For Teachers

February New Releases

By on February 1, 2017   /   Book Lists, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, MUF Contributor Books  

Looking for a good book to curl up with next to the fire? Check out these awesome new releases! We even have a few from our very own MUF members.

HUGE Congratulations to Dori Hillestad Butler and Kimberly Giffiths Little for their new book releases this month!

The Ghosts at the Movie Theater #9  by Dori Hillestad Butler (Grosset & Dunlap)

Kaz are Claire are on the case again–this time, they’re looking for Kaz’s long-lost uncle Their search takes them to a bakery and a movie theater. Along the way, they meet another kid ghost detective. Will Kaz and Claire be able to figure out what’s going on?


 

Returned by Kimberley Griffiths Little (HarperCollins)

After tragedy strikes on the day they were to wed, Jayden must support Kadesh as he ascends the throne and becomes king of Sariba. But with the dark priestess Aliyah conspiring to control the crown, and the arrival of Horeb, Jayden’s former betrothed, Kadesh’s kingdom, as well as his status as king, is at stake.

Jayden knows that the time to be merciful has come and gone, and that some enemies can only be halted by death. Now she and Kadesh must prepare to fight not only for their love, but also for their kingdom.

 

Dragon Captives (The Unwanteds Quests) by Lisa McMann (Aladdin)


Ten years after Alex and Aaron Stowe brought peace to Quill and Artimé, their younger twin sisters journey beyond the islands in this first novel of a new sequel series to The Unwanteds, which Kirkus Reviews called “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.”

 

The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life
by Kwame Alexander (HMH BFYR)


You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for our lives? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives?

 

Hilo Book 3: The Great Big Boom Hardcover by Judd Winick (Random House BFYR)


Hilo may look like an ordinary kid, but he’s DEFINITELY not! When we last saw Hilo, DJ, and Gina, Gina had been sucked into a mysterious portal to who knows where! But friends don’t let friends disappear into NOWHERE! It’s up to D.J. and Hilo to follow her. Will there be danger? YES! Will there be amazing surprises? OF COURSE! Will Gina end up being the one to save them? DEFINITELY! The trio will have to battle bad guys and face disgusting food, an angry mom, powerful magic, and more! Will they survive . . . and make it back to Earth before the portal closes again?!

 

Avatar: The Last Airbender–North and South Part Two by Gene Luen Yang (Dark Horse Books)

After attempting to kidnap Katara and Sokka, Southerner Gilak leaves a haunting note for Hakoda: “Soon you will see the truth, chieftain”. The vow leaves everyone on edge–including Katara, who remains wary of the two tribes’ integration. As Northerner Malina announces a partnership with the company owned by Toph Beifong’s father, her own brother comes forward to defame her. Have Katara’s worst fears been confirmed?

 

Tornado Terror (I Survived True Stories #3): True Tornado Survival Stories and Amazing Facts from History and Today by Lauren Tarshis (Scholastic Press)

The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 was the deadliest tornado strike in American history, tearing through three states and killing 700 people. The Joplin Tornado of 2011 was a mile-wide monster that destroyed heart of a vibrant city. The true stories of these two events plus fascinating facts, profiles of tornado scientists and storm chasers create a unique and thrilling nonfiction read, by the author of the New York Times bestselling I Survived series.

 

The Heroes of Olympus, Book Two, The Son of Neptune: The Graphic Novel  by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion)

Percy is confused. When he awoke after his long sleep, he didn’t know much more than his name. His brain-fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight. Somehow Percy manages to make it to the camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he had to continually kill monsters that, annoyingly, would not stay dead. But the camp doesn’t ring any bells with him.

