Middle Grade is a publishing term for books within Children's Literature aimed towards readers that are 8 to 12 years old. They are short in length, averaging about 65 to 250 pages and typically do not feature illustrations (if they do, they are small or appear sparingly unless they're graphic novels). While dealing with "heavier" subjects than your typical children's book, they are distinct from Young Adult Literature as they do not feature gratuitous violence, very few instances of profanity, and it's No Hugging, No Kissing when it comes to romance, though crushes and first kisses are usually fine. Primary School (usually grades 3-5) and Junior High are common settings, though some books featuring older teens can be Middle Grade, depending on content. The plot and conflict are usually driven by external forces; the Call to Adventure is more common than the Coming of Age.
That's not to say that there isn't a degree of What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? that are found in the books. Some books aimed to the older Junior High audience tend to be more envelope-pushing as opposed to the books for younger readers. It's not uncommon to see some middle grade books being labeled Young Adult. The Harry Potter books are a prime example as they hug the line between Middle Grade and Young Adult — the series grows progressively darker, however it is still written well within the guidelines of middle grade fiction. There is a lot more "crossover" appeal for middle grade books as they can be popular with all ages, and often times they end up as required reading assignments for educational purposes.
Before the Middle Grade term became the codifying term in The New '10s, these books were previously known as "intermediate" or "middle reader" books. During that same period, the category would go through a bit of a boom, especially books about the Junior High experience.
So basically, if Children's Literature is the young child and Young Adult is the teenager, Middle Grade is the "tween."
Starting in the late 2000s and rising in the 2010s, many of these books became to be published as Comic Books—advertised as Graphic Novels. Many graphic novels of this type tell the same coming of age stories, but with fill illustrations along with or replacing most of the text.
The television equivalent is the Kid Com, or the Tween Drama. The rough manga/anime equivalent is Shoujo and Shōnen, depending on the series. Light novels are of a similar reading level (an average middle or high schooler could read them without too much of a language barrier), but the target demographic of light novels is often much older than that of middle grade literature.
List of Middle Grade book and series
- A Face Like Glass
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
- Absolutely Truly
- Accidental Detectives
- The Adventures of Teebo
- Adventures on Trains series
- Airman
- Alan Alone
- Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars
- Ananda's Fall
- Ana on the Edge
- Anastasia Krupnik
- Angie's First Case
- Animorphs series
- Anne of Green Gables series
- The Anybodies trilogy
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
- Artemis Fowl series
- The Art of Racing in the Rain
- Ascolta il Mio Cuore
- The Baby-Sitters Club
- Bad News Ballet
- The Backstagers
- Bambi
- Ban This Book!
- Battery
- The Beaches
- Because of the Rabbit
- Because of Winn-Dixie
- Before the Batman
- The Best at It
- Black Duck
- Blubber
- Borgel
- Bone Chillers
- The Bone Wars
- The Books of Beginning
- Born Behind Bars
- Both Can Be True
- Bounders
- The Boundless
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
- Bravelands
- Bret King Mysteries
- Bridge to Terabithia
- The Brotherhood of the Conch
- Bruce Coville's Book of...
- Bud, Not Buddy
- Call Me Sunflower
- The Camp Half-Blood Series
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
- The Heroes of Olympus series
- The Trials of Apollo series
- Can You See Me?
- Catherine, Called Birdy
- Catwings
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Child of the Wolves
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
- The Cold Moons
- Dear America, and its Spear Counterpart My Name is America
- Dear Mr. Henshaw
- Strider
- Dial-a-Ghost
- The Diamond Girls
- Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
- Dinoverse
- Disney Chills
- Disney Fairies
- Dive (2003)
- Doglands
- A Dog's Life
- Don't Hurt Laurie!
- The Dragon of Trelian
- Dragon Pearl
- Dragon Realm
- Drama (Raina Telgemeier)
- A Drowned Maiden's Hair
- Dunk
- Galaxy of Fear (a Star Wars Legends middle grade series)
- George's Secret Key to the Universe
- Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
- Ghost Girl (2021)
- Ghost In the Noonday Sun
- Ghosts (Raina Telgemeier)
- Ghosts of Fear Street
- Ghosts of the Titanic
- The Girl and the Ghost
- The Girls to the Rescue series
- The Girl Who Drank the Moon
- Girls of Many Lands
- The Giver
- Golden And Grey
- Golden Mountain Chronicles
- The Goldfish Boy
- The Good Dog
- Goosebumps series
- Welcome to Dead House
- Stay Out of the Basement
- Monster Blood
- Say Cheese and Die!
- The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
- Let's Get Invisible!
- Night of the Living Dummy
- The Girl Who Cried Monster
- Welcome to Camp Nightmare
- The Ghost Next Door
- The Haunted Mask
- Be Careful What You Wish For
- Piano Lessons Can Be Murder
- The Werewolf of Fever Swamp
- You Can't Scare Me!
