Kids' books that I loved as an adult

Turning to middle-grade novels for comfort in stressful times

Saturday Morning Serial is the weekend section of Library Binding. It’s a personal corner where I publish short stories and essays on literature and life.

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Hello, friends.

I come bearing a book list.

All of the books on this list meet a single criterion: They were written for kids, but I liked them as an adult. They entertained and edified me in their own right.

I’m a little late for Middle Grade March, but hey!

Before we get started, I have a question. Why is “middle grade” never hyphenated when used adjectivally? Please, can someone answer this? Every editorial impulse within me wants to hyphenate it. I do hyphenate it. I know it’s not done. But I can’t help myself. Can someone from the book world put me out of my misery and explain it?

Now, back to the matter at hand.

The last time I gravitated toward middle-grade novels was early 2020. I think we all felt, to some degree, like we were stumbling through one of those carnival fun houses, wanting to laugh and cry at turns, pacifying ourselves with soft pretzels wrapped in bacon. That’s kind of what a middle-grade book feels like. Bacon-wrapped comfort.

For some reason, middle-grade books seem safe. You know the stories won’t contain anything too traumatic.

That’s a lie. We all remember Where the Red Fern Grows and Bridge to Terebithia. But, oooh, they hurt so good.

In the main, however, middle-grade books (and even some MG-leaning young adult books) go down like sun-softened ice cream under a blue sky.

Since the world is ten times crazier now than it was six years ago, I submit this list of books written for kids (and some for teens) that captured my adult-sized attention. I genuinely enjoyed these books and would reread them today.

Now, the obligatory C. S. Lewis quote. I can’t offer up a book list like this without invoking the famous line.

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally—and often far more—worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”

I went ahead and included everything—the lesser-known books and the household names.

I did NOT include books that I enjoyed as kids’ books but not as an adult enjoys a book. For example, I wasn’t all that enchanted by The Vanderbeekers (heresy, I know).

I’ve ordered them roughly from oldest to newest, (keeping books by the same author next to each other), and I only included books that I’ve personally read.

I know I’ve omitted some MAJOR titles simply because I haven’t gotten around to reading them yet, so please comment with your favorite middle-grade books so that I can prioritize them.

Late 1800s through the 1940s

• A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne

• Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

• Anne of Green Gables and series by L. M. Montgomery

• Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery

• Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery

• The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

• The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

1950s-ish

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

• Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

• The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

• The Light at Tern Rock by Julia L. Sauer

• Twenty and Ten by Claire Bishop

• Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry

• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

1960s through early ‘80s

• The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

• In Grandma’s Attic by Arleta Richardson

• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

• The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson

• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

• Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Early 1980s through the ‘90s

• Matilda by Roald Dahl

• The BFG by Roald Dahl

• The Witches by Roald Dahl

• Squashed by Joan Bauer

• Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

• Holes by Louis Sachar

• Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

• The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

2000s-ish

• The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

• The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements

• Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

• Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

• The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt

• Schooled by Gordon Korman

• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

• Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr

2010s

• Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

• The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

• Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

• Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

• What the Moon Said by Gail Rosengren

• The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby

2020s

• The Three Rancheros three-book series by Kate DiCamillo

• The Carver and the Queen by Emma C. Fox

• Brother’s Keeper by Julie Lee

• Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

• The Many Assassinations of Samir the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri

• I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

• The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

• Mari in the Margins by Rebecca J. Gomez

• Exile by Loren Warnemuende

Fill the gaps in my list

Now that I’m done, I realize I’ve left out some amazing no-brainer kids’ books! Can you guess what they are? (I am too tired to go back and revise at this time.)

Also, I want to hear about the middle-grade books you enjoyed (and still enjoy) as an adult.

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This quilt presides over the children’s section at my local library

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. –Matt. 18:1-2

I’ll leave you with one irresistible indulgence—spring is for flowers.

Your devoted,

Michelle

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