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Our Middle Grade blog is a collection of quotes, games, recommendations, and challenges for fellow readers! Here are a few places to start if you’re looking to play along.

Middle Grade Carousel logo features the bust of a blue carousel horse wearing a red bridal. A red banner underneath reads "Middle Grade Carousel".

Middle Grade Carousel

Middle Grade Carousel is run by CJ & Elza, a dynamic mother-daughter duo. We encourage readers to be adventurous, have fun, and always keep an eye out for interesting details and connections.

May 2024 at Middle Grade Carousel: Cold-Blooded Creatures.
#MGCarousel – May 2024

We are reading Middle Grade books about rivalry through the month of April! We recommend looking for books with kooky contestants and prize-winning athletes, stories about sibling rivalries and classroom clashes, or books in which good battles against evil.

Book a Day May at Middle Grade Carousel. Instructions for play: 1) Grab our #BookADayMay calendar. 2) Choose 31 books to read. 3) Read one book every day in May. 4) Share your progress and tag us! #MGCarousel. Learn more at Elymnifoquent.com.
Book A Day May 2024

Our annual Book a Day May reading challenge kicks off the summer season! Find 31 books you’d like to read throughout the month of May.

Take a look at our #MGCarousel archive.
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Great Middle Grade Reads

We are proudly partnered with Great Middle Grade Reads. The group supports a thriving community of people who are passionate about Middle Grade fiction on Goodreads.

Book of the Month April 2024: THE LION OF MARS by Jennifer L. Holm. Join the discussion at Great Middle Grade Reads. Details can be found at GreatMiddleGradeReads.wordpress.com.

Book of the Month: April 2024

The Lion of Mars

Grab a copy and share your thoughts with the GMGR group on Goodreads.

Annual Reading Challenges

Great Middle Grade Reads: A to Z Reading Challenge.

Find and read 26 Middle Grade books with titles that begin with every letter of the alphabet through 2024.

Great Middle Grade Reads: Series Reading Challenge.

Track your year’s progress through the trilogies, sequences, sagas, and series on your To Read pile.

Great Middle Grade Reads: Rainbow Reading Challenge.

Aim to read books with covers in every hue, from a classic 7-color rainbow or an extended spectrum of 15 colors.

Visit our GMGR page for more info.
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GMGR – A to Z

Middle Grade Carousel is proud to be partnered with Great Middle Grade Reads, a group for readers of Middle Grade fiction to enjoy group discussion, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more.

Reading A to Z (brought to you by GMGR + MGCarousel). G: THE GIRL FROM EARTH'S END by Tara Dairman; H: THE HOUSE SWAP by Yvette Clark; I: ISLA TO ISLAND by Alexis Castellanos; and J: JUST ROLL WITH IT by Veronica Agarwal & Lee Durfey-Lavoie.

Read by Letter!

G: The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara Dairman
H: The House Swap by Yvette Clark
I: Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos
J: Just Roll With It by Veronica Agarwal & Lee Durfey-Lavoie

Play Along!

#amreading scaly stories

Looking for books that fit our monthly reading challenge this May? Try one of the favorites from our home shelf!

Book spotlight for Middle Grade Carousel May 2024: Cold-Blooded Creatures features the book THE DEADLANDS: HUNTED by Skye Melki-Wegner.

When the Fallen Star struck, it brought death and despair, ash and toxic rain. But some dinosaurs survived . . . and were changed. Their minds grew alert. They learned to speak. To dream. To wage war.

Eleri, the disgraced son of a prince, is exiled from his home for saving an enemy soldier. Banished to the merciless Deadlands, a terrifying desert full of tar pits, poisonous gas, and ruthless carnivores, he must join forces with a group of questionable allies―including the enemy soldier he saved―to avoid becoming prey.

Check our #MGCarousel Challenges page for more info.

#amreading scaly stories

Looking for books that fit our monthly reading challenge this May? Try one of the favorites from our home shelf!

Book spotlight for Middle Grade Carousel May 2024: Cold-Blooded Creatures features the book CHARLIE BONE AND THE BLUE BOA by Jenny Nimmo.

The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, some of whom attend Bloor’s Academy. Blue snakes and big toes. Music teachers and Welsh magicians. Turncoats and taking chances. And always the chimes at midnight.

Check our #MGCarousel Challenges page for more info.