Middle Grades

Sequelville: in Which We Follow up on Some Old Favorites

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 10, 2014

Sometimes fans of a popular book DEMAND a sequel (see Origami Yoda, below), and sometimes the entire series is planned out from the beginning. Whether ...

Middle Grade Winners: Cheesie Mack and Jack Strong

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 4, 2014

We've written about "middle-grade losers" before--those feckless, clueless fifth-and-sixth grader boys (exhibit A being The Wimpy Kid) so popular with boy readers of that age ...

Portrait of the Fantacist as a Young Man: Carpet People

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 28, 2014

The Carpet People, written and illustrated by Terry Pratchett. Clarion, 2013, 261 pages. Age/interest level: 11-up Sir Terry Pratchett, grand old man of fantasy/science fiction, ...

Dragons and Time Fetches: More Middle-Grade Fantasy

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 21, 2014

Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell. HarperCollins, 2013, 226 pages. Age/interest level: 10-up. When our story begins, Tilda, age 13, has no interest in ...

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 18, 2014

This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by ...

Middle Grade Fantasy: Twistrose and Jinx

By Hayley Morell | Feb 13, 2014

Fantasy for middle grades (4th-8th/ages 9-12) is ever expanding. Hayley and Betsy look at two new additions to the field, both of which look light ...

*Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 11, 2014

Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel. Scholastic (Graphix), ask 2013. 238 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) and up Bottom ...

Ghosts: Real or Make Believe?

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 5, 2014

Ghost stories: most of us relish that slightly spooky feeling we get when an urban legend or hair-raising tall tale is well told around a ...

Newbery Buzz: The Truth of Me, plus one more

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 24, 2014

This is our last "buzz" post, but tomorrow Betsy and I are going to go out on a limb and make some predictions about the ...

Newbery Buzz: True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp

By Betsy Farquhar | Jan 21, 2014

We're coming down to the wire with our Newbery discussions. The ALA Youth Media Awards (which include the Newbery and Caldecott) will be announced Monday ...

Newbery Buzz: Counting by 7’s

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 17, 2014

(Janie and Betsy are continuing their chat about some of the outstanding children's literature being touted for the coveted Newbery award--yes, there are people who ...

Twerps and Bullies: Middle Grade fun for boys

By Betsy Farquhar | Jan 16, 2014

I'll admit it: I cracked up when I read Wimpy Kid. Clearly, my sense of humor is rather juvenile (or, maybe I've just spent a LOT of ...

Tough Times: Two Middle-Grade Historical Novels for Boys

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 14, 2014

River Rats, by Leslie J. Wyatt. Royal Fireworks Press, 2013, 212 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14. Kenny Barton would be the first to admit he doesn’t ...

Newbery Buzz: The Center of Everything

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 10, 2014

Betsy and I are back to dialogue about childrens' books that the American Library Association may delight to honor. This year's ALA Youth Media Awards ...

Nurturing a young reader’s literary tastes

By Megan Saben | Jan 9, 2014

Parents with avid readers often find themselves with a dilemma: after my child has read all the age-appropriate books, where do we go from here? ...

The Case for Christ for Kids: 90-Day Devotional

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 7, 2014

The Case for Christ for Kids 90-Day Devotional, by Lee Strobel and Jesse Florea. Zonderkidz, 2013, 199 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grade, ages 8-10 Recommended ...

The Doctrines of Grace by Shane Lems

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 7, 2014

The Doctrines of Grace, Student Edition, by Shane Lems. P&R Publishing, 2013, 143 pages, included appendices. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages ...

Who Do Men Say That I Am?

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 24, 2013

Christmas brings into focus the mystery of the incarnation, when God, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human flesh in order to meet ...

C. S. Lewis at War: Radio Theatre for Teens and Adults

By emily | Dec 21, 2013

C. S. Lewis at War: The Dramatic Story Behind Mere Christianity (Radio Theatre) by C.S. Lewis and Paul McCusker. Tyndale Entertainment, 2013. Ages 12 and ...

Pilgrim’s Progress adapted by Anna Trimiew

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 9, 2013

Pilgrim’s Progress: John Bunyan’s Classic Story Adapted for Children, by Anna Trimiew, illustrated by Drew Rose. Great Commissions Press, 2013, 109 pages, including glossary and ...

Newbery Buzz: The Real Boy

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 5, 2013

If you have any interest in youth literature at all, you know that the Newbery Award, announced in January by the American Library Association, is ...

*Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 3, 2013

Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: ...

Call of the Klondike: a True Gold Rush Adventure by David Meissner

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 3, 2013

This middle grade history uses original letters and contemporary news accounts to recreate the drama of the Alaska Gold Rush. Call of the Klondike: a ...