- One Day at HorrorLand
- Why I'm Afraid of Bees
- Monster Blood II
- Deep Trouble
- The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight
- Go Eat Worms!
- Ghost Beach
- Return of the Mummy
- Phantom of the Auditorium
- Attack of the Mutant
- My Hairiest Adventure
- A Night in Terror Tower
- The Cuckoo Clock of Doom
- Monster Blood III
- It Came from Beneath the Sink!
- Night of the Living Dummy II
- The Barking Ghost
- The Horror at Camp Jellyjam
- Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes
- A Shocker on Shock Street
- The Haunted Mask II
- The Headless Ghost
- The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
- How I Got My Shrunken Head
- Night of the Living Dummy III
- Bad Hare Day
- Egg Monsters from Mars
- The Beast from the East
- Say Cheese and Die — Again!
- Ghost Camp
- How to Kill a Monster
- Legend of the Lost Legend
- Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns
- Vampire Breath
- Calling All Creeps!
- Beware, the Snowman
- How I Learned to Fly
- Chicken Chicken
- Don't Go to Sleep!
- The Blob That Ate Everyone
- The Curse of Camp Cold Lake
- My Best Friend is Invisible
- Deep Trouble II
- The Haunted School
- Werewolf Skin
- I Live in Your Basement
- Monster Blood IV
- Cry of the Cat
- Bride of the Living Dummy
- Creature Teacher
- Invasion of the Body Squeezers
- I Am Your Evil Twin
- Revenge R Us
- Fright Camp
- Are You Terrified Yet?
- Headless Halloween
- Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls
- Brain Juice
- Return to HorrorLand
- Jekyll and Heidi
- Scream School
- The Mummy Walks
- The Werewolf in the Living Room
- Horrors of the Black Ring
- Return to Ghost Camp
- Be Afraid — Be Very Afraid!
- The Haunted Car
- Full Moon Fever
- Slappy's Nightmare
- Earth Geeks Must Go
- Ghost in the Mirror
- Wanted: The Haunted Mask
- Planet of the Lawn Gnomes
- Son of Slappy
- How I Met My Monster
- Frankenstein's Dog
- Dr. Maniac Will See You Now
- Creature Teacher: The Final Exam
- A Nightmare on Clown Street
- Night of the Puppet People
- Here Comes the Shaggedy
- The Lizard of Oz
- Zombie Halloween
- The 12 Screams of Christmas
- Trick or Trap
- The Haunter
- Slappy Birthday to You
- Attack of the Jack
- I Am Slappy's Evil Twin
- Please Do Not Feed the Weirdo
- Escape From Shudder Mansion
- The Ghost of Slappy
- It's Alive! It's Alive!
- The Dummy Meets the Mummy!
- Revenge of the Invisible Boy
- Diary of a Dummy
- They Call Me the Night Howler!
- My Friend Slappy
- Monster Blood Is Back
- Give Yourself Goosebumps
- Escape from the Carnival of Horrors
- Tick Tock, You're Dead!
- Trapped in Bat Wing Hall
- The Deadly Experiments of Dr. Eeek
- Night in Werewolf Woods
- Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter
- Under the Magician's Spell
- The Curse of the Creeping Coffin
- The Knight in Screaming Armor
- Diary of a Mad Mummy
- Deep in the Jungle of Doom
- Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum
- Scream of the Evil Genie
- The Creepy Creations of Professor Shock
- Please Don't Feed the Vampire!
- Secret Agent Grandma
- Little Comic Shop of Horrors
- Attack of the Beastly Babysitter
- Escape from Camp Run-for-Your-Life
- Toy Terror: Batteries Included
- The Twisted Tale of Tiki Island
- Return to the Carnival of Horrors
- Zapped in Space
- Lost in Stinkeye Swamp
- Shop Till You Drop... Dead!
- Alone in Snakebite Canyon
- Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel
- Night of a Thousand Cats
- Invaders from the Big Screen
- You're Plant Food!
- The Werewolf of Twisted Tree Lodge
- It's Only a Nightmare!
- It Came from the Internet
- Elevator to Nowhere
- Hocus-Pocus Horror
- Ship of Ghouls
- Escape From Horror House
- Into the Twister of Terror
- Scary Birthday to You
- Zombie School
- Danger Time
- All-Day Nightmare
- Into the Jaws of Doom
- Return to Terror Tower
- Trapped in the Circus of Fear
- One Night in Payne House
- The Curse of the Cave Creatures
- Revenge of the Body Squeezers
- Trick or... Trapped!
