Posts Tagged middle-grade fiction

Indie Spotlight: Stories Bookshop, Brooklyn

By on January 7, 2019   /   children's bookstores, independent bookstores, Indie Spotlight  

Sue Cowing for Mixed-Up Files:  I love the full name of this unique children’s bookstore in Brooklyn—Stories Bookshop & Storytelling Lab (www.storiesbk.com) It’s a place that encourages kids not only to read good stories, but to make them!.   We’re talking today with Maggie Pouncey, co-owner:

MUF: Some people are inspired to open a bookstore because their town needs to have one. Brooklyn has several, yet there was nothing like the store you imagined, a bookshop with a storytelling “lab.”   Please tell us a little about your vision and how you are carrying it out.
Maggie:We believe sharing stories with your children is the surest lifelong gift you can give them, particularly in this digitally saturated age we live in. Brooklyn is a city filled with young families with tons of activities for kids, but it had no children’s only bookshop.

We loved the idea of these two symbiotic spaces—the small curated shop where you could find new books you’d never seen before, and the Storytelling Lab, which would be a community gathering place where stories were made, shared, and told. My husband, Matt Miller, and I spent a couple months writing our business plan —we needed one to apply for a small business loan—and we spent much of that time clarifying our mission for Stories, how we wanted the place to feel, and how we wanted it to serve in young readers lives and the lives of their families.

MUF: How do you choose what books to carry in your shop? Do you have some favorite themes?
Maggie: Because our shop is so small —smaller than the children’s section in many general interest bookstores!—we have to say no to a lot of things. Our largest sections are for picture books and board books, and/but we have thriving graphic novel and middle grade sections as well.

We also have a robust section of feminist books and books about change-makers; with so many good titles coming out inspiring kids to be activists, we even have an Activist Book Club people can subscribe to. We just love good stories! And books that have the kind of timelessness all great literature doe

MUF: As middle- grade authors, we’re curious to know what titles, new and old, fiction and nonfiction, you find yourself recommending most often to this age-group?
Maggie: We sell a lot of books by Brooklyn authors! Our bestselling middle grade books have been The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown—such wonderful stories and can work as read-alouds to kids as young as 5 or 6.  We sell a lot of the fabulous mystery/ghost story, Greenglass House,

by Kate Milford. And the great memoir-in-poetry Brown Girl Dreamingby Jaqueline Woodson. (All three from Brooklyn!) We also sell a lot of beloved series —Harry Potter of course, and we’ve been very enamored of Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow; Wings of Fire(and anything dragons!); Wildwood;The Penderwicks; in graphic novels Amulet, Lumberjanes, all the Raina Telgemeier books.

MUF: What’s happening at the upcoming meeting of your Middle Grade Book Club?  Do middle-grade authors make appearances at your shop?
Maggie:Our Middle Grade Book Club for kids 8-12 meets once a month, and we read and discuss classics, graphic novels and new favorites. When it’s a local author we invite them to come! Peter Brown and Kate Milford have come. Karina Yan Glaser came to talk with us about the first book in her wonderful series set in Harlem, NYC, The Vanderbeekers. Last month we discussed Jacqueline Woodson’s powerful new novel, Harbor Me, and she came to talk with the group which was thrilling for the kids! This month we’re reading Dave Eggers’s new middle grade fantasy adventure, The Lifters, and after that we’ll do an awesome new graphic novel, Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner.

MUF: Tell us something about your writing workshops for this age group, past and future. Have you spawned some writers?
Maggie: It may be a bit too soon to know if we’ve helped usher in a new generation of Brooklyn writers—but we certainly hope we do 🙂 We teach an art class called Mini-Makers for babies and it’s such fun to watch  them explore new materials and make a very good mess making gorgeous art!

The graphic novelist Justin LaRocca Hansen teaches an amazing Graphic Novel Class for kids 7-12, and they really explore every part of the process, from idea, to penciling, to inking, to presenting their work to a live audience of their families!

We host a Storytime 6-days a week —on week-days led by our staff and on Sundays featuring an author or illustrator who shares a book and often does a drawing demonstration for us. I’m off right now to introduce Jessie Sima and her new picture book, Love, Z! These are such a lively and warm mornings, and I do hope they are showing the kids who come week after week the joy of making things.

