting to read. How do i figure out if that counts?

See message 32 in this thread.

My son is 19 now, but I think we have some still around the house....Rick Riordan in particular....

I believe the Cassandra Clare books are YA not middle grade.

I got this book as a gift this year so I'm gonna start the year off with this category. I told everyone to get me their favorite book for Christmas and in the front write why its their favorite. So I got Where the Red Fern Grows as one of the books. :)

Cheryl wrote: "Jess wrote: "I'm leaning toward The Invention of Hugo Cabret for this one."

I watched the movie on Dish last night, I may finally add it to my TBR list."

The movie, while wonderful, cannot compare to the book - definitely check it out! I've read all of Brian Selznick's novels and cannot wait to get my hands on his new one, The Marvels! I absolutely recommend his books for this task and just to read anyway :)

I have difficulty determining whether any given book is a children's novel, middle school novel, or YA novel, especially when I haven't read it yet. The books I remember reading in junior high (as we called 7th and 8th grade) were primarily adult literature, both in school (The House of the Seven Gables, Oliver Wiswell, J.B.) and on my own time (Shakespeare, Richard Armour, Poe, more Hawthorne). In any case, I believe I've narrowed down my choice to either Coraline by Neil Gaiman, or The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I've been looking through tags here, and Holes by Louis Sachar is tagged as Middle Grade. I was thinking of reading it for this category, would it be considered middle grade or YA?