Blog

Tricks & Treats: Halloween Costume and Book Pairings

By on October 17, 2018   /   Articles, Book Lists  

Halloween is coming, and for many middle graders, that means there’s going to be a character parade at school. What’s a character parade? That’s when your middle grader student dresses up as their favorite book character and parade around school. The catch is that they have to bring a book featuring that character to display with their costume. What are you supposed to do if your middle grader wants to dress up as the latest TV or video game characters? Don’t worry! We here at Mixed-Up Files have got you covered.

Here are some books to bring along that complement popular character costumes.

The most popular costumes this Halloween are rumored to be characters from the videogame, Fortnite. With a little imagination, these costumes can also represent some great middle-grade characters. Say, your middle grader wants to dress up as a:

Dark Voyager:  That’s basically an astronaut costume in black instead of white. Any nonfiction books about astronauts should fit the bill here, like Astronaut, Aquanaut by Jennifer Swanson. Or if you’d prefer a fiction book, middle grade books about space travel would work. Try The Countdown Conspiracy by Katie Silvensky. For more space-travel related books, check out our list here.

 

 

Black Knight: This is exactly what it sounds like, and again, nonfiction books can be your friends. Try Knights and Armor by Jim Pipe. But there are also plenty of fiction books about knights too.  For example, the Have Sword, Will Travel series by Garth Nix.

 

 

Or a Skull Trooper:  With the addition of a few pieces of clothing found around the house, this is a pretty versatile costume. Add a trench coat and a fedora, a skull trooper becomes Skullduggery Pleasant, the titular character from Derek Landy’s series. With a frilly black shirt, a blue bow, and a pair of jean shorts, you’ve got Cinderskella from the Scarily Ever After series. Or, if you’d prefer to go the nonfiction route, human body books such as Human Body Theater by Maris Wicks would be a good choice.

 

Of course, not all middle graders want to be characters from Fortnite. Other popular characters may include superheroes, such as Black Panther. There are plenty of books and graphic novels to represent characters from these realms. For Black Panther fans there’s, Black Panther the Young Prince by Ronald L. Smith. Also the Marvel Super Hero Adventures graphic novel series features several Marvel characters, including Black Panther. Tom Angleberger of Origami Yoda fame also has a series featuring Rocket and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. The DC Superhero Girls books and graphic novels feature many DC heroes. For DC superheros such as Batman and Superman, the Super Powers would be a good series to use. The Secret Hero Society series would also be a good choice for understated superhero costumes.

But what if none of these books are available, or your middle-grader has a costume that they can’t or won’t wear to school?

Here are some quick costume suggestions based on items that you have around your own home.

Evangeline from Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge: Evangeline is a swamp witch just like her grandmother who fights off monsters and werewolves in a girl-powered “Little Red-Riding Hood” retelling. This costume is pretty simple. All you need is a jeans, boots, and a red hoodie.

 

 

Devin Dexter from Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies and From Sunset till Sunrise by Jonathan Rosen: Devin hunts monsters with the help of his cousin Tommy. In Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies, he fights evil Christmas toys, and in his latest adventure, he’s facing vampires. Devin’s outfit is pretty easy to pull off with sensible shoes, jeans, a white button down, green sweater vest, and a brown outer coat.

 

Alcatraz Smedry from Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz series vs. the Evil Librarians series: Alcatraz Smedry is so unlucky that for his thirteenth birthday, he receives a bag of sand that is supposedly his inheritance. Then, the bag of sand is stolen, and a crazy man claiming to be Alcatraz’s grandfather convinces him to face off against the evil librarians who stole it. Alcatraz’s outfit is fairly simple with jeans, a white t-shirt, and a green jacket. Also, very important is a pair of glasses. You can be as creative with these as you like.

Gratuity “Tip” Tucci from The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex: Gratuity “Tip” Tucci embarks on a journey to find her mother after aliens invade Earth. Along the way, she befriends an alien who calls himself J. Lo, who helps her find her mom and escape the other alien race that shows up to take over. While Tip’s clothing is never really described in the book, you can easily create the costume from the movie adaptation costume with jeans, a green hoodie, and red sneakers.

 

These are just a few of our costume and book suggestions for your character parade. What costumes are you planning?

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday — Let’s Explore Botany!– Writing Craft and Resources

By on October 16, 2018   /   Botany, Common Core & NGSS, STEM Tuesday  

 

Botany?

When I first applied and joined up with the STEM Tuesday team, there was one general subject I secretly wanted to avoid at all cost. A subject which is one of my weakest scientific areas. Botany.

It’s not that I am a complete putz when it comes to botanicals. I cultivate a vegetable garden every year. I enjoy both the gardening process and reaping the benefits of the garden’s production. My paternal grandfather taught us grandkids how to plant petunias in my mother’s flowerbeds not long after we were out of diapers. My maternal grandfather kept a big, spacious garden where he grew tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, horseradish, and all things which could be made into spicy canned deliciousness.

