Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

I would like to start a semi-regular thread in which 8 middle grade reads are pitted against each other to see which one is the winner. The plan is to post the eight books and then give everyone a month to either read or reread some or all of the books. The books will then be placed into 4 first round match ups. There will be a week where people can state cause for which book should win and vote for their favorite to advance.

The winners will move onto semifinals with one book eventually being crowned a winner.

If you have suggestions message me (I think it will be easier for me to sift through my inbox than a message board).

Robert wrote: "I would like to start a semi-regular thread in which 8 middle grade reads are pitted against each other to see which one is the winner. The plan is to post the eight books and then give everyone a..."

Such an awesome idea Robert. How do you decide the 8 books?

I will be simply creating lists that have something in common and then picking books. I figure after eight Square Offs we can have a WINNERS Square Off. Some categories might be: Newberry Medalists, Classics, Self-published, With Animals, Girls as the Main Character, Boys as the Main Characters, Friends.

Robert wrote: "I will be simply creating lists that have something in common and then picking books. I figure after eight Square Offs we can have a WINNERS Square Off. Some categories might be: Newberry Medali..."

Sounds excellent.

Juliana, I will post the first 8 books here tomorrow.

I've selected the first eight books for the GMGR Square Off #1. The category I chose was: Fantastic MG Books I've Finished. I figured picking books I enjoyed and read would aide tremendously in getting this off the ground. I would encourage everyone to try and squeeze in reading one or two of these books in the next few weeks. I will set up the first round to run the week of August 26th.

And the books (in the order I had them listed on my paper) are: Holes, Maniac Magee, Bridge to Terabithia, The London Eye Mystery, Walk Two Moons, True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Airman, and The Giver.

Robert, I thought I'd add links in to the books for you. I hope I've linked to the right ones!

Holes
Maniac Magee
Bridge to Terabithia
The London Eye Mystery
Walk Two Moons
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Airman
The Giver

You nailed them. I also added the books to the Library under the square off shelf.

Robert wrote: "You nailed them. I also added the books to the Library under the square off shelf."

Robert, I've set up a special topic and post to get you off and running. Good luck with it.
Cheers

This sounds great! Good picks, too. :)

I'll try to squeeze in some time to read one/some of them!

Wow, this sounds like fun! I'll give it a try. :)

It is exciting to have so many people interested. When I add the books bios at the start of round one, I would also like to add a persuasive paragraph from someone in the group on why the book should win. I think that will help get the ball rolling for more discussion and debate.

Let me know if you would like to be the initial spokesperson for one of the eight books. It will be on a first come first serve basis.

Robert wrote: "It is exciting to have so many people interested. When I add the books bios at the start of round one, I would also like to add a persuasive paragraph from someone in the group on why the book shou..."

Robert - Paige loved the London Eye Mystery, I'm sure she would be glad to get the ball rolling for that one. She is away until Monday but can write someting up after that. She has also read Holes, ridge to Terabithia, Tha Giver. But the London Eye is one of her favorites for sure.

Sue wrote: "Robert wrote: "It is exciting to have so many people interested. When I add the books bios at the start of round one, I would also like to add a persuasive paragraph from someone in the group on wh..."

Hi Sue...... sorry to eavesdrop here. FYI - Paige is welcome submit reviews on any of the ones she has read for the Reviews by Kids thread.

OK, what I don't understand is if everyone isn't expected to read all 8 books, how can the books be fairly matched up against each other?

Might I suggest the books are pitted against each other in phase1 where people read the book flaps and then chose between the 8 copies the top (say 4) they'd like to read.

The Top 4 then go to phase 2, say after reading the first 3 chapters people choose two books to finish for this challenge.

Phase 3 ends with each reader selecting their choice /winner for this challenge.

Cheryl,

Thanks for chiming in. I thought quite a bit about your suggestions before responding.

I can understand your concern about some books being read by more people than others and thus others might have more to say about those books. But I'm not too worried about that. The main purpose behind The Square Off is to give readers of Middle Grade books the chance to discover new books and carry on a debate about ones they have read.

By giving people a couple of weeks notice of the books, each person can decide how much she or he wants to invest in reading the books.

I tried to select books that would have already been read by many readers to provoke some interesting banter.

I'm coming into this a bit late. Sounds fun! When and how do we vote?

LJ,

The voting and debates will start August 26th and run for one week. Round two will follow with the Championship Round to last the next two weeks. Participants can cast their votes in the thread.