MUF: If a family from out of town makes a day-trip to visit Stories Bookshop, are there family-friendly places nearby where they could get a snack or a meal afterwards?   And if they can stay longer, are there some nearby sites or activities they shouldn’t miss?
Maggie: Absolutely! Brooklyn is filled with family-friendly diversions and eateries! Just around the corner from us is Bklyn Larder—a delicious stop for lunch.  The bakery Ovenly offers tons of sweets treats. We’re also in walking distance from both Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park, lovely places to spend an afternoon walking or kicking a ball.

Brooklyn is a great walking city, and it’s the best way to see all the different neighborhoods. Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Brooklyn Museum are not to be missed.

MUF:   Thanks, Maggie, for making time for this interview, and for inspiring us with your vision of kids of all ages reading and creating stories.

 

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Do’s and (one) Don’t for Emotionally Deeper MG Writing

By on December 21, 2018   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction, For Writers  

How do master storytellers develop empathy, resilience, and emotional maturity in their middle grade readers? Sometimes it’s by being tough. These authors aren’t afraid to go emotionally deep in their writing.  They tell stories outside what’s considered age-appropriate, write against type, or make readers laugh in the darkest of times. The five Do’s and one Don’t below represent the wisdom of writers who have touched the hearts of young readers. Each is paired with a book that is a both a great story and a master class in how to go deeper into your writing. Dare to be profound!

  1. Don’t Limit Subject Matter Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt

A thirteen-year-old boy becomes a father, showing us that subject matter, if handled with honesty and sensitivity, shouldn’t have borders. This gorgeously written story of love and loss leaves readers wiser and more compassionate.

 

  1. Do Break Hearts! Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo            

Part angel, part grifter-in-training, twelve-year-old Louisiana is forced by her inscrutable ‘granny’ to move away from the town she’s come to love and the only friends she’s ever had. They quickly run out of gas, food, and shelter. Readers share Louisiana’s heartbreak, but they also share her resilience, goodness, and ability to love and forgive.  We could all learn something from Louisiana.

 

 

  1. Do Let Humor Lighten Up the Dark One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia                           

Three girls, ages eleven, nine, and seven, who’ve never been out of Brooklyn, fly to Oakland, California to meet the mother who abandoned them. It’s 1968 and instead of seeing Disneyland, they end up in a day camp run by the Blank Panthers. The novel is moving, eye-opening—and funny. Williams’s masterful use of humor makes the sadness bearable while showing readers the girls’ growing awareness of injustice.

 

  1. Do Create an Unexpected Hero The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor

Mason Buttle is an oversized boy who has difficulty reading or writing. In other words, he’s a perfect target for bullying. Yet he’s the kind of guy who’d make a perfect friend, if only kids could look past his disabilities and see his kind heart and brave spirit. As author Leslie Connor says, “I aim to present academic underdogs as multifaceted humans,” and in this book, she lights the way for us all.

 

       5.   Do Dare to Face the Worst! Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson; See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles; Mrs. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson; The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin; The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly; Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Sometimes the ones we love die.  These books handle death with love, sensitivity, and great respect for young readers. Enough said.

If you’d like to add a Do or Don’t to this list, I’d love to read it! Please write it in the comment section below, along with the title and author of a book that illustrates how it’s done.

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Books on the Ground

By on December 7, 2018   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers  

When I visit schools, I always like to ask what the students are reading. I think of this as my ‘books on the ground’ question. I know what middle grade books I love and I probably have a good sense of what the librarian is recommending but what are the kids actually reading?  It provides a little insight into what makes these middle grade readers excited when it comes to books. As an author, this is invaluable market research. Sure, I want to tell my stories but I also want kids to read them so knowing what they are carrying around in their overstuffed backpacks is important.

This year I’ve been participating in a program that pairs authors with classroom teachers. A typical author visit lasts for an afternoon and while it’s great to get even that much time with students, #KidsNeedMentors gives us multiple opportunities to interact with a specific group of kids.

