Reading Middle Grade

20 Sweet Chapter Books Like Sophie Mouse

Katie Wickliff — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 16:12:27 +0000

If your child loves cozy chapter books about forest animals and their sweet friendships, there’s a good chance they’re already discovered The Adventures of Sophie Mouse. In this series, Sophie is a thoughtful young mouse who lives in Silverlake Forest with her family and friends and has many everyday adventures. However, if your reader has finished this series and is looking for something similar, there are plenty of other gentle stories to explore next. Our readalikes for fans of Sophie Mouse include books about friendship, helping others, and learning from mistakes. Many of the adventures take place in nature settings, and all are entertaining but low-stakes– nothing too scary here! If you’re looking for a place to start, our family highly recommends the Heartwood Hotel series, the Wellie Wishers series, and the Good Dog series.

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Review | Blood in the Water

Afoma Umesi — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 14:42:28 +0000

Summary: Blood in the Water Kaylani is spending the summer on Martha’s Vineyard with the Watson family, her family friends, after her dad is imprisoned for fraud. She’s understandably sad to be without her father, but her parents want her to have some fun and be a kid despite the ups and downs in their

30+ Children’s and Teen Books Adapted into Movies

Afoma Umesi — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 12:40:46 +0000

You know what I love? Seeing children's books adapted into movies and TV shows. I know many people are never satisfied with book and movie adaptations, but gosh I love them. I think enjoying movie adaptations requires viewing the movie and book as two separate entities--not as one and the same. If you like movies based on children's books, you'll enjoy those on this list. We've added a healthy mix of classic and contemporary picks and snuck in a few TV show adaptions too. It was so much fun to see the book covers and movie posters side by side, and we added a few links to movie trailers if you'd like to check them out too!

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Thrilling Middle Grade Books About Spies

Afoma Umesi — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 10:46:09 +0000

I don't know about you, but I definitely pretended to be a spy when I was a kid. Amazingly, though, the tweens in these middle grade spy books aren't pretending! If you or your kids are looking for high-speed, high-wit spy adventures to take vicariously, then this list is for you.

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14 Books for Kids Who Love Refugee by Alan Gratz

Afoma Umesi — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:40:59 +0000

Recommending readalikes can be a tricky process, but I enjoy the process of finding similar threads running through even books that appear different on the surface. Today’s pick is Alan Gratz’s Refugee, a heartrending middle grade book about three kids (living in different time periods) escaping violence and unrest and becoming refugees in the process. Alan Gratz writes moving adventure/survival stories for kids and it's tough to find an author exactly like him, but I’ve chosen other stories with similar themes. You’ll meet kids who have to leave their homes because of unrest, insecurity, and war and travel with them as they make home in new places. If your kids are looking for books like Refugee by Alan Gratz, you can confidently hand them these books.

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Review | Refugee by Alan Gratz

Afoma Umesi — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are three kids living in the 1940s, 1990s, and 2015, respectively. They are also all refugees trying to escape their homes in search of a better life. Josef is a Jew fleeing Germany with his family, Isabel is leaving Cuba via boat to Miami, and Mahmoud and his family are fleeing Syria amidst the civil unrest. But will they make it to safety?

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30+ Lovely Middle Grade Books for 4th Graders

Afoma Umesi — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:32:04 +0000

Finding chapter books for fourth graders is fun, because at this stage, most nine-year-olds are strong enough readers. A few of them still like to see some pictures in their chapter books, but others can handle reading up to 200 pages of fiction (or more). Whatever your fourth-grader's reading level, I'm pretty sure you'll find a couple or more books for them among these 50 chapter books for fourth-graders. I've separated those that feature illustrations from the chapter books that do not.

The non-illustrated chapter books I've chosen are technically "middle-grade books" for ages 8-12. But these picks are well suited for younger readers because they feature younger protagonists, fewer pages of text, less intense subject matter, and a "young" voice.

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Showstopping Books About Music and Musical Theater

Afoma Umesi — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 13:58:09 +0000

I'm pleased that this list has a range of characters of different races and social backgrounds. These stories also have a variety of themes besides music. You'll find among these middle-grade music books, stories about race, homelessness, immigration, sexual harassment, anxiety, neurodiversity, and much more.

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Review | Top Heavy

Afoma Umesi — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 15:39:53 +0000

High school sophomore Esme has a lot going on. She's recently been accepted into the Elite dance group with her best friend Mia, and her family is navigating some challenges. Her father's back was severely hurt in a work accident, and because he's out of work, money is tight for them. Most pressing to Esme, however, is the physical and emotional weight of her large bust and the obstacle it is to dancing -- not to mention the leering she receives from uncouth men. To add to it, she's being bullied by a girl on the dance team who doesn't want sophomores there; her best friend is becoming increasingly distant from her, and finally, she's being harassed during an outing. Can she figure out a way to bear the heavy weight of being a teen girl who just wants to dance?

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30+ Middle Grade Books 6th Graders Love

Afoma Umesi — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:04:50 +0000

Sixth graders (and 5th graders) are my favorite tweens to recommend books to because at ages 10-12, these kids are often confident readers who are eager to explore a variety of genres. Many of them can handle problem books and really enjoy realistic fiction. Still, they continue to read their graphic novels and short books, as well as engaging series. That's why I've tried to include all of these on this list. You'll find graphic novels, realistic fiction, funny stories, short books, long books, mysteries, and even series on this list.

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