Hello! Today I am doing another Top Five Tuesday and today’s topic is middle grade books. Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, but now it is hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. I am not currently a huge middle grade reader, so I am going to talk about some of my favourite books from my childhood!
My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson
I could have honestly picked so many of Jacqueline Wilson’s books. As a child, I devoured these books. My Sister Jodie was my favourite book when I was younger. It was the first book that I remember which absolutely destroyed me – in the best way. It was also the first book that ever made me cry. It was an emotional roller coaster for my 12-year-old self. I am gutted I no longer have a copy of the book. I might do a month this year where I only read Jacqueline Wilson novels, because she has so many books that discussed so many important topics.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, Garth Williams (illustrator) and Rosemary Wells (illustrator)
This is another one that I absolutely adored when I was younger too. Little bit of an extra silly, fact – it was actually my first experience of reading the book before I watched the film. I actually don’t remember much about this, other than I absolutely loved it and didn’t stop talking about it for months. I made all my friends read it and at 9 years old, I made this book my entire personality.
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake (illustrator)
I had a big box set full of Roald Dahl’s novels, so like Jacqueline Wilson, I could have picked multiple books to talk about. From my memory (which let’s face it, isn’t great), I always gravitated towards Fantastic Mr Fox more than the rest of them. I think it was probably because it was short – only about 100 pages, I believe. I think I also enjoyed the greed aspect of it and the three farmers ganging up on the fox.
Skellig by David Almond
I had to read this novel in year six or year seven for school, and I fell in love with it. It was my first introduction to William Blake, and it sparked a love in poetry from there. There were so many themes within this novel and its balance between illness and cure, and light and darkness was so memorable for me. When I think back at my time in middle school, it is Skellig that I think of first.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Whilst we are talking about middle school, it wouldn’t feel right not including this book on this list. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was another one that I had to read in school, and it was one that utterly broke my heart. In the synopsis on the Waterstones website, the last line is ‘We hope you never have to cross such a fence’ and it just brought back all of the emotions that I associate with this book. It made me appreciate historical fiction and the ability to learn about a historical period through fiction.
All this post did was make me want to return to my favourite authors from childhood. I am really tempted to dedicate a whole month to just reading children’s literature, especially Jacqueline Wilson’s novels and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
What were some of your favourite books from your childhood? Or current favourite middle grade novels?
Kira Jeanette 
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