I guarantee The Door by the Staircase will make you hungry for two things: Russian food and good old-fashioned fairy tales. The first is an odd thing to say about a book about Baba Yaga, the Russian witch who eats children, but it’s true. Our heroine Mary is always eating such wonderful things. It hardly matters that we know the witch is trying to fatten her up! This book, like a good dinner has all [...]
Paul Griffin’s newest middle grade novel, When Friendship Followed Me Home, is a beautiful book. By turns funny, sad, sweet, and thoughtful, it surprised me over and over. The story follows former foster child Ben Coffin, a Coney Island kid who’s used to getting picked on and who prefers hanging out with characters in books and his imagination rather than other kids. But all that changes when he meets Flip, a scruffy, abandoned mutt. Ben [...]
Extraordinary Sam & The Adventurer’s Guild is a fun, action-packed novel that’s a great summertime read for middle graders. We caught up with Kevin and asked him about his enthusiasm for adventure stories. Middle Grade Mafia: Have you found that the book is most popular with a certain group of readers? Kevin Springer: When writing Extraordinary Sam, I didn’t think about writing for a specific group. I wanted to create a story that is relatable to whoever picks [...]
Lisa Lewis Tyre's debut middle grade novel Last in a Long Line of Rebels launched in September, 2015 with starred reviews. I asked her about her launch experience as well as what happens after the launch. MGM: So, now that you've experienced the book launch, was there anything unexpected or would do differently for your next launch? LLT: My launch was so much fun. I had a celebration at my local Indie bookstore, Fox Tale Books, and invited everyone I [...]
I always consider it a bonus when a sequel is as good as the original. But a sequel that is better than the original is a rare treat. SERAFINA AND THE TWISTED STAFF is that rare treat. In the first book, Serafina and the Black Cloak, we met Serafina who lives with her father in the basement of the Biltmore House in 1899. As a catamount (part human-part cat), Serafina has unique physical abilities that [...]
Middle Grade Mafia reads a lot of books and we think we have good taste in children’s literature, but what do we know? We’re adults. Children’s books are supposed to appeal to children. We wanted to know what kids like to read and why .From time to time, MGM will be interviewing the real experts in children’s literature…the media specialists. Our first “From the Stacks” interview is with Jennifer Lewis, the media specialist at Indian [...]
Congratulations on another book birthday for our Mafia friend, Tricia Springstubb. Her latest MG novel, Every Single Second, (Blazer & Bray, HarperCollins) launches today. "Every Single Second" is the story of two girls whose friendship has dwindled but whose ties remain deep. When one of their brothers is involved in a tragic shooting, the world changes overnight. A noel about the impact of class and racial divides, it explores the shifting bonds of friendship, the deep [...]
There are witches in eleven-year-old Rupert’s modern world, real witches with cauldrons and spells. They are all dangerous, according to his mother. She warns him to stay away, so of course, he ignores her. What else is the poor boy to do? He is desperate for an adventure to take his mind off his terrible teacher, Mrs. Frabbleknacker. She could put any witch to shame. But then perhaps that might be because she is a [...]
Happy book birthday to Karen Harrington on her latest MG release Mayday. I was lucky to get an ARC of this book which is now one of my all time favorites. Wayne Kovok must face some unusual challenges (a plane crash, facial scaring, lost treasures) in addition to some of the more usual ones (loser father, grumpy grandpa and girl problems). The story is wonderfully written with authentic voice and characters. It's a perfect MG book that blends heart and [...]
The Middle Grade Mafia has read a number of books for our reviews, but none were like Mike Lowery's Doodle Adventures: The Search for Slimy Space Slugs! In this fun interactive book, kids have been recruited to help Carl the Duck, who happens to work for a super secret agency, to help find Captain Sleezoog's space base and retrieve a stolen jar. The adventure requires the reader to draw a variety of objects and scenes as [...]
