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Bookstagram: Phoenixes
National Running Day
The first Wednesday in June is #NationalRunningDay.
National Egg Day
June 3 is National Egg Day! How do you like your eggs? We like ours MAGICAL.
Little egglet on your own,
Have your mom and daddy flown?
Don’t worry–you are not alone!
We’ll find you a good safe home
―The Secret Destiny of Pixie Piper by Annabelle Fisher
National Prairie Day
The first Saturday in June is #NationalPrairieDay, and what better series to feature than the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Naturally, we have the series on our shelves at home, somewhat battered by much reading. It didn’t take long to find something to complement this month’s theme, which is FEATHERS. In Little Town on the Prairie, there’s a scene in which the Ingalls girls try to rescue some of their corn crop from a flock of hungry blackbirds.
Illustrated by Garth Williams
The blackbirds were so thick now that between the corn rows their wings beat rough against Laura’s arms and battered her sunbonnet. She felt sharp little blows on her head, and Carrie cried out that the birds were pecking her. They seemed to feel that the corn was theirs, and to be fighting for it. They rose up harsh at Laura’s face and Carrie’s, and flew scolding and pecking at their sunbonnets.
Little Town on the Prairie, “Blackbirds”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
While those pesky birds ruin a goodly portion of the Ingalls crop, they get their revenge…
“Well, I’ll be switched!” said Pa …. They all agreed that blackbird pie was even better than chicken pie.
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
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.
#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.
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.
Take a look at our #MGCarousel archive.
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.
Find and read 26 Middle Grade books with titles that begin with every letter of the alphabet through 2025.
Track your year’s progress through the trilogies, sequences, sagas, and series on your To Read pile.
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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Get updates from Middle Grade Carousel emailed to you. Middle Grade reading recommendations, games, challenges, and more will be delivered to your inbox!
National Olive Day
June 1 is #NationalOliveDay, which seems the perfect excuse to highlight this middle grade title…
“I don’t know how well you knew Olive.” The woman reached into the pocket of the odd smock she was wearing and retrieved a folded piece of paper. “I found this in her journal, and I think she’d want you to have it.”
The day before her family leaves for vacation, Martha is visited by the mother of a girl from her class at school who recently died in an accident. Martha’s unsettled because the girl—Olive—was also twelve, also wanted to be a writer, and dreamed of one day seeing the ocean. Which is where Martha’s family is bound. Continue reading “National Olive Day”
#MGCarousel – June 2018
Middle Grade Carousel is a series of monthly challenges for lovers and readers of middle grade books. Our theme for June is…
Books of a Feather
We’ll be flying high as we head into summer with books featuring our feathered friends!
Because Biscuits
The smell from the biscuits seemed to fill the room, fill the world, and when she wiped them with a small cloth smeared with butter so the hot biscuits shone, the smell grew even more powerful. He swallowed again and again, and she smiled and handed him a biscuit split that she’d filled with honey, so hot he almost couldn’t hold it, but he ate it and could think of nothing else then. Just the biscuit and the honey and the butter.
The Cookcamp
Gary Paulsen
Snacks for Bookworms
Finding the best reading snack can be tricky. Too sticky, and you might accidentally glue the book. Dusty foods would leave fingerprints. Juggling utensils and turning pages is a dangerous business. But, as connoisseurs and well-practiced Snack-While-You-Readers, we have come up with some go-to favorites.
Middle Grade Carousel 