Posts Tagged contemporary realistic middle-grade fiction

Cool new releases for this hot summer!

By on August 1, 2025   /   Articles, New Releases  
Check out these awesome reads to get middle-grade readers through these last hot days of summer!
The Library of Unruly Treasures, by Jeanne Birdsall, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 352 pp. Release Date: August 5

Gwen MacKinnon’s parents are dreadful. Truly, deeply, almost impressively dreadful. So Gwen’s not upset at all when she’s foisted onto her never-before-seen Uncle Matthew for two weeks. Especially when it turns out he has a very opinionated dog named Pumpkin.

Things take a turn for the weird when Gwen makes a discovery in the local library. A discovery that involves tiny creatures with wings. And no, they’re not birds. They’re called Lahdukan. But why can only Gwen and the youngest children, gathered for storytime, see them?

The Lahdukan insist that Gwen is destined to help them find a new home. But how can a girl as unwanted, uncourageous, and generally unheroic as Gwen possibly come to the rescue? Pumpkin has a few ideas…

The Memory Spinner by C.M. Cornell, Delacorte Press, 288 pp. Release Date: August 12

Since her mama died, thirteen-year-old Lavender has a disastrous memory problem. She forgets her lessons with her papa, an apothecary. She develops elaborate evasions to hide her lack of memory of the herbs and remedies she must learn to attain her dream of being an apothecary apprentice. Worst of all, she forgets memories of her mama.

Despite her papa’s disdain for magic, Lavender seeks a memory remedy from a clothing enchantress named Frey. As the two develop a friendship, Frey uses her spinning magic to help Lavender re-experience past moments with her mama. Lavender hears her mama’s laughter again, her singing voice, and how it felt to be wrapped in her hugs.

But when Lavender discovers the truth about Frey’s magic and its vengeful purpose she must decide whether to stay immersed in beloved memories with her mama or save the people she loves most in the present.

The Space Cat, by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford, First Second, 176 pp. Release date: August 12

Ah, yes, the luxurious life of a well-loved cat. It’s the best. And Periwinkle has it the cushiest. But there’s more to this pampered pet than meets the eye. He’s not just a house cat. He’s a space cat. By day, he’s showered with scritches, cuddles, and delicious chicken fillets. By night, he races through the cosmos in his custom-built spaceship.

Between epic battles with squeaky toys and working on ways to improve his ship, Periwinkle is never bored. And when his humans decide to leave the United States and move to the small but bustling town of Kaleria, Nigeria, he’s excited to explore his new home—even after he learns that many Nigerians hate cats. After all, a born adventurer like Periwinkle doesn’t shy away from new experiences. But not everything in Kaleria is as it seems. Soon enough, Periwinkle finds himself on his most out-of-this-world adventure yet, right here on Earth.

Dive by John David Anderson, Walden Pond Press, 336 pp. Release date: August 19

From the moment Kassandra Conner leaps from the diving board to the moment she hits the water, everything feels in control.

The rest of her life does not.

St. Lawrence Academy is supposed to have everything Kass’s old school didn’t: safe hallways, small classes, and, most important, a chance to dive. But since transferring, all Kass can think about is what’s missing. Like her best friend, Aleah, who’s starting to pull away. Or the comfortable life so many of her classmates enjoy while Kass’s family’s restaurant struggles to stay afloat. Even the excitement she always felt in the pool, now that she’s on the same team as Amber Moore—the best diver in the state, who’s barely said two words to her all year.

Kass feels like she’s drowning, until she meets a boy named Miles. He’s a diver, too—someone who searches through dumpsters in the posh side of town for things he can salvage or sell. Miles knows what it’s like to be boxed in by things you can’t control, and as Kass spends more and more time with him, she starts to wonder what would happen if she tried to break out of her own box—and what she might lose by doing so.

space case The Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 360 pp. Release Date: August 19

For twelve-year-old Dashiell Gibson, living on the moon is a dream come true. Except for the low-gravity lunar toilets. And the food. And the part where his best friend lives about 250,000 miles away. And how there are almost no other kids up here, except for his kid sister and a couple of billionaire bullies. Oh, right, and the fact that a fellow lunarnaut just died—and only Dashiell knows that his death wasn’t an accident.

