Do you wonder how kid’s books are organized? Besides genre, the age categories of books for kids generally fall into the following ranges: Picture Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult. How do you know what’s what? What makes middle grade novels?
- Picture Books are heavily illustrated (usually), and are written to be read by adults to their young children.
- Chapter Books also have a lot of illustration, although the writing is meant to be read by the learning-how-to-read kids themselves. Chapter Books can be divided into Early Readers (sometimes called Leveled Readers) and the more advanced Chapter Books, which are often found in series.
- Middle Grade Novels are divided into Lower Middle Grade – where the main characters (ages 8-10) face age appropriate situations – and Upper Middle Grade – where the main characters (ages 10-13) face older, emerging age appropriate situations.
- Young Adult Novels are also divided into two categories. Young Adult – where the teenage main characters face ever more complex life challenges and choices – and New Adult – where the late teen protagonists are experiencing their first adult situations.
Middle Grade Novels are my passion. I especially love Upper Middle Grade stories. The storytelling is pure, the motives are genuine, and the plots tend to stay away from anything too dark or disturbing. The protagonists are actively figuring out how to be human, how to treat their fellow humans, and how to find happiness. They are also full of adventure, new experiences, crisp writing styles, and fast pacing. My personal library is 90% Middle Grade Novels. It’s what I love to write, and what I love to read.
Here are some more detailed characteristics of what makes a Middle Grade Novel a Middle Grade Novel:
- Middle Grade Novels are written for kids ages 8 – 13. This is about third grade through middle school. This is the age where kids begin to shift away from self and learn about the world and all it has to offer.
- Middle Grade Novels have two levels – upper MG, and lower MG. The age of your protagonist, and the types of situations they face will dictate this level.
- Kids like to read UP. This means they like to read about kids just older than they are.
- Kids this age also tend to prefer 3rd person narratives. It puts the emotion at just a bit of a distance, allowing them to keep themselves separate as they explore new worlds. This is NOT a hard and fast rule. There are a lot of excellent 1st person MG novels. Authors will use the perspective that fits their story best.
- Kids also tend to prefer past tense writing. Again, it gives them a bit of a buffer for their emotional connection. This is NOT a hard and fast rule. There are a lot of excellent present tense MG novels. Authors will use the tense that fits their story best.
- Young readers have to relate to the characters. Kids are much more picky with their reading than adults. We adults will plow through a mediocre book, just to finish it and see what happens. Not kids. If they don’t engage in the first chapter, they put it back on the shelf. Harsh. Their engagement almost always is based on connection with the main character. As such, the writing has to be storytelling in its purest form. That is the beauty of Middle Grade Novels.
- Middle Grade Novels have a unique voice. The voice sounds like a kid, both in the way things are explained, and in the way the characters respond to situations. This doesn’t mean there can’t be spectacular new vocabulary. Kids actually love that. But the sentence structure, phrasing, and dialogue have to ring true as coming from a kid, not an adult. And more importantly, the voice has to be true and consistent to the main character themselves.
- Middle Grade Novels have unique pacing. The pacing is fast, but careful. Not too much description, but just enough to help the readers connect to the story. There is action mixed with thinking time, mixed with humor and tension. All of it flows well from scene to scene, and chapter to chapter.
- Middle Grade Novels come in most genres found for adults: Historical, Fantasy, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Mystery, Horror, Western. All genres have age appropriate situations within the genre parameters.
Another thing I love about Middle Grade Novels is the fact that I can typically read one in an afternoon or two. They are a quick, enjoyable read. There is always a satisfying conclusion to the main conflict, always character growth, and always an emotional connection.
