Top 5 Wednesday- Middle Grade Reads

Hello readers!

Today's top 5 topic is favorite middle grade reads.

For some clarity, middle grade reads and considered chapter books in the 8-14 year old range, somewhat of a precursor to Young Adult books. Popular series are literally anything by Rick Riordan, arguably the Harry Potter books, and The Series of Unfortunate Events. 

I personally love middle grade books. I first gained a love of reading during the ages that middle grade had for a targeted audience. 

1. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz: These were some seriously weird stories for kids to read, but it was also a staple to have read all of them before making it through elementary school. There were some stories that were pretty classic spooky stories and others that I swear haunted my dreams for a while. I remember specifically the spider bite turning into a hole in a girls face and there was a time shortly after that I got a pimple on my face and I didn't think anything of it, and of course I didn't know better so I popped it and man... the flash back to the spiders coming out of her face was real. I think the story that scared me the most was related to a butcher that cut up people? I suppressed a lot of the story due to the mild trauma it gave me, but I'd totally read these books again. I believe I heard that they may be turning the stories into movies for these books, which would be interesting to see especially if they creative style was similar to the art in the books. 

2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini: This book revolutionized reading for me a little bit in school. I read this pre-Harry Potter as my first big high fantasy chapter book and remembered loving the beginning of the story of Eragon and Saphira and the legends coming to life. I never ended up finishing the series, and I don't really see myself revisiting these books just because I felt a little lost around the end of book 2. Regardless of not finishing and losing an interest, I think this book is a fabulous introduction for readers to high fantasy. By the time I got to Lord of The Rings I already had an appetite for the fantasy element. 

3. The Theif Lord by Cornelia Funke: There is something about this book that I will never stop loving. I haven't read this in years, but I remember re-reading it several times after checking it out from the library. The setting of Venice with the old theater and water canals really drew me in. Towards the end, there is some magic that is very whimsical and I think was introduced properly to the book despite there not being any other magic system mentioned. It comes off as more of an old magic that belongs to the legend of the city rather than gaining any magic. 

4. The Royal Diaries series: I understand these may not be the most historically accurate books, and some of the events could be altered to add drama. To me, the point of these books was to gain interest in historical figures, specifically targeting young girls. I would say, as someone whos read the few I could get my hands on as a pre-teen, it hit that mark. I specifically remember reading Cleopatra and Maria Antoinette, I think our library had Anastasia as well but that one was always checked out. Now as an adult having remembered these books recently, I've started collecting some used copies from local book stores and garage sales. I looked online and to purchase them is crazy expensive though for some of the "less popular" princesses I will probably hit up amazon. Over-all a pretty good read for the younger ladies in your life to learn a little more about historical figures they may feel like they relate to, I would just suggest following up with a little more accurate research as well.

5. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli:  I remember Jerry Spinelli being an auto-read author in elementary school. He did a good job of taking things that seemed so important at a young age, like popularity, and putting it into perspective. Stargirl was a good example, because Stargirl didn't care about fitting in so much as being herself. She was one of the original characters that made me love being different than everyone else. 

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