I must confess, however, when it comes to the study of plants, I fall short. I can spend hours studying an animal cell or bacteria or a virus. A plant cell? Not so much. I can make a pretty solid salsa out of the tomatoes, peppers, and onions from my garden; yet can tell you very little about the seed anatomy, the root system, the physiology, or the leaf structure of that tomato plant.

With my relative ignorance out in the open, what can I offer to the STEM Tuesday Botany Craft & Resource game this month?

I can ask a simple question that lies at the core of an inquiring STEM mind:

How can I learn more about _______?  (Which, in this case, is botany.)

I can suggest doing what STEM thinkers have done for centuries and go to work.

  • Observe. “Hey, that thing is pretty awesome.” 
  • Ask why. “Why is that thing as awesome as it is?”
  • Research. “I need to find out what makes that thing awesome.”
  • Go where your interests take you. “This thing is like that thing and it’s also awesome.”
  • Dig deep into those directions that interest you. “Whoa! This thing and that thing are both are part of something bigger.”
  • Be open and willing to learn. 
  • Be willing to do the work to learn.

I cleaned the remaining vegetables off all the plants in my garden this past weekend in front of an early frost and snow shower. The plants were pulled and thrown into the compost pile and the last containers of homemade salsa and pasta sauce were canned and now sit in the pantry. Gardening season 2018 has come to an end. But the learning is just beginning for the gardener. Time to hit the STEM Tuesday Botany book list and see where my plant learning journey takes me over the winter.

As my wife, who teaches first grade, often reminds her rock-headed husband, we are never too old to learn something new.

Finally, never forget that life viewed through the lens of an inquiring STEM mind is a much richer life.

Keep asking questions!

Keep learning!

STEM rocks!

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training related topics atwww.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. Two of his essays will be included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books release later this month. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.

 

The O.O.L.F Files

The Out Of Left Field files this month focuses on the fun side of botany in an attempt to make up for my shortcomings on the subject as outlined in the above post. And if you find yourself hungry at the end of chasing the links, the final link can easily take care of your appetite, one way or the other.

 

 

 

 

Back to Top

Diversity in MG Lit #3 Hispanic American

By on October 15, 2018   /   Diversity  
October is Hispanic Heritage month and we are celebrating a bunch of new MG books featuring Latinx characters and authors
  • Charlie Hernández the league of shadows by Ryan Calejo
    • This debut novel is a fantasy adventure based in central American mythology. Charlie Hernández is a typical Miami middle schooler until his world is rocked by the loss of his home and parents. And then to make matters worse, he starts growing horns and feathers. In time he realizes that he is becoming a creature from his abuela’s stories and that like any other Morphling he’s got the fight of his life on his hands. Short chapters and heaps of action make this a good choice for a reluctant reader. This is Ryan Calejo’s first novel.
  • Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
    • Also set in Florida Merci Suárez is a contemporary 6th grader in a coming-of-age tale. Merci is a scholarship student at a private school and feels keenly her family’s lack of wealth even as she sees the treasure of living in a multigenerational household. This story sensitively addresses her grandfather’s Alzheimer’s disease. Meg Medina is prolific, writing picture books, chapter books, MG and YA novels. Her most recent Burn Baby Burn was long listed for the National Book Award in 2016 Meg Medina also has a story in the Ellen Oh’s short story collectionFlying Lessons.
  • Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya
    • This contemporary coming-of-age story focuses on a fourteen year old boy who is big for his age and something of a trouble magnet. His white mother decides to return to pre hurricane Maria Puerto Rico to find Marcus’s father and help Marcus gain some perspective and connection with his extended family. This is Pablo Cartaya’s second novel for MG readers.
  • The Crossroads by Alexandra Diaz
    • In her 2016 novel The Only Road Alexandra Diaz recounted the tribulations of migrants escaping gang violence in Guatemala. The Crossroads picks up the story for 12 year old Jaime and Angela as they adjust to life in the US.
  • Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older
    • This historical fantasy is set during the American civil war in an alternate history featuring dinosaurs as the domestic servants of men. It is set in the Colored Orphan Assylum and features a group of Cuban children who lived there. It also encompasses imagined events of the New York City draft riots. Short on history but long on heart and daring adventure, this story will appeal to alternate history fans and reluctant readers alike.
  • Dragon Slayer: Folk tales from Latin America by Jaime Hernandez
    • This collection of three folk tales is rendered in appealing graphic novel format giving a contemporary flare to traditional folk tales.
There are of course many other great books about the Latinex experience and by Latinex authors. I’ve chosen these because they are new with a publishing date of September or October of this year. If you have other favorites please mention them in the comments. Independent bookstores and libraries have always been the champions of new and diverse books so please consider rewarding that advocacy by getting your books in person or by mail from your local public library or independent bookstore. You can order ebooks and audio books from an independent bookstore too.
Back to Top