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Discussions & Tags · May 12, 2020

22 Best Kid Lit Blogs to Follow

If you love “kid lit” (children’s literature) like I do, you’ll love these best kid lit blogs!

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows how much I adore children’s literature. Honestly, my reasons for loving the genre would make for a reasonably long essay. But that is not today’s topic of discussion. Today, I’m sharing five of my current top kid lit blogs. Obviously, “top” is subjective, but I do love these blogs, their focus on children’s books, and their consistency in this labor of love that is blogging.

This post focuses on picture book, chapter book, and middle-grade bloggers. Some of these bloggers do read the occasional YA or adult novel, but young kid lit is their main event. My favorite posts to read on book blogs are book reviews and author interviews, and these top kid lit blogs have a MASSIVE archive of reviews.

If you’re a parent, teacher, or just plain kid lit lover, here are some more blogs to follow, STAT.

[bctt tweet=”Here are 22 of my favorite kid lit bloggers to follow — these wonderful bloggers have a MASSIVE archive of reviews.” username=”afomaumesi”]


best kid lit blogs

This Picture Book Life

top kid lit blog 1 - screenshot of this picture book life blog

Focus: Picture books

Danielle Davis is the author of the quirky middle-grade novel, Zinnia and the Bees. She also runs the cute picture book blog, This Picture Book Life. On her blog, Danielle shares her favorite picture books, cool interviews with booksellers, authors and illustrators, and even book-related DIY crafts.


The Story Sanctuary

screenshot of the story sanctuary blog

Focus: Middle grade and young adult

Run by Kasey Giard, The Story Sanctuary has been sharing reviews since 2013. My favorite thing about Kasey’s site is the content scale she provides in every review. She includes everything from recommended ages to language and sexual content — very important for young and/or sensitive readers.


Nerdy Book Club

top kid lit blog nerdy book club home page screenshot

Focus: Middle grade and young adult

Nerdy Book Club is run by four educators, and I have to say, I absolutely love their site! Besides posting consistently, they share author essays, book reviews, book lists and lots of other fantastic content. If you want to stay up to date with new books while still getting a dose of backlist titles, this is your go-to blog.


Ms. Yingling Reads

ms. yingling reads top kid lit blog homepage screenshot

Focus: Middle grade

Ms. Yingling is a voracious reader and prolific reviewer; she posts a review practically every day! While I often wish she would rate more books higher on Goodreads, I love her actual reviews! She always shares strengths and weaknesses and whether she would purchase the book for her school library. I also love that she seems to have read almost every middle-grade book in existence — it’s rare that I run into one she’s yet to read!


Happily Ever Elephants

happily ever elephants home page screenshot

Focus: Picture books and middle grade

Lauren is an attorney turned library media specialist and mom to two little boys. I love her enthusiastic reviews of middle-grade books and her passion for helping parents raise readers. If you’re a parent looking for tips in that regard, you’ll enjoy Lauren’s site!


Blazer Tales

blazer tales kid lit blog homepage screenshot

Focus: Middle grade and young adult

Laurie is a K-6 teacher and voracious reader who shares detailed book reviews on her website. She also includes grade and reading level recommendations for each book. I love that she categorizes all her reads to make her site easier to navigate.


MG Book Village

best kid lit blogs - mg book village

Focus: Middle-grade books

MG Book Village is run by a group of teachers and librarians, including author Jarett Lerner. The website covers author interviews, book reviews, author essays, and even tips for writers from writers. It’s honestly a dream of a site — and highly underrated too!


Teachers Who Read

best kid lit blogs - teachers who read

Focus: Middle-grade books

Teachers Who Read is another middle-grade book blog run by a group of teachers. They feature fun reviews of books for third-, fourth-, fifth-grade, and junior high students as well as author spotlights. My favorite posts are the regular “It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?” ones.


Literacious

literacious blog - best kid lit blogs

Focus: Children’s literature (from picture books to YA)

Laura, a former librarian turned library director runs the Literacious blog. The blog features book reviews, activities, and book lists interspersed with the occasional lifestyle post.