Plenty of people on the moon base are hiding something, but which of them are capable of murder? It’s up to Dashiell to figure it out—before the killer strikes again.

An out-of-this-world full-color graphic novel!

 

 

 

 

 

Dream On by Shannon Hale and Marcela Cespedes, Roaring Brook Press, 240 pp. Release Date: August 26

Something is missing from Cassie’s life.

Her parents don’t have much money, she has to share her bedroom (and bed!) with her sisters, and her family never seem to have time for her. To make matters worse, her best friend Vali is always busy with a new friend.

When Cassie gets a letter from a magazine sweepstakes with the words “YOU’RE THE WINNER” stamped on the front, she thinks it’s the answer to all her problems.

She could buy new furniture to replace their shabby old sofa. Or maybe a car so her family doesn’t have to take two trips to go places. Or maybe she can make Vali her best friend forever by taking her on a fabulous vacation. The possibilities are endless, like an all-you-can-eat buffet!

But will prizes really solve Cassie’s problems?

And what will she lose if she doesn’t win anything at all?

With bright and charming illustrations by Marcela Cespedes and Lark Pien, Dream On is a joyful story filled with imagination, big dreams, and wonder. This book is perfect for readers who want to enjoy a gentle and accessible friendship story, as well as anyone looking for SEL themes about empathy, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

This story also features children experiencing high sensitivity, big emotions, and feelings of sadness, making it a helpful tool to spark conversations and connections with young readers.

The Forest of a Thousand Eyes by Frances Hardinge and Emily Gravett, Amulet Books, 128 pp. Release Date: August 26

One thing Feather knows to be true is that given the chance, the Forest will devour her home just like it’s devoured everything else in her world. Her small community lives in a section of the crumbling Wall that runs through and above the trees, doing everything they can to keep the Forest out.

When a stranger tricks Feather and makes off with her people’s precious spyglass, she has no choice but to go after him, coming face-to-face with the Forest’s dangers–and to revelations beyond her wildest imagination.

In the same stunning format as Island of Whispers, this story about perseverance and community from Costa Book Award winner Frances Hardinge and acclaimed illustrator Emily Gravett is sure to become a new classic.

Schooled, by Jamie Sumner, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 224 pp. Release Date: August 26

Eleven-year-old Lenny Syms is about to start college—sort of. As part of a brand-new experimental school, Lenny and four other students are starting sixth grade on a university campus, where they’ll be taught by the most brilliant professors and given every resource imaginable. This new school is pretty weird, though. Instead of hunkering down behind a desk to study math, science, and history, Lenny finds himself meditating, participating in discussions where you don’t even have to raise your hand, and spying on the campus population in the name of anthropology.

But Lenny just lost his mom, and his Latin professor dad is better with dead languages than actual human beings. Lenny doesn’t want to be part of some learning experiment. He just wants to be left alone. Yet if Lenny is going to make it as a middle schooler on a college campus, he’s going to need help. Is a group of misfit sixth graders and one particularly quirky professor enough to pull him out of his sadness and back into the world?

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Author Spotlight: Barbara Carroll Roberts + a GIVEAWAY

By on July 17, 2025   /   Author Interviews  

In today’s Author Spotlight, Landra Jennings chats with author Barbara Carroll Roberts about her new middle-grade novel, The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter (Holiday House, July 22). She’ll share her inspiration behind writing it, the passion for gardening and wildlife that informed it, and the lovely inspiration for the dog character. Plus, there’s a chance to win an ARC of The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter if you enter the giveaway!