 

Survivors: The Gathering Darkness #3: by Erin Hunter  (Harper Collins)

Storm is determined to protect her Pack from any threat—but how can she protect it from her own Packmates? Some dog is sabotaging the Pack from within, and suspicion and distrust are tearing the dogs apart. If they don’t uncover the traitor soon, there will be nothing left for Storm to protect…

 

Saturdays at Sea (Tuesdays at the Castle) by Jessica Day George (Bloomsbury)

There is never a dull moment for Celie and her family in Castle Glower–even when they’re not in the Castle itself! After traveling to the seaside kingdom of Lilah’s betrothed prince, Lulath, Celie and her companions are busy training griffins, enjoying wedding festivities, and finishing construction of a grand ship built from parts of the Castle. But on their maiden voyage, the Ship steers them far off course into uncharted waters. Celie and Lilah hope that the Ship is taking them to the ancient island where unicorns once roamed, but as the journey grows longer and supplies run low, they are in trouble. Celie, Lilah, and Rolf know they must trust the Ship as they trust the Castle, but what if they never reach land again?

 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World Hardcover by Shannon Hale (Marvel Press)

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? SQUIRRELS! Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of . . . a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go . . . NUTS?

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A Word or Two with Phil Bildner

By on January 27, 2017   /   Author Interviews, Book Lists, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers  

Today the Mixed-Up Files blog is talking with author Phil Bildner. You may know Phil from his amazing picture books, including Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans and Derek Jeter Presents: Night at the Stadium.

I met Phil Bildner on a three-hour bus ride through rural Missouri last spring when we were both featured authors at Truman State University’s Children’s Literature Festival. (The Mixed-Up Files’ own Tricia Springstubb will be taking that bus ride this April!) On that trip Phil taught me how to capture great photos from slo-mo video (we had a lot of time to fill!). I practiced on him. Want to see?

I also learned that Phil Bildner is a high-energy, deep-thinking, and talented middle-grade author and former middle school teacher. In addition to picture books, Phil writes the Rip and Red series. This series is all about the things that, when it comes to kids, matter most to Phil:  school, sports, friendships, community, and empathy.  Look for Tournament of Champions, the third book in the series this June.

So, I was going to call this post A WORD WITH PHIL BILDNER and limit his responses to a single word, but then I thought how difficult that might be, so I gave him a little wiggle room.  He could answer with TWO words if he needed to.

So, let’s see how he does. Ready?

MH:  I always pick a word of the year. Do you have a word for 2017?
PB:  EvaluateMH: What’s the best thing about being a successful middle-grade author?PB: Kid readers

MH: Which is your favorite part of the writing process:  research, drafting, or editing?
PB: Research
 
MH: How would you describe your writing style?
PB: Scattered
 
MH: What’s the best time of day to write?

PB: Morning

MH: What food have you tried that you hope you’ll never have to eat again?
PB: Beets
MH:  So, I guess I won’t serve these to you, then.

 
MH: What is the latest you’ve ever been on a deadline?
PB:  Late? Never.
MH:  Wow!
 
MH: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
PB:  Machu Picchu
 
MH: When you were in middle school, what did you think you would be when you grew up?

PB: Lawyer

MH: What animal would be a great pet?
PB: Dogs!
 Meet Katniss, Phil’s rescued pitbull mix.

She’s smiling, isn’t she?

MH: Where do you most like to write?
PB: Back porch
 
MH: What’s the hardest part of writing for children?
PB: Time management
 
MH: Is there a word that you really like the sound of?
PB: Boo-yah!
MH:
MH: What is the farthest from home you’ve ever travelled?
PB: South Africa and China
 
Which is more challenging to write: picture books or middle-grade?

PB: Middle-grade

MH: Who is your favorite character from middle-grade fiction?
PB: Auggie Pullman

MH: If you could meet any famous person, who would you meet?
PB: President Obama

MH: What do the best middle-grade books offer their readers?
PB: Hope

MH: If you could talk to your 12-year-old self, what would you say?
PB: You got this.

 
MH: What could our world use more of?
PB: Empathy
MH:  I agree.MH:  So, besides the third Rip and Red book, I know that you have a picture book coming soon about two famous tennis players, titled  Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports.  What can you tell us about that book?

PB: 
MH: What’s wrong? Do you need more than one or two words? Oh, well, I guess. Take as many as you need.

