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So, I have a question that I 've been wondering about for the past while. I've been thinking deeply about tween reads and what makes them great. I've also been thinking about the idea of tween / middle grade as a category. My question(s) to you are as follows...What is your favourite middle grade/tween read of the past 10 years (and why). What is your favourite middle grade/tween read of ALL time (and why)?
Thanks in advance! I can't wait to see which reads stuck with you!
Thanks in advance! I can't wait to see which reads stuck with you!
17 comments:
My all-time favorite has to be "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli.
My favorite tween reads of all time have to be the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. I couldn't stop reading those in middle school and I still can't help re-reading them now.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is my current favorite. I think it will stand the test of time.
One Crazy Summer is great.
My favorites are Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (beautifully written); A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (hooray for sci-fi); Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (gorgeous imagery); Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (wonderful storytelling; I LOVE fairy folktales).
I've got two:
The Wednesday Wars. Read it aloud to my students and they LOVED it!!!!
When You Reach Me. That book literally made me gasp at one point!
Okay, I saw this earlier and was reminded of it by Betsy today so I did a post: http://wp.me/p1SaI-220
As I wrote there, since you said to give us our favorites that does mean a very personal response. I do have particular tastes that are reflected in my list (and it is a long list as there was no way I could do just one in response to your first question).
And my feelings have definitely shifted over time. Years back I'd probably have listed Maniac Magee too, but it has been a while since I've read it and so I'm not sure if it would hold up as well as some of the others I did list. I did reread A Wrinkle in Time more recently and while I personally do love it dearly don't think it is that perfect for this particular age group. Now I adore, adore, adore The Wednesday Wars, but think it is a bit more on the older side than tween to me.
Ugh. Only one per category? Really??
OK, first, I want to specify that I'm defining favorite as a book I enjoyed as a reader, not as a critic.
From the past ten years, I would have to go with Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry. There is an honesty about it, and a respect for its characters, that is really rewarding. And that forest fire scene. That is some writing. Boy howdy.
From the canon, I'm going to go with . I will confess that I have not reread it as an adult, but my memories of reading it in the fifth grade are sure vivid. I wasn't a reader as a child (I was actually something of an anti-reader), and this is the first book I can remember loving and rereading. Over and over. And I think it gets credit for my lifelong affinity for a good cry.
All-time favorite: Harriet the Spy by E.L. Konigsburg. Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are tied for second, as is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Maniac Magee and Louis Sachar's Holes are tied for third place.
I adore the work of Megan Whalen Turner, Terry Pratchett, and Hilary McKay, but I think their books tend to read a bit older.
In the past decade, I've loved When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, Alabama Moon by Watt Key, and The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz.
What a tough question--but in a good way!
My favorite MG novel over the past 10 years is LOVE, AUBREY, which is heartbreakingly sad, but features a main character who has such a sweetness about her that you root for her from the very first pages, and admire when she becomes a hero for herself in the last chapter. My all-time favorite MG novel is Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," although Elizabeth Berg's "Durable Goods" is a treasure as well, and one I'd highly recommend to all MG writers.
Okay, despite having a long list of middle-grade books that I dearly love (some of which have already been named), I'm going to pick The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents as my current fave. Since I missed most of the beloveds in my own childhood, I'm going to go with one of the few I did read: Alice in Wonderland.
My favorite of all-time is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I've reread it every year since I was 8 and have never tired of it. My 7th grade English teacher put on an incredible performance when she read it aloud to us. She still shares her Sybil Pulaski voice with me from time-to-time, just to crack me up.
In the past ten years, I think When You Reach Me stands out, as others have mentioned. That book blew my mind in a way that hasn't happened in years. I think it will be a classic.
My current favorite is One Crazy Summer. My all time forever favorite is From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I re-read this one a couple years ago for lit class and it held up wonderfully. A Wrinkle in Time is also up there as an all time favorite.
Not counting HP, THE TIME TRAVELERS by Linda Buckley-Archer. Time Travel and Historical Fiction #loveit
Not counting HP, THE TIME TRAVELERS by Linda Buckley-Archer. Time Travel and Historical Fiction #loveit
Mine is The Westing Game. I think because it was such an unconventional mystery and all the characters are so kooky. And just about everyone is a suspect, even though I remember them all as so likeable. Truly a timeless book.
(OH, I see Chelsea beat me to this vote! It deserves a second nomination).
I also to this day still adore The Egypt Game and A Wrinkle in Time. And Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH. Guess it's impossible to pick a favorite.
That's not an easy question to answer - there are so many!
My favorite latest tween reads are When You Reach Me and Countdown.
Of all time, probably Walk Two Moons, Maniac Magee, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, and Summer of the Swans. These books are all timeless classics.
Thanks to everyone for their comments!
My favoite tween books are Queens Own Fool by Jane Yolen and The Flower Power series by Lauren Myracle or maybe just anything by Lauren Myracle, she is one of my favorite authors.
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