Posts Tagged middle grade novels

New Releases for March 2025

This March brings us many new middle-grade books to pore over so stock up on your bookmarks and browse the collection below. You’re sure to find one that sparks your reading interest.

13 Ways to Say Goodbye  by Kate Fussner. March 18. 304 pp. new releases March 2025

Nina always followed her older sister, Lily. But just before her thirteenth birthday, Lily died, leaving Nina behind forever.

In the three years since she lost her sister, Nina completed Lily’s secret “Before Birthday” lists to continue in her footsteps. But now Nina is catching up. When she flies to Paris, France, and completes tasks that Lily never finished, Nina finds herself magically transported inside of her own memories, face-to-face with the ghosts of her past.

With her birthday looming and the last list running out, Nina is torn between visiting her sister in her memories or adventuring in the present, including crushing hard on her art classmate, Sylvie. Should she follow Lily’s instructions or try something new? And what happens when she finishes the list?

Learn more about Paris, the city Nina visited, by clicking here.

Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire: A Recipe for Trouble  by Sarah Todd Taylor.  March 18. 224 pp.

new releases March 2025A fast-paced adventure full of daring action and delicious cakes! Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire, will whisk you away on a glamorous and high-stakes adventure, full of daring action and delicious cakes!

Baker by day, spy by night — Alice Éclair leads an exciting double life!

A mysterious message sends her on a mission aboard France’s most glamorous train, the Sapphire Express. Alice must sneak on board posing as a pastry chef and discover which passenger is an enemy agent before they reach their final stop. But everyone on the train seems to be hiding something. Armed with her whisk, her wits, and her will to succeed, Alice has a spy to catch.

Curious about what a pastry chef does? Click here.

Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker  by Heidi Heilig. March 25. 304 pp. new releases March 2025

Cincinnati Lee’s great great (great?) grandfather is famous. His adventures discovering ancient artifacts have been made into movies, and museums around the world respect his work. The thing is, in that line of work, you’re bound to get cursed. And that leaves your great great (great?) granddaughter to break the curse by returning the artifacts you “preserved.”

Cincinnati’s own adventure begins in the Cosmopolitan Museum in New York City, where her mom works. Soon she learns about the ancient Spear of Destiny and its potential to right all the wrongs in her family’s past or …  bring about the end of the world. It all depends on whose hands it falls into. Cincinnati must beat two relic hunters to the spear, and her quest will take her to surprising locations throughout the city and even across the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, she’ll make a new friend (which is not the easiest thing to do), make some enemies (surprisingly easy to do), and ultimately learn what makes the world worth saving.

The City of Lost Cats  by Tanya Lloyd Kyi .March 4. 288 pp.

new releases March 2025When a stubborn young girl named Fiona stumbles upon an abandoned mansion down by the harbor, she discovers the house is full of stray cats and two chaotic parakeets. Fiona feels sympathetic toward the animals; she understands what it’s like to need a safe home. Ever since her parents died, she’s been struggling to adjust to the tiny apartment where she and her Aunt Tanis now live. And Aunt Tanis has little time to spare for Fiona, between her job at The Municipal Hall and her horrible, hair-gelled boyfriend.

When a demoliltion team threatens the mansion, Fiona’s determined to save it and its residents. But the cats have their own priorities. Cot has lived in the mansion for two years and is the self-proclaimed king. He’s convinced the demolition effort has been organized by the parakeets. Those birds have got to go!

As the demolition team begins tearing down the house next door, Fiona looks for any help she can find — at the library, the butcher shop, and even at The Municipal Hall. Can the efforts of one small girl and an assortment of animals stop a luxury condo development? And can they create something better in its place?

The Ghosts of Pandora Pickwick  by Christina Wolff. March 4. 256 pp. new releases March 2025

Welcome to Pandora’s Antiques, with rarities for every occasion.

Summer vacation in London turns mysterious and exciting when Mia learns that her aunt’s antique shop is actually a ghost placement agency.