 

PB:  The rivalry between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert was (and is) the greatest rivalry in the history of sports. No other rivalry comes close. They faced one another an incredible eighty times, fourteen times in grand slam finals. But what makes their rivalry and story so compelling and important is that it went far beyond the grass courts of the All England Club and the red clay of Roland Garros. What makes their rivalry transcendent is the humanity of the combatants.

Martina and Chrissie were fierce competitors. They played under the brightest lights and on the biggest stages. But they were also the best of friends, and in the world of sports where we often carelessly serve and volley phrases like “going to war” and “doing battle” and “fighting for your life,” Martina and Chrissie never lost sight of their humanity.

MH: Now I’m really glad I gave you more space. I loved watching Martina and Chrissie play tennis when I was young!

Thank you, Phil, for your brief, but heartfelt answers! It’s been fun talking with you on the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors!  Folks, find Phil Bildner by clicking here, and find his books in your neigborhorhood bookstores.

 Michelle Houts is the author of many books for middle-grade readers. She’s rarely a person of few words, so she completely appreciates the challenge Phil Bildner faced doing this interview! Find Michelle at www.michellehouts.com and on Twitter and Instagram as mhoutswrites.
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Ripe Reads for National Cheese Lover’s Day

By on January 20, 2017   /   Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Nonfiction  

Really, today is National Cheese Lover’s Day, and to celebrate we’ve got a spread of “cheesy” books from fiction to food to just plain fun for you to savor.

brick-of-cheese

 

9780545939577Cheese by Sarah Weeks

Oggie Cooder loves cheese so much that he carries a slice of cheese with him wherever he goes. It’s not just for a snack — Oggie is an excellent charver. (Charving is when you chew a piece of cheese to carve it in the shape of something.) The kids at school think Oggie’s charving is a little strange. But when a big TV show comes looking for people with unusual talents, Oggie is suddenly Mr. Popular. Can Oggie charve a path to fame and score an invite to the party of the year without melting under the pressure? No matter how you slice it, you’re going to laugh when you read about one small kid becoming a really big cheese, in this hilarious combination of Oggie Cooder and Oggie Cooder, Party Animal.

 

9781101931219The Birthday Suit (Commander in Cheese #4) by Lindsey Leavitt, illus. by Ag Ford

If you are a mouse, then you might know about Ava and Dean Squeakerton. They are kind of famous, for mice. That’s because Ava and Dean and the rest of their family live in the White House. When a human has a birthday, mice get to eat a BIG cake! When a mouse has a birthday, mice get to throw a BIG party! Ava and Dean can’t wait to surprise Gregory on his birthday. They have the perfect gift: a special Abraham Lincoln suit made just for him! But making sure a mouse arrives at his surprise party on time is not easy . . . especially when a human kid picks up that mouse and wants to keep him as a pet! This chapter book series is sure to thrill readers who love tiny details and big fun. Bonus cool facts about presidents, the White House, and U.S. history are featured in the back of the book.


9781442433083Who Cut the Cheese? (Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder) by Jo Nesbo, illus. by Mike Lowery, trans. By Tara F. Chace

“Large helpings of whimsy, humorous black-and-white illustrations, and the occasional fart joke provide plenty of silliness” (Booklist) in the third Doctor Proctor adventure from New York Times bestselling author Jo Nesbø. Nilly, Lisa, and Doctor Proctor are too busy inventing things to watch TV, and everyone says they’re missing out on the hot singing competition. But then Nilly and Lisa notice that their friends and family are acting really weird. And the only people acting weird … are the ones watching TV. What’s going on is WAY bigger than a singing competition. It could mean the end of the world. Or a silent but deadly could save everything! Let ’er rip.

 

9780545872522The Cheese Experiment (Geronimo Stilton #63) by Geronimo Stilton

New Mouse City was in a panic. A strange epidemic had broken out—mice everywhere were covered in weird blue spots! Mouse Island’s most famouse doctor immediately set to work with his team to try to find the cure… but someone was trying to stop him. Could I figure out who before I ended up blue myself?