 

Book Summary:

Bunny Baxter thinks nothing could be worse than starting seventh grade at a school where she knows no one. But after her first day, she realizes things can actually get much worse.

If Bunny Baxter were an insect, she’d have so many ways to slip through seventh grade unnoticed. But she’s tall instead of tiny, has flaming red Medusa hair instead of camouflage, and she suffers from social anxiety, which makes it hard to be part of a swarm. Worst of all, she’s been redistricted to a new middle school away from her best friend who she could always hide behind when her anxiety got the best of her.

The first day at E.D. Britt Middle School does not go well. Bunny trips on the steps, falls into the cutest boy in the school, and causes a kid domino pile-up. At lunch, she unintentionally causes an uproar in the cafeteria, which lands her and another girl in the principal’s office. Bunny decides there is only one option: to get expelled so she can transfer to the school her best friend attends.

She soon discovers that it isn’t that hard to get in trouble — don’t turn in your homework, walk around the track instead of run in P.E., pretend you deliberately hit someone with a badminton birdie. What isn’t so easy for Bunny is realizing she now has a reputation as a troublemaker. And even more confusing, when it looks like her plan to get expelled might work, she’s no longer sure what to do.

The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter is a heartfelt coming of age story about an insect-loving girl who is learning to grow into herself — quirks and all.

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Booklist Starred Review.

Interview with Barbara Carroll Roberts

LJ: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Barbara! Thanks for joining us today.

BR: Thank you so much for having me.

LJ:  First, I have to tell you how much I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Bunny’s journey is so beautifully layered and nuanced. “Metamorphosis” is the perfect descriptor. Can you please tell us about your inspiration to write it?

BR: Thanks so much! I actually began this book with what it wouldn’t be about. While I was working on my MFA at Hamline University, one of the other students wrote her critical thesis about how few children’s books she’d found in which the main character had been adopted into their family. And of the books she did find, almost all of them focused on the character searching for a birth parent, or on another issue directly linked to the child’s adoption. The woman who wrote this essay had been adopted into her family, and she also adopted her own children. She felt that children who’d been adopted needed more books about kids like them, but more than that, they needed books in which the main character just happened to have been adopted, but that’s not what their story was about. Since my husband and I had adopted one of our children, I decided to write a book like that.

This isn’t a craft technique I’d recommend, though – starting a novel with what it won’t be about. I struggled through several really awful attempts to come up with a story before the main character and the vaguest idea of a plot began to take shape.

Gardens and Pollinators

LJ: You’re a gardener. How did your passion for gardening and pollinators influence the story? Did you have to do any additional research on that?

BR: This story actually came to me through research, though I initially didn’t realize I was doing research – I was just reading the magazines and websites of the gardening and wildlife organizations I belong to and seeing more and more articles about the need to protect insects, especially pollinators. Then I read two books by Douglas Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope, which also discuss the importance of insects in the natural world, as well as the difference individuals can make by planting native plants in their yards.

So, then I tore out a big planting bed in my yard that was filled with boring nonnative shrubs and replanted it with native flowering plants. And somewhere in all of that the story of a very shy girl who’s fascinated by insects began to take shape. I had to do a lot of research on insects and social anxiety, which Bunny experiences. There was much more research done than what ended up in the story!

Favorite Scene

LJ: The writing was so beautiful. My favorite scene to read was the lovely “hammock” scene. What was your favorite scene to write?

BR: Wow, this is a difficult question. It was really important to me to dig into the deep emotions of the characters in that scene. This was also true of the scene in which Bunny asks her sister, Bella, if she thinks it feels different to have been born into their family instead of having been adopted into the family, as Bunny was. But these scenes were also very difficult to write, because I had to dig deep into my own emotions, too. I’m sure I revised these scenes more than any others, trying to get them “right.” Scenes with broader humor, like the pandemonium in the cafeteria caused by Bunny’s emotional-support cicada, were definitely more enjoyable to work on.