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 3, 2013

The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Harpers, 2013, 34 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: All Bottom line: ...

Classics in Comics

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 26, 2013

We round out Picture-book month at Redeemed Reader with a look at some recent comic-book adaptations of enduring literary works--even though graphic novels, technically speaking, ...

The Thing About Luck: National Book Award Winner

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 25, 2013

The National Book Award Finalists were announced earlier this fall, and this past week, the winners were announced. This year's winner for Young People's Literature ...

November 22, 1963

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 22, 2013

Fifty years ago a president was violently assassinated. John F. Kennedy’s place in history is mostly emblematic: baby-boomers remember his ease and charm and clever ...

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 19, 2013

Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isobelle Arsenault (translated from the original French). Groundwood, 2014, 101 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ...

Middle-Grade Losers, or, What Hath Greg Heffley Wrought?

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 1, 2013

The Wimpy Kid phenomenon keeps on going, and so far has outlasted the dystopia phenomenon, the vampire phenomenon, and the zombie phenomenon. Volume 8 in ...

Ghost Stories

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 29, 2013

Do you believe in ghosts? I discount many of the ghost stories I hear, but can’t quit discount the whole phenomenon. That is, there is ...

The Dogs of History

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 22, 2013

Duke, by Kirby Larson. Scholastic, 2013, 229 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Boy loves dog; boy loses dog. That’s what ...

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 22, 2013

Lara’s Gift, by Annemarie O’Brien. Knopf, 2013, 193pages, including appendix Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12, Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Bottom ...

Early America: Friendship and War

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 18, 2013

Friends of Liberty, by Beatrice Gormley. Eermans, 2013, 184 pages. Age/interest level: 8-14. Sally Gifford, as the daughter of an honest craftsman in 18th-century Boston, ...

How God Used a Thunderstorm by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn

By Megan Saben | Oct 17, 2013

*How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn, illustrated by Jeff Anderson (Building on the Rock Series). ...

Anselm: An Interview with Simonetta Carr

By emily | Oct 16, 2013

Anselm of Canterbury (Christian Biographies for Young Readers) by Simonetta Carr. Reformation Heritage Books, 2013. 64 pgs. Ages 8-up. Simonetta Carr recently published Anselm of ...

Sugar and P.S. Be Eleven: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

By Betsy Farquhar | Oct 11, 2013

It's another dual review by Janie and Betsy today! We're teaming up to bring you reviews of two middle grade historical fiction novels during our ...

Fun But Not Fantastic: Mr. Lemoncello and the Family Whipple

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 1, 2013

The American tradition of the “tall tale,” which you may think died with Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, is alive and well in a genre ...

Our Favorite Science Book Picks (and a Printable List!)

By Betsy Farquhar | Sep 30, 2013

We've thrown a lot of titles at you during our Science September for science-related informational texts. Because we know many of you, like us, love ...

Scientific Fiction or Fictional Science? Three Genre-Busting Reads

By Betsy Farquhar | Sep 26, 2013

Janie and Betsy team up once again to bring you reviews of three recent scientific fiction works! Janie does the first and Betsy the second ...

More Favorite Science Books

By emily | Sep 23, 2013

Welcome back to Science September at Redeemedreader! Last week, we heard from Janie on Science Biographies, as well as Betsy on some of her favorite ...

Solving Mysteries with Science (and a disappointing collective biography)

By Megan Saben | Sep 19, 2013

One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder. Science Naturally, 2013. When I was growing up, ...

The Secret Lives of Scientists

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 17, 2013

On a Beam of Light: a Story of Albert Einstein, by Jennifer Berre, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky. Chronicle, 2013, 50 pages. Age/interest level: 6-9 Despite ...

New Worlds, Spirit Animals, and Frog Warriors: New Middle-Grade Fantasy

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 12, 2013

Betsy and Janie, the middle-grade readers, are joining forces today to tell you about three brand-new fantasy series for middle-graders. Betsy reviews the first two, ...

*Little Britches by Ralph Moody

By Megan Saben | Sep 5, 2013

*Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. Bison Books, 1991. 260 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10, ages 10-12 and upRecommended ...

Boy Overcoming

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 4, 2013

Paperboy, by Vince Vawter. Delacorte, 2013m 224 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14 "I'm typing about the stabbing for a good reason. I can't talk." Life is ...

Podcast 34: A Kids’ Review of Amish Fiction

By emily | Aug 31, 2013

Big Year for Lily, A (The Adventures of Lily Lapp) by Suzanne Woods Fisher and Mary Ann Kinsinger. Revell, 2013. 272 pgs. Ages 8-up. With ...

