Middle-Grade Fantasy Recommendations
A few weeks ago, I released a post recommending fantasy books for early readers (anywhere from humans who can’t hold up their heads to about eight or so years old). That post did extremely well (it didn’t, this is sarcasm), so I decided to do a follow-up (I was already going to do a follow-up because I do what I want). Today, I’m going to give introductory fantasy recommendations for middle-grade readers.
It was interesting to learn that middle grade is actually not the equivalent of middle school. Publishers refer to middle grade as eight to twelve years old, while middle school is apparently for ages ten to fifteen (which was a shock to me because I’ve always thought I was a freshman when I was thirteen, but now I know that doesn’t make any sense). So the book recommendations I’m providing today are for ages eight through twelve, not for middle schoolers, though I’m sure some of them will hold up for older ages.
Garth Nix is one of the most memorable authors of my childhood. He has written a slew of works for kids and young adults, many of which I remember quite fondly. The series I’m recommending from him today is geared toward a younger audience. The books are short and easy to read, but don’t let that convince you there aren’t stakes! The Seventh Tower is an excellent introduction to the darker side of fantasy, with a real threat present amidst the whimsy of a fantastical world. The Seventh Tower is a bit like Harry Potter meets Pokemon, with a little Red Rising sprinkled in, if I have to make a comparison, though it does stand out on its own.
This series begins with The Fall and concludes with its sixth book, The Violet Keystone. But if those six books aren’t enough for your middle-grade reader, I strongly advise picking up The Keys to the Kingdom, which is a bit more challenging than The Seventh Tower, but is still a lot of fun.
Previous videos have featured my love and appreciation for Bruce Coville, whom I consider to be a Terry Pratchett gateway drug (the highest compliment a person could be paid, short of “hey, you’re Terry Pratchett”). Coville is witty, wry, and remarkably receptive to endless emails from young fans (meaning me, I was young fans). I’m specifically recommending Coville’s The Magic Shop books because it’s especially whimsical, yet is also grounded in reality. In each book, you follow a kid who stumbles upon the magic shop, which houses a multitude of delightful and terrible trinkets. Inevitably, each child in the book walks out with a magical item, and the story ensues.
The story kicks off with The Monster’s Ring, but I feel it truly hits its stride with Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. There are five books in this series, so there’s plenty to read if your middle-grade reader enjoys the first book!
Truthfully, I wanted to recommend Tiffany Aching for middle grade, but I think it leans more heavily on YA after the first book, so I’ll save that for my next post on this topic. Instead, I recommend Terry Pratchett’s middle-grade Discworld novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. It’s the twenty-eighth Discworld novel, so it’ll be a while before we get to it in my Discworld read-along, but your child is free to read ahead. I won’t be too upset.
As you may expect just from the title alone, this is a fantastical Pied Piper retelling, except that the Pied Piper, in this case, is more of a con artist with trained, talking mice. They travel to a town, pretend it’s infested with mice, and then charge a fee to get rid of those mice, whom they will then move along to the next town to repeat the scam. It’s a delightful and fun premise, as you would likely expect from a Pratchett tale.
If you want to introduce your child to Discworld as soon as possible, this is the book to use! They’ll be eager for more, meaning you can hand them Tiffany Aching once they’re old enough.
Fantasy readers roughly my age probably saw this one coming. Ranger’s Apprentice was a staple for many childhoods years ago, beginning with the first book, The Ruins of Gorlan, in 2004. While the book follows some typical YA fantasy tropes—particularly the “finding your place in the world” symbolism that is oft present in such works—it is plenty of fun and an easy, accessible entry to fantasy that a middle-grade reader can pick up and follow. However, it’s likely on the older side of middle grade (maybe ten years old or so). There are also a whopping twelve books in this series, so it’s sure to keep a reader entertained for quite some time!
Of all the series I have listed here, Ranger’s Apprentice is the only one I didn’t finish, as I outgrew it by the time the final novels were coming out. I got as far as the fifth book; however, I didn’t stop reading because I stopped enjoying them; I just stopped reading because I had moved on to adult novels and the release windows for books in this series weren’t frequent enough to hold my interest during those years. So if you start your middle-grade reader young, they’ll surely carry on through to the end of this series!
Conclusion
And there you have it, my four recommendations for middle-grade fantasy! These stories have stuck with me for nearly two decades, which is impressive. I’m sure that any middle-grade reader in your life will enjoy these stories just like I did and discover a love for fantasy through exploring these tales (again, just like I did). Before you know it, they’ll be joining us for my Discworld Read-Along! You’re participating in that, right?