Favorite Character

LJ: Your side characters were so well drawn out. Ralph was a personal favorite. Do you have a favorite secondary character?

Riley

BR: It’s funny you mention Ralph. My dog Riley was a real life inspiration!

In general this question is sort of like asking “Who’s your favorite child?” I grew very attached to all of the characters in this book, but the two I had the most fun with are Bunny’s dad – because he’s so talented and creative at garden design, but so absent-minded about all kinds of mundane things – and Sylvia Lester-Hewitt-Abruzzo-Fung – because she has no filter and says whatever comes into her head. Plus, I had a lot of fun thinking about all the goofy things she wears in her hair.

 

Cover Art

LJ: The cover by Erin McGuire is absolutely gorgeous. What was your reaction on seeing Bunny and her faithful counselor Ralph depicted for the first time?

BR: When my editor at Holiday House, Margaret Ferguson, told me they were considering Erin McGuire for the cover illustration, I went to Erin’s website to see her work. And I was thrilled to discover that she’d illustrated book covers that I’ve always loved, including the cover of The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu, and the cover of your book, Wand. I’m absolutely delighted with the cover Erin created for my book. She perfectly captured Bunny’s fascination with insects and the natural world, as well as the love and friendship she shares with Ralph.

To the Heart of Bunny

LJ: I was really touched by Kyle’s articulation of what seemed to be a major theme for the story—”You get to be who you are.” Can you tell us a little bit about that?

BR: I wish I could tell you that I had that scene all planned out from the beginning, but pretty much the opposite is true. Instead, it was one of those magical moments when your characters just start talking to you. I was probably on my fifth or sixth full revision of the manuscript when Kyle suddenly “said” those words to Bunny, and I realized I’d finally found the heart of the book.

LJ: What else do you hope readers take away from this story?

BR: You know, every reader sees a book through the lens of their own life experiences. So, I suspect readers will find a variety of take-aways. My main hope is that readers enjoy the book. And if they happen to be inspired to plant a pollinator garden at their own school or home – even just a small pot of native plants on their apartment balcony or windowsill – that would be lovely.

On Writing

LJ: What do you like best about being a writer?

BR: Oh boy, another difficult question. I very rarely find writing to be fun. More often it’s hard work. Trying to get a sentence to flow smoothly. Figuring out the logical steps of a conversation or a sequence of action. Developing an idea without smacking the reader over the head; finding the most evocative sensory details to bring a scene to life. I started writing Bunny in 2019 after my first book came out. It took some time to develop. But I’ve always enjoyed being alone with my thoughts – what my mother called daydreaming and my children call spacing-out-staring-at-nothing. I think it was E. L. Doctorow who said writers have to “re-dream the scene.” And I think this is what I like best about writing – the dreaming-it-up part.

Lightning Round

No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so. . . .

Coffee or tea?

Coffee.

Sunrise or sunset?

I do love seeing the sunrise. But since I’m a bit of a night owl and not at all a morning person, I don’t see too many sunrises. I’ve always loved the hour or so around sunset, when things start to go quiet and still. I also love the word that describes that hour – the gloaming.

Favorite city (besides the one you live in):

I’m not really a city person – I like being outside in nature too much. But I visited Paris for the first time last year, and it was fabulous.

Favorite childhood television show:

The Wonderful World of Disney. During the summer, Sunday evenings always presented a difficult choice: stay outside playing after dinner or come inside to watch Disney. No streaming shows in those days.

Favorite ice cream:

Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

I’d love to be able to talk with animals.

Favorite book from childhood:

I always loved animal books – Charlotte’s Web, Misty of Chincoteague, Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka. I particularly loved Rascal, by Sterling North.

LJ: How can readers obtain a copy of the book?

BR: The book can be preordered at your local independent bookstores, Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or any place books are sold. Personalized copies can be shipped from Politics and Prose.

How to win!

