WHY I WRITE MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS by Hilda Eunice Burgos

  

When I was in third grade, I was “fired” from a volunteer job shelving books in my school library.  It turned out the books weren’t getting shelved because they were being read instead.  As soon as I picked up a book that was new to me, I would lower myself onto one of the library step stools and bury my nose in the dog-eared pages.  Just when the plot was getting good, it would be time to go back to class.

One of my favorite authors, Julia Alvarez, has said that “we come out of a great book as a different person from the person we were when we began reading it.”  This is certainly true of good middle grade books.  Sitting in the stacks at P.S. 132 in New York City with the sounds of sirens wailing and horns honking right outside the barred windows, I learned about life on a prairie, in small cities and towns, and even in another country where eleven year-olds were already thinking about marriage!

I was definitely a different person each time I looked up to see the librarian frowning at the pile of un-shelved books in front of me.

Middle grade books have grown in variety since I was a child, and there are so many great ones out there.  I am happy to see that some of these excellent books challenge readers to ponder topics such as immigration and deportation, oppressive governments, substance abuse, racial injustice, disabilities, deadbeat parents, and other life-altering issues.

I am drawn to middle grade books because I think children should be exposed to thought-provoking themes, and I especially like the fact that most middle grade books have something we don't always find in books for adults: a hopeful and encouraging message.  These stories teach children that tough circumstances are out there, but we can deal with them, and we will emerge different and stronger on the other side.

My first middle grade novel, which is scheduled for publication in 2019, addresses economic and social inequality, the individual decisions we can each make to help others, and the value of family and friends.  My main character is the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, lives in New York City, and loves to read.  Although I cherish the knowledge I gain each time I read about people who are different from me, it would have been nice to occasionally see someone a little familiar in one of the books in my school library.  I hope the children who have something in common with me and my main character are pleased to see a glimpse of themselves and their lives in the pages of my book, and that other children learn something new and interesting from those same pages.  Mostly, I hope all children who pluck this book from their library shelves will lower themselves onto a step stool, lose track of time as they read, and come out different, more enlightened, and even more hopeful and positive than ever.