Willa is one of the last of the Faeran clan, an ancient people who have lived in the forests of the Great Smokey Mountains for thousands of years. Willa’s family are all dead and she lives with her adoptive human father and sister in the mountains near Cades Cove. Her peaceful life in the woods is disrupted when logging crews begin clear-cutting huge sections of her precious forest. Trees are not just big plants to [...]
Marisol Rainey has a tree in her backyard which she calls Peppina. This wonderous, glorious, giant Magnolia tree is exceptionally perfect for climbing, just ask her 12-year-brother Oz and her best friend Jada who both love to climb it. Marisol hates Peppina because she can’t climb it. She’s too afraid. This is Newbery author Erin Entrada Kelly’s newest book about the very imaginative 8-year-old Marisol who lives in Louisiana with her science teacher mother [...]
Erin Entrada Kelly was recently awarded a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space and she won the Newberry Medal in 2018 with Hello, Universe. Middle Grade Mojo was honored to get to chat with her new early middle grade novel Maybe, Maybe, Marisol Rainey which released on May 4th. Middle Grade Mojo: In Maybe, Maybe, Marisol Rainey we meet the wonderfully imaginative, yet fearful, 8-year-old Marisol. You have said Marisol is a lot like [...]
All athletes need dedication and persistence to succeed, but some women athletes had to overcome obstacles to get a chance to play before they could be successful. Such as Maria Toorpakai Wazier from Pakistan, who pretended to be a boy so she could play squash without the Taliban knowing. Other ground-breakers include: Diane Crump, the first woman jockey in the Kentucky Derby; Jen Welter, the first woman to play in a contact position in professional [...]
We’re so excited to talk to Aileen Weintraub, the author of more than 50 books for children. Her newest book, We Got Game: 35 Female Athletes Who Changed the World releases on May 4th. Middle Grade Mojo: You’ve written many other nonfiction books for kids with a wide range of topics from rocks and minerals to a knock-knock joke book to a book about the band Kiss. Why did you decide you wanted to write [...]
After her mother dies, 12-year-old Lydia goes to live with her aunt Brat, and her aunt's wife Eileen on a farm that they care for while also caring for the ancient owner of the farm, Elloroy. This story about grief and starting over is as soft, comforting, and beautiful as the hand-knitted sweater that Lydia wears constantly to keep her mother close to her. Before she died, Lydia's mom spent several years waiting on a [...]
After living most of her twelve-years of life traveling around the world with her archeologist dad, Lola Bento is angry and frustrated to be staying with her Great-aunt Irma in San Francisco. She likes Irma just fine and San Francisco is okay too. But what is not okay is the fact that her dad is missing and no one is even trying to find him because they think he’s dead, but she knows in her [...]
What is even more foolish, is to not even try to write because you are afraid of making a fool of yourself. Go and write!
Great writers know... You may not be a great writer yet, but as long as you keep moving toward your goal, you'll be successful eventually. Keep moving! Keep writing!
In Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China, Bubba and his big sister Squirt, fell through a hole near the old sycamore tree and landed in Xian, China surrounded by Terracotta Warriors. After they come back from China, Bubba has a dream that his Great- Great-Grandpa Jacob, a magician, told him to go through the vortex again. Squirt doesn’t like this idea at all. She worries they might not be able to figure out how [...]
