We’re In the News! From the Mixed-Up Files….of Middle-Grade Authors has made not one, but TWO “best blogs for kids” lists. You like us! You really like us! Check us out here and here. We’re thrilled to get the chance to share our good news with our readers and to thank all of you who have made us one of your favorite go-to blogs on all things middle grade.
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Animals chat, build, migrate, and do all sorts of things. Their antics are the subject of so many STEM titles that we just had to make a list this month of the latest and the greatest. Please suggest your favorites if we’ve missed any. Like our other lists, these books are great classroom and library additions.
The Superpower Field Guide: Beavers by Rachel Poliquin and John Firth
Through meeting Elmer, an ordinary beaver, readers discover the many attributes all beavers have that make them crucial to wetland habitats. This new series turns traditional field guides upside down, creating a fun, informative look at each species. Cartoony illustrations liven it up further.
Penguins vs. Puffins by Julie Beer
We love the mock contest setting of this title. Which bird is better? Penguins or puffins? Beer does a wonderful job of pointing out similarities and differences of the many species of these birds. And of course, the beautiful National Geographic photos are a hit!
Death Eaters by Kelly
Milner Halls
Vultures are one of the most misunderstood and least appreciated wild species. Readers will discover just how important and amazing they are in Kelly Milner Halls latest book. Readers will love the nod to the Harry Potter series, too!
Animal Zomb
ies by Chana Stiefel
Zombies really do exist in the animal kingdom! This book features zombying parasites, bloodsucking vampires, sea beasts, ghosts, and others that will excite and inform fans of animals and horror.
Where the Animals Go: Tracking Wildlife with Technology in 50 Maps and Graphics by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti
This cross-over title will appeal to any reader who is fascinated by animal migrations. It’s filled with topographical maps that provide a rich look at wildlife and geography. Readers can follow the record flight patterns of Arctic terns to pythons in Florida.
Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation by Patricia Newman
Most elephant books feature Asian elephants or the African elephants that live on the plains. This NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book title follows a group of scientists who listen to forest elephants–a relatively unknown species. A great addition to a science unit on sound, this book also includes QR codes that take readers inside the forest to hear elephants the way the scientists heard them.
Little Monsters of the Ocean: Metamorphosis Under the Waves by Heather Montgomery
You might think that butterflies and frogs are the only creatures that undergo metamorphosis, but you would be wrong. Leave it to STEM author Heather Montgomery to show us that there are many ocean animals that also experience this life-changing cycle.
Smart About Sharks by Owen Davey
Owen Davey has compiled so much information about sharks into this richly illustrated book that even the most knowledgeable shark enthusiasts will find something they didn’t know. A shark book that should be on every ocean book shelf.
Absolute Expert: Dolphins by Jennifer Swanson and Justine Jackson-Ricketts
Aspiring marine biologists will enjoy learning about dolphins with National Geographic explorer and dolphin expert, Justine Jackson-Ricketts in this ultimate dolphin resource book.
Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals by Nancy Furstinger
Inspiring tales of animals using prosthetics, braces, orthotics, and wheelchairs to live out their lives fill the pages of this STEM title. Readers will get a glimpse into how cutting-edge technologies are improving the lives of animals and humans.
Snowy Owl Invasion: Tracking An Unusual Migration by Sandra Markle
This book goes hand-in-hand with Where The Animals Go. Readers will dive into the unusual migration of snowy owls in this beautifully illustrated book by Sandra Markle.
Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife by Amy Cherrix
Have you ever seen a bear in your backyard? More and more people are experiencing these extraordinary visitors each year. Readers will take a look into why this is happening and how conservation can play a role going forward in this recent Scientists In the Field title.
STEM Tuesday book lists prepared by:
Nancy Castaldo has written books about our planet for over 20 years including, THE STORY OF SEEDS: From Mendel’s Garden to Your Plate, and How There’s More of Less To Eat Around The World, which earned the Green Earth Book Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and other honors. Nancy’s research has taken her all over the world from the Galapagos to Russia. She strives to inform, inspire, and educate her readers. Nancy also serves as the Regional Advisor of the Eastern NY SCBWI region. Her 2018 multi-starred title is BACK FROM THE BRINK: Saving Animals from Extinction. Visit her at www.nancycastaldo.com
Patricia Newman writes middle-grade nonfiction that inspires kids to seek connections between science, literacy, and the environment. The recipient of a Sibert Honor for Sea Otter Heroes and the Green Earth Book Award for Plastic, Ahoy!, her books have received starred reviews, been honored as Junior Library Guild Selections, and included on Bank Street College’s Best Books lists. New in 2018: Eavesdropping on Elephants: How Listening Helps Conservation. During author visits, she demonstrates how her writing skills give a voice to our beleaguered environment. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com.
