The Ultimate Middle Grade Christmas Shopping Guide for Reluctant Readers (and Young Writers)
And our brand new book!! SURPRISE!!
The Ultimate Middle Grade Christmas Shopping Guide
It’s December! The most festive time of year!
To help you with your holiday shopping for the middle grade readers in your life, I’ve got some suggestions for you. And further down…a special announcement!
First, make sure to check out last years original Ultimate Middle Grade Christmas Shopping Guide, with lots of ‘if they liked THIS they might like THAT’ style recommendations.
Then come back here for The Ultimate Middle Grade List 2.0, this one specifically for the kids who might not have discovered book joy yet.
This gift guide will come to you in two parts:
Gifts for reluctant readers, with suggestions from teachers and fellow middle grade authors.
A special gift for the young aspiring writers in your life.
Let’s get right to it!
The Smorgasbord is a hand-kneaded, hand-shucked, reader supported publication. Honestly, it takes a lot of time and effort to get these interviews, articles, and resources put together. To keep it cooking, become a paid subscriber and get access to special publishing resources, video courses, and more!
Middle Grade Books for Reluctant Readers
I don’t love the term ‘reluctant readers,’ but it’s a familiar term that gets the point across for today. Those of us in the middle grade community—both writers and teachers—worry about and regularly discuss what we call the “decline by nine.” Basically, the challenge is that the number of kids who think of themselves as readers drops off sharply by age nine.
So how do we combat this? Well, one possible way is by providing kids exciting and fun books that they actually want to read. I highly recommend newsletters like the one by librarian
that talk about books that are really for kids, rather than for adults who want to feel a certain way about the books they’re buying for kids. She gives great recommendations and talks more about helping kids of all ages experience reading joy.With that in mind, here are some books for reading joy recommended by some teacher friends and fellow middle grade writers:
Confessions of a Class Clown by Arianne Costner
Bernice Buttman Model Citizen by Nikki Lenz
Junior Monster Scouts, by Joe McGee
The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Pahua and the Soul Eater, by Lori M. Lee
The Last Kids On Earth, by Max Brallier (Author), Douglas Holgate (Illustrator)
The School for Wicked Witches, by Will Taylor
The Secret Dead Club, by Karen Strong
Real Pigeons Fight Crime, by Andrew McDonald (Author), Ben Wood (Illustrator)
Treasure in the Lake, by Jason Pamment
The Skinjacker Trilogy, by Neal Shusterman
How about you? What are some of your favorite books to recommend for kids who think they don’t like reading?
And now…the perfect gift for YOUNG ASPIRING WRITERS!
I am so flipping excited to announce my collab on a book for young writers with my amazing friends Gina Loveless, PJ Gardner, and Celesta Rimington.
Tools Not Rules: A Writing Guide for Young Creatives
From four award-winning and bestselling middle grade authors comes the writing guide for ages 8-12 that feels like a lively conversation over school lunch.
In Tools, Not Rules: A Writing Guide for Young Creatives, four middle grade authors speak directly to students in grades 3-6, the target audience for their novels. Students will find engaging, short chapters in each of the four authors’ unique voices. These are followed by skill-developing and idea-generating writing activities complete with modeling examples.
With advice on everything from finding ideas to actually publishing a book, Tools, Not Rules takes a bite-sized approach to creative writing that both challenges eager writers and heartens hesitant ones. Parents and educators will appreciate the resources to jump-start their students’ imaginations and the mini-lessons built into the pages for classroom use or for fast finishers. Students will appreciate the personal anecdotes from the authors, candid conversations, and the behind-the-scenes look at how the pros do it.
We had such a great time creating this book, and whether your a teacher looking for classroom resources or a parent looking to help their budding author, this book will be the perfect fit.
Teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents, I would love to do a free virtual Q&A with your class or book group! If you’re interested in scheduling a visit you can reach out to me via my website. Let me know how I can support you! I’ve also got free classroom resources to accompany each book. You guys are rock stars!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for coming along everyone! 1) Subscribe, 2) get a copy of the book bebes, and 3) keep glowing, you shining star you.
-Sarah
The timing on this post was perfect! We just went down to our local independent children's bookstore and got two of your recs. Will also be gifting "Tools Not Rules" to our oldest who wants to be a writer. Thanks Sarah!
Congratulations on the book, Sarah! I met Celesta last March and she was awesome. I'm dying to get to The Bletchley Riddle, and Confessions of a Class Clown looks super cute. Thanks for all of these!