From The Mixed Up Files

I had the privilege of chatting with Tony DiTerlizzi, who’s been writing enchanting and award-winning tales for over twenty-five years. Today, we’re taking a special look at his latest book, The Wump. ———————————- Thank you so much for joining us here at the Mixed-Up Files, Tony! As a reader of the Spiderwick Chronicles and many of your other works, I was so excited to hear about your new book, The Wump, and thrilled to have the chance to read it early. This story shows us a boy who lets a monster eat his darkest thoughts and feelings...

“Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” That’s the theme of this year’s Banned Books Week. A joint effort by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Banned Books Week Coalition, this annual week of focus provides the opportunity to make a bold, collective statement about the freedom to read.    This year’s campaign features three separate illustrations that highlight the importance of libraries. According to the ALA, award-winning illustrators Hyesu Lee, Loveis Wise, and Mikey Burton created artwork that “embraces joy and creativity as acts of resilience, reminding our communities that a handful of people running organized censorship...

The recent rise of books being taken out of libraries has made an impact on young readers. Now, more than ever, young people have less access to titles representing diversity. “The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked that of the 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, 39 % represent the...

AI in Schools Has a Cost: Impacts and Responses by Kamilla Milligan and Alexandra Millarhouse   Are you being asked to incorporate AI into your work or classroom? How do you feel about that? The push for AI seems to be everywhere these days, including in many classrooms. As educators,...

I had the privilege of chatting with Tony DiTerlizzi, who’s been writing enchanting and award-winning tales for over twenty-five years. Today, we’re taking a special look at his latest book, The Wump. ———————————- Thank you so much for joining us here at the Mixed-Up Files, Tony! As a reader of the...

As a young child picking strawberries alongside his family, Pedro Martin learned that hard work is survival. Even then, he loved to draw cartoons when he wasn’t in the fields and especially loved Saturdays when he could watch cartoons and draw. While in the fields, he imagined the characters of...

Get cozy this fall and cuddle up with one of these amazing new books. October 6th The Creeps By Tahlor Mejia Front Desk meets Stephen King! In this perfectly frightening middle grade read, a twelve-year-old boy moves into a creepy motel where breaking the rules doesn’t just mean getting kicked...

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” This famous quote by Stephen King encapsulates an important truth for writers: We should always be reading, and the parenthetical in that quote tells us why. Reading gives us tools, and the only...