Nowhere does Mia feel so at home as in her Aunt Harriet’s antique shop. How wonderful that she can spend her summer vacation there! But something is wrong in the store. Things disappear as if by magic, just cleaned furniture dusts up again in seconds, and there’s an eerie number of clatters at night. However, her aunt acts as if this is completely normal. Mia, on the other hand, suspects that Harriet is hiding something from her—just like the question of who her birth parents are.

The Girl and the Robot  by Oz Rodriguez. March 25. 320 pp.

new releases March 2025Mimi Perez fixes things. Phones, tablets, speakers, printers. She gets it from helping her dad at the family e-repair shop, one of Mimi’s favorite things to do. But ever since Papi was deported, there’s a lot more than electronics that need fixing in Mimi’s world. Things too big for any twelve-year-old to handle on her own.

Mimi hustles around her Brooklyn neighborhood trying to earn enough money to finally fix her family. There’s no time for school or friends, but Mimi knows it will all be worth it the day Papi comes home. Then her ex-friends approach her with a proposition: enter a robotics competition with them and they could win $50,000. This could be her chance.

Then, a mysterious robot, scared, alone, and broken, crashes to earth from space. When federal agents search for it, Mimi does what any street-smart electronics repair person would do: she takes the robot home, fixes her up, and in the process, gains a friend.

Suddenly, Mimi is anything but alone. She’s part of a robotics team. She’s sheltering a robot. She’s dodging federal agents. And keeping all of it a secret from her mom.

Are you interested in robots like Mimi? Build one at this website.

Last Chance Academy: A Study in Secrets  by Debbi Michiko Florence. March 11. 304 pp. new releases March 2025

Ever since her mom passed away, twelve-year-old Megumi “Meg” Mizuno has been spiraling. After too many low grades and cut classes, she’s been expelled from school. Her dad secures her a spot at the prestigious Leland Chase Academy, a boarding school in the middle-of-nowhere New York. If Meg can’t make it work there, she’ll be forced to live with her horrible aunt.

At first, Leland Chase seems like an average, although strict, boarding school, and Meg tentatively warms up to her roommate and some classmates. Then, one night, a mysterious envelope appears under her door, inviting Meg and her roommate to participate in a scavenger hunt. The only rules? Don’t get caught by faculty or staff and no cheating. The grand prize? A luxury stay at a fancy resort in California. And after learning her dad has plans to sell their family home—with all its memories of Mom—Meg knows she has to win the competition and use the trip to convince Dad to stay.

Thanks to her mom, who taught her how to solve ciphers, Meg has a knack for puzzles. She gets ahead in the hunt but quickly learns that her classmates, having their own sets of skills, are tough competitors. And as they get deeper into the game, Meg and her fellow competitors realize the anonymous creator has their own agenda … and LCA isn’t quite what it seems.

Plan your own scavenger hunt here.

The Many Hauntings of the Manning Family  by Lorien Lawrence. March 18. 288 pp.

new releases March 2025Thirteen-year-old twins Gabby and Trent Manning are Connecticut’s youngest paranormal investigators. They both inherited “the gift” from their grandparents whose legendary ghost hunts inspired several books and movies, but whose names have been nearly forgotten since their untimely deaths years ago.

Armed with EMF machines, flashlights, and recording equipment, the twins’ mom drags them all over New England in an attempt to bring their family back into the limelight. Never mind that Gabby is tired of being known as a Ghost Twin, and Trent finds most of the haunts to be pretty frightening. Their mom thinks their latest destination—the abandoned Majestic Theater, site of the late Mannings’ infamous failed exorcism—is exactly what the family needs to go viral.

However, nothing about this investigation goes according to plan. After a terrifying séance-gone-wrong, their mother goes missing, and it’s clear that a powerful demon is haunting the theater. Will the twins be able live up to their grandparents’ legacy and vanquish the demon before it’s too late?

