Quick background to share about this piece I wrote for ParentMap earlier this month. I got a puppy while writing it, and at one point I was so sleep deprived from waking up every two hours in the night to let the puppy out to pee that I was nervous I would not finish it. But I did, and here it is:

MIDDLE-GRADE BOOKS FROM THE 80S THAT ARE STILL WORTH READING (ParentMap, Oct. 16, 2020)

Some more background. I informally polled friends on social media of what they remember reading when they were in 4th thru 7th grade. A lot of my elementary school friends came out of the woodwork to share books I remember us all reading and loving. It was fun to see many patterns emerge from around the nation. Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary were among them, but also Baby-Sitters Club (which truthfully, I missed out on, but have enjoyed catching up with via the graphic novels and Netflix series) and Sweet Valley High. Also lots of old-timey stuff, like Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, and for some more “mature” readers, V.C. Andrews and Danielle Steele! Oh yes, I did read Flowers In The Attic, but it wasn’t quite something I could write about for ParentMap.

Anyway, give it a look. And tell me what you read when you were this age!