How do we pass on a love for reading to our kids as they grow older? Give them access to lots of books. When it comes to reading, we want our children to enjoy good stories that are entertaining as well as wholesome. If we can find books for them that support our values and build up their character, all the better!
But what if their interest in reading is waning? Provide them with lots of variety, as well as quality reading options to choose from. The best middle grade books can be enjoyed by their intended audience as well as grownups, and they also make for great read-alouds for families. These books are personable, as readers are able to connect with the characters and want to know what happens next in the story. And readers are able to resonate with the truths shining through.
How do you find these high quality books for kids? There are a lot of options when skimming through book lists online or in book stores and it can feel overwhelming. Get recommendations from friends, look at bestseller lists, and check out the library displays. But here’s something you may not have considered—books that have won awards.
Finding award-winning titles helps to narrow down your choices. What makes an award winning book so special? These books have been identified as being outstanding in their category. The stories are being honored, as well as the authors who crafted them.
Scroll down for a list of three award-winning middle grade novels you probably didn’t know about. These engaging books are clever, character-building, and thought provoking with strong family values. These fantastic books can spark a love of reading and keep the flame burning bright.
Picture Imperfect, by Susan Thogerson Maas
Twelve-year-old JJ loves three things: her great-grandma, her cat, and photography. But she’s never going to be a real photographer unless she gets better equipment. When her best friend, Kat, discovers a photo contest with the grand prize of a fancy digital camera—the kind JJ’s parents could never afford—she jumps at the chance to win it. Things start going wrong when ditzy Aunt Lissa moves in under mysterious circumstances and JJ’s forced to share her room. Why did Lissa lose her job anyway? Kat has all sorts of theories—theories that bring more trouble than the girls can imagine. Gram’s not doing so great, the cat’s always trying to sneak out, and Aunt Lissa’s ruining JJ’s summer. According to Gram, photography is JJ’s God-given talent, but how can that be true when everything keeps going wrong?
AWARDS:
- Winner of the 2016 Selah Awards, Middle Grade Novels
- 2015 Book of the Year in its category, Christian Small Publisher Association
- Finalist in the 2016 Cascade Awards for Published Young Adult/Middle Grade Fiction
Link: https://whitefire-publishing.com/read/picture-imperfect/
The Snowball Fight Professional, by Angela Ruth Strong
Joey Michaels gets hired by customers to shoot snowballs at other people, that’s why he’s known as ‘The Snowball Fight Professional’. He plans to use his profits to buy his grandma a gift so impressive that she will be convinced to buy him a puppy. But Joey’s plan keeps running into problems as his cousin Winston creates all sorts of issues.
AWARD: Winner of the 2015 Cascade Award for Published Young Adult/Middle Grade Fiction
Link: https://whitefire-publishing.com/read/the-snowball-fight-professional/
Cosmic Chaos, by CM Shelton
12-year old Logan lives inside the Luna Biodome on the moon. Not only is the moon dust making him sick, it also sets him apart from the other kids. When a defective robot sends Logan to the Garden of Eden through time travel, his illness disappears and mysteries occur that he can’t explain. When Logan meets an annoying yet undeletable program character named Amy, their misadventures awaken him to a glitch — a secret that could return him to Earth to track down his missing mother. But only if Amy will cooperate before the moon is locked down and before the robot destroys him.
AWARDS:
- Winner of the 2016 Bookvana Awards for the Children’s Fiction category
- Finalist in the 2016 Children’s Fiction category of USA Best Book Awards
- Finalist in the 2016 Children’s Fiction category of Author’s Talk About It Awards
- Honorable Mention in the 2016 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards
- Honorable Mention in the 2016 San Francisco Book Festival competition
- Finalist as a manuscript in the 2013 Children’s Unpublished Fiction Cascade Awards
Link: https://whitefire-publishing.com/read/cosmic-chaos/
Find all three of these titles in the WhiteFire Publishing store online.
