Giveaways

Cover Reveal, Two Book Giveaways & Interview with Laurie Friedman

We’re lucky to have a cover reveal and two giveaways…for an exciting new middle grade novel by Laurie Friedman with illustrations by Heather Burns. Just wait until you see the full cover toward the bottom of this post. It’s amazing!!!

Laurie Friedman is the author of over fifty critically acclaimed picture books, chapter books, and novels for young readers including the bestselling Mallory McDonald chapter book series, The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair teen journal-format series, and many rhyming picture books, including the Love, Ruby Valentine series. She is also a frequent speaker at schools across the country. Her latest book, The Campaign, a middle-grade novel about two best friends who run against each other for class president will be available in libraries and through booksellers in September 2020.

You can find out more about Laurie and her books, get information on school visits, and sign up for her newsletter on her website. Interact with Laurie on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit Mallory’s Facebook page.

 

Welcome back to the Mixed-Up Files, Laurie! We’re thrilled to reveal the cover of your upcoming middle grade novel, The Campaign. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. 

What inspired you to write The Campaign

 

Great question! With the upcoming presidential election, I started to think about campaigns and how I might write about them in a way that would be fun and meaningful for middle-schoolers. I also wanted to capture the sense of drama that inevitably surrounds all campaigns. What could be more dramatic than two best friends who run against each other for president of their class? As is the case in many elections, the gloves come off! I want readers to see that no elected position is worth having if you have to fight dirty to get it.

 

That definitely sounds dramatic—and something every tween should read.

What do you think are the best ways to teach children and teens about politics? Are there any websites you think teachers would like to use with their students? 

 

Another great question! I think it’s important for kids to realize that their voices and opinions matter. Getting involved with local issues that mean something to them—both at school and in their communities—is a great place to start. Also, following the news is something that can start at a young age. Many of the media outlets have websites dedicated to providing news to students. My personal favorites are CNN 10 which provides a ten-minute recap of important daily news stories and the New York Times Learning Network which has all kinds of classroom resources.

 

Thanks for the helpful resources! When will The Campaign be released…and what are you looking forward to the most during school visits? 

 

 

The Campaign will be out in September, just in time for the national election. I always look forward to school visits and talking to kids about two of my favorite topics–reading and writing. I incorporated bits of history and fun facts about past presidents and what they did as leaders into The Campaign. I’m looking forward to including a trivia quiz (with prizes!) into my school talks.

 

 

I’m sure teachers and media specialists will love all the fun facts. And your school talks sound both informational and fun!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us? 

 

Talking about books is one of my favorite topics, so I could go on all day! Ha! Don’t worry, I won’t. The bottom line here is that I feel strongly a leader should be a good listener and recognize when someone has a good idea that might be even better than their own. I don’t like polarization. Whether it’s a school or a country, we should all be working together, not against each other. My hope is that The Campaign will be viewed as a fun read that also gets that message across to students.

 

I wish everyone would work together instead of against each other, and am so glad you wrote The Campaign. Thank you for visiting us, Laurie—and revealing your amazing cover.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…the cover reveal of The Campaign! I absolutely love it. Congrats, Laurie. 

 

Amanda Adams has always dreamed of running for class president. Her mom is a member of Congress and her dad is a political strategist who manages her mother’s campaign. Politics is in her DNA. She has the perfect VP in mind for the school ticket—her best friend Meghan Hart. But when Amanda finds out that Meghan has political ambitions of her own, these two best friends suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the aisle, and, as each girl mounts her campaign, it’s clear the gloves are about to come off. As the rest of their classmates begin to choose sides, the girls realize how they carry themselves over the coming weeks will have a lasting impact on the outcome.

 

Laurie Friedman is giving away TWO signed copies of The Campaign! The first Rafflecopter giveaway is open to everyone. The second is only open to teachers and media specialists. Laurie will send the books as soon as they’re available…and the lucky winners can read The Campaign before it’s released!

Giveaway winners will be posted on Saturday, February 8. Good luck!

*This giveaway is only available in the U.S. and Canada.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview and giveaway with Jamie Sumner, author of Roll with It

This week, author Jamie Sumner stopped by MUF to talk about her brand-new middle-grade title from Simon & Schuster, ROLL WITH IT (giveaway below!).  Here’s what Jamie had to say about writing for middle-grade readers, why stories about being the new kid are so appealing, and what’s on her TBR (to be read) list.

Roll with It by Jamie Sumner

Mixed-Up Files: Tell us a little bit about ROLL WITH IT (& CONGRATS!!!), as well as your background as a writer.

Jamie Sumner: I woke up at 2:30 a.m. one late night/early morning with the idea for ROLL WITH IT rattling around in my head. My son has cerebral palsy and the notion of writing a story that he could relate to had been percolating for a while. But I knew I couldn’t tell Charlie’s story. I needed more distance from real life to let my imagination go where it would.

