Middle Grade Madness! discussion
August MG Reading Challenge 2022
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Team Matilda Wormwood
Mod
1. REFER TO THE RULES
- You can find them here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- They list every detail from how the points are calculated to information on the bonus tasks.
- If you have a question please check it against the rules and if you’re still looking for an answer please put it to your team captain who will ask me in the Captain's Chat and refer back to you.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR BOOKS COUNT
It’ll be really sad if you spend the time reading a book and then end up realising it doesn’t even count towards the challenge, so always check it counts before starting to read it!
Refer to the rules to remind yourself of what counts as an mg book for the challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Remember you can now check books against the US website: https://www.arbookfind.com/ AND UK website: https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/
If you’re reading a book with a specific task in mind and you’re not sure if your book will count towards the challenge, please check the Task Guidance tab on your team spreadsheet. If it doesn’t help then ask your team captain who will either answer if they can or pass on the question to me on the Captain's Chat and they’ll let you know the answer.
Mod
1. Introduce yourself! Tell your fellow team members what your favourite genres to read are and some things you like to do besides reading.
2. Decide on a team name! Choose the name of a protagonist (or main character) from a middle grade book/series. This challenge has been hosted twice now and here are what past teams have chosen: Coraline, Alice Queensmeadow, Logan Sweet, Lucy Pevensie, Sirius Black, Merlin, and Charlotte, so please don’t choose those!
Hi everyone! I’m Grace! I’ve been participating in the august mg challenges since they started in 2019 and they are always super fun, so I’m very excited. :)A bit about me- My two favorite books are Ella Enchanted and Six of Crows. I read from pretty much every genre and age grouping, but older middle grade fantasy is probably my favorite. Hobbies of mine include crocheting, scrapbooking, cuddling with my cats, and, of course, reading.
I think Matilda would be a cool team name since she loved to read. Anyone else have any suggestions?
Hi, team! This is my second year participating in this challenge. Last year I was on the Lucy Pevensie team.I love middle grade (obviously)! I read a lot of different genres, but a few of my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure novels. I'm also a Little Free Library steward and sharing books through my LFL is one of my favorite things.
@grace I like Ella Enchanted, too, but my favorite Gail Carson Levine has always been The Two Princesses of Bamarre.
I actually DNFd Matilda. I know a lot of people love it, but it wasn't my thing.
If we'd like to pick something classic, maybe Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) or Jim Hawkins (Treasure Island)? A couple childhood favorites of mine are Charlotte Doyle (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle) and Stanley Yelnats IV (Holes). Actually, Stanley would be especially fitting since we're currently Team D and Stanley is assigned to D Tent at Camp Green Lake.
If we want to go with something more recent, a few of my favorite main characters are Delphine Gaither (One Crazy Summer), Deza Malone (The Mighty Miss Malone), Marisol Rainey (Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey), and Della (Fighting Words).
I'm open to hearing other people's opinions, though! Also, I sent everyone friend requests so we can see each other's books for the challenge!
Heya, dear teammates! :DI'm Dana Cristiana G. and I'm 26. I love mystery&thrillers, fantasy, graphic novels and nonfiction, but I also enjoy middle-grade and poetry.
I firstly participated in this challenge in 2019 but missed it last year.
Now I'm super thrilled and can't wait to read alongside you.
@grace It means we were "enemies" in 2019, haha.
Matilda sounds nice. :)
Tiffany wrote: "Hi, team! This is my second year participating in this challenge. Last year I was on the Lucy Pevensie team.I love middle grade (obviously)! I read a lot of different genres, but a few of my favo..."
Oh, I love Anne of Green Gables!
hello, everyone, it's arin here! i'm that type of reader who reads basically anything, but middle grade books are definitely one of the things i love most. this will be my very first time joining this challenge and i'm so excited!
i have actually read matilda and loved it! i would love to read anne of green gables but haven't had the time to do so, though it looks amazing and the aesthetic is totally my type!
Hi everyone! Tanaya here!
I love mg and one of my fav books is A Pinch of Magic.
I love to read mystery, adventure and fantasy.
Super fun knowing u all!
I love all these names
Anne Shirley and Matilda are superr fun! Let us vote!?
I love both although I only saw Matilda a few times, and never read the book (maybe I'll read it for this challenge?)But Anne is also my favourite kid, so.. I think I'll vote for her.
P.S. Just bought 2 middle-grade books yesterday: First book in the The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani.And Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson which I never heard about, so I'm excited to see if I can fit them in.
I’m gonna vote Matilda :)Anne Shirley would be a nice team name too, so I would be happy with that as well. I’ve always wanted to read the book, but I’ve just never gotten around to it. It definitely seems like the type of book I would like. Maybe I’ll even read it for this challenge, we’ll see.
@Dana The School for Good and Evil seems like such a good book, it’s been on my tbr for ages. I would love to know your thoughts on it if you do end up reading it.
I’ve also been acquiring books for this challenge. Anything I think might potentially fit a prompt: old books, new books, books with covers of every color, authors with my initials, books in a series, etc. I’m honestly so excited, it’s hard to wait another week haha.
Trueee, 7 days seem like eternity, really! I will also go to the library and acquire some middle-grade books.
So excited for this!
Great! To know everyone is preparing! Pls continue putting forth your votes so we can decide a team name... As of now it is-
Matilda- 1
Anne Shirley- 1
Please keep giving the votes..
Superr excited!
Also it is my first year so I will be needing everyone's help in filling the spreadsheet etc...
Thanks!
oohh i'm sure i will love anne after reading the book, but for now, i'm gonna vote for matilda!
My vote must go to my literary kindred spirit Anne Shirley.Only a few days left to go, and I'm getting very excited!
hey everyone! So i have to tell the team name by todayy so I am going ahead with Anne Shirley in the previous message I meant my vote is Anne Shirley! So excited for this!!!
Hey everyone so sorry for the confusion but finallised the team name as Matilda am sooo sorry for the confusion the previous message was a mistake
Hey, no worries.Any news about the prompts and team sheet?
It's 9:40 p.m. here, and at midnight I want to start reading something.
So I'll put it wherever it fits when we get the prompts presented.
Thank you!
Should we all put here our TBR's and see what fits where?In 2019 we had one document where each prompt was written and we each had a colour in our team and wrote possibilities for each prompt and someone would assign their name/colour to one book. And it was okay.
Important is we communicate with each other and everything would be ok.
I'll start with my potential TBR so anyone has an idea of what I would like to read (we can all do this so we can orientate much better) - just an opinion.
Let me know if you want to read something that is in other's tbr.
TBR:
Potter's Boy by Tony Mitton
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross
Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
The Changelings by Christina Soontornvat
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson
The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind by Eduard Shyfrin
Arlo Finch in the Kingdom of Shadows by John August
Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star by Rachel Renée Russell
A Girl, a Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon by Karen Romano Young
Alone by Megan E. Freeman
Mod
Your team spreadsheet has been sent to all of you via email invite, so please check your junk mail. If you don’t see the invite soon then please let your captain know or message me privately and I can send you an invite again or we can try with another email if you want.
The spreadsheet has 4 tabs at the bottom:
1. MG Challenge – The official challenge sheet. Points calculate themselves here so please don’t change any of the points coding!
2. Tracking Sheet – An informal tracking sheet for everyone’s book details.
3. Task Guidance – Specific and helpful guidance for individual tasks. Please check this first before asking your captain or me questions.
4. Example of MG Challenge – An example to show you how to fill in the first tab.
Your team captain is in charge of the MG Challenge sheet (the first tab) so please leave it to them to fill in the official challenge sheet unless they’re fine with you doing it too. The tracking sheet is for everyone, fill it in as you please!
For page numbers please either:
1. Use the number in the goodreads’ book entry OR
2. Use the number in your own copy
(They shouldn’t be too wildly different anyway)
Please wait for August 1st in your time zone before you start reading books for the challenge!
The bonus tasks will be added to your spreadsheet on August 15th.
And happy reading!😊
finallyyyy, thank you so much kadi! it's already august 1st here in my timezone so i can definitely start as soon as possible lol
Thank you, Kadi!3 more minutes here in Romania and it starts!!
Happy reading, everyone.
I don't plan my TBR exactly. I'm too much of a mood reader for that.I will definitely be reading Rory's Promise for my other book club this month.
I know books I can recommend for lots of the tasks, so if anyone is stuck coming up with one I can likely help!
I've still got several hours to go in my time zone, but I'm getting some books ready now.
Hey guys, does anyone want to read anything for prompt 5?It says: A book recommended by a team member in a different team.
Ilsen in team Amari Peters recommended Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston and I have that on my tbr.
here are the books i'm planning to read and the tasks they can fulfill: Grump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: character's name on the title
Matilda: a book that's adapted to a play or musical
Book of a Thousand Days: a fairytale retelling
A Tale Dark & Grimm: a book that has an animated adaptation
The Night Gardener: belongs to the horror genre
When You Trap a Tiger: four or more colors on the cover
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster: mythology
i think reread does count so i'm going to read matilda, especially because her name is our team's name! i'm not sure if i can read all of these books this month because of my hectic schedule, but all the best luck to me and everyone else on this team ^^
Dana wrote: "Hey guys, does anyone want to read anything for prompt 5?It says: A book recommended by a team member in a different team.
Ilsen in team Amari Peters recommended Amari and the Night Brothers by ..."
you can read it if you want! i definitely am curious to see your opinion about that book because everyone seems to love it
I love fairy tale retellings and haven't heard of Grump; I'll have to look for it.I love When You Trap a Tiger! I've read Sweep too and I don't remember them volunteering, but it would work for tasks 38 (adopted protagonist) and maybe 51 (mythology- the monster of the title is based on a golem from Jewish folklore). There's a few others it would fit too, but I don't want to give away spoilers by telling you which ones!
From what I remember, in 2019 we could all read the same book but for different prompts.Example: Let's say Matilda fits into 5 categories.
In this case, all five of us can read it as long as we put it in the different prompts.
@Tanaya - can you please confirm this with Kady if it's still available this year?
Thanks in advance!
Tiffany wrote: "I love fairy tale retellings and haven't heard of Grump; I'll have to look for it.I love When You Trap a Tiger! I've read Sweep too and I don't remember them volunteering, but it would work for t..."
oohh thank you so much for the correction! i was reading the blurb and was a little bit confused with the "chimney boys" thing. i will edit my comment asap!
Ooh there are some really interesting tasks this year, you can tell Kadi put a lot of thought into this! And some of them are quite specific. Might be a bit of a challenge to find books that work. It’ll be fun though, I can’t wait to start.Here’s the TBR that I’m starting with:
Task 4: a book recommended by a team member - The Wizards of Once
Task 14: a book with a title that is a question - Who Could That Be at This Hour?
Task 17: a book that has diary entries - The Diary of a Young Girl
Task 64: a book with the word magic in the title - A Reluctant Witch's Guide to Magic
Hoping to read more than this, but those are just the books that I’m starting with. And I don’t know about you all, but I know I am definitely planning on utilizing the tracking sheet. I think it is really useful to be able to write down all of the possible tasks that a book could fulfill, even if you have a specific task in mind. That way, we can rearrange if needed to utilize points, since we get bonus points for completed categories and such.
It’s not quite midnight yet for me, so I won’t be starting for a few hours. I’ll be eagerly counting down the minutes :)
@arin No problem. It will make more sense if you read it, but they're kind of like apprentice chimney sweeps. And like I said, there's some other tasks it will fit too!Less than twenty minutes left in my time zone! Trying to decide what to read first!
What's the rules regarding a collected volume? For example, can something like The Princess Tales, Volume I count as one book for one task even though it's three of the books in the series bound together? Each individual book is too short to meet the length requirement.
@grace I already put the book I'm reading into the sheet so I can keep track of, it helps a lot.@Tiffany if it's all three bound together in the collection you have, I think it officialy counts as one.
I think Tanaya needs to confirm with Kady.
Hey guys! So sorry I have not been present here in the chat
Love all of your tbrs!!!
Going to put up mine in some time
@Tiffany I will check with Kadi about that!
Dana wrote: "From what I remember, in 2019 we could all read the same book but for different prompts.Example: Let's say Matilda fits into 5 categories.
In this case, all five of us can read it as long as we p..."
@Tanaya and this one, please?
Mod
Quick update:
- I've changed the wording of task 37.
- I've added task guidance for task 36 & 37.
- Rereads count!
- Protagonists and main character are NOT the same thing. All protagonists are main characters but not all main characters are protagonists.
For example: in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry is the protagonist. Harry, Ron & Hermione are main characters. Seamus, Dean, and Neville are minor characters.
Some tasks say protagonist, some say main character so make sure to check!
Mod
@Tiffany yes collected editions are fine and count as long as you read that specific edition. Manga and graphic novels count too in that same way but they must be read as the collected edition, they can't be read in their separate individual forms and then written onto the spreadsheet as one. So if you can find/already have that collected edition then go for it!
@Dana yep it's the same as 2019 so you can. Though you may be hard-pressed to find a way for Matilda to count for 5 different tasks😂
Kadi wrote: "I don't normally read team pages because I don't have the time but seeing as I'm here and I noticed some questions I may as well answer (I hope you guys don't mind)@Tiffany yes collected editions..."
Haha, thank you so much, Kadi! :D
Happy reading!
Mod
Hope everyone's enjoying their first read!😊
Hey guys!How's your reading going?
I have 141 more pages to finish Amari and the Night Brothers for prompt 5.
Thanks, Kadi!For Matilda:
8. shares name with several historical figures, such as Matilda of Scotland
16. adapted into a musical
26. character's name in the title
42. author with a military background- Roald Dahl was a fighter pilot during WW2
45. bullied protagonist- she's bullied by her family and at school
There might be more. I DNFd Matilda, so these are just the ones I know.
I finished my first book! I purposefully started with something short so I could get it finished quickly. Basil of Baker Street
Tiffany wrote: "Thanks, Kadi!For Matilda:
8. shares name with several historical figures, such as Matilda of Scotland
16. adapted into a musical
26. character's name in the title
42. author with a military backg..."
omg omg wow! you could fit so many promts!
Please go ahead and ask me any questions
I am currently reading Anne of Green Gabels!!
Tanaya wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "Thanks, Kadi!For Matilda:
8. shares name with several historical figures, such as Matilda of Scotland
16. adapted into a musical
26. character's name in the title
42. author with ..."
I have one, Tanaya:
Can we fill the first page in the sheet ourselves?
Yay, I finished Amari and the Night Brothers for prompt 5.Done with my first book!
Onto the next one: Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson for prompt 9: A book with two letter "I"s in the title.
Awesome Dana! I’m hoping to finish up my first book today, or at least by tomorrow.
Is it letter i or L for prompt 9?I think I misread.
My romanian edition has 2 L's, but I'm not sure it counts.
Anyway, I'll use it for prompt 24 instead, about racism.
Middle Grade Madness!
Books mentioned in this topic
Tune It Out (other topics)Wicked Nix (other topics)
The Magical Reality of Nadia (other topics)
Rory's Promise (other topics)
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Anna James (other topics)Cressida Cowell (other topics)
Lewis Carroll (other topics)
Laura Marx Fitzgerald (other topics)
Elle McNicoll (other topics)
Members:
1. (CAPTAIN) Tanaya - Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James
2. Arin - The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
3. Grace - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
4. Dana - Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
5. Tiffany - A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
*Please take note of your assigned numbers, they may be important for some of the tasks*
(Each person’s name is linked to their challenge bookshelf and the book listed beside their name is their mg book recommendation)
The spreadsheet containing all the tasks will be shared with every team member via email invite on August 1st: (countdown: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...)
I understand that may make it a bit hard to plan your first few books if you need to borrow them from a library in advance, but the tasks are many and wide enough in criteria that you can read any book at first and easily apply it to a task.