- Weekend at Poison Lake
- Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps
- Goosebumps HorrorLand
- Goosebumps Triple Header Book One
- Goosebumps Triple Header Book Two
- Goosebumps: Dead Dogs Still Fetch
- Goosebumps Haunted Library
- Goosebumps Newspaper Stories
- Goosebumps: The Surprise on the 13th Floor
- Gracefully Grayson
- Grass and Sky
- The Great Greene Heist
- The Green Ember
- De Griezelbus
- Grounded for All Eternity
- Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria
- Guardians of Ga'Hoole
- Guts (Raina Telgemeier)
- The Hardy Boys series
- Harriet the Spy
- The Harry Potter series straddles the line between Middle Grade and Young Adult, especially as the series went on.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Hatchet series
- Hedge Witch
- Hetty Feather series.
- Holes
- Homerooms & Hall Passes
- Hoot
- How I Survived Middle School
- How to Fly with Broken Wings
- How To Rock Braces And Glasses (later adapted to a TV series titled How to Rock)
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Hidden Talents
- The Hypnotists
- I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President
- I Funny
- I Want To Go Home!
- I Was a Sixth Grade Alien (later adapted to a TV series)
- I'm Ok (2018)
- The Indian in the Cupboard
- The Invisible Detective
- I Sit Behind The Eyes
- Island trilogy
- Shipwreck (2000)
- Survival (2001)
- Escape (2001)
- Island of the Blue Dolphins
- Island's End
- Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
- The Lady Grace Mysteries
- The Last Human (2019)
- The League of Secret Heroes series.
- Cape
- Mask (2020)
- Boots
- Legend of the Animal Healer
- Level 4
- The Light Jar
- Linked
- Little Audrey
- Little House on the Prairie
- Little Women
- Livvie Owen Lived Here
- Lola Rose
- Loser (2002)
- Losing Joe's Place
- The Lost Magician
- The Lotterys Plus One
- Lumberjanes
- Mabel Jones series.
- Macdonald Hall
- The Mad Scientists' Club
- Magic Shop
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
- A Mango-Shaped Space
- Maniac Magee
- The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family
- Marcy's Journal: A Guide to Amphibia
- The Marvellers
- Masterminds series
- Matilda
- Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse
- Melissa
- The Midnight Guardians
- Miss Ellicott's School for the Magically Minded
- The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly
- Mixed Up
- Mockingbird
- The Monster Garden
- Monster of the Month Club
- Moojag and the Auticode Secret
- Moon Base Alpha
- Moongobble and Me
- Mostly Ghostly
- Mr. Lemoncello series
- Murder Most Unladylikeseries
- Much Ado About Grubstake
- My Brother is a Superhero
- My Life with the Liars
- My Teacher Is an Alien series
- The Mysterious Benedict Society series
- Myth-O-Mania series
- The Saddle Club series
- The Same Stuff As Stars
- Sam the Cat: Detective
- Sammy Keyes series
- Savvy trilogy
- The Scandalous Sisterhood Of Prickwillow Place
- Scary Stories For Young Foxes
- Schooled
- The School for Good and Evil
- The Secret of Moon Lake
- Secret Santa (2007)
- Seekers
- A Series of Unfortunate Events series
- Serwa Boateng
- The Seventh Tower series
- Shadow (2010)
- Shiloh
- Shivers (M. D. Spenser)
- The Sisters Club
- The Sisters Grimm
- Skandar Series
- Sky Fighters Series
- Slacker
- Slapshots
- Slugfest
- Small as an Elephant
- Small Persons with Wings
- Soldier Dogs
- The Someday Birds
- Spellfall
- Spinetinglers
- Spooksville
- The Spiderwick Chronicles
- Spirit Animals
- Spy Gear Adventures
- Spy School
- Stage School
- Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake
- Star-Crossed
- Stargirl
- Star Wars Expanded Universe
- Stepping on the Cracks
- The Stolen
- Stone Fox
- The Storm Swimmer
- The Sunny Series
- The Superteacher Project
- Supernatural Investigations
- Survivor Dogs
- Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster
- A Tale of...
- Tales from Adventureland
- The Tale Of Truthwater Lake
- Tangerine
- Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note
- The Theodosia Throckmorton Series
- The Terrible Two
- There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
- This Is Not a Werewolf Story
- The Tillerman Family Series (bordering on Young Adult in some respects)
- Thoroughbred
- Toliver's Secret
- Too Bright to See
- Tornado Brain
- The Tribe
- The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy
- Tuck Everlasting
- Tunnels series
- Walk Two Moons
- Walker's Crossing
- Warhammer Adventures
- Warrior Cats
- Watership Down
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
- Way Down Deep
- Wayside School series
- Welcome Home, Jellybean
- Whatever After
- When Marnie Was There
- When Zachary Beaver Came To Town
- Where the Red Fern Grows
- Which Way To Anywhere
- Wildflower Ranch
- The Wild Way Home
- Wings of Fire
- The Winnie Years
- Wise Child
- Wish
- The Witch Boy
- Wolven
- The Wolves Of Elementa
- Wonder (2012)
- Wringer
- A Wrinkle in Time
- Woodwalkers
- Yesterday's Doll
- Young Samurai series