Hi there! Whew. I don’t know about you, but the end of the year has been a whirlwind. I finished my 100 Book Reading Challenge this year and it took a little longer than I thought it would. I think I read more “quality” over “quantity” this year and that made it harder to just mow through fluffy books. Last year I was just downing silly books because it was all I could concentrate on.

This year I deliberately tried to spread out to different types of books, genres, and topics. I read traditional style with physical books, audio books, and with the Kindle App. I also tried to read a variety of different age ranges. I’m working on stocking my office with more books for my kid readers.

I didn’t force myself to finish books I didn’t like for one reason or another. I’m proud of myself for that, but I did forget to keep track of them in some way, so I had to go back quickly and try to remember which ones those were.

Viking in Love by Doug Cenko: This is the cutest little book ever about conquering your fears to look for true love. I adore it and gifted it as part of a 12 Books of Christmas present for K1’s kids. I received word that they also loved it. Stig proves that you can challenge yourself to work through your fears and still be yourself.

My Brain is a Racecar by Nell Harris: I have this book in my office and I love it for explaining ADHD to younger kids. The author was inspired by her own journey with ADHD and offers ideas and skills for other kids to help them give their race care brain a break. I especially enjoyed it because I recognized some of the things she says her brain does and actively do some of the rest techniques mentioned. I liked that it normalized neurodivergent brains in a fun way.

A Day With No Words by Tiffany Hammond: This book tells the story of Tiffany and her Autistic son Aiden and their day using only their AAC (Augmented and Assistive Communication) devices and apps to communicate. It’s a beautiful book that I think should be in all the libraries and read to all the kids. Tiffany has such a lovely way with the storytelling (You can check her out on Facebook as Fidgets and Fries too) and the love that’s evident in the book between them both is just wonderful. I love books like this that normalize all sorts of communication and families. This book was gifted to a few friends and also is in my office.

Middle Grade– Most of the Middle Grade books, I read because I was looking at them for the office and also because it was fun to see a new style and grade level of book.

Speak Up by Rebecca Burgess: The main character in this graphic novel, with the help of her friend, transforms into an internet pop star sensation on the weekends and is a shy student during the school day. She is Autistic and loves music and writing her own songs. Dressing up in costumes makes her feel invincible and able to get her feelings out. Eventually she has to learn not only the value of friendship, but the value and strengths in speaking up for herself. I really liked it. It was a super easy read and was pretty fast paced. I liked how there was conflict but also showed the resolution. I would definitely recommend this for middle readers.

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry: Calliope June is the main character who is a middle school attempting to hide her Tourette’s Syndrome because she’s gotten teased about it before. The book goes into detail about symptoms she experiences and emotions relating to them. This one is a little heavier I’d say, with appropriate themes, but you’d probably want to talk about it with your kids when reading it or after reading it. Themes included friendship, first love, bullying, moving, and different family dynamics.

Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos: What a beautiful graphic novel! The colors are stunning as you can see by the cover, but then they also used black and white to evoke emotions without having to use words. The story is about Isla, a Cuban immigrant girl who came to the alone US as part of a refugee program in the 1960’s. This program was real and the graphic novel tells a fictional story of Operation Pedro Pan that was based on real experiences. I thought this was super immersive and it was a good read.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher: This book was probably my favorite Middle Grade book I read last year. I discovered T. Kingfisher only in the last couple of years and it’s a Nome de plume for Ursula Veron. I loved this book! For such a short books, I lost track of the times I was cackling on the couch loudly enough to scare both the Husband and Piggy. It is about a girl with an unusual magic that only works on bread and a struggle for her city.

If you have kiddos in any of these age ranges, I would highly recommend all these books. You will not regret it! I have several more that I didn’t get to read last year that will make it on my list this year, I’m sure. Now, go find a fuzzy friend, a warm beverage of choice and get reading with your kids!