Connecting parents to Christian middle grade books!

This is a list for parents who are looking for middle grade books written by Christian authors.

(Middle grade is fiction written for 8-12 year olds.)

Does Not Contain

All authors have consented that their books contain no . . . 

  • language that would constitute swear words on network television
  • sexual content
  • gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender content
  • extreme violence or gore*
  • references to quasi-spiritual activities which could be carried out in a way that opposes the Bible (meditation, clearing your mind, envisioning your future, believing in karma)

Does Contain

All authors on this list identify as some type of Christian. (I don’t investigate theology or denomination.)

Some book contain overt Christian themes or content. Other books are merely written from a Christian worldview with no religious content in the story text itself.

*PG battle scenes, action sequences, and story peril (including death) are allowed. The focus of these story beats is not to shock or horrify the reader but to achieve a narrative purpose.

A Note About Fantasy & Magic

Please note: Books containing heavy fantasy and magical elements are beloved in our household and therefore will appear on this list. Some books may even contain vocabulary such as witch, wizard, spell, or casting.

While I understand (and respect) families who draw a boundary here, I personally feel it’s simply a matter of genre set dressing. You can’t have sci-fi without spaceships, Westerns without cowboys . . . or fantasy without magic.

Magic in a fantasy novel is often nothing more than a piece of worldbuilding. If the same story were retold as science fiction, you can usually swap magic for technology and little else in the story changes.

I will not recommend a book if magic-wielding characters exhibit real-life occult practices, or if a story goes out of it way to focus on real-life pagan religious procedures.

I explain this so you understand our family’s personal preferences and my criteria for this list. Exercise your family’s guidelines as you see fit.

Happy reading!

We also have a Chapter Book Spotlight which follows similar guidelines.

If you encounter something in a book that goes against my posted guidelines above, please email me at amanda@jtrumpower.com.