Here Wee Read

here wee read - best kid lit blogs to read

Focus: Mostly picture books and chapter books with the occasional middle-grade book

Charnaie is a longtime book blogger who shares the diverse books she reads with her kids. Her site is a hub of reading activities as well as some lifestyle content.


Chattering Librarian

chaterring librarian blog - best kid lit blogs

Focus: Middle-grade books

The Chattering Librarian blog shares book lists nearly every week! Her lists are always creative and practical.


Watch. Connect. Read. (Mr. Schu Reads)

mr schu reads - best kid lit blogs

Focus: Picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels.

Mr. Schu is a renowned kid lit blogger known for cover reveals, book trailers, and author interviews. His site is always a delight.


Cece Librarian

Focus: Picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade

Cece is an elementary school librarian who’s also on MG Book Village Review team. On her blog, she review picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade books.


Imagination Soup

imagination soup - best kid lit blogs

Focus: Picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade

Melissa is a prolific kid lit blogger known for her awesome comprehensive book lists. She’s a former teacher and literacy trainer.

Bridget and the Books

Focus: Chapter books and middle-grade books

Bridget is a fifth-grader who writes simple book reviews and shares fun author interviews. I look forward to her posts and love her unique way of engaging with books.


Beagles and Books

best kid lit blogs - beagles and books

Focus: Picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade

Beagles and Books features weekly children’s books reviews, from picture books to middle-grade novels. Plus, you’ll get a cute Beagle in every photo (if you’re into that sort of thing).


Samantha Cronin’s Kid Lit Library

Samantha Cronin's Kid Lit Library - best kid lit blogs

Focus: Picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade

Samantha is a teacher and reader who shares her thoughts on books as well as additional resources for parents and teachers.


Books. Iced Lattes. Blessed.

Books. Iced Lattes. Blessed. - best middle-grade book/kid lit blogs

Focus: Middle-grade

Sierra is a teacher and new blogger who shares mostly middle-grade book reviews and book lists. You’ll also find the occasional life update and coffee chat!


Randomly Reading

best kid lit blogs - randomly reading

Focus: Picture books, middle-grade

Alex is a former NYC fourth-grade teacher. On her blog, she shares reviews of books for kids and adults, but mostly kid lit.


Kid Lit Frenzy

Focus: Picture books

Alyson Beecher is an educator who shares thoughts mostly on picture books. However, you will find the occasional MG review.


Kristi’s Book Nook

Focus: Picture books

Picture book lovers will enjoy Kristi’s Book Nook as she reviews a diverse selection.


Books in the Middle

Focus: Middle-grade books

A group of reviewers regularly share their thoughts on a variety of middle-grade books.


These are my go-to reviewers for kid lit. I hope to round up a few other great bloggers in the young adult and adult categories soon. But I’m always looking for new bloggers to follow, so if you have any recommendations, they’ll be welcomed.

This post has been updated for May 2020.

[bctt tweet=”If you love kid lit  like I do, you’ll love these top kid lit blogs!” username=”afomaumesi”]

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Comments

  1. Chinyere Evelyn Ifediora says

    May 31, 2019 at 10:11 am

    Bookmarking this article for my daughter and myself actually. 😉

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      May 31, 2019 at 4:24 pm

      YES! You’ll love them! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction says

    January 23, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    I didn’t know all of these, so thank you very much for introducing me to them!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      January 26, 2020 at 7:05 am

      Oh, it’s my pleasure, Nicole 🙂

      Reply
    • CeCeLibrarian says

      March 1, 2020 at 11:47 pm

      Thank you for reading my blog Afoma. I enjoy reading yours too and I can’t wait to check out the others you mentioned 😊

      Reply
      • Afoma Umesi says

        March 31, 2020 at 4:03 pm

        Hi Cece! It’s a pleasure! Happy reading 🙂

        Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      March 31, 2020 at 4:04 pm

      It’s my pleasure, Nicole 🙂

      Reply
  3. Beachwood_Schoolhouse says

    February 4, 2020 at 2:41 pm

    Awesome list! A lot of new ones I have never heard of.

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      March 31, 2020 at 4:04 pm

      Ah, my pleasure, enjoy!