Getting Rich Quick: Two Novels about Sudden Fortunes

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 27, 2013

A Whole Lot of Lucky, by Danette Haworth. Walker Books, 2013, 288 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13 Hailee Richardson has plenty to complain about—her screechy old ...

How to Skim a Book: The Lost Medallion by Bill Muir and Alex Kendrick

By emily | Aug 16, 2013

To Skim or Not to Skim It's seven o'clock, and you remember you have a book review due in the morning. But alas, you haven't ...

Kids at War

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 13, 2013

If we were picking favorite periods of history, World War II would be near the top of the list. Though it's fast fading from living ...

Sea of Monsters: Movie Review

By The Redeemed Shall Read | Aug 9, 2013

Today, we welcome our former intern and current Executive Assistant, Hayley Schoeppler, back to the site. She's is the one who covered Percy Jackson this ...

Two Books about China

By emily | Jul 24, 2013

Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu, Illustrated by Andres Vera Martinez. Graphic Universe TM, 2013. 96 pgs. Grades 4-7. When I ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 7: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 23, 2013

Don't forget to fill out the Redeemed Reader 2013 Survey if you haven't done so! (There's a giveaway involved!) Still hangin' in there with us? ...

*Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette Cate

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 19, 2013

*Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, by Annette le Blank Cate. Candlewick, 2013, 54 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ...

It’s Greek to Me!

By Hayley Morell | Jul 18, 2013

This week in our Summer Reading Challenge, we're visiting Greece. So, thanks to our newest addition to the Redeemedreader family, Hayley Schoeppler, for leading us today ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 6: The Lightning Thief

By Hayley Morell | Jul 15, 2013

Welcome to Week 6 of our Summer Reading Challenge! If you’d like to see other posts in this series,

One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 11, 2013

A lonely boy and a lonely girl team up to rescue their dog friends and end up each finding a true home in this feel-good ...

White Fur Flying by Patricia MacLachlan

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 11, 2013

A gentle chapter book that explores family emotional issues with a big dose of furry love on the side. White Fur Flying by Patricia MacLachlan. ...

Boy + Dog = Good Read

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 11, 2013

Boy + dog is a solid formula that's been in play in the literary world for decades. How many of you read Old Yeller in ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 5: The Light Princess

By Megan Saben | Jul 9, 2013

Welcome to Week 5 of our Summer Reading Challenge! If you'd like to see other posts in this series, check out our Summer Reading Challenge ...

American Lives

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 3, 2013

“There is properly no history, only biography,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson—an exaggeration with a lot of truth in it. When I was growing up, I ...

Mission Work for Kids: Sewing School and Crafts for Hope

By emily | Jun 27, 2013

In our Summer Reading Challenge, we've just read the story of Nate Saint, one of the men who entered glory alongside Jim Elliot trying to ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Wk 3: Nate Saint: Operation Auca

By emily | Jun 25, 2013

Have you seen our new tab for the Summer Reading Challenge? In it, you'll find all the links to our Summer Reading Challenge--both the main ...

Two Ways to See the World

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 24, 2013

Geography, like Grammar (and God), is a neglected subject in today’s public school system. Too bad—I well recall my sixth grade teacher Mrs. Nelson, a ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 3: Mr. Popper’s Penguins

By emily | Jun 18, 2013

Introduction We've added a Summer Reading Challenge tab at the top of our website, to help you keep up with the posts as the summer ...

Let’s Take a Road Trip–and Write a Story!

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 11, 2013

Our Around the World reading challenge book this week is The Middle of Somewhere, and it’s written by . . . um . . . ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 2: The Middle of Somewhere by (our very own) J. B. Cheaney

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 10, 2013

If you're new to our Summer Reading Challenge, welcome! If you started our Around the World adventure last week with us, congratulations and let's continue ...

cover of We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson

By Betsy Farquhar | May 27, 2013

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson. Jump at the Sun, 2008. 96 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages ...

Short Summer-Length Devotionals for Families

By Betsy Farquhar | May 6, 2013

Summer's Just Around the Corner! My family's summer schedule is quite different from our school year schedule. What with travel, fun in the sun, and ...

No Battlefield Like Home

By Janie Cheaney | May 3, 2013

Chasing Jupiter, by Rachel Coker. Zondervan, 2012, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. Our story begins in small-town Georgia, 1969—but 16-year-old Scarlett’s world seems even smaller ...

Hail and Farewell, Part 2: Russell Hoban

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 30, 2013

As noted in last Tuesday’s post,I encountered Maurice Sendak when I was myself a child. My acquaintance with Russell Hoban had to wait until I ...

A Novel in Verse and Verse in a Novel

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 26, 2013

We're rounding out our Poetry Month coverage with three books for middle-graders: Gone Fishing: a Novel in Verse, by Tamera Will Wissinger, illustrated by Matthew ...

