Lighthearted Middle Grade Books for Sensitive Readers 💖

Hi there!

It's the run-up to the last week of Summer Reading Guide prep and boy have I been READING!

We're also reviewing the final guide design and y'all, I'm so excited for you to see this guide! It's a beautiful printable document with 30 main recommended books, plenty of readalike suggestions, and extra features chock-full of additional recommendations too.

For one, we're bringing back the Better on Audio and Summer Reading BINGO sections. We're also including some engaging new features like Discussion Questions for one book and Student Printables (i.e., designed with students in mind, featuring tidbits about each book to pique their interest) you can hand directly to your young readers.

Finally, we'll also be featuring a fun interview with a veteran author of several middle grade book series!

Patreon subscribers get the Summer Reading Guide as one of their many perks! Summer is a wonderful time to join the community if you've been on the fence and want to dive deep into refreshing summer reading this year.

JOIN US ON PATREON

This year's guide is designed to help you provide your kids and students with an enjoyable, enriching summer reading experience. And speaking of enjoyable, this week, I shared a lovely list of lighthearted middle grade books for the kids who are always hungry for feel-good stories.

Galley of the Week

This week's galley is...

A book cover shows an Asian American girl holding a chess piece above a chess board with a smirk on her facee

Add to Goodreads

Kyla Zhao is known for her juicy adult fiction. May the Best Player Win is her middle grade debut. Here's the synopsis:

The game is on in this fun-filled middle grade debut about chess, girl power, and performance anxiety in sports, perfect for fans of Kelly Yang and Celia C. Pérez!

The clock is ticking for May Li, whose middle-school chess team just earned a victory at the state championship—and with it, a ticket to nationals. What’s even more exciting is that May got an award for being the top female player and a splashy feature in the biggest chess magazine in the country.

May should be thrilled. But some of her teammates, including her supposed-to-be-friend Ralph, aren’t too pleased with the attention she’s getting—and they’re even questioning her skills. Backed into a corner, but not one to back down, May makes a move as bold as any of her chess tactics: She bets Ralph she can win the school’s internal tournament and be chosen as team captain for nationals.

The crown is May’s for the taking . . . except she’s starting to crumble under the weight of everyone’s expectations. Anxious feelings begin to affect her performance and, what’s worse, eat away at her love for the game. Now May is left to wonder: Can you still play for fun when you’re playing to win?

Newsletter Book Giveaway

This week, we have two giveaways! 🥳

See on Goodreads

Simon & Schuster is giving away Make Your Mark, Make a Difference: A Kid's Guide to Standing Up for People, Animals, and the Planet. The giveaway is US only and closes next Thursday, May 2, 2024, at midnight EST.

See on Goodreads

Friesen Press is giving away The Climate Diaries, Book One: The Academy To enter, reply to this email indicating interest. The giveaway is US only and closes next Thursday, May 2, 2024, at midnight EST.

Last week's winner: Ellen D. I'll be in touch shortly!

This Week on the Blog

Here's what you may have missed this week on the blog:

I reviewed Alyson Gerber's new book, The Liars Society (the sequel is out early next year!)
20 great dictionaries for kids of all ages
REPLAY: My favorite middle grade mysteries
REPLAY: Books for fans of The Wild Robot

This Week on Patreon

Evelyn Khoo-Schwartz is one of my beloved non-fiction contributors on Reading Middle Grade, and, most recently, an education consultant for many of the wonderful educational resources you'll be getting this summer on Patreon. Evelyn is whip-smart about books and passionate about getting kids to read more as a fifth-grade teacher. She also reviews books for SLJ and has two kids of her own. You can understand why I was so thrilled to interview her. I'm sure you'll find some helpful tips for your own classrooms!

Read her interview

⏭️ Next week on Patreon (moved from this week!), I'm sharing a podcast episode on the behind-the-scenes work of curating the Summer Reading Guide, including why a few popular books didn't make the cut this year.

📚The Reading Middle Grade Patreon Community is for you if you're an educator, librarian, or parent looking for insightful, current book recommendations from an expert who lives and breathes middle grade books! Perks include Book Matchmaking, printable book lists, seasonal reading guides, and so much more.

Join the Patreon Party! 🥳