HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to Kim Zachman and her middle-grade debut, THERE’S NO HAM IN HAMBURGERS: FACTS AND FOLKLORE ABOUT OUR FAVORITE FOODS. This non-fiction book is full of amazing facts about some of America's most popular foods. Readers will find out why there's no ham in hamburgers, and how we could make ice cream before we could make ice. The author features the most interesting facts and funny stories while serving them up with clever writing. [...]
Happy Book Birthday to Heather L. Montgomery with her new MG Nonfiction Who Gives a Poop? Surprising Science From One End to the Other. As if her book about roadkill (Something Rotten) wasn’t gross enough, Heather Montgomery brings us a book about poop. And just like her roadkill book, this one is stuffed with science and scientists. She writes about Dr. Logan Kistler, an archaeologist that specializes in archaeogenomics and who, by studying mastodon [...]
About the Book: When Zita Bridgeborn, a twelve-year-old orphan, receives a letter from a scarecrow informing her that she is the sole heir to Blackbird Castle, the residence of a prominent family of witches, her world is turned upside down. Little does she know of the treachery that awaits her behind the walls of the cursed castle. Will she prevent the evil Magdeboor from coming back from the dead and bringing more wretched souls with [...]
Happy Book Birthday to Christine Virnig and her book Dung for Dinner. During World War II, the German soldiers stationed in North Africa were getting deathly sick with dysentery. They noticed that the local Bedouins seemed to get over it quickly. After careful observation, they learned that the Bedouins cured this debilitating intestinal infection—by eating warm, fresh camel poop. You will find this and countless other gross, disgusting, disturbing examples of how people have used poop [...]
Happy book birthday to Newbery Medal-winning author, Erin Entrada Kelly, on her new novel, We Dream of Space, a heartwarming story about three siblings who are struggling with a tumultuous home life and school anxieties. As adults, we remember where we were when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off. Although we know the spoiler at the end of the space journey, that's only a small part of the story for these three siblings. [...]
TIME CASTAWAYS: THE OBSIDIAN COMPASS (Time Castaways #2) About the Book Mateo, Ruby, and Corey Hudson have lost their friend Jia to the villainous Captain Vincent’s clutches, and now they’re determined to bring her back to safety. But the Hudson kids don’t have a way to time-travel without the Obsidian Compass, until Mateo figures out the secret component to get his own homemade compass working. Soon the whole family—plus their wacky neighbor, Chuck, and his [...]
Addison Gerhardt would do anything for his best friend Devin Velma. After all, it was Devin that rescued him when he accidently locked himself inside the snack cabinet in kindergarten. Devin has been saving Addison from embarrassing social situations ever since and since every social situation is paralzyingly embarrassing to Addison, it’s almost a daily occurrence. Devin wants to make a viral video. What better way than the Double-Barreled Monkey Bar Backflip of Doom? That [...]
It's here, it's here, it's finally here! Happy Book Birthday to BUBBA AND SQUIRT'S BIG DIG TO CHINA by Sherry Ellis. We're super excited about this book release because Sherry is in our critique group and we've seen first hand how talented she is! The Blurb: You can't dig a hole to China! Squirt doesn't believe Bubba can dig a hole to China. But when the hole swallows them, the kids find themselves in Xi'an, China, [...]
Congratulations to Samantha Clark on her gripping debut novel, The Boy, The Boat and the Beast (2018, Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster). This is a one-of-a-kind story that skillfully keeps the reader emotionally invested all the way through to the unexpected ending. I asked Samantha about her writing journey. Middle Grade Mafia: Where did you find inspiration for this brave book, The Boy, The Boat and Beast? Samantha Clark: I’m so glad you think this book is [...]
Congratulations to Mae Respicio Koerner on her debut novel, The House that Lou Built, a warm middle grade book perfect for summer reading. What kid wouldn't like a tiny house all their own to escape their hectic family life. Even better, ambitious #stronggirl, Lou is determined to build it herself. We asked Mae about her writing journey. Middle Grade Mafia: Where did you find inspiration for The House That Lou Built and the diverse cast of characters? I knew [...]