Last month I sent my adopted class a video and at the end I asked them the ‘books on the ground’ question. And I was thrilled to get a stack of letters in response, all about what they are reading… and about their pets, siblings, families, sports, hobbies and favorite foods. There is nothing better than a stream of consciousness letter from an eleven year old. Seriously,  this stack of letters absolutely made my week!

Anyway, friends, I want to share some of the books my students are taken with right now – old, new, serious, fun, graphic, series’, sad, heartwarming and more. Maybe you will see something that will work for the middle grade readers in your life. (book descriptions from Amazon.)

 

Two-Faced (Almost Identical), by Lin Oliver

When Charlie compromises her values to help one of the popular girls cheat on a test, Sammie is inadvertantly pulled into the mess. Written from Charlie’s point of view, this story will let readers experience the lengths that wanting to be popular in middle school can take you to, the conflict it can cause, and the tough moral stands a girl sometimes has to take.

Amulet 8, by Kazu Kibuishi

Emily has lost control of her Amulet and is imprisoned in the Void, where she must find a way to escape the influence of the Voice. Meanwhile, Emily’s brother, Navin, travels to Lighthouse One, a space station where the Resistance is preparing to battle the approaching Shadow forces that would drain planet Alledia of all its resources. Emily and Navin must be smarter and stronger than ever to ensure Alledia’s survival.

 

Endling: the Last, by Katherine Applegate

Byx is the youngest member of her dairne pack. Believed to possess remarkable abilities, her mythical doglike species has been hunted to near extinction in the war-torn kingdom of Nedarra.

After her pack is hunted down and killed, Byx fears she may be the last of her species. The Endling. So Byx sets out to find safe haven, and to see if the legends of other hidden dairnes are true.

Along the way, she meets new allies—both animals and humans alike—who each have their own motivations for joining her quest. And although they begin as strangers, they become their own kind of family—one that will ultimately uncover a secret that may threaten every creature in their world.

Grenade, by  Alan Gratz

It’s 1945, and the world is in the grip of war. Hideki lives on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. When WWII crashes onto his shores, Hideki is drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed a grenade and a set of instructions: Don’t come back until you’ve killed an American soldier.

Ray, a young American Marine, has just landed on Okinawa. He doesn’t know what to expect — or if he’ll make it out alive. He just knows that the enemy is everywhere. Hideki and Ray each fight their way across the island, surviving heart-pounding ambushes and dangerous traps. But when the two of them collide in the middle of the battle, the choices they make in that instant will change everything.

 

The Big Time, by Tim Green

Things couldn’t be going better for Troy White. The Atlanta Falcons’ football genius is at the top of his game, helping the team get to the playoffs. Agents and lawyers are knocking on his door with big-money offers for the upcoming season. And his own football team has just won the Georgia State Championship! Troy’s celebrating with his friends at linebacker Seth Halloway’s mansion when another lawyer comes knocking—and he says, “I think I’m your father.” In that instant, Troy’s life is changed forever.

 

Fish in a Tree, by Linda Mullaly Hunt

The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally-charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn’t fit in.

“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.

Rebound, by Kwame Alexander

Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. In this prequel to Newbery Medal winner The Crossover, Chuck Bell takes center stage, as readers get a glimpse of his childhood and how he became the jazz music worshiping, basketball star his sons look up to.

A novel in verse with all the impact and rhythm readers have come to expect from Kwame Alexander, Rebound will go back in time to visit the childhood of Chuck “Da Man” Bell during one pivotal summer when young Charlie is sent to stay with his grandparents where he discovers basketball and learns more about his family’s past.

Jedi Academy: The Force Oversleeps,  by Jarrett J. Krosczka

Victor Starspeeder is back at Jedi Academy for year two, but it’s not going the way he’d planned. He was thrilled about Drama Club and hoped to get the lead in this year’s musical… But a new kid got the role! What gives?! Plus, he keeps oversleeping and getting to class late . . . Worst of all, his big sister Christina is getting ready to graduate from Jedi Academy, and there are rumors going around that she’s a Sith! What’s a Padawan to do? In times when he feels more alone than ever, Victor will have to trust the ways of the Force and his friends if he’s going to survive year two in this all-new chapter in the Jedi Academy series.

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