The Peach Thief  by Linda Joan Smith. March 4. 384 pp. new releases March 2025

One night, workhouse orphan Scilla Brown, climbs the Earl of Havermore’s garden wall. She wants only to steal a peach—the best thing she’s ever tasted in her hard, hungry life. But when the earl’s gardener catchers her and mistakes her for a boy, she finds something better: a temporary job scrubbing flowerpots. If she can just keep up her deception, she’ll have a soft bed and food beyond her wildest dreams . . . maybe even peaches.

She soon falls in with Phin, a garden apprentice who sneaks her into the steamy, fruit-filled greenhouses, calls her “Brownie,” and makes her skin prickle. At the same time, the gruff gardener teaches Scilla how to make things grow, and her hope begins to grow with every seed she plants. But as the seasons unfurl, her loyalties become divided, and her secret is harder to keep. How far will Scilla go to have a home at last?

Click here to grow a garden like Scilla.

Octopus Moon  by Bobbie Pyron. March 25. 336 pp.

new releases March 2025Pearl loves watching the majestic loggerhead turtles and octopuses glide through the water at the aquarium. She especially identifies with the octopuses, who have millions of touch receptors all over their bodies. They feel everything. But sometimes, Pearl wishes she was more like a turtle, with a hard outer shell—it hurts too much to feel everything.

And the changes at the start of fifth grade don’t feel good to Pearl at all. New teachers, lockers, and being in different classes than her friends is unsettling. Pearl tries her best to pretend she’s fine, but she’s struggling with things that used to come easy, like schoolwork, laughing and skateboarding with her best friend Rosie, running, and even sleeping.

After a disastrous parent-teacher conference, her parents decide to bring Pearl to Dr. Jill, who diagnoses her with depression. At first Pearl is resistant to Dr. Jill’s help; she doesn’t like feeling different, but she also doesn’t want to continue feeling so bad all the time. When Dr. Jill asks Pearl to try one Impossible Thing each day, like running, skateboarding, or walking her dog Tuck, she decides to try. For each impossible thing she attempts, Pearl puts a bead on a string. Bead by bead, and with the support of family and friends, Pearl finds her way back to herself. She discovers that just like the moon is always there in the sky, even if it isn’t full, she’ll always be herself even when she doesn’t feel whole.

Once for Yes  by Allie Millington. March 25. 272 pp. new releases March 2025

The Odenburgh, an old apartment building made of brick and blunt opinions, is the last of its kind in a swiftly changing neighborhood. After years of putting up with people and their many problems, the Odenburgh knows there’s no point in getting attached. They all just leave eventually. A truth that comes all too soon when the building is sold and marked for demolition, giving tenants a month to move out.

No one is more troubled by the news than eleven-year-old Prue, who refuses to leave her family’s apartment. Not when it was the last place she lived with her sister Lina, before she lost Lina forever. When Prue launches a plan to save their home, the Odenburgh joins in―flickering lights, jamming elevators, triggering fire alarms―all to try and bring a building full of bickering residents together. In the process, Prue meets Lewis, an eccentric boy who lives across the street―and the only one who can help her discover the missing elements of her sister’s story.

One Wrong Step  by Jennifer A. Nielsen. March 4. 336 pp.

new releases March 2025Twelve-year-old Atlas Wade strives to forget the memory of his mother, who died when he was nine, by climbing mountains. When his father signs them up for an expedition group hoping to be the first to ever summit the unconquerable Mount Everest, Atlas has a chance to prove himself to his father, and maybe finally leave his mother’s memory behind him on the mountain.

But this time, Atlas is the one left behind, along with a young girl named Maddie and their sturdy yet injured Sherpa, Chodak. When news breaks out that Europe is at war again, and that Nazis are attempting their own summit dangerously nearby, Atlas and Maddie plead with the expedition to come back down. Unfortunately, their warnings come too late. When an avalanche occurs and they receive no word from the group, Maddie and Chodak join Atlas to begin a dangerous journey up the mountain in the hopes of finding survivors.

Atlas, Maddie, and Chodak will have to rely not just on their own wits for survival, but on each other as well, and Atlas will have to learn how to let go if he wants any chance of finding his father and fixing the rift between them before it’s too late.

