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My Middle-Grade Summer Must List!

By JROSEN on May 9, 2017 / Book Lists

Hello Mixed-Up Filers!

Hope all of you are doing well and have been enjoying all the recent posts as much as I have!

I know some of you are reading this and saying, “Whoa, Jonathan . . . what are you doing here? Aren’t you scheduled for June?”

Well, the answer to that, is yes, but . . . it seems that there was an intense emailing campaign to get me to go earlier and the powers that be here at the blog, had no choice but to acquiesce. So, thank you, Mom! You were right, it worked!

Anyway, as most of you know, I always have trouble deciding what to post about next, and this month was no exception. Several topics I wanted to do, but since we’re so close to summer, I decided to write about the books I’m most looking forward to, which are coming out this summer! Now, don’t get me wrong, because there are TONS of books that I’m looking forward to, but I’m just picking a few that caught my eye.

Great, right?

Well, even if you didn’t say, “Yes”, it’s too late, because that’s what I’m doing. So, without further ado . . . or maybe, a little ado, here we go!

Okay, right off the bat, I’m cheating. And the thing is, I know I’m cheating. This one doesn’t technically come out in the summer, but I can’t wait to read it nonetheless.

Better Off Undead, by James Preller.

This is about a boy who navigates through middle school as a zombie and has to solve a mystery. First off, I would read just about anything zombie-related. Phone book for zombies and mark me down for a copy. But, this sounds really cool and I can’t wait to read.

One Mixed-Up Night, by Catherine Newman

This story is about two kids, who each concoct a scheme to hide out in an Ikea store overnight. How ridiculously cool is that? I would’ve loved doing something like that as a kid!

Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls, by our own Beth McMullen

In this, A girl discovers her boarding school is actually an elite spy-training program, and she must learn the skills of the trade in order to find her mother. I would’ve loved reading that as a kid. Well, I’m going to love reading that now, too!

The World’s Greatest Detective by Caroline Carlson

Kids in a competition to find the world’s greatest detective! The contest turns into a murder mystery? Well, I’m hooked!

Kat Greene Comes Clean by Melissa Roske

A girl dealing with her obsessive-compulsive mother and enters her in a cleaning competition. She’s also having issues with a boy at school during their production of Harriet the Spy! I’m so partial to this book since I have a daughter the same age and picture how she’d deal with these situations. Very much looking forward to it!

Well, that’s it for now, Mixed-Up Filers! Hope you’re looking forward to these as much as I am. As I said before, there are many more, but let’s go with these five for now . . . okay, well, there is one book about bunnies or something like that coming out this summer, which I might be slightly looking forward to. But, the name seems to be escaping me right now. Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll think of it.

Until next time!

Jonathan

Regrowing Tails (or Tales)

By Laurie J. Edwards on May 8, 2017 / For Kids, For Writers, Writing

Did you know today is No Socks Day? That makes me happy because I despise socks and shoes. Researchers say creative people prefer to go barefoot, so I use that as an excuse. But I suspect the real reason is an incident that happened when I was two.

We had just moved to Africa, and I crawled out of my crib at night. My dad insisted we always wear slippers in the house, so I slid my foot into my slipper. And…

I stepped down on this slippery, wiggly thing. It squished, and I screamed. I shook the shoe off my foot. A lizard scooted out, but he left his tail behind. That skinny, green, wormlike tail wiggled and wriggled inside my slipper.

I’m still not sure what was more traumatic – the slimy surprise in my slipper, the twitching tail, or knowing I’d hurt an innocent creature.

My father tried to reassure me that the lizard was fine and would grow another tail, but I didn’t believe him. Not until he read it to me from a book. I didn’t learn until recently that it takes about 60 days for the tail to grow back. Poor lizard!

So what do shoes and lizards have to do with writing middle-grade books?

One of the hardest things for an author to do is to get emotion onto the page. Emotion is what hooks readers, and books that grab readers have heart and vividness. They make readers care about the character and immerse them in the scene.

One of the best ways to do that as a writer is not only to recall incidents from your past, but to re-live them. Investigate traumas in your life. These incidents are stored in the brain along with the many emotions connected with them. The minute I think about the lizard, my body freezes in terror, chills run through me, my foot recalls every detail of squishing down, and I recoil. All the visceral (or involuntary) reactions place me right in that scene again. I’m immersed in sensory details. Not just the wriggle, but my screams, my father’s feet pounding down the hall, the taste of bile in my mouth, the steamy sweatiness of the night. I can still see the way the moonbeams slanted through the window striping the shadows on the floor, hear the waves crashing against the shore in the distance. I can even hear the whine and buzz of mosquitoes against the netting.

All those details from one event that lasted only minutes.

Your brain is a treasure trove of memories. Tap them when you need to get more emotion on the page. Close your eyes and go back to a time when you felt the same emotion as your character. Feel the memory in your body, see it in your mind’s eye. Immerse yourself in it, and then let it flow onto the page. Readers will feel the terror or grief or joy along with you, and your books will stay in their hearts and minds long after they close the cover.

Cinco de Mayo, Middle-Grade Style

By Michelle Houts on May 5, 2017 / Book Lists, Diversity, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, New Releases

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by many in the United States, but does everyone who celebrates know what the holiday commemorates? A popular myth is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day, similar to America’s Fourth of July.

But, it isn’t. Mexico’s Independence Day is September 16th.

Here’s the real story: On the 5th day of May in 1862, though out-numbered and poorly equipped, Mexican soldiers held off French soldiers in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. This stopped the the French from progressing to Mexico City. It was a victory worth celebrating!

Also worth celebrating are some great middle-grade titles that feature Latina/Latino characters. But first, two words of caution as we think about diversity in our reading selections:

Not just today. Cinco de Mayo (or any holiday of cultural significance) is a great time to move readers toward more diverse book selection. But, let’s not limit that practice to the “culture of the month.” Each and every day, we should strive for diversity in our home, classroom, school, and public libraries.

Not just the classics. There will always be that treasured and timeless book we adore. We love it for its heart and for its story. And, because its characters helped us learn more about a given culture (in this case, think Esperanza Rising), we tend to gravitate toward it again and again. I say, Great! But, don’t stop there. Look for and champion new middle grade titles, like the ones below.

Click the book to go to the publisher’s page to read more about it.