The Art of Letting Them Pick

Can we talk about middle graders? Like, what does that even mean? And how on earth do we get them to read anything we recommend?

For us, middle grade is a bit of a misnomer. It isn’t middle school, but also sometimes it is. I find that it’s easier to break it up mentally as early middle grade and upper middle grade. They live in the same section in our store, so the kids don’t realize there’s a difference, and it makes them less self-conscious when they’re shopping.

Early middle grade is about 4th to 6th grade, and upper middle grade is roughly 7th and 8th grades. The reason that 4th and 5th play heavily here is because they like to read up. They’re beyond anything we’d call a chapter book and ready for more complex plots and content than Roald Dahl is giving in, say, The BFG.

Generally speaking, middle grade novels are about kids who are between 11-14 years old. They should have the same insecurities and sense of humor as your own middle schooler. Remember that this can mean anything from “girls are gross” to “I can’t believe my voice cracked in front of a girl.” Fart jokes, best friend drama, and utter the-world-is-ending mortification will likely ensue in these books.

That said, the potty humor transcends action & adventure, mystery, fantasy, and every other genre. Truth be told, the more out of place it is, the better.

But that’s what’s IN a middle grade book. Doesn’t do any good if we can’t get them to open it, right?

So first of all, bring them to the store. Nothing is grosser than mom deciding what they’re going to read.

Slightly less gross, but still worthy of a serious eye-roll, is when I, the old-lady-bookseller, choose a book for them.

So what do we do?

Conversations usually go a bit like this:

Me - “Hi, my dude/girlfriend. How’s it going?”

Them - “Eh, ok.” (Note a distinct lack of eye contact.)

Me - “What are you into reading these days?”

Them - “Eh, I don’t know. Maybe mystery/I like adventure/I like dragons.” (Pick one, not all.)

Me - “Oh, have you read….”

And here’s where the magic happens. I lead them to the section and pick a book. NOT the book I think they’ll love. The book NEXT to it. Even better if I have two.

At least 100% of some of the time, they end up grabbing the one I really wanted them to see. The rest of those negligible times, they end up finding something else in the section that we led them to.

You can lead a teen to water…

The alternative is middle graders reading up. If they’re into YA already, chances are they’re pretty comfortable articulating what they like to read and can find their way around a library or bookstore.

In that case, the trick is knowing my stock and which books are still going to be written at an appropriate maturity and complexity level for them to enjoy.

I am definitely not in the business of deciding what someone else can or should read. I do find, however, that most middle graders aren’t interested in reading about someone else’s college application angst or roommate drama. If we go up a step from their own experience without jumping into totally uncharted waters, we’re usually in the right space for these kids.

Above all, like I said, bring them in. These kids love the book fair at school, and I promise a huge part of that is combining the book fair joy with the freedom of choosing for themselves.