Read some fun facts about Mount Everest here.

Starry, Starry Heist  by Karen Briner. March 18. 304 pp.

new releases March 2025Sixth-grader Max has it rough—between tormentors at school and his sick mom at home. But then DZ, a strange, tuxedoed man with one shoe, appears to Max from the future and divulges that Max’s mother’s fate is somehow entwined with that of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night. It’s suddenly clear to Max that any problems he already had on his plate have just gotten bigger.

DZ explains to Max that someone is after The Starry Night. . . and the thief is not bound by the usual laws of time and space. DZ can’t offer too many specifics, but he does provide Max with a cryptic to-do list:

Read The Future Time Traveler’s Guide to the Past. Consider the puffins. Beware the Wretch with obsidian eyes. Befriend Vincent van Gogh.

Max is skeptical but tries his very best. After all, he’ll do anything to help his mom. But he soon discovers that The Future Time Traveler’s Guide to the Past has never been published. And he’s not exactly sure where he’s going to find puffins in LA. He has no idea what a Wretch is. And befriend Vincent van Gogh who’s been dead for over a hundred years? That’s impossible.

Then, one afternoon at the library, Max spots her: Turquoise-haired Maybe Wells, dressed in blue from head to toe, spattered in paint, carrying a skateboard, and sporting a beautiful tattoo of puffins on her right shoulder. Suddenly, achieving the impossible doesn’t seem so farfetched anymore.

Learn more about the artist Vincent van Gogh and view some of his paintings here.

Ticket to Ride: An Unexpected Journey  by Adrienne Kress. March 11. 208 pp.

new releases March 2025To say twelve-year-old Teddy loves trains is an understatement. It’s his obsession. He knows everything there is to know about them, has the most amazing model train setup in the basement, and he carries around a classic caboose, a small model of a 19th century steam engine caboose that he received as a birthday gift. It’s his good luck charm!

So when Teddy wins a Ticket To Ride the Excelsior Express, he can’t wait to go. The Excelsior Express is modeled to look like it’s from the 1920’s but is outfitted with a high-tech locomotive system. This will be the train’s flagship journey, and it’s a dream come true for Teddy. Plus, he’ll get to see his grandparents in Los Angeles, and travel all across North America from his hometown of Toronto, Canada.

But his dream come true becomes a nightmare when the train gets rerouted and, what’s worse, his lucky caboose goes missing. As it turns out, this ticket to ride takes Teddy, his new friend Olivia, a woman always dressed in yellow named Mina, two traveling musicians named Allie and Dex, and their fellow passengers on an unexpected journey and through some pretty hefty corporate corruption.

Are you interested in trains, too? Here’s a great video on the history of trains.

The Trouble With Sunshine  by Yamile Saied Méndez. March 4. 272 pp. new releases March 2025

Dorani’s mom, Isa, taught her to be bold and challenge the rules if they don’t seem fair. People are more important than rules. But she never taught Dorani how to do it all without her. So, when Isa dies on the way to speak with the principal about Dori’s latest revolution, Dori loses her voice. Her grief and guilt become the loudest parts of her.

Moving from vibrant Miami to quiet, middle-of-nowhere Wyoming with her aunt feels like the punishment she deserves. She spends most of her time with their newest horse, Sunshine. An accident left Sunshine skittish and hard to care for. Tia Ivette knows her behavior comes from fear, and she is trying everything to make Sunshine brave again. But Dori knows grief can feel like fear… and grief is just love with no place to go.

Speaking up for Sunshine reminds Dori that the very best parts of her mother live on through her, and so when she starts to notice that the rules at her new school unfairly target specific students, she knows just what her mother would do.

Read a discussion with the author here.

Vanya and the Wild Hunt  by Sangu Mandanna. March 11. 288 pp.

new releases March 2025Eleven-year-old Vanya Vallen has always felt like she doesn’t fit in. She’s British-Indian in a mostly white town in England and she has ADHD.

Oh, and she talks to books. More importantly, the books talk back.

