From The Mixed Up Files

Hello Mixed-Up Readers! Hope you are all well! If you haven’t been paying attention, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t have, but our own Heather Murphy Capps and Aixa Perez-Praido have brought a great new monthly feature to Mixed-Up Files, called WNDMG, which of course means, We Need Diverse Middle Grade. I know Heather, in particular, has been passionate about amplifying diverse voices, and hopefully, this year, she’ll have good news about her own book to share with everyone. She deserves it, especially since she has put in so much time to promote others....

The Brown Bookshelf has partnered with the Highlights Foundation to produce a year-long program to support and amplify Black stories, storytellers, and publishers. The goals are to lift up Black creators and also confront industry challenges and foster change. According to the program announcement,  Amplify Black Voices will feature monthly presentations from two distinct cohorts: “The Storyteller cohort includes debut, midlist, and vanguard Black authors and illustrators across all children’s literature genres and formats, at no cost to the storyteller. Discover the 24 storytellers in the cohort. The Publishing Teams cohort includes a diverse and inclusive gathering of executives, editors, and marketing and...

This May there are lots of great new middle-grade releases to read. Here are a few coming out this month. Let us know which ones you’re excited to read in the comments! Metropolis Grove by Drew Brockington The big city is full of Superman sightings, but here in Metropolis Grove?...

Get ready to Rock Out! This month it’s all about Geology ~ and we dug up a bunch of great books to get you started. Super Earth Encyclopedia: The Biggest, Highest, Most Extra Ordinary Features on Our Planet by, John Woodward DK/Smithsonian With stunning photographs and illustrations, this is an...

Kwame Mbalia (left), the New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong books (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky; Tristan Strong Destroys the World; and the upcoming Tristan Strong Keeps Punching), has teamed up with Prince Joel Makonnen (right), the great-grandson of Haile Selassie I, the last Ethiopian emperor,...

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math! Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Patricia Newman, award winning author of the newly released Planet Ocean.  Combined with Annie Crawley’s stunning photography, Patricia’s research provides an immersive...

This May there are lots of great new middle-grade releases to read. Here are a few coming out this month. Let us know which ones you’re excited to read in the comments! Metropolis Grove by Drew Brockington The big city is full of Superman sightings, but here in Metropolis Grove?...

Kwame Mbalia (left), the New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong books (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky; Tristan Strong Destroys the World; and the upcoming Tristan Strong Keeps Punching), has teamed up with Prince Joel Makonnen (right), the great-grandson of Haile Selassie I, the last Ethiopian emperor,...