For a chance to win an ARC of The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter, comment below! (Giveaway ends July 31, 2025, MIDNIGHT EST.) U.S. only, please. ARC will be mailed.

About the Author 

Barbara Carroll Roberts is a children’s author whose debut middle-grade novel, Nikki on the Line, was a finalist for two state children’s book awards and made numerous best-of-the-year lists. Her nonfiction picture book, A Rose Named Peace, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection and received a starred review from School Library Journal.

Barbara has had many careers: farm worker, video producer, freelance writer, mom. All of which she draws on in her work writing for children. She grew up in northern California and holds a BA in English from Occidental College in Los Angeles and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has two grown children and now lives in Virginia with her husband, two cats, and one very goofy springer spaniel.

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Author-Illustrator Spotlight: Jessixa Bagley

By on July 14, 2025   /   Author Interviews  

In today’s Author Spotlight, Landra Jennings chats with author-illustrator Jessixa Bagley about her new middle-grade graphic novel, Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, July 15). She’ll share her inspiration behind writing it, her creative process and a few hints about the next Jazzy book!

Book Summary:

“Whimsy abounds in this playful” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade graphic novel about a young witch who struggles to fit in—perfect for fans of The Okay Witch and Hooky!

In her town full of witches, Jazzy’s always been a little bit different. She’s not excited about magic. She forgets the steps to spells. And even though her parents run the town’s broom shop, she doesn’t want to fly.

Then, one day, she discovers what she was born to do: cycling! Now she just has to find a way to get a bicycle…and learn how to ride it. But will her new passion come between her and her best friend—and possibly get her in big trouble?

Interview with Jessixa Bagley

LJ: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Jessixa! Thanks for joining us today.

JB: Thank you so much for having me.

LJ:  First off, I want to tell you how much I enjoyed this novel. Your characters’ expressions—those nuances—really take us into the heads of the characters and into the story. There are so many laughs and so much heart. Can you tell us about your inspiration for writing this book?

JB: It’s a funny thing how the idea came about. I had a dream, and when I woke up in the morning, I drew a picture of a little witch that looked kind-of like me as a kid. It made me think of a lemonade stand or Lucy’s advice booth in Peanuts, but the kid in my dream was selling bicycle seats for broomsticks to witches. I posted it on Instagram and the feedback was: This needs to be a book!

Around that time, my son was learning how to ride a bike and I was reflecting on how I had a really hard time learning how to ride a bike myself. As I began developing my little witch character, I found myself putting more of “me” into her. I also added some snark and sass because I love characters with some texture. So, my inspiration was a mix of the unconscious, my childhood, and some bits from real life.

Developing Ideas

LJ: I’m always curious about how author-illustrators work. How do you develop your ideas?

JB: My process has changed over the years. Before I was published, I was looking everywhere for a story, trying really hard. I didn’t feel the ideas were coming to me very easily; the stories didn’t feel interesting or personal and I didn’t have much of a connection.

These days, as I’ve tuned more into my own experiences and my childhood, I might be inspired by something in a dream, I might get ideas while I’m meditating, or something in the world might catch my eye. I try to capture these moments. During school visits, I show the students the place in my sketchbook where I do just that—I jot down words or phrases or an animal that I like, because there’s something inside of those that was inspiring.

Writing and Illustrating

LJ: What’s your creative process like? Does the writing come first, or the pictures?

JB: These things are usually happening simultaneously. I jot down some ideas and then I’ll sketch a little and go back and forth.

For illustrations for Jazzy, I had my stylistic approach from that initial sketch. I was also inspired by Adrienne Adams’ The Woggle of Witches, which has a beautiful and moody quality to the artwork, and Norman Bridwell’s The Witch Next Door series, with those minimal illustrations and simple colors. I wasn’t intentionally creating something retro or vintage, but I was picking up on the things that I liked.

