For Kids

Happy Endings

I’ve read some sad middle-grade books lately.

I mean sad.  Books about war, separation, poverty, judging, death.

It’s no secret that today’s middle-grade books tackle some serious topics, that authors aren’t afraid to stare down the very same monsters our readers face every day. After all, if children must be brave enough to travel life’s imperfect road, we must be brave enough to write about their journeys.

I used to believe that sad subjects were okay in middle-grade literature as long as there were happy endings. You know, all’s well that ends well.

But some of the books I’ve read lately didn’t have happy endings. And, since some of the books I’m going to talk about are very new, I won’t say any more than that in an effort to avoid spoiling anyone’s reading experience.

Just last week, I finished Lauren Wolk’s Wolf Hollow.

 wolf hollow

Not since William March’s The Bad Seed have I met a child antagonist as deceptive and wrong as Betty Glengarry.  Like anyone caught in the web of a narcissist’s lies, the narrator Annabelle can do little to break free of Betty’s ever-worsening cruelty. As I read, I found myself pleading for justice, fairness, and for Annabelle and others to prevail. But literature – and life – doesn’t always deliver justice and fairness and good over evil.

I also recently finished Pax by Sara Pennypacker.

pax

Okay, let’s talk sad. The book was passed along to me by an author friend I was visiting in Kansas City. I started reading in the airport and started crying on page six. Six. The heartbreaking separation of a boy and his pet  (Pax is a lovable and loving cross between man’s best friend and the most adorable house cat you can imagine  – but he’s a fox) at the very beginning was enough to make any reader believe that redemption would eventually come at the end. But literature – and life – does not always offer redemption.

So, does that mean I didn’t like these books? Or that I didn’t like their endings?

Not at all.  There’s more to a “happy” ending than joy. More than joy, I believe an ending must offer hope. And it must ring true.

Above all, it must ring true.

I can clearly remember having detailed discussions with my editor Claudia Gabel (then with Delacorte Press, now with Katherine Tegan Books) as we worked out the ending of my first middle-grade novel, The Beef Princess of Practical County. It’s a story about Libby, who raises cattle to show at the county fair. In the end, Libby’s beloved steer boards a livestock trailer for the slaughter house. It’s not the hoped-for Charlotte’s Web ending. But it has all the truth in it of a Midwest farmer’s daughter’s experience growing up on a cattle ranch. It rings true.

I promised not to talk about the endings of Wolf Hollow and Pax, so I won’t – except to say that both endings ring true.

And when we, as authors, pledge to traverse life’s imperfect road with our readers, offering truth is – in the end – the best that we can do.

Michelle Houts has written four books for middle-grade readers.  Her books have garnered an International Reading Association Award, Junior Library Guild selection, and inclusion on the Bank Street Best Books of 2014 List. She’s currently completing the first three books in a new science-minded series for younger readers, titled Lucy’s Lab (2017, Sky Pony Press).

 

Time Slipping Middle Grade!

The concept of time travel or time slipping has always fascinated me, ever since I read the book, Magic Elizabeth when I was in fourth grade. I also read Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time series, of course, with interstellar time travel.

Magic Elizabeth

I often lament that science hasn’t given us time-wrinkling, or time-folding yet, so I can zip across the country for a writer’s conference or a book signing for an author friend, or meet the other writers and authors I correspond with through Facebook and Twitter. I mean, really, time travel inventors–get with the program!

But the great thing is that we can time-slip through books – which I always talk about when doing author visits at schools. Books and stories can take us ANYWHERE, ANYTIME! That’s the real magic of reading!

A_wrinkle_in_time_digest_2007

Here are a few titles I particularly like, including two time travel/time slipping MG’s that I wrote. Because of course I would write one of these stories when I love them so much.

AND! Here’ s a link to a children’s book blog that features Time-Travel Tuesday posts. The blogger has delineated the titles by time period and included author names and dates of publication. http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/p/time-travel-books.html

The Last Snake Runner1

The Last Snake Runner by Kimberley Griffiths Little (2001) MG

Wild Robert, by Diana Wynne Jones (1989) MG

Three Lives to Live, by Anne Lindberg (1992) MG

Archer’s Quest, by Linda Sue Park (2006) MG

Crashing the Party, by Perdita Finn (2007)

Frozen in Time, by Ali Sparks (2009) MG

*The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker (2009) MG

Justin-Thyme-jacket

The Prince of Fenway Park, by Julianna Baggott (2009) MG

Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! by Matthew McElligott and Larrry Tuxbury (2010) MG

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams, by Rhonda Hayter (2010) MG

The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams

The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody (2011) MG

Counterclockwise, by Jason Cockcroft (2009) MG

11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass (2009) MG

 

 

Justin Thyme, by Panema Oxridge (2011) MG

A Year Without Autumn, by Liz Kessler (2011) MGA year without autumn

Odessa Again, by Dana Reinhardt (2013) MG

 

 

 

 

The Time of the Fireflies by Kimberley Griffiths Little (2014) MG

Time of the Fireflies_Cover

The Glass Sentence, by S.E. Grove (2014) MG

 

 

 

 

 

glass-sentence

If you *also* love Young Adult novels this list has many terrific titles as well:

http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/p/time-travel-books.html

What are your favorite time-slipping books? Please tell us in the comments!

 

 

Kimberley Griffiths Little has published 10 award-winning novels with Knopf, Scholastic, and Harpercollins. Her most recent MG, The Time of the Fireflies, was named a Bank Street College Best Books of 2015, a Whitney Award Finalist, a Letters of Mormon Arts Award Finalist, and was recently chosen for the William Allan White Kansas State Children’s Choice List for 2016-2017. Find Kimberley on Facebook and Twitter @KimberleyGLittl

More Podcasts for Middle Grade Fans!

In September, From the Mixed-Up Files’ own Kate Manning wrote a great post on Podcasts with Middle Grade Authors and I started loading my phone with fabulous content just the right length to tackle on a commute, a Mom Taxi run, or while waiting for an appointment.

A photo of headphones and an iPad.Since the fall, the number of bookish podcasts seems to have exploded. So here’s an updated list of podcasts on middle grade books to help our avid fans learn about new books:

The Yarn by Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp – The Yarn takes listeners behind the scenes of children’s literature, and lets them look at all the threads that must be weaved together to create a book.

The Narrative Breakdown by Cheryl Klein and James Monohan – Each episode, they analyze popular novels, movies, Broadway shows, television shows, short stories, and more. Featuring various expert guests as well as material from Cheryl Klein’s book ‘Second Sight’ and James’ app ‘The Storyometer.’

Children’s Books – The Guardian. Leading children’s authors discuss their work with young readers and the Guardian literary team.

HarperCollins Children’s – Now HarperCollins Children’s has its own podcast on children’s books as well.

SCBWI Conversations – Now the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has another great reason to join–a great series of podcasts interviewing leaders in the children’s book field.

Kids’ Book Corner – Hear an indie bookseller talk about her favorite children’s titles on her blog.

Book Club for Kids – One of our MUF readers let us know about this podcast, which lets you hear what kids think about their favorite middle grade books!

What are your favorite podcasts? Let us know in the comments!