Eleven-year-old Zack Einstein and his family have moved to Vista Point so his parents can open a bed-and-breakfast. They want a fresh start in a new place because a few months before, the youngest Einstein was killed in an accident. Zack blames himself. If only he had stopped his little sister Susan from chasing after the kitten, she wouldn’t have been hit by a car. Zack can’t forget that fateful day and his role in [...]
In 1913, thousands of Mexicans, including 12-year-old Petra Luna, her six-year-old sister, one-year-old brother, and her grandmother cross the Rio Grande into Texas to escape the violent civil war in Mexico. They stay in an overcrowded refugee camp with little food and a smallpox outbreak. When the revolutionists take back the Mexican border town, the refugees are given the option to go back to Mexico or get a job in the United States. Petra [...]
August brings 3 highly anticipated new books in a series: the Narnia-indigenous inspired fantasy The Stone Child, the spooky horror story about writing horror stories Gravebooks and the book described as Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black, Amari and the Great Game. The Stone Child by David A. Robertson (August 2) The Misewa Saga is the third book of the series. With a little help from friends old and new, Morgan must face attacks from strange [...]
Join us in welcoming these 3 new exciting middle grade releases that are sure to spark imagination in middle grade readers. Race for the Escape by Christopher Edge (July 5, 2022) What Ami thinks is a game at her Birthday party at The Escape (the ultimate escape room) turns into a race to save the world when she and her friends are sent to an ancient Mayan tomb, a deserted shopping mall stalked by extinct [...]
Aurora can be a bit too much; too much talking, too much activity, and too much volume. Frenchie, on the other hand, doesn’t talk at all. Aurora likes that about Frenchie. She doesn’t have to worry about interrupting him, like she tends to do to everyone else. After Frenchie and his mother Gracia move in next door, he and Aurora become best friends. They spend hours hiking through the Maine countryside with Frenchie silently bird [...]
Who can resist a fun retelling of a classic fairytale? Having some knowledge of the backstory allows the reader to get invested in the story quickly. Today's guest post is a fairytale specialist—Leah Cypess is the author of the SISTERS EVER AFTER series and shares some of her favorite retellings of Cinderella. Leah Cypess: While writing GLASS SLIPPERS, I avoided reading other retellings of Cinderella. But now that GLASS SLIPPERS is out in the world, [...]
What a coincidence that I just finished reading Dream, Annie, Dream in which the University of Kansas Jayhawks win the NCAA championships in 1988, and the Jayhawks soared through March Madness to win again this year! Seventh-grader Annie and her dad are big fans of the Jayhawks, partly because her dad is a math professor at the University of Kansas and partly because Annie loves to play basketball. Even though she’s barely five feet tall [...]
In honor of Australia Day celebrated on January 26, here are our top must-read middle grade books by Australian authors from 2021. We are looking forward to what 2022 will bring! Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee From the bestselling and multi-award-winning author of Lenny's Book of Everything comes a magical tale about a girl who saves a dragon and rescues her family. The What on Earth Institute of Wonder by Lisa [...]
As a writer, I know firsthand what it means to have folks buy your book. Writing the novel is an accomplishment, but it sure does feel good to sell a few, too! That’s why I decided to post on Twitter: If you ever see a post like this, reply quickly! I ran out of money pretty fast, but I did try to buy a book from everyone who commented. They all sound so good to [...]
Sweep, The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier is a heartwarming story about an eleven-year-old orphan who works as a chimney sweep in London in 1875. Auxier masterfully mixes a magical tale with the truth about the dangerous lives of chimney sweeps (often children) in the 1800s. When Nan was younger, she was looked after by a kindhearted man known as The Sweep. He told Nan many stories and when it was [...]