As far as the writing, my process is that after I get the initial concept, I outline the novel, considering total word count and what I plan to happen. Then I’ll reverse-engineer, writing the whole manuscript before I start sketching. My years of creating picture books (those page-turn moments!) and making comics really informs my work. For this project, I was focused on dialogue, because graphic novels are all dialogue.

Overall, making graphic novels is fun because there’s that sense of the unexpected that comes through during the process. I just try to go with the flow and stay loose and let things happen.

Creative Tools

LJ: What’s your medium? Do illustrators still use pen and paper or is everything software-driven now?

JB: I used to be much more of a traditionalist. Thumbnail, then pencil, ink, color. That’s how I did my comics. For most of my picture books there was very minimal involvement of digital tools. I created everything by hand and with watercolor. I loved doing that.

But making picture books the traditional way creates so much pressure because if you don’t get it right, you’re starting over. And an entire graphic novel done in traditional fashion can also take a real physical toll.

The newer tools allow for moving things around, changing things. They make the process easier and more fun. I’m trying to be freer with how I make art. For me, that’s allowing for the opportunity to work smarter. I enjoyed using Photoshop for iPad for this project, my first attempt to do an entire book digitally.

Character Expressions

JB: You mentioned the facial expressions that you loved. I created this postcard, as part of my pre-order goodies, reflecting Jazzy’s different moods.

LJ: Thank you so much for sharing the postcard! It really nails Jazzy’s feelings. For those interested in obtaining a copy, Books of Wonder may still have some of the pre-order goodies available with purchase.

Deep relationships

LJ: I love how you handled relationships, with Jazzy and her family, with her best friend Aggie, with her mentor Madame Melcha (even the bickering familiars got a relationship arc!). How did you balance all those threads?

JB: Collaborating on graphic novels for upper elementary with my husband Aaron had me thinking on character arcs for that slightly older reader. So, I was used to keeping an eye on what was happening with the different characters, building that muscle memory, like, “When’s the last time we saw Aggie or Madame Melcha?” And making sure that the characters all evolved a little bit differently.

One of the relationships I loved the most was that minimal arc that Aggie’s familiar, Cassie has with Jazzy’s familiar, Fiona. Cassie hates Fiona. Fiona likes to needle her. I enjoyed having a moment where they come together. So even though this novel is for a middle grade audience that’s a bit younger than the books I did with Aaron and the relationship arcs are simpler and more straightforward, I still wanted to make sure that they were there.

Favorite Scene(s)

LJ: There were so many scenes that were hilarious with a lot of fun details. There were also others like the “I found it” scene (where Jazzy stares into the television) that were simpler, but impactful. What was your favorite scene to create?

JB: There’s three that come to mind. I really love the conversation that Granny Titch has with Jazzy where she’s telling the family history over the course of a few pages. It was an opportunity for me to go outside the panels and do more of a flowy composition. I also liked being able to tuck in bits about the history of witches.

A similar moment occurs with Madame Melcha where she’s telling Jazzy about her past. Witches have a complicated history and I really liked the opportunity to acknowledge some of the things we know about witches and witchcraft, like, for instance, that relationship to nature and to the harvest, while also keeping the story sweet and joyful and age-appropriate

My other favorite scene is when Jazzy and Aggie go to the junkyard and they make the bike. We see Aggie coming prepared. She has her spell and Spellopedia and she’s very confident. But Jazzy has to bring her own magic to it too. And she’s a little unsure, but she makes it work because she really wants this and she really loves this. I loved that element—that when we really want something, we can bring a lot more of ourselves to it and we can actually make it happen.

On Learning How to Ride a Bike

LJ: There are actually quite a few panels about riding a bike after that scene. What was your thinking there?

JB: I mentioned that I was a very late learner to riding a bike and I fell a lot. I was very much like: Why can’t I just do this thing? Well, it takes practice. You have to form this energy force effectively between yourself and this object. You have to find your balance.