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Sue Cowing for Mixed-Up Files: I love the full name of this unique children’s bookstore in Brooklyn—Stories Bookshop & Storytelling Lab (www.storiesbk.com) It’s a place that encourages kids not only to read good stories, but to make them!. We’re talking today with Maggie Pouncey, co-owner:
MUF: Some people are inspired to open a bookstore because their town needs to have one. Brooklyn has several, yet there was nothing like the store you imagined, a bookshop with a storytelling “lab.” Please tell us a little about your vision and how you are carrying it out.
Maggie:We believe sharing stories with your children is the surest lifelong gift you can give them, particularly in this digitally saturated age we live in. Brooklyn is a city filled with young families with tons of activities for kids, but it had no children’s only bookshop.
We loved the idea of these two symbiotic spaces—the small curated shop where you could find new books you’d never seen before, and the Storytelling Lab, which would be a community gathering place where stories were made, shared, and told. My husband, Matt Miller, and I spent a couple months writing our business plan —we needed one to apply for a small business loan—and we spent much of that time clarifying our mission for Stories, how we wanted the place to feel, and how we wanted it to serve in young readers lives and the lives of their families.
MUF: How do you choose what books to carry in your shop? Do you have some favorite themes?
Maggie: Because our shop is so small —smaller than the children’s section in many general interest bookstores!—we have to say no to a lot of things. Our largest sections are for picture books and board books, and/but we have thriving graphic novel and middle grade sections as well.
We also have a robust section of feminist books and books about change-makers; with so many good titles coming out inspiring kids to be activists, we even have an Activist Book Club people can subscribe to. We just love good stories! And books that have the kind of timelessness all great literature doe
MUF: As middle- grade authors, we’re curious to know what titles, new and old, fiction and nonfiction, you find yourself recommending most often to this age-group?
Maggie: We sell a lot of books by Brooklyn authors! Our bestselling middle grade books have been The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown—such wonderful stories and can work as read-alouds to kids as young as 5 or 6. We sell a lot of the fabulous mystery/ghost story, Greenglass House,
by Kate Milford. And the great memoir-in-poetry Brown Girl Dreamingby Jaqueline Woodson. (All three from Brooklyn!) We also sell a lot of beloved series —Harry Potter of 
course,
and we’ve been very enamored of Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow; 
Wings of Fire(and anything 
dragons!); Wildwood;The Penderwicks; in graphic novels Amulet, Lumberjanes, all the Raina Telgemeier books.
MUF: What’s happening at the upcoming meeting of your Middle Grade Book Club? Do middle-grade authors make appearances at your shop?
Maggie:Our Middle Grade Book Club for kids 8-12 meets once a month, and we read and discuss classics, graphic novels and new favorites. When it’s a local author we invite them to come! Peter Brown and Kate Milford have come. Karina Yan Glaser came to talk with us about the first book in her wonderful series set in Harlem, NYC, The Vanderbeekers. 
Last month we discussed Jacqueline Woodson’s powerful new novel, Harbor Me, 
and she came to talk with the group which was thrilling for the kids! This month we’re reading Dave Eggers’s new middle grade fantasy adventure, The Lifters, and after that we’ll do an awesome new graphic novel, Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner.
MUF: Tell us something about your writing workshops for this age group, past and future. Have you spawned some writers?
Maggie: It may be a bit too soon to know if we’ve helped usher in a new generation of Brooklyn writers—but we certainly hope we do 🙂 
We teach an art class called Mini-Makers for babies and it’s such fun to watch them explore new materials and make a very good mess making gorgeous art!
The graphic novelist Justin LaRocca Hansen teaches an amazing Graphic Novel 
Class for kids 7-12, and they really explore every part of the process, from idea, to penciling, to inking, to presenting their work to a live audience of their families!
We host a Storytime 6-days a week —on week-days led by our staff and on Sundays featuring an author or illustrator who shares a book and often does a drawing demonstration for us. I’m off right now to introduce Jessie Sima and her new picture book, Love, Z! These are such a lively and warm mornings, and I do hope they are showing the kids who come week after week the joy of making things.
MUF: If a family from out of town makes a day-trip to visit Stories Bookshop, are there family-friendly places nearby where they could get a snack or a meal afterwards? And if they can stay longer, are there some nearby sites or activities they shouldn’t miss?
Maggie: Absolutely! Brooklyn is filled with family-friendly diversions and eateries! Just around the corner from us is Bklyn Larder—a delicious stop for lunch. The bakery Ovenly offers tons of sweets treats. We’re also in walking distance from both Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park, lovely places to spend an afternoon walking or kicking a ball.
Brooklyn is a great walking city, and it’s the best way to see all the different neighborhoods. Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Brooklyn Museum are not to be missed.
MUF: Thanks, Maggie, for making time for this interview, and for inspiring us with your vision of kids of all ages reading and creating stories.
