I made a “best books” list for Shepherd. Here’s the how and why…

Making a “best books” list is not easy. And, as we all know, the entire endeavor is really subjective. So, whenever you read a list of “best” anything, YMMV (your mileage may vary). That said, when the opportunity to make a list for Shepherd was presented to me, I went for it. Why? Because lists of things that other people enjoyed are great places to find new things we might like. Plus, I love sharing good books with people!

So, I made a list called “The best middle-grade adventures with magical elements.”

My approach to making this list of “best” books was simple, though the finally decision of what to include was incredibly difficult. This is especially true for someone who reads hundreds of books.

My Process

Here is how I approached making this “best books” list:

• I chose middle-grade adventures, partly because I released a new middle-grade adventure this year, Lostuns Found, but also because I wanted to share some of the really fun middle-grade books I’ve read over the past couple of years.
• I wanted each book to have a touch of magic in it, because I love magic!
• I felt the books should be recent, meaning published within the past few years.
• I decided to include the books that have really stuck with me and that I find myself recommending over and over.

It took time to narrow down the list, even though I restricted it to books I had read just in the past couple of years, and I know there are others that could easily be on this list, including many I have not yet read, but I am only one person and I can only read so many books in a year. And, in all reality, this is just my opinion.

Again, YMMV. But you really can’t go wrong by picking up any of the wonderful books on this list for a young reader (or yourself)!

And if you’re looking for more middle-grade book recommendations, you might also like “The best children’s fantasy books about fighting injustice”