      Reply
  4. AJ says

    June 3, 2020 at 1:09 pm

    Great list, thanks Afoma. Happy I found your site!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      June 3, 2020 at 1:52 pm

      Thanks, AJ!

      Reply
  5. Greg Pattridge says

    June 11, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    Excellent resource! You can see many of these and more each Monday where I host Marvelous Middle Grade Monday. It’s a weekly list of who has a review, interview, and/or a giveaway targeting middle grade.

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      June 13, 2020 at 5:47 am

      Hi Greg, thank you so much! I’m hoping to join the MMGM train one of these days. Thank you for your work in highlighting middle-grade book blogs!

      Reply
  6. Krisha says

    June 20, 2020 at 11:50 pm

    Hi I am a 12 year old and I review children and middle grade books I would love to be added to the list if you don’t mind !
    https://thecosycorner1788007.wordpress.com/

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      June 21, 2020 at 5:25 pm

      Hi Krisha! Thanks for reading. I just checked out your blog – well done! I’ll be sure to keep you in mind when next I update this post.

      Reply
      • Krisha says

        July 6, 2020 at 1:00 am

        Thanks ! I do not know why I did not get a nonfication when you replied

        Reply
  7. Ms. Yingling Reads (@MsYingling) says

    July 21, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    Thanks for mentioning me! I actually use the official Goodreads designations (if you hover over the stars, there’s a pop up box that explains them), so most things get three stars. And just for the record, I have posted a book review every single day since 1 January 2012!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      July 22, 2020 at 3:08 am

      Thanks for explaining your rating system 🙂 And WOW, 2012 is almost 10 years of reviewing! Well done 🙂

      Reply
  8. Angie says

    July 23, 2020 at 2:26 am

    Great list.

    Reply
  9. growingbookbybook says

    July 24, 2020 at 9:38 am

    As a children’s literature blogger myself, it’s so fun to see old favorites featured and discover new to me faces too. Thank you for sharing this list.

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      July 24, 2020 at 10:41 am

      My pleasure, Jodi! Your blog is beautiful! I’ll note it as one to add during my update. Thanks for reading 🙂

      Reply
  10. Jackee Schwartz says

    August 2, 2020 at 4:29 pm

    This was so helpful, Afoma. I’m a former teacher now into teaching social media, specializing in children’s book authors. Thanks for sharing. ❤️

    Reply
  11. literacious says

    September 27, 2020 at 8:34 am

    Thanks for mentioning me! I’ve been following your reviews for a little while now and love to hear your take!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      September 28, 2020 at 8:03 am

      It’s my pleasure 🙂

      Reply
  12. TellWell says

    May 26, 2021 at 3:04 am

    You have really very great kids lit. Thanks for sharing these interesting blogs list. Please keep sharing more posts. Along with this, if you have need of any service like book marketing or book publishing. Then visit our website.

    https://tellwell.com.au/

    Reply
  13. Melissa Taylor says

    October 12, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    Thank you for the mention! I’m also a fan of yours!

    Reply
    • Afoma Umesi says

      October 13, 2022 at 6:23 am

      Ahhh, thank you!!

      Reply

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☀️ Addie has reluctantly moved across the country with her dad for his summer job in the virtual reality industry. He's working on research to use VR for therapeutic purposes, such as helping people cultivate empathy. Addie is not into VR, but that starts to change when she meets Matteo another kid on campus, and tries out VR on her own. Eventually, the two find a helpful use for VR that helps other people.

🥽 I loved the illustration style in this one and while I found the VR setting a bit disorienting, I appreciated the unique lens of the story. The graphic novel format works brilliantly for helping readers appreciate the power of VR. I think with text, it would have just been too much “world-building.” This is more engaging and exciting for kids.

🐢 Lo and Behold is a clever middle grade graphic novel about virtual reality, grief, and parental addiction. Readers who enjoy VR will love this one, but as the Author's Note mentions, it will also be a fantastic introduction for those who, like me, aren't familiar with it. A fun summer read with hints of serious themes.

