middle grade

Author Tamera Will Wissinger Talks About Gone Fishing, A Novel in Verse

interview by Anne Tews Schwab

Novels in verse are most often written for young adult readers and typically tackle difficult subjects. But Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Will Wissinger is a novel in verse written for a different audience (the middle grade crowd) and covers a

Interview with Middle Grade Author Tom Angleberger

Editor’s Note: Beginning in March 2012 with The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda, and continuing through Darth Paper Strikes Back; The Secret of the Fortune Wookie; Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie O’Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad

Mastering Fantasy

She was a liar. No one in middle school believed her stories and she knew it, yet she kept lying to them. It wasn’t until she met the unicorn in the supply closet that she discovered she had to find a way to make them believe she’d seen the creature,

Middle Grade Books 101

What is a Book for Middle Graders?

- - Novels or nonfiction for ages 8-12 or 10-14. Lengths can vary from 84-200 pages (novels are usually over 100 pages long), or 20,000-40,000 words. Illustrated nonfiction may have fewer words.

- - Characters are children ages 9-14 (average character in middle grade novel is

Middle Grade – Where We Are, Where We’re Going

I am delighted to be your CBI Middle Grade expert guide, with emphasis on the word guide. In fact, let’s call ourselves fellow flaneurs, strolling about in children’s literature.

As we are fellow pilgrims, it seems only fair to clarify my bias that a good story will

Kirby Larson’s Middle Grade Reading & Resource Master List

Kirby Larson’s highly selective suggested reading list*:

Al Capone Does My Shirts, Gennifer Choldenko

Alabama Moon, Watt Key

Alchemy and Meggy Swann, Karen Cushman

Amelia Lost, Candace Fleming

The Bamboozlers, Michael de Guzman

Belle Prater’s Boy, Ruth White

Chicken Boy, Frances O’Roarke Dowell

Word Counts, Page Counts & Age Groups: Middle Grade & YA

Middle Grade for Ages 8-12, fiction and nonfiction: Books are 84-150 pages long on average, with manuscripts of about 20,000-35,000 words. No illustrations in fiction; nonfiction may have photographs or black-and-white drawings. No restrictions on writing style, but characters in fiction tend to be 10-13 years old.

Upper Middle

Get a Clue! How to Write Middle Grade Mysteries

Writing a mystery is incredibly challenging and exciting at the same time. There’s no guaranteed formula to take you from the first clue to a solved case. Every great mystery novel includes a puzzle that readers solve along with the sleuth. So, how do you write mysteries for children?

PODCAST – Middle Grade Author Donna Gephart on Reaching Young Readers

Laura chats with award-winning author Donna Gephart about writing humorous middle grade fiction, tapping into the concerns of that age group, and reaching her market. Visit www.donnagephart.com to see the trailer for her newest novel, How to Survive Middle School.

Listen now:

[audio:http://cbiclubhouse.com/clubhouse/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Interview-Donna-Gephart.mp3]

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