What woke me up at 2:30 a.m. was this vision of someone in a wheelchair trying to navigate my grandparent’s old trailer in Oklahoma. It would be impossible! It would be insane to even try! But maybe, just maybe, if you’re determined enough and young enough to brave it, it could be awesome. And so the idea of ROLL WITH IT was born.

The story follows Ellie, a 12-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, who moves with her mom into a trailer park in Oklahoma to help take caring of her grandpa who has dementia. It’s a tight fit, but there is so much love in that small space and that small town. She finds freedom in this most unexpected place and she makes friends and pursues her dream of becoming a famous chef. She comes into herself here.

As for my background as a writer, it’s all over the place. I’ve written essays, both personal and reported, for The New York Times and The Washington Post. And I’ve also written a faith-based parenting book, Unbound, which came out last year and I have another faith-based parenting book, this time for parents of children with special needs, called Eat, Sleep, Save the World, that comes out with Lifeway March of 2020! I am also the reviews editor at Literary Mama so not only do I get to write, but I get to read great stuff as well.

MUF: You’ve written personal essays about your son, Charlie. Had you always wanted to write or was being a mom to Charlie what sparked that interest? 

JS: I still remember the first story that caused someone to call me “a writer”. It was fourth grade and the story was seven pages longer than the requirement and it followed the perilous journey of an elephant in India trying to escape from the zoo. My teacher loved it and I felt so important when the words I wrote made someone else feel things. I’ve written off  and on ever since, but began to pursue it full time after Charlie and my twins got a little older. And writing about Charlie is how I first jumped back in. There were so many things I wanted to tell other parents who might be in the same boat as me. And then later, there were so many things I wanted to share with kids who are like Charlie!

Jamie Sumner, author, Roll With It

MUF: What made you turn to fiction, and then specifically, middle grade fiction? What is it about MG readers that made you want to write for them?

JS: I love middle schoolers! I think this is the hardest age for a reason. When you’re in it, you have no idea what’s going on with yourself or anybody else. You’re confused and maybe a little scared. But all that makes you curious. And curious readers are the best kind! Kids this age are looking for answers and for stories that reflect what they are experiencing. They read with an appetite for comfort or understanding or simply distraction and when they find it they are loyal readers for life. I still remember reading Bridge to Terabithia as an 11-year-old and wondering how anyone could understand me so completely without having met me.

As for why I decided to write fiction—it was just too much fun to let the characters lead me wherever they wanted to go. I couldn’t imagine not telling Ellie’s story of friendship with Bert and Coralee and the wonderful things they get into. They are as real to me as my own family now.

MUF: I was interested in seeing that you’d made your main character, Ellie, “the new girl.” That’s a popular theme in MG — what is it about being the new kid that you think is such an appealing topic for readers? 

JS: Being the new kid is like stepping up to a precipice and peering waaaaay down and then waaaaay up and wondering where to go from here. It makes you stop and think about the kind of person you want to be. You get to reinvent yourself, or more to the point, dig deeper to find the person you know you are. The “new kid” is just a metaphor for how we all feel when we encounter something for the first time – new house, new friends, new family dynamic – it’s a chance to see yourself in a different light. If a story is about character development, what better way to do that than having them starting fresh?

MUF: What’s next for you?

JS: So many things! I’m excited to get rolling (pun intended) on school visits for ROLL WITH IT. And as I mentioned earlier, EAT, SLEEP, SAVE THE WORLD comes out in March so I’ll be traveling quite a bit and speaking about that.

But also…I have two more middle grade books coming out with Atheneum/Simon & Schuster! Next up for fall of 2020 is THE SURVIVAL PLAYLIST, the story of 12-year-old Lou Montgomery, a talented singer with a flighty, fame-hungry mother and an undiagnosed sensory processing disorder that makes performing nearly unbearable. I just saw the cover for that one and I was blown away by how wonderful it is.

MUF: Finally, what is on your bedside table/massive book pile by your bed now?

JS: Oh, this is  my favorite question. Ready?
Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry
Sweep by Jonathan Auxier
The Lost Husband by Katherine Center
Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo (so excited for this one!)
After the Flood by Kassandra Montag
Akin by Emma Donoghue
The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti
The Green Children of Woolpit by J. Anderson Coats

Find out more about Jamie and subscribe to her newsletter here.  

Want to win your own copy of ROLL WITH IT? Enter below!

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Double Helix Book Blast Tour!

Welcome Back to the Explorer Academy!


Welcome to the Explorer Academy: The Double Helix Book Blast!

 

To celebrate the release of Explorer Academy: The Double Helix by Trudi Trueit on September 24th, blogs across the web are featuring special content from the world of the Explorer Academy, as well as 5 chances to win an Explorer Academy Prize Pack!

