Comments on: 60 Popular Illustrated Middle Grade Books

By: Melissa Taylor

Melissa Taylor — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 15:18:47 +0000

In reply to Penny Z. Thank you for the suggestion, Penny! I'll see if I can find them at my library.

By: Penny Z

Penny Z — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 15:12:20 +0000

In reply to Jennifer. The Wind Riders series of books by Jen Marlin are beautifully illustrated chapter books that aren't too difficult a read but a step up from things like Princess in Black. My kids love them and they are 7 and 9.

By: Melissa Taylor

Melissa Taylor — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 23:39:10 +0000

In reply to Jennifer. Love that idea, Jennifer! Good luck!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 18:31:08 +0000

In reply to Melissa Taylor.

Thanks! I didn’t realize Cress and Explorer Academy were in color! Those do look good.

We love the illustrated Harry Potter books and recently finished the latest one only to find out that Jim Kay will no longer be illustrating the series! My kids are bummed that it’ll likely be a long wait for the next one.

Anyway, thanks for the tips. The next time she’s excited about a series but rejects it because of the b/w illustrations, I think I’m just going to buy them and suggest that she color them in herself— ha!

By: Melissa Taylor

Melissa Taylor — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 16:21:39 +0000

In reply to Jennifer.

One of my favorite book series with color illustrations is the Explorer Academy books from National Geographic Kids. It might not be up her alley, but it’s a fantastic adventure, mystery, and friendship story so I’d at least give it a try.
Cress Watercress, a sweet story about grief and finding your place in the world, has gorgeous color illustrations as do the Harry Potter illustrated books.
Finally, Timeless Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar, is an exciting dystopian adventure with SO many beautiful color illustrations. I love that book!
Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:31:15 +0000

Hello! Do you have any suggestions of chapter books for ages 9 to 12 that have color illustrations? I have an almost 10-year-old daughter who LOVES to read but was also a bit of a struggling reader the past few years. We are big fans of graphic novels (she’ll read approximately one graphic novel per day). I’ve noticed that she often sees the cover of a chapter book she’s interested in, but she’ll open it up and discover it has black-and-white illustrations, and immediately put it back on the shelf, even when it aligns perfectly with her interests. (Example: She loves sewing and fashion design and was very excited about the “Craftily Ever After” series until she opened the book and saw the black-and-white illustrations.) She also loves to be read aloud to, so we do read longer text-heavy chapter books together. She’s still a big reader, and I’m happy to keep her supplied with a steady stream of graphic novels, but I would love to know if there are chapter books with color illustrations for a slightly older audience than say, Princess in Black, which she has long ago moved past. She’s currently loving Raina Telgemeier books, Cleopatra in Space, Babysitter’s Club graphic novels, and Shannon Hale’s Best Friends series. I feel like she’s eager to read bigger chapter books (she surprised me by starting Land of Stories recently!), but generally the turn-off of the b/w illustrations seems to be getting in her way.