Middle Grades

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 ...

Metaphysics, Graphics-Style

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 19, 2013

For some folks, graphic novels are actually a discipline to be learned—their eyes don’t know where to go first and they tend to jump from ...

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 12, 2013

I’ve heard that aside from William Shakespeare, more books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other historical figure. That makes it difficult to ...

Wholehearted Romance: Living Book Library Picks

By emily | Feb 7, 2013

Many of you may remember our interview last fall with Liz and Emily, proprietors of the Living Books Library website. They were kind enough to ...

Legends Told and Re-told

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 5, 2013

Robin Hood, by David Calcutt, illustrated by Graham Baker-Smith. Barefoot Books, 2012, 112 pages. Age/interest level: 9-up. Everyone knows—or do they?--how the hooded stranger showed ...

Unstoppable by Tim Green

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 31, 2013

A middle-grade boy's football ambitions crash against a cancer diagnosis in this frank tale by NFL star Tim Green. Unstoppable, by Tim Green. HarperCollins, 2012, ...

Identity and Revolution, part 2

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 25, 2013

Last week we looked at some YA titles that celebrated the “coming out” of gay and lesbian characters. “Young Adult” has traditionally been the accepted ...

On All Fronts: New Nonfiction of World War II

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 15, 2013

My sister, who serves at a docent at a prisoner-of-war museum in Texas, says that her most eager listeners are pre-teen and teenage boys. When ...

Going to the Dogs

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 11, 2013

Of all four-legged mammals, I estimate that dogs get the most exposure in fiction, with horses and mice tying for second and cats a distant ...

The Wimpy Kid and His Imitators

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 8, 2013

Jeff Kinney currently sits at the top of a $550 million empire, and it all started with a web comic. When Kinney’s ambition to write ...

Kids–Try This at Home

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 4, 2013

Got a novel idea? It’s easier than ever to get published, but if the imprint on the spine of your masterwork is Xlibris or iUniverse, ...

A Very LOGOS and Parnassus Christmas, Part Two

By emily | Dec 17, 2012

If you missed it, Part One of this series detailed my trip to a fantastic Nashville bookstore, Logos Bookstore. Today, I follow up that Christian ...

16th Century Travels: Jepp and Will Sparrow

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 14, 2012

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, by Katharine Marsh. Hyperion, 2012, 369 pages plus author note. Age/interest level: 12-up. Jepp’s diminutive size has always been a ...

A Very LOGOS & Parnassus Christmas, Part One

By emily | Dec 6, 2012

One Hip Town. Two Bookstores. And Lots of Great Books for Kids! Here in Nashville, we have at least two exceptional bookstores: Logos Bookstore and ...

A Cold Night in Boston

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 4, 2012

Two hundred and thirty-nine years ago this month, a band of New England Patriots (not the NFL team) disguised as Indians swarmed aboard three ships ...

O Come, Emmanuel

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 30, 2012

Every year advent takes me by surprise--otherwise I would have posted this last week! Family advent readers come down from the shelves this time of ...

Hobbit Read Along, Week 4: How to Make Hobbit Feet and More!

By emily | Nov 26, 2012

Now that the turkey feathers have settled, it's time to get back to The Hobbit! In case you're running behind, here's a recap: 1) Introduction, ...

Spunky Siblings

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 16, 2012

Brother-Sister duos are a staple in children’s publishing ever since the Bobbsey Twins—a way of stretching the appeal, I suppose. These new series try to ...

Quiet Time For Kids – Part Two

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 26, 2012

Last week’s post ran so long I had to cut it short in order to attend to other business. But close readers may remember a ...

Hand of Vengeance

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 23, 2012

Tomorrow we have a real treat for you: two Christian dads, one a pastor and one a teacher, who both happen to write books for ...

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing: Savoring Sally Lloyd Jones’ New Book

By emily | Oct 20, 2012

This October, the team that brought you The Jesus Storybook Bible released a unique new book, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. At 224 pages, ...

Quiet Time for Kids

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 19, 2012

“Thy word have I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin . . .” (Ps. 119:11) More than anything, Christian parents want ...

Shopping for Bible Storybooks

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 17, 2012

In keeping with our home library emphasis this month, most of our readers would probably agree that the first items on our list would be ...

God’s Time to Make a Change

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 2, 2012

I was alive during the Civil Rights struggles of the mid-50s and 60s, but wasn't personally affected by them. So the history of those years ...

Before the Boxcar

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 21, 2012

The Boxcar Children Beginning: the Aldens of Fair Meadow Farm, by Patricia MacLachlan. Whitman, 2012, 121 pages. Age/interest level: 7-10 The Boxcar Children have had ...

Kids and 9/11

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 7, 2012

To our children it’s already history, but to us it seems like “only yesterday.” Too soon, really, to come to an informed conclusion about what ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 21, 2012

In keeping with our back-to-school focus: if you haven't met little Rocket, you really should. As for Charlie Joe, well . . . How Rocket ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 10, 2012

Our 50 Shades of Gray discussion this week demonstrates how our sin nature turns God's gifts into perversions. But sex is still a gift, and ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 24, 2012

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley. Dial, 2012, 325 pp. Age/interest level: 9-13 Jane is remarkable in her town for being unremarkable. In fact, she and ...

By emily | Jul 19, 2012

This summer I've been on a mission to find books with specifically Christian content for my kids. We get plenty of great literature from the ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 17, 2012

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy (drawings by Todd Harris). HarperCollins, 2012, 436 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 17, 2012

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George. Bloomsbury, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12. Recommended for: Ages 8-14 Whenever Castle Glower ...

Dystopia, Junior

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 13, 2012

Dystopian fiction for middle-grades isn't new: Lois Lowry's The Giver is a classic of the genre. The success of The Hunger Games means similar titles ...

Hard Science

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 10, 2012

God particle, Higgs boson—it's been news since Independence Day (no relation to said holiday) and most of us scratch our heads. It’s too hot to ...

We Hold These Truths

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 3, 2012

“If men were angels,” wrote James Madison in The Federalist #51, “government would not be necessary.” While understanding what Madison meant, he wasn’t quite accurate. ...

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