Decoding Yourself

In Explorer Academy: The Double Helix, Cruz and his friends not only learn about the world around them, but discover new things about themselves as well — and it can help readers do the same. Use the questions below to help kids relate the adventures of Team Cousteau to their own lives, and find more in the freely available readers’ and educators’ guides!

 

1. Cruz learns that the ancient city of Petra was one of many cities known as the “rose city.” Why might this be such a common name for a city? What nicknames does your city, town, or county have?

2. This is an image of DNA that 20th-century scientists used to determine the structure of DNA, the building blocks of all living organisms. Dr. Rosalind Franklin, whose team made the image, wasn’t credited with the achievement because two other scientists — Watson and Crick — published the findings as their own. Why might it have taken so long for Franklin’s original finding to become public after the other scientists took credit? Why do some histories still fail to give her credit for the discovery? In terms of recognizing achievements, when might gender matter?

3. While taking a break in a shop, Cruz happens to notice a postcard of the mosaic artwork in the Byzantine church and compares it to the birthmark on his wrist. He realizes the shapes resemble the double helix pattern of DNA. How much does luck versus skill influence Cruz’s eventual success? When was the last time you achieved something through a combination of luck and skill?

*****

 

Blog Tour Schedule:
September 23rd – YA and Kids Books Central
September 24th – Java John Z’s
September 25th – Always in the Middle
September 26th – From the Mixed Up Files
September 27th – BookhoundsYA

“A fun, exciting and action-packed ride that kids will love.”  
—J.J. Abrams, director of Star Trek, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lost and Alias
 
Explorer  Academy  is  sure  to  awaken  readers’  inner  adventurer  and  curiosity  about  the  world  around  them.”
—LeVar  Burton,  host  of  “Reading  Rainbow”and “LeVar  Burton  Reads”
 


Buy
: National GeographicAmazon | Indiebound

Follow TrudiWebsite | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Follow National Geographic Kids: Website | Twitter | Books Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

The mystery deepens and the action intensifies for 12-year-old Cruz Coronado and friends in the exciting third book in the Explorer Academy series.The adventure continues for Cruz, Emmett, Sailor, and Bryndis as they continue their studies at sea and travel to exotic locations around the world. A mysterious person alerts Cruz to impending danger while he and a few trusted pals explore ancient ruins in Petra, Jordan, and search for another piece of the puzzle his mother left behind. Worst of all, now his father has gone missing, which prompts Aunt Marisol, his number one protector, to leave the ship in search of him. Who is the new professor who takes her place? How does the new technology he introduces help or hurt Cruz’s quest? Why is Nebula determined to stop Cruz before he turns 13? The clock is ticking as his first teen birthday draws near … a milestone that will change his life forever, one way or another.







About the Author: Author Trudi Trueit is a gifted storyteller for middle-grade audiences. She has written more than 100 books for young readers, both fiction and nonfiction, including The Sister Solution, Stealing Popular and the Secrets of a Lab Rat series. Trueit lives in Everett, Washington.
GIVEAWAY

  • One (1) winner will receive SIGNED copies of Explorer Academy books 1-3, Explorer Academy Codebreaking Activity Adventure, an ADVANCE copy of Explorer Academy Ultimate Activity Challenge (not otherwise available to the public until November!), an Explorer Academy pin, baseball cap, bag, digital watch, bookmark, and a $50 Visa Gift Card!
  • US/Canada only
  • Ends 10/4 at midnight ET


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Explorer Academy Recruitment Day — October 10, 2019

October 10th, 2019 is Explorer Academy Recruitment Day. From New York to Vancouver, Ohio to Texas, and all points in between, real-life National Geographic Explorers will be talking to thousands of kids across North America, sharing their experiences and revealing how the Explorers themselves inspired the coolest school on the planet: The Explorer Academy. Explorer Academy author Trudi Trueit will also be in her hometown of Seattle, talking to local schools (if only we could make more Trudi’s to go around but, alas, she is one-of-a-kind). Thanks to the series’ publication in a dozen countries, Explorer Academy Recruitment Day has turned into a GLOBAL phenomenon, with students all over the world participating in events similar to the ones happening in North America.

10/10, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
PUBLIC EVENT with Nat Geo Explorer Rae Wynn Grant
HOORAY FOR BOOKS
1555 KIng Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Event details:  Presentation, Q&A, and signing of posters

10/10, 7:00 pm
PUBLIC EVENT with Nat Geo Explorer Jennifer W. Lopez
CHILDREN’S BOOK WORLD
17 Haverford Station Road
Haverford, PA  19041
Event details:  Presentation, Q&A, and signing of posters

10/12, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
PUBLIC EVENT with Explorer Academy author Trudi Trueit
BRICK & MORTAR BOOKS
7430 164th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052
Event details:  Presentation, Q&A, and signing