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Tag: 2012 middle grade fantasy

December 29, 2012 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom By Christopher Healy Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-211743-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Since when did fairytales become the realm of the girly? I blame Disney. Back in the days of Grimm your average everyday fairytale might contain princesses and pretty gowns […]

December 13, 2012 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Splendors and Glooms By Laura Amy Schlitz Candlewick Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5380-4 Ages 10 and up On shelves now. Do you remember that moment in the film version of The Princess Bride where the grandfather is trying to convince his stubborn grandson that the book he’s about to read is fantastic? He lures the kid […]

November 20, 2012 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: The Vengekeep Prophecies by Brian Farrey

The Vengekeep Prophecies By Brian Farrey Illustrated by Brett Helquist Harper Collins $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-204928-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Let’s talk lazy fantasy writing. It exists. It’s out there. And when you find yourself reading some 30+ middle grade fantasies in a given year there are certain tropes and themes that appear so often […]

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Review of the Day: Goblin Secrets by William Alexander

November 1, 2012 by Betsy Bird

Goblin Secrets By William Alexander Margaret K. McElderry Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-442434523 Ages 9-12 On shelves now I think it is time to declare the birth of the clockwork children’s novel. If you have been watching the literary trends over the last decade or so, you will note that […]

Review of the Day: Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

June 29, 2012 by Betsy Bird

Starry River of the Sky By Grace Lin Little, Brown and Company $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-316-12595-6 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 2, 2012 I remember when Grace Lin first started writing chapter books for kids. She’d been doing picture books (mostly for others) for years and when at last she started creating small semi-fictionalized memoirs based […]

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