When a monster she believed only existed in fairytales attacks her family, Vanya discovers that her parents have secrets, and that there are a lot more monsters out there. Overnight, her parents whisk her off to the enchanted library and school of Auramere, where she joins the ranks of archwitches and archivists.

Life at Auramere is unexpected, exciting and wonderful. But even here, there’s no escaping monsters. The mysterious, powerful Wild Hunt is on the prowl, and Vanya will need all her creativity and courage to unmask its leader and stop them before they destroy the only place she’s ever truly belonged.

When Sally O’Malley Discovered the Sea  by Karen Cushman. March 25. 240 pp. new releases March 2025

Sally O’Malley is an orphan working at a mineral spring hotel in the woods of central Oregon—that is, until they chuck her out like chewed-on chicken bones, due entirely to an unfortunate incident with a pig and some church ladies.

And so Sally decides to head west to the sea. She’s heard it’s glorious. She’s heard it’s fierce. Why not see for herself? Before long Sally encounters a dangerous bobcat—and that’s just the first day! Safe in the knowledge that she’s fearless, she continues on her journey with no place to belong and no one to depend on. And that’s just fine with her.

Then a lady called Major, an old donkey, a loyal dog, and an abominable brat show Sally that she’s not quite as brave as she thinks. It turns out that counting on someone else is the scariest thing of all.

Learn more about the author Karen Cushman here.

March is a prolific month this year for New Releases. If none of the above are drawing you in, try one from the bookshelf.

new releases March 2025

New Middle-Grade Releases: October 2016

October’s new books are packed with mystery and adventure, history and heroics, and friendship and fun. First up: a new novel by MUF’s own Amie Borst, written with her daughter, Bethanie. Click on the titles to purchase from your favorite Indie Bookseller.


Snow Fright
9781631630903
(Scarily Ever Laughter) by Amie Borst and Bethanie Borst

Sarah White is gorgeous even if she is a little bit rotten. A mirror arrives on her twelfth birthday and she thinks it’s the perfect gift, but when the mirror swallows her whole, Sarah finds herself in the dead center of the Underworld. Sarah now has to deal with her decaying flesh and sudden craving for brains. By the time Sarah escapes the Underworld, she finds her new zombie life less than appetizing. Even worse, she needs to return to the Underworld to save her friends, Cindy and Scarlet. With a poisoned apple, a crow named Raven, and a glowing necklace, Sarah sets off to rescue her friends. She must succeed, or she’ll be a brain-craving zombie forever.

9780316125925When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin

Pinmei’s gentle, loving grandmother always has the most exciting tales for her granddaughter and the other villagers. However, the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller. Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Determined to have her grandmother returned, Pinmei embarks on a journey to find the Luminous Stone alongside her friend Yishan, a mysterious boy who seems to have his own secrets to hide. Together, the two must face obstacles usually found only in legends to find the Luminous Stone and save Pinmei’s grandmother–before it’s too late.

9781629797403Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes

Garvey’s father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading—anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey’s life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself, and a way to finally reach his distant father—by speaking the language of music instead of the language of sports. This emotionally resonant novel in verse by award-winning author Nikki Grimes celebrates choosing to be true to yourself.

9780374302825Cinnamon Moon by Tess Hilmo

On the same day as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, 250 miles away in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, there was an even more devastating fire. Twelve-year-old Ailis and her younger brother, Quinn, survive, but their family does not. Ailis and Quinn are taken by a family acquaintance to live in a boarding house in Chicago, where they meet six-year-old Nettie, an orphan displaced by Chicago’s fire. But the woman who runs the boarding house makes their lives miserable, and Ailis vows to find a way for the three of them to leave. Ailis finds a job at a millinery shop and Quinn plays his fiddle on the streets so they can save money. Then Nettie disappears, and Ailis and Quinn discover she’s been kidnapped by a group that forces children to work in the sewers killing rats. Can they find a way to rescue her?