 

 

9781481423274Heidi Heckelbeck Says “Cheese!” by Wanda Coven, illus. by Priscilla Burris

Heidi Heckelbeck is a little witch with a big problem: she’s missing her front tooth! Can she fill the gap with some magic in time for class picture day? Heidi Heckelbeck has a loose front tooth, and class picture day is just around the corner. Despite being as careful as can be, Heidi loses the tooth—and ends up with a big hole in her smile! Can she use her Book of Spells to create a new tooth? Or will she have to learn to love her new look?

 

9781561458103The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, illus. by Barry Moser

Skilley, an alley cat with an embarrassing secret, longs to escape his street-cat life. Tired of dodging fishwives’ brooms and carriage wheels, he hopes to trade London’s damp alleyways for the warmth of ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn. He strikes a bargain with Pip, an erudite mouse: Skilley will protect the mice who live at the inn, and in turn, the mice will provide Skilley with the thing he desires most. But when Skilley and Pip are drawn into a crisis of monumental proportions involving a tyrannical cook, an unethical barmaid, and a malevolent tomcat, their new friendship is pushed to its limits. The escalating crisis threatens the peace not only of the Cheshire Cheese Inn but also the British Monarchy! Unbeknownst to Skilley and Pip, however, they have a secret ally: a famous author who scribbles away many an afternoon in ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn…

 

9780545035255Say Cheese and Die! (Classic Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Discover the bone-chilling adventures that made Goosebumps one of the bestselling children’s book series of all time. Now with all-new bonus materials! Greg thinks there is something wrong with the old camera he found. The photos keep turning out . . . different. When Greg takes a picture of his father’s brand-new car, it’s wrecked in the photo. And then his dad crashes the car. It’s like the camera can tell the future—or worse. Maybe it makes the future!

 

9781512434217Chips and Cheese and Nana’s Knees: What is Alliteration by Brian P. Cleary, illus. by Martin Goneau

What is alliteration? You’ll find the answer inside this bookit’s packed with wonderful and wacky words that start with similar sounds. Brian P. Cleary’s remarkable rhymes and Martin Goneau’s ingenious illustrations creatively present the concept of alliteration for young readers. For easy identification, key examples of alliteration appear in color, and comical cats reinforce each idea.

 

9780399240164Who Moved My Cheese? For Kids by Spencer Johnson and Christian Johnson, illus. by Steve Pileggi

Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese? is a bestselling book that has helped millions of people around the world adapt and succeed in changing times. Now Dr. Johnson has adapted his story for the picture book audience so that, starting from the earliest age, children can view change as a positive thing that can lead to new opportunity. Young readers will enjoy following the story of the four little characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw, who make their way through a maze looking for the “Magical Cheese” that makes them happy. And once they find the Cheese, it seems like it will last forever-until one morning when everything changes. Who moved their Cheese? Will it come back? Or will they have to look for different Cheese, venturing onto strange paths, around corners they’ve never explored? As children follow these friends through the maze of change, they can try to figure out which character they’re most like-or which they most admire-and what their own Magical Cheese might be.

 

9780766033153Chocolate Ants, Maggot Cheese, and More: The Yucky Food Book by Dr. Alvin Silverstein, Dr. Virginia Silverstein, and Laura Silverstein Nunn, illus. by Gerald Kelley

Would you eat chocolate ants or roasted grasshoppers? What about maggot cheese or octopus? Authors Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn introduce readers to foods from all over the world that students may think are yucky—and foods that we may eat that other people think are yucky, too!

If you know any other “gouda” books like these, let us know in the comments section. We’ll “edam” right up!

Dorian Cirrone is the co-regional advisor for the Florida Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has written several books for children and teens. Her most recent middle-grade novel, The First Last Day (Simon and Schuster/Aladdin), is available wherever books are sold. You can find her on Facebook and on Twitter as @DorianCirrone. She gives writing tips and does occasional giveaways on her blog at: http://doriancirrone.com/welcome/blog/

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