So, after Jazzy created a bike for herself, I found a really fun opportunity to have all that in there. What are the things you need to think about when riding a bike? Because maybe some of the kids who are going to read this novel don’t know how to ride a bike yet. I wanted that little tutorial and also the message: You’re going to fall and that’s part of it. It’s okay.

To the heart of Jazzy

LJ: The theme of being your own person is meaningful for so many. Can you share with us what drew you to that theme?

JB: If I were to have had a theme in mind from the beginning, I don’t think the book would’ve worked. I didn’t want to make a self-help book for kids or beat anyone over the head with theme. I wanted to create this as much from a “kid feeling” as I possibly could. So, I really just set out to create this little book about this witch and her world.

It was only when it was done that I realized this book actually speaks to larger themes that could apply to kids in so many different ways: You don’t have to be what others expect you to be. Jazzy perceives that she’s supposed to be a certain kind of witch. And her family just assumes she’ll be into witchcraft because it’s their whole world. These sorts of expectations come in so many forms in real life for kids, be it academic, athletic, religious, cultural, or community. And that can be very hard when you don’t feel those things are your identity.

What I absolutely love about making books, about making art in general, is that people will look at it and reflect and bring their own feelings to it. I don’t get to decide what this book means to somebody, the same way I don’t get to decide what a painting means.

On Creating

LJ: Anything else you want to share?

JB: I hope I’ve set a tone for Jazzy’s world. That it can feel real in people’s minds and these characters feel big and rich. Making graphic novels is not for the faint of heart, for sure. But I have loved every second of this, even the hard parts, because it was just so much fun. I would encourage anybody that has an interest in it to give it a try. I know that it can be daunting. But kids love graphic novels so much. I feel like I’m trying to make up for all the books that I didn’t get to have when I was a kid.

More Jazzy

LJ: What will the next Jazzy book be like?

JB: I have so many more of those big, full-page moments that really add emotional heft to the book. This next book is even more expressive, even more yelling, more faces.

LJ: I already know we’ll love it!

Lightning Round

No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so. . . .

Coffee or tea?

I drink tea, but I like the idea of coffee way better. Like, I love the ritual and the idea. My body just doesn’t love coffee as much.

Sunrise or sunset?

Oh, that’s really hard. I’ll say sunsets. But what I have learned in living in a place where I get to see the sunrise, is that it does give you a sense of hope.

Favorite city besides the one you live in?

I have two. I’m a bit of a Francophile. I love Paris. And I do really love New York. My dad was from there.

Favorite childhood television show?

Pee Wee’s Playhouse. I’m staring at things from the show right now!

Favorite ice cream.

I like inclusions. So, I’ll say Mint chocolate chip.

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation, hands down.

Favorite book from childhood?

Beatrix Potter books. I was really steeped in those when I was a kid. And that definitely led me as an adult to making books that featured animals. They were “delicate,” those books, with whimsy before I knew what whimsy was.

LJ: How can readers obtain a copy of the book?

JB: The book can be ordered at your local independent bookstores, Books of Wonder, Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or any place books are sold.

About the Author 

Jessixa Bagley is a children’s book author-illustrator with a background in fine art and comics. She has had work featured in publications such as New American Paintings, Highlights Magazine, The Stranger, and Illustoria Magazine. She’s also the author of the middle grade graphic novels Duel and Dear Jackie (illustrated by Aaron Bagley) and the author-illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel series Jazzy the Witch. Jessixa is a two-time Washington State Book Award recipient; first in 2016 for her debut picture book, Boats for Papa, and again in 2024 for her graphic novel, Duel. Jessixa also received a 2018 Ezra Jack Keats Honor Award for picture book Laundry Day. Many of her books are Junior Library Guild Selections. In her work, she’s drawn to animals and emotional themes often inspired by her own experiences. Jessixa also teaches and speaks about writing and illustration. She often illustrates for other writers and artistically collaborates with her husband, Aaron Bagley. Jessixa lives in Seattle with her husband and son.

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