From The Mixed Up Files

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! This month’s featured STEM author is Meg Thacher, author of Sky Gazing: a guide to the Moon, Sun, planets, stars, eclipses, constellations (Storey Publishing, 2020). Meg teaches astronomy at Smith College and is the academic director for Smith’s Summer Science & Engineering Program for high school girls. Plus, she writes for kids! Sky Gazing is a fun and fascinating tour of our solar system, with many extra bonus points for its glow-in-the-dark cover! Andi Diehn: The format of your...

Are you looking for some good news to cheer about? Well, here you go: From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors is receiving some love! What’s this about? We all know that there are many reasons to love the Mixed-Up Files, and one big reason is our effort to put a spotlight on diverse books. Just check out our WNDMG Wednesday blog posts! Well, it turns out a lot of people have been noticing our dedication to diverse books, and our blog is getting some love from Feedspot. Feedspot chose Mixed-Up Files as one of the 80 Best Diverse...

Hope you’re feeling lucky this St. Patrick’s Day week. In case you’re looking for good fortune, check out some of these middle-grade books with the work “luck” in the title. Hard Luck Written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney Book #8 in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series Greg Heffley’s...

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! This month’s featured STEM author is Meg Thacher, author of Sky Gazing: a guide to the Moon, Sun, planets, stars, eclipses, constellations (Storey Publishing, 2020). Meg teaches astronomy at Smith College and is the...

Today, please welcome critically acclaimed MG author Adam Borba to the Mixed-Up Files! In addition to being the author of Outside Nowhere—which was hailed by Publishers Weekly as an “intriguing novel with a strong emotional core”—and The Midnight Brigade, described by Booklist as a “tongue-in-cheek frolic,” Adam develops and produces...

I wish I had a photographic memory. But I don’t. In order to remember something, I typically need to write about it. And as a children’s author, I want to remember the books that I read. Through the years, I’ve tried several methods to chronicle the books I read. These...

It’s raining awesome new middle-grade titles for young readers! This month’s releases include fantasy, adventures, a memoir, a fun creative art book, fascinating book on the octopus, and a collection of stories from award-winning authors. Check them out! The Deadlands: Survival by Skye Melki-Wegner, Henry Holt Books, April 2. Wings...

We love spotlighting agents and editors every month! There’s so much you can learn from their interviews. Are there any MG agents or editors you hope we’ll spotlight soon? If so, please let us know in the comments. Any MG agents or editors who would like to be interviewed—please tell...