9781423160922The Hammer of Thor: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2 by Rick Riordan

Thor’s hammer is missing again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon–the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn’t just lost; it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can’t retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer’s return is the gods’ worst enemy, Loki–and the price he wants is very high.

9780062574329Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal by DanTDM

After a day of experiments, Trayaurus and DanTDM are about to call it a night when a strange-looking crystal plummets to earth, breaking into five pieces that scatter far and wide. DanTDM and Trayaurus recover one of the shards and quickly realize they are in possession of an object more powerful than anything they’ve ever known. But they’re not alone—Dan and Trayaurus’s archenemy, Denton, has also found a shard and manipulated its power for evil. He has created a cloning machine and is producing a terrifying marauding army intent on hunting down the remaining crystals in his effort to become all-powerful. It’s down to DanTDM and Trayaurus to stop him. Will they prevail, or will the forces of evil be too great for them to overcome?

9780399551499Time Traveling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

My dad died twice. Once when he was thirty-nine and again four years later, when he was twelve. On his twelfth birthday, Al Chaudhury receives a letter from his dead father. It directs him to the bunker of their old house, where Al finds a time machine (an ancient computer and a tin bucket). The letter also outlines a mission: travel back to 1984 and prevent the go-kart accident that will eventually take his father’s life. But as Al soon discovers, whizzing back thirty years requires not only imagination and courage, but also lying to your mom, stealing a moped, and setting your school on fire—oh, and keeping your pet hamster safe.

9780374302610Gertie’s Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley, illus. Jillian Tamaki

Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she’ll be leaving behind. There’s just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.

9781481445627Spy Ski School (Spy School #4) by Stuart Gibbs

Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley is not exactly the best student spy school has ever seen—he keeps flunking Advanced Self Preservation. But outside of class, Ben is pretty great at staying alive. His enemies have kidnapped him, shot at him, locked him in a room with a ticking time bomb, and even tried to blow him up with missiles. And he’s survived every time. After all that unexpected success, the CIA has decided to activate Ben for real. The Mission: Become friends with Jessica Shang, the daughter of a suspected Chinese crime boss, and find out all of her father’s secrets. Jessica wants to go to ski school in the Rocky Mountains, so a select few spy school students are going skiing too—under cover, of course. Ben might not be able to handle a weapon (or a pair of skis), but he can make friends easy peasy. That is, until his best friend from home drops in on the trip and jeopardizes the entire mission…

9780316349543Dog’s Best Friend (Middle School #8) by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts, illus. Jomike Tejido

It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and Rafe Khatchadorian is just trying to live in it. Life in middle school is finally starting to seem bearable-until Rafe spots his grandmother standing on the free-meal line at the local soup kitchen. In order to help bring in more money, Rafe concocts a brilliant plan—a dog-walking business that soon turns into a huge money-making neighborhood empire. He’ll even have extra cash to buy his own WormHole Deluxe Multi-Platform GameBox! That is, until two terrible twins launch the Great Dog War by sabotaging Rafe’s flyers and stealing his customers. Plus, his bratty kid sister Georgia has skipped a grade—so now she’s in all of Rafe’s classes. Throw a kid a bone!

9781627798686Skunked!: Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet by Jacqueline Kelly, illus. Teagan White and Jennifer L. Meyer

From Newbery honor author Jacqueline Kelly comes a new illustrated chapter book series for younger readers featuring the beloved characters from The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. In Calpurnia Tate, Animal Doctor in Training, Callie Vee, Travis, and Dr. Pritzker help animals big and small. When soft-hearted Travis discovers an abandoned baby skunk, he can’t help but bring him home and take care of him. Stinky, as Travis names him, settles in pretty well. But when Travis discovers Stinky’s litter-mate, Winky, who is in need of some help, things get complicated around the Tate house. One skunk is a piece of cake; two is just asking for trouble. Will Travis and Callie be able to keep the critters away from Mother’s careful eyes―and nose?

