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MORE 'MIDDLE-GRADE-HISTORICAL-FICTION' POSTS

    Review of the Day: The Line Tender by Kate Allen

    Betsy Bird, April 10, 2019 | Best Books, Best Books of 2019, Reviews, Reviews 2019

    There are books for kids that dare to be more thoughtful than pulse pounding. If chosen freely by a child, they can unlock something inside. Something that means more to the person reading than anyone else. The Line Tender carries this promise in its pages. It's the right book for the right reader.

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    Review of the Day: Spy Runner by Eugene Yelchin (bonus interview included)

    Betsy Bird, March 21, 2019 | Best Books, Best Books of 2019, Reviews, Reviews 2019

    Here’s an idea: Why not take the idea of a world gone mad and give it a jolt of lightning to the veins? Set your book in another era when America went a little crazy, then liven things up with spies, car chases, murder attempts, gunshots, traitors, double agents, and that’s just the first few chapters! A book for the kids that want to read a response to our age that will thrill them to the core, and maybe plant a couple of seeds of rebellion in their craniums at the same time.

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    Review of the Day: Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

    Betsy Bird, September 13, 2018 | Best Books, Best Books of 2018, Reviews, Reviews 2018

    Louisiana’s Way Home By Kate DiCamillo Candlewick Press ISBN: 978-0-7636-9463-0 $16.99 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 2nd There once was a book called Raymie Nightingale. Not a big flashy book with glitter on the cover and fonts that look like escaped balloon animals. Just a quiet book set in the late 1970s in Florida, patiently […]

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    Review of the Day: The Story Collector by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

    Betsy Bird, August 23, 2018 | Reviews, Reviews 2018

    The Story Collector By Kristin O’Donnell Tubb Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno Henry Holt & Co. (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-250-14380-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves August 28th From 2007 until about 2012 I had the distinct pleasure of working in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of New York Public Library. It’s one of those […]

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    Review of the Day: The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis

    Betsy Bird, March 8, 2018 | Best Books, Best Books of 2018, Reviews, Reviews 2018

    The Journey of Little Charlie By Christopher Paul Curtis Scholastic Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-15666-0 For ages 9 and up On shelves now I don’t know Christopher Paul Curtis personally, but if I had to harbor a guess I’d say he’s the type of author that doesn’t like to make things too easy for himself. That’s […]

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    Review of the Day: The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by Diane Magras

    Betsy Bird, February 8, 2018 | Best Books, Best Books of 2018, Reviews, Reviews 2018

    The Mad Wolf’s Daughter By Diane Magras Kathy Dawson Books (an imprint of Penguin) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-525-53134-0 Ages 9-12 On shelves March 6th Sometimes you just want to read a book that knows how to run. There are many way to define the term “great writing” as it applies to children’s literature. Eloquent. Ennobling. Distinguished. […]

    Read Post »

    Review of the Day: Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

    Betsy Bird, June 22, 2017 | Best Books, Best Books of 2017, Reviews, Reviews 2017

    Beyond the Bright Sea By Lauren Wolk Dutton (an imprint of Penguin Young Readers) $16.99 ISBN: 978-11-101-99485-6 Ages 10-14 On shelves now. No author gets a free pass. Your last book have been a spot-on bit of brilliance, lighting up the literary landscape like a thousand Roman candles. Pfui. A writer is only as good […]

    Read Post »

    Review of the Day: Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan, ill. Meilo So

    Betsy Bird, March 30, 2017 | Best Books, Best Books of 2017, Reviews, Reviews 2017

    Bronze and Sunflower By Cao Wenxuan Illustrated by Meilo So Translated by Helen Wang Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-8816-5 On shelves now It’s odd. Parents these days. I meet so many of them that believe that to live in a globalized society it is imperative for their children to learn another language. That’s not the […]

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    Review of the Day: Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders

    Betsy Bird, November 14, 2016 | Best Books, Best Books of 2016, Reviews, Reviews 2016

    Five Children on the Western Front By Kate Saunders Delacorte Press (an imprint of Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-553-49793-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Anytime someone writes a new prequel or sequel to an old children’s literary classic, the first question you have to ask is, “Was this necessary?” And nine times out of ten, […]

    Read Post »

    Review of the Day: Cloud and Wallfish by Anne Nesbet

    Betsy Bird, September 27, 2016 | Best Books, Best Books of 2016, Reviews, Reviews 2016

    Cloud and Wallfish By Anne Nesbet Candlewick Press $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-8803-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Historical fiction is boring. Right? That’s the common wisdom on the matter, certainly. Take two characters (interesting), give them a problem (interesting), and set them in the past (BOOOOOORING!). And to be fair, there are a LOT of dull-as-dishwater […]

    Read Post »

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