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✨surprisingly heartwarming middle grade✨ 🗺 ✨surprisingly heartwarming middle grade✨

🗺️ Ginny’s summer is thrown off when her dad gets a surprise redeployment in the middle of their family’s moving to another city. Then, her geography camp gets canceled. Her sister seems to be making new friends, but no one appears to like Ginny–even when she starts her own geography camp. 

❤️ I loved this book way more than I thought I would (from the synopsis). Ginny has such a great voice and she isn’t always the most likable character but she’s always real. I loved watching her grow throughout the story.

📍This sweet, unique young middle grade book made my heart grow and ache for Ginny and her family as they navigated a season of change. Features illustrations and a new geography fact in each chapter.

#amreading #mglit #middlegrade
My current adult reads! HAPPY TRAVELER is a non- My current adult reads! 

HAPPY TRAVELER is a non-fiction title about making travel work for you and creating enjoyable, memorable experiences. So far, I’m enjoying the author’s musings on travel.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL is a bookstagram darling (need I say more?) and I already know I’ll be reading it for a while. It’s one of those books that really forces you to slow down. The writing is so tender; it feels like the author loves her characters ❤️

#bookstagram #amreading #readersofinstagram
✨growing up is full of bumps on the way✨ 🤓 ✨growing up is full of bumps on the way✨

🤓 Sixth grade is off to a rocky start for Rex. His district moved most of his elementary school to another middle school, his best friend ditches him for the popular crew, and his blurry vision means he has to get clunky new glasses–the only kind his family can afford. 

❤️ This sweet graphic novel for fans of Telgemeier is an ode to middle school, family, and finding your people.

#graphicnovel #middleschoolbooks #kidlit
Do you like to hop on the “buzz train”? I find Do you like to hop on the “buzz train”? I find that buzzy books are often worth the hype. Even the few people who dislike them tend to have STRONG feelings about them 👀 which to me is a sign that the story got to you somehow. Of course, not every book is for every reader — hype or not. I share my tip for finding a hyped book that matches your reading tastes.

Which hyped books did you love? And which ones missed the mark for you?

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✨a different kind of sunshine✨ I loved this g ✨a different kind of sunshine✨

I loved this graphic memoir about the author’s time as a counselor at a camp for kids with cancer. It was my first time reading anything by this author and I totally get the appeal.

This one didn’t end up being as sad as I thought it would be but it was very moving, especially because Krosoczka shares newspaper clippings and pictures of one the families with whom he forged a particularly close relationship even until his college years.

If you’re looking for an engaging graphic memoir for older kids ages 11+ this is a great choice.

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This book! Brilliantly written, impressive characterization, and a plot so unexpected. It left me physically shaken (it's not feel-good), but it feels so necessary, so timely. A solid debut about the search for the great American Dream, familial sacrifices, and confronting our ugly inner selves -- all in less than 300 pages. 

You'll like this if you like:

Multiple perspectives (3 perspectives, 3rd person POV)
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If you prefer straightforward, plot-rich, fast-paced stories, you might struggle a bit with this one at the start. But it's worth it!

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☀️ Meet the Bookstagrammer ☀️ Hi, new fol ☀️ Meet the Bookstagrammer ☀️

Hi, new followers! It’s such a pleasure to have a few new faces around. I love finding new readers to follow on the gram. 

My name is Afoma and I run a book blog called Reading Middle Grade. I also run a Facebook Group and newsletter related to my blog. In my day job, I’m a freelance writer and editor, with a degree in medicine.

I’ve lived in three continents (born in Nigeria, med school in Ukraine and the Caribbean). I live in Nigeria now with my husband and many, many books 🤭 I love to cook and travel and run. This year, one of my goals is to become a better runner. I’m currently able to run 2K without stopping. 

Even though we don’t have traditional four seasons in Nigeria, the summer months are my favorite. From childhood, they were the one time when my overachieving, perfectionistic self could RELAX. And do nothing! And even now, I try to take time off in the summer to do nothing.

Some of favorite books this year have been LASAGNA MEANS I LOVE YOU, THE LOST YEAR (I lived in Ukraine for 3 years, so this resonated with me!), and MAAME. 

Thank you so much for following my reading journey! Tell me something about yourself — hobbies, favorite books, anything! ❤️
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