MORE 'MIDDLE-GRADE-FICTION' POSTS
Sarah Everett wrestles with an outsized and ambitious bit of plotting, all the while keeping her cards close to her chest. Here’s some advice: Hand this to kids that like their books with a bit of a twist. And do NOT skip to the ending and read that first.
This is for the kid who likes their humor to be complicated, their writing to be scintillating, and to never, ever, know what an author is going to do next.
Though you may not be the biggest fan of books populated by furry woodland creatures, read The Eyes and the Impossible and you will find a thoroughly well-written, occasionally touching, funny, strange little book that sticks both its landing and in your memory. It might even turn you around on the whole animal fiction thing.
Torrey taps into a kind of writing we've been in dire need of for a very long time. And with his authentic voice and whole heaping helpfuls of heart, his latest book Hands is one that your kids are NOT going to want to miss.
Nothing about this novel is wholly ideal except possibly its intentions and its ability to charm some readers into a general state of submission. The question now is: Are you such a reader?
Oo. The penultimate list! We've had a fun ride but it's almost over. So today, enjoy books for older child readers. Tomorrow? Picture Books!
Ms. de León takes a learning opportunity for kids and couches it in enough chase sequences and fistfights to almost make you forget how much information is crammed into this little package. Prepare for exciting nuance!!
From the food to the clothing, the weather to the history, this is a book worth discovering and adoring. Go on. Read it. You’ll feel lucky that you had.
Typical bully books lack nuance. This book? A deeply nuanced take, unafraid to declare loudly that when it comes to human nature, there are no easy answers.
In Zia Erases the World author Bree Barton takes on that challenge. Her concept is small, even silly, when you hear it. But the implications? You may find yourself grasping for words to describe them.