Morgan Ashleigh

My journey as a writer has been a treacherous trek through the mines of reviews and criticisms in search of my own narrative voice. A journey I am still plowing through.

I was never the reader who sat comfortably in one genre. I read a little of everything and my own stories vary from realistic fiction to epic fantasies. I may not be an expert on any one genre, but I am a jack of many. Through my expansive reading of middle grade novels, I’ve noticed a trend across these stories. No matter the setting, middle grade novels have a touch of magic.

What do I mean by magic?

When I talk about magic, I mean a feeling. A warm cup of coffee in the quiet of early morning. The patter of rain against the window. Laughing and crying with a friend. Yes, we can see magic in the fantasy novels that bring it into the world, but we also see it in realistic fiction when characters survive the harsh conditions of growing up.

This is attributed to middle grade novels having a hopeful tone. Novels are immersive experiences where the reader disappears into the world for awhile. Middle grade novels must have an optimistic outlook for young readers. If the tone shifts to gritty and tragic, the story is no longer middle grade.

Even the saddest stories have to provide a glimmer of hope to the reader. The Bridge to Terabithia, made every fifth grader in the states cry for the loss of a friend. However, this story was filled with a magical world and ends with Jesse inviting his sister into the world he made with his friend.

Counting by 7’s involves a girl who has to deal with the loss of her adoptive parents while also navigating the world as someone who is a little different. Fighting Words takes a glimpse at the relationship with siblings in the foster care system. The Thing About Jellyfish is a girl coming to terms with losing a friend. Stella by Starlight tackles racism in the segregated South.

These stories deal with hard, real topics, but the sense of wonder and the belief that the children can overcome hard things is present. That’s what offers the lighter tones in the narratives.

Artwork also makes the stories more inviting.

I don’t know why we decided adults were too mature to read books with pictures. I adore artwork in stories. The art adds to the atmosphere and provides more depth to the world that words alone cannot portray.

Julia and the Shark has mixed-media art that makes the pictures look real as you read. The Wild Robot helps visual this robot living with the animals. Snow & Rose is a masterpiece in the artwork alone. The story takes a more fairytale feeling with the art.

There is also the understanding that these stories about childhood are written by adults.

I am guilty of romanticizing my life, namely the past. I miss the days when I didn’t have so many responsibilities and expectations from society. When I was a kid, I was determined to travel the world like a vagabond moving from town to town. Then, I learned travel was a great expense. One that my modest librarian salary cannot afford to do but (maybe) once a year.

I think many children’s writers are romantic writers. They like to make stories that are special in connecting back to a time in their lives that they miss. When dreams felt achievable and anything was possible.

I love Anne of Green Gables more as an adult than I did as a kid. Anne Shirley’s perspective on life is envious. Kate DiCamillo is so talented in taking short prose and creating an emotional experience in both Because of Winn-Dixie and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

Ironically, adults recognize the benefits of childhood, but children do not. Working with children, I have to calm them down often and explain that they have their whole lives ahead of them. This concept is difficult for a young person to understand. I’ve sat and cried with kids as young as fifteen concerned that they had not decided what they wanted to do with their lives. There is an urgency in young people that time is running out, perhaps from pressure of adults and social media convincing them to work towards their ambitions with full force.

Middle grade stories are so valuable in commiserating with kids. Life is hard. However, it gives them strength to know that the hard things are also worth doing.

Now that I’m older, possibly wiser, I can appreciate these stories so much more. I’ve contemplated what story to tell, but I always come back to this age group. These are the stories that stay with you forever and I want to be apart of that experience. Be it ordinary or extraordinary. Because the ordinary is beautiful too.

“If you don’t go looking for magic, you’ll never find it.” – Roald Dahl