Book Lists!

It’s summertime and the reading is easy. Take a look at just a few of the middle-grade books coming out this month:   Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein (illustrator) Can five overlooked kids make one big difference? There’s George: the brain. Sara: the loner. Dayara: the tough kid. Nico: the rich kid. And Miguel: the athlete. They’re all stuck together when forced to complete their school’s community service hours. Although they’re sure they have nothing in common with one another, some people see them as all the same . . .  just five Spanish-speaking kids. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help . . . or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school. With text in English and Spanish, Invisible features a groundbreaking format paired with an engaging, accessible, and relatable storyline.     Amari and the Great Game...

One of the very best things about the place where I live is that there is a fun mountain hike less that 10 minutes from my house. Which means, on a good week, I’ve climbed the trail to the summit at least once and have hiked the foothills trail around...

Six years ago my wife and I went on a babymoon. We didn’t call it that. We still don’t call it that. But I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. We packed up our little car with snacks and camping supplies and a dog, then made for the West Coast....

June is here and so is a treasure trove of new middle grade to fill those long summer days. There’s something for every reader in this month’s list – so get ready for some reading.   The Lost Ryu by Emi Watanabe Cohen Kohei Fujiwara has never seen a big...

In today’s Author Spotlight, Linda Williams Jackson, award-winning author of Midnight Without a Moon and its sequel, A Sky Full of Stars, chats about her latest middle-grade novel, The Lucky Ones—out now from Candlewick Press—as well as her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta. PLUS, a chance to win a...

In honor of my debut novel Honey and Me—a coming-of-age story about the friendship and escapades of two eleven-year-old girls—being available for preorder, I thought I would do a post about the central theme of friendship in middle grade novels. Although main character Milla has her insecurities and must find...

Here’s the roundup of some of the many diverse MG books on sale in May. Diverse titles have increased dramatically. I will be concentrating more attention on debut authors, beginnings of new series, and underrepresented elements within diverse books. As always if I’ve missed a May title, please drop a...