Inspiring (very) young artists

By Megan Saben | Apr 24, 2013

God is a God of words and pictures. He has revealed Himself to us through words in Scripture and visually in creation, and made us in ...

Good Old Fashioned Adventure

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 18, 2013

The False Prince (2012) and The Runaway King (2013), by Jennifer A. Nielson. Scholastic, about 350 pages each. Age/interest level: 10-up. When we first encounter ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 12, 2013

Destiny, Rewritten, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. HarperCollins, 2013, 335 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 (especially girls) Bottom Line: Destiny, Rewritten ...

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 12, 2013

A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff. Philomel, 2013, 233 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...

Poetry Anthologies

By Megan Saben | Apr 10, 2013

A good poetry anthology is like going to a friend's house with a basket, and being told, "Oh, you must read this one, and this one, and ...

The Real Sherlock Holmes

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 9, 2013

Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story in a British periodical in 1887, to moderate interest. Three novels and fifty-odd short stories later, ...

Final Four (Plus One)

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 5, 2013

This post should have gone up during March Madness, but even if the NCAA tournament is over this weekend, the NBA has few months to ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

The Deep Blue Kids Bible (CEB), 2012, Abingdon Press, 1526 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: no one Bottom Line: The Deep ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

*ESV Grow! Bible. Crossway, 2011, 1600 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: The ESV Grow! Bible ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

NLT Hands-on Bible, Tyndale for Kids, 2010, 1440 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-10 Bottom Line: Though it leads off ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

*NKJV Early Readers Bible. Thomas Nelson, 2006, 1664 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-14 and up Bottom Line: This New ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

*ESV Children’s Bible. Crossway, 2008, 1648 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10. Recommended for: ages 6-10 Bottom Line: The ESV contains excellent study helps, ...

Sorting Out the Children’s Bible Market

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

Yesterday’s post addressed the general subject of children’s Bibles and how to evaluate them for the particular needs of each child and family. But all ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 3, 2013

*The HCSB Illustrated Study Bible for Kids. Boardman and Holman, 2007, 1104 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: ...

Choosing Your Child’s First REAL Bible: Some Considerations

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 2, 2013

Last Tuesday we looked at a range of new Bible storybooks and early reader “Bibles.” On Friday, we picked our way through the field of ...

Easter Picks from the New Crew

By emily | Mar 21, 2013

We thought we'd kick off our new partnership with Megan and Betsy with a few Easter book recommendations. (If you missed their introduction, read about ...

Food for the Soul–and for the Reader

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 15, 2013

My mother-in-law once observed how different life would be if we didn’t have to eat. She might have been having a bad day, because in ...

New Nonfiction: Titanic, Moonbird, and Bodyguards

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 12, 2013

These three books have nothing in common except their general category and the fact that the first two won honors in the ALA Youth Media ...

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus 3) by Rick Riordan

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 8, 2013

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3), by Rick Riordan. Hyperion, 2012, 608 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 8, 2013

Zeus, King of the Gods, (#1 in The Olympians graphic-novel series) by George O’Connor. First Second, 2012, 80 pages. Reading Level: Picture books (graphic novel), ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 8, 2013

The Adventures of Achilles, by Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden, illustrated by Carole Henaff. Barefoot Books, 2012, 96 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages10-12 Maturity ...

Classics for Kids: The Greek and Romans

By emily | Mar 7, 2013

Introduction With the popularity of Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series , kids' books containing themes and allusions to Greek and Roman mythology and culture ...

The Hard Work of Growing Up

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 5, 2013

It’s what every child has to do, and they accomplish it with varying degrees of success. In a sense, "growing up" is the theme of ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 5, 2013

Cake: Love, Chickens and a Taste of Peculiar, by Joyce Magnin. Zonderkidz, 2013, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 8-14. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 3, 2013

KJV Kids’ Study Bible. Zonderkidz, 2001. 1600 pages Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 (for study features) Recommended for: ages 8-12 Bottom Line: Child-friendly activities ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 3, 2013

Bliss, by Kathryn Littlewood. HarperCollins, 2012, 374 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: Bliss mixes ...

Three for Black History Month

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 1, 2013

I know—Black History month just ended. I’m not a fan of segregated “histories”: in case you haven’t noticed, this is the first day of Women’s ...

ALA Awards: Newberys and Caldecotts, Splendors and Glooms

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 26, 2013

One month ago was “Oscar night for Librarians,” when the American Library Association announced their “best of” picks for children’s literature. We’ve given some space ...

The Real George Washington

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 21, 2013

When did history get so complicated? Not too long ago, “The father of his country” was a monumental figure deserving nothing but praise. Now, depending ...

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