5 MUST Read 2012 Middle Grade Novels/Chapter Books

My goal when I began 2012 was to read 1000 books. As of 3:19 P.M on April 22, I have read 545. I’d say that I’m off to a pretty good start. I decided to reflect on my reading and write a little bit about 20 books that stand out.

Tuesday: 5 Great Pre 2012 Reads

Wednesday: 5 Great Re-Reads

Thursday: 5 Great 2012 Reads (Picture Books/Graphic Novels)

Friday: 5 Great 2012 Reads (Middle Grade Novels and Chapter Books)

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A Topps League Story: Jinxed

By: Kurtis Scaletta

Illustrated By: Eric Wight

Chapter Book + Baseball + Groovy Illustrations = Awesome

I wish this Topps League series existed when I was in elementary school.

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Marty McGuire Digs Worms

By: Kate Messner

Sometimes I read a book and can’t wait to share it with students. Sometimes I read a book and I can’t wait to share it with my own kids. Marty McGuire fits into both of those categories. I think Kate and Brian are an amazing team, and I hope Scholastic publishes a whole slew of Marty McGuire books.

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The Mighty Miss Malone

By: Christopher Paul Curtis

The Mighty Miss Malone seems like one of those books that you either love or hate. I’ve been noticing a lot of not so favorable reviews of Newbery Medal-winning author CPC’s latest novel. I’m in the LOVE category. Deza Malone is a character that I take with me everyday to school. She’s the type of girl that makes you want to be a better person, teacher, dad, citizen. I can’t get her out of my head (and I don’t want to).

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Wonder

By: RJ Palacio

When I had 10 pages left in Wonder I had to stop reading. I didn’t want the story to end. I placed the book on a bookshelf and tried to forget about it. No matter how hard I tried, I  couldn’t stop staring at it. Wonder was then moved from the bookshelf to the closet. I managed to wait 3 days before reading the final 10 pages. I’ll never forget reading Wonder for the first time.

I’m very excited to begin rereading Wonder as an audio book next week.

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The One and Only Ivan

By: Katherine Applegate

I don’t believe in jinxes. I think that it is okay to talk about a no-hitter in baseball during a baseball game, and I think that it’s okay to talk about a bowler that is a few strikes away from a 300 game. However, I will not in this blog post mention any book medals (I don’t want to jinx it). What I will say is that I have never seen a book do to fourth graders, what The One and Only Ivan has done to my students.

I think that The One and Only Ivan the best third and fourth grade book in 60 years . I’m still madly in love with that 60-year-old book about a pig and a spider, and I think that if I live 60 more years that I’ll still be in love with The One and Only Ivan. I just hope that Ivan’s medal is a different color.

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