Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet! Today I’m sharing my latest installment in my Why I Love To Read… series, and this time I’m talking about middle grade books.
I started reading middle grade on a regular basis as an adult because of blogging. I was reading some every now and again to check recommendations for my son more than anything else initially. Then as my blog grew, and I started being sent more books from publishers and joining in with more blog tours, I found myself reading more middle grade. And I’m so glad that’s been the case.
There is something wonderful about getting lost inside a children’s book. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re reading; all the normal rules do not apply. Even adult fantasy, now a growing market, and another genre that I love, can’t keep up with the clever and detailed manner that middle grade authors take to their work, all while keeping things approachable for the age bracket. It’s an extremely difficult balance to strike, and I feel lucky to be seeing it in action so much.
Books such as the Murder Most Unladylike series and Murder at Twilight demonstrate what a wide range of time periods, topics and characters we can see while still maintaining the safe distance from anything too graphic. It’s become more widely embraced that children don’t need wrapping in cotton wool when it comes to their reading, and instead need to see themes of adventure and excitement. It’s in this way that books such as Murder Most Unladylike are this generations Famous Five, stretching the boundaries of what we want to see for children, and for what children want to see for themselves.
The advantages of reading books like this, then, are numerous. We can appreciate the themes and intensity they are approached with, while having the experiences of adulthood to help us reflect on them at the same time.
The beauty of getting lost in a children’s book is maybe the opposite of getting lost in an adult fiction. Whereas with adult fiction, we may see ourselves reflected, and see the possibility of ourselves experiencing the character’s adventures, what we can be certain of in children’s fiction as adults is that we know this will not be the case. This often makes them feel like safer reading when the realities of life are just too demanding, and we can rely on books, once again, to save the day.
Thanks for stopping by today for this post. If you’re interested in some of the middle grade reviews I’ve shared recently, here’s just a few:
And On She Reads 
I love MG lit! 🙌💖
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