The State of Middle Grade

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-state-of-middle-grade.html I love middle grade books! But what defines a middle grade book? What are the challenges to publishing for this age group? What is the state of middle grade literature today? To learn more, I invited 2 experts on the genre: ~ Librarian Karen Jensen, author of "Treatise on the State of Middle Grade and Young Adult Publishing Today" and creator of the Teen Librarian Toolbox blog on School Library Journal's website ~ Chris Baron, author of Jewish middle grade fiction and founding member of the Facebook group For the Love of Middle Grade LEARN MORE: Transcript of the episode Chris Baron's website Chris's books: All of Me | The Magical Imperfect | The Gray | The Secret of the Dragon Gems | On All Other Nights Teen Librarian Toolbox's "Mind the Middle" Project Karen's Treatise on the State of MG and YA Publishing Today Author support groups: For the Love of Middle Grade | Mighty Middle Grade Authors | Middle Grade Authorcade Evaluating Jewish Representation in Children's Literature: A Guide for Libraries Authors promoting middle grade: Rick Riordan Presents | Dav Pilkey's Little Free Libraries | James Patterson's imprint | Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jason Reynolds Karen's middle grade reading recommendation: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd Chris's middle grade reading recommendation: Tale of the Flying Forest by R.M. Romero Podcast recommendation: Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong