Did you remember when I did the Middle Grade Summer Reading Bingo game last year? I had so much fun with that, and several people said they hoped I’d do it again, and so I am! Like last year, I’ve collected a diverse mix of books from a variety of authors: some new releases and some backlist, graphic novels, a verse novel, nonfiction, funny, suspenseful, romance, historical fiction . . . Hopefully, there’s something here for every reader. I put Book Scavenger in the center “free” space to celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year. (Confetti throw, hooray!) If you’re here on my website, then I figure there’s a good chance you’ve already read it, so it likely is a free square for you. If you haven’t read Book Scavenger, you could still consider it a free square, or you could read it! It’s a good book. I’m very proud of it.
Similar to last year, I’ll mail an envelope of bookish goodies (stickers and bookmarks) to anyone who completes a Bingo. You can score a Bingo by reading any horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of books. Or maybe you want to go for the “four corners” or “outside edge” Bingo, or if you’re feeling ambitious, go for a “full house” and read them all! After you’ve read your Bingo, if you’d like to receive a prize, please fill out this form.
Grownups are welcome to play too, of course! You’re never too old for middle-grade, in my opinion. This can be a great activity for grownups and kids to do together, too. Feel free to forward this message to the readers in your life and invite them to play along. You can find a PDF of the Bingo board here.
All titles are published in the United States, so they might not be as easy to find if you’re in another country, but everyone is welcome to participate, no matter where you live. You could even swap out titles that aren’t available to you for ones that are—I’m loosey-goosey with the rules here. My motivation is really to encourage you to make time for reading this summer and discover some wonderful middle-grade books!
I’ve included all the titles and linked to them on Bookshop, where you can learn more about each one. (If you end up purchasing one through my link, I earn a very small fee, which will go toward reimbursing my shipping expenses for the prize packs.) Purchasing books online through Bookshop also supports independent bookstores, or you can buy them from your local store. And, of course, you don’t need to buy the books to participate! All titles should be available at your local library, and if one isn’t, they might be able to add it to their collection if you make a request. You could also form a neighborhood book club and share the books with each other.
I’ll be sharing my Bingo reads over the summer on Instagram, Blue Sky, and Substack Notes, and I would love to hear about the books you read too. If you share on social media, please tag me so I see your post.
Let’s make this another summer of celebrating middle-grade books and having fun with reading!
