It’s been a while since we read this one. Catching up on reviews. From what I remember, my kids enjoyed it. It was a cute and fun book. I wanted to read it specifically for my middle kid.

Our pre-school class loved this one -- especially the children who identified as "middle kids"! The story goes through the day in the life of a middle kid and it's done in a perfectly hilarious way to keep the children engaged until the very end.

Middle kids everywhere will rejoice in feeling seen in this book. It is funny and cute, and relatable.

4 stars

As a picture book, this had beautiful illustrations for the young ones to pick up and read! would recommend this book to my nieces as it had a great storyline as well.

This is fun, quick read that will appeal to readers who like early chapter books with heavy, full-color illustrations -- even if they aren't middle children. Story-wise, this book is pretty simple with very few words per page and it certainly relies on illustrations more than text to tell the story. At my library, we get lots of families looking for really easy chapter books and this will be a good, humorous one to recommend.

“The Middle Kid” is a new release by Steven Weinberg. My own middle child is already a fan of Weinberg’s other books so I was eager to see if this book held up and it certainly did. Told from the perspective of a middle child who often feels left out, this book is full of silly adventures and family chaos that is both engaging and relatable. I was drawn to the comic-style speech bubbles and fun illustrations as much as the text. I can’t wait to share this book with my MK. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this new book with an honest opinion.

This is an illustration of what a middle kid is. Not the oldest, but not also the youngest. Not the tallest, but not the shortest. The one who get slapped by the big brother, and has to give in to the little sister's whim.

But this one is not as neglected as we might thought. His mom taught him to take a breather from his siblings.

A nice short read from the perspective of a middle kid we never knew before.

My Thoughts
I am the oldest sibling in my family and I only have one younger sister, so there was no middle kid when I was growing up. Because of that, I was interested in how this book would depict older, middle, and younger siblings. Here are my pros and cons for The Middle Kid:

Pros
1. Written and illustrated by the author. The illustrations were colorful and supported the story.
2. Some middle kids may recognize themselves in the story, however… (see cons)

Cons
1. The middle kid hated being bullied by his older brother, yet in the book the middle kid bullies his younger sister... and he got mad when he was punished for it. Instead of depicting him angry about the punishment, perhaps the story could have shown him learning a lesson that bullying is always wrong and not just when he is the victim.
2. The story felt a little disjointed, like it was missing some kind of connective tissue. All you get are a bunch of vignettes about why older and younger siblings are horrible and middle kids are always mistreated. But then at the end of the story the middle kid unexpectedly has his siblings obeying his orders so he decides that being the middle kid is now okay. Huh? As long as he is the boss it is okay to be the middle kid? That feels like a negative lesson to me.
3. This book depends upon the stereotypes that older siblings are always mean and younger siblings are always annoying. I wish the middle kid issues could have been discussed without the extreme generalizations. While it may have been the author’s experience, I know plenty of families where these stereotypes aren’t true.
4. There is also a lot of absolute language used in the story like “always last”, “never first”, “not tallest”, “not smartest” with regard to the middle kid. I can think of a lot of a lot of middle kids I know where those statements are not true at all.

Summary
I didn’t love his book as much as some of the other picture books I’ve read and reviewed lately. Something about it just didn’t sit quite right for me. It felt disjointed, it lacked any real story, and it was full of stereotypes.

I can’t believe I am not recommending a children’s book, but I don’t think I would recommend this one at all unless an adult is around to have a discussion on every page about what is wrong with the scenario depicted, what can be done to make it better, and to reinforce to young readers that not all older and younger sibling are bad!

I know I am in the minority regarding my reaction to this book, but what I have written are my honest thoughts and feelings about the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing an ebook, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Narrated in first person, THE MIDDLE KID is a humorous day-in-the-life-of book about, you guessed it, the middle kid in a family. Squashed between a bossy older brother who wants him to be tough, and a little sister who gets frightened easily, we see the middle kid experience moments of frustration throughout his day. Thankfully, he has his art to turn to in order to combat those negative feelings. I think this is one of the things children can take away from this story. Another take away is that life is full of both, ups and downs. It's not fun being the middle kid, yet at the same time, there are moments where he is the very person who comes to the rescue. Like when the three siblings come together and build a pretend treehouse in their living room, or when they need to get through fallen trees in the woods.
Overall, I enjoyed this comic book style (with speech bubbles) picture book.

How adorable can one middle grade graphic novel be?

Being a middle kid isn't easy, especially when your big brother tries to make you tough and your little sister spills milk on your drawings.

Insightful, honest, and charming, this graphic novel is for the middle child, the often forgotten.

5/5.

What a charming book! The vibrant illustrations were amusing and eyecatching, sure to hold any youngster's interest. I think this would be ideal for any middle child, particularly those who feel like they are lost in the shuffle at times, but it would also be a gentle reminder to older kids that their middle siblings are not to be bossed around, and to younger kids, that others in the family need attention as well.

My middle kid was so excited to have a book that understood her important job. We tell her often that she's extra special because she's the only one in the family who gets to be a big sister AND a little sister, but it's still easy to feel misunderstood sometimes. The illustrations were silly, with lots of fun details to look at, and the sentences/story were just right for younger readers to follow along with. The varied text elements like speech bubbles, handwritten notes and signs made it extra fun for some new readers to practice with, too. This will be fun to add to our home bookshelf, or would make a great gift for a fellow middle kid.

What it is like to be the middle child with an older brother, who wants you to be tough, and a younger sister, who cries a lot. This is the picture book for all middle kids. Bright and colorful illustrations make this a fun read. I highly recommend it. Thanks so much #netgalley for the early review copy. I enjoyed it!

Fun read with funny, colorful illustrations.
Great book for a beginner reader as there are not a lot of words on each page.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a lot of fun, although I was expecting a little bit of a story - but it's only a few phrases on each page. Still, it was fun and the illustrations were humorous too.

The Middle Kid is about a middle child’s experience stuck between a baby sister and a bigger, tougher brother. Beautifully illustrated, it perfectly captures the dysregulation of not quite knowing how you “fit.”

I cannot stress enough just how fun of a read The Middle Kid is! It features a quickly moving narrative that pairs well with the illustrations, all done by the talented writer/illustrator Steven Weinberg. This would be the perfect gift for a family of 3+ to explore thoughts and feelings towards family order! Or for an adventurous child who wants to day dream about building forts and bungee jumping.

I received an advance copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is hilarious! As I’m reading, my brain already comes up with plans on how I could read this with my students, do some writing activities, and have a good laugh together.

I received this book from Netgalley/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The Middle Kid is a children’s book, which gives a feeling of a diary or journal. There are not many words per page, making it an easy read for younger children. The illustrations are very colorful and highly engaging.
Every middle child can relate to this book. However, it will make a fun read-aloud for any family.

This is an incredibly adorable set of stories all about being a middle child, Instead of being forgotten or last to be chosen, the middle child is front-and-center of this picture book. Perfect for families of all sizes, yet specific to the turmoils of a kid in the middle of the pack.

This book hits the nail on the head with the issues middle children face. I think many kids would be able to relate to this story, even if they are the oldest and youngest. All the role are portrayed in this book and they might be able to relate to them all.