Author: Middle Grade Carousel

A mother-daughter duo dedicated to all things Middle Grade, CJ & Elza run a series of monthly reading challenges. You can also find them on Twitter: @kindeladies, or Instagram: @mgcarousel.

Current Activities

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.

March 2025 at Middle Grade Carousel: Make Some Noise! Middle Grade books about sound. Reading challenges hosted by Middle Grade Carousel. For more information visit Elymnifoquent.com.
#MGCarousel – February 2025

We are reading Middle Grade books about technology through the month of January! We recommend looking for book titles that contain sound effects, stories about band practice or theatrical performance, and characters who are inspired by famous musical artists.

Learn More
Middle Grade Book Bingo card for March & April 2025 at Middle Grade Carousel.
Middle Grade Book Bingo

Our book bingo card contains 25 squares with prompts relating to things from Middle Grade books. Try and cover 5 squares in a line—up, down, or diagonally—or aim to fill the whole card if you’re a speedy reader. The current challenge runs from March 1 – April 30.

Play Along
Take a look at our #MGCarousel archive.
Great Middle Grade Reads's striped pattern in orange, bright green, teal, and red. The GMGR watermark is at the bottom right.

Great Middle Grade Reads

We are proudly partnered with Great Middle Grade Reads. The group supports a community of passionate Middle Grade readers on Goodreads.

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 2025.

Sign Up
Great Middle Grade Reads: Series Reading Challenge.

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

Set a Goal
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.

Let’s Start
Visit our GMGR page for more info.
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The Mark of the Dragonfly

The Mark of the Dragonfly
World of Solace, #1
Jaleigh Johnson

Piper knew she should be proud of her talent, and she was, but it made her nervous the way people whispered about her.
—THE MARK OF THE DRAGONFLY

Mark of the Dragonfly

Piper is an orphan from a shanty town, barely surviving on what she can earn from Continue reading “The Mark of the Dragonfly”

The Iron Trial

The Iron Trial
Magesterium, #1
Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

“Magic runs in families,” Call’s father said. “Not everyone in a family will necessarily have it, but it looks like you might. Unfortunately. I am so sorry, Call.”
—Alastair Hunt, THE IRON TRIAL

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A magic school adventure with masters and apprentices, trials and elementals, chaos-ridden creatures and Continue reading “The Iron Trial”