9780374302955Lou Lou and Pea and the Mural Mystery by Jill Diamond, illus. Lesley Vamos

Lou Lou Bombay and Peacock Pearl have been best friends since first grade. Every Friday afternoon, they get together in Lou Lou’s backyard garden for their PSPP (Post-School Pre-Parents) tea party. They chat about school, discuss Pea’s latest fashions, and plot the weekend’s activities. But all plans go out the window when a series of small crimes crop up around El Corazón, their quaint and quirky neighborhood, right before the Día de Los Muertos procession. First, Pea’s cousin’s quinceañera dress is tragically ruined. Then Lou Lou’s beloved camellia bush, Pinky, suffers a serious blow. And that’s just the beginning! When clues start to appear in El Corazón’s outdoor murals, the best friends join forces, using Lou Lou’s floral expertise and Pea’s artistic genius to solve the mysteries. Accented by Lesley Vamos’s spirited black-and-white illustrations, Jill Diamond’s debut is a delightful introduction to two very creative best friends and their unforgettable adventures!

9780316405744The League of Unexceptional Children: Get Smart-ish by Gitty Daneshvari

Jonathan Murray: Twelve years old. Wears khaki pants to tell the world he plans on driving the speed limit when he grows up. Saved the world once; it was probably a fluke. Shelley Brown: Twelve years old. Narrates her imaginary exploits as if she is the subject of a documentary film. Saved the world once; it was probably a fluke. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has called upon Jonathan and Shelley to catch a criminal who has stolen a virus that makes people lesssmart. When the stakes are this high, can the kids be the utterly average spies the world needs them to be and save the day? Embrace your unexceptional side in this hysterically funny sequel!

9780545840712Liberty (Dogs of World War II) by Kirby Larson

Fish has a knack for inventing. His annoying neighbor, Olympia, has a knack for messing things up. But when his latest invention leads Fish to Liberty, a beautiful stray dog who needs a home, he and Olympia work together to rescue her. At the Higgins boatyard, where the boats that just might save the Allied forces during World War II are built, the wartime workforce is integrated and includes women and the disabled. However, a friendship that crosses racial lines is not the norm in 1940s New Orleans. Fish, who suffered from polio and whose dad is away fighting in Europe, looks up to Mr. Higgins, and he’s thrilled when one of his inventions helps Mr. Higgins’s engineers unlock the mechanics of the landing crafts. Mr. Higgins inspires him to be bold and brave. As Fish enlists the help of unexpected friends and allies to save Liberty, he finds his perceptions of the world—of race and war, family and friendship—transformed.

9780062272515StarChaser (TodHunter Moon #3) by Angie Sage, illus. Mark Zug

In the third and final book in the TodHunter Moon series, Tod must find a replacement Egg of the Orm before the Castle—and all its Magyk—disappears forever. Almost one year ago, Alice TodHunter Moon left her PathFinder village to become Apprentice to ExtraOrdinary Wizard Septimus Heap. Now in faraway lands, the Castle is in peril. The brilliant blue stone is crumbling to dust and both the witch Marisa and the wicked Red Queen have their eyes on the throne. But as Tod sets off on a hazardous journey to find a new Keystone, her life may be in the greatest danger of all. Can she save the Castle while evading the fate that befell her mother? This epic finale to the series praised by Kirkus as “fast-paced, fully satisfying, and ExtraOrdinary” celebrates how hard work, selflessness, and the courage to be who you are can create a harmony that spans the seas and stars.

9781512405798The Thief’s Apprentice (Master Diplexito and Mr. Scant) by Bryan Methods

Oliver, the meek son of a wealthy British industrialist, discovers the identity of a notorious thief, a man who has been skillfully evading Scotland Yard and snatching priceless artifacts for sport: Mr. Scant, his family butler. After first fearing for his life, Oliver discovers Mr. Scant’s secret within a secret: the butler’s crimes are actually a series of strikes against an underground group of business tycoons trying to master black magic.

9780062343222Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti by Tom Watson

Stick Dog and his gang of hungry hounds want to play tug-of-war. Their search for rope leads to something even better—spaghetti! Once they get a taste, they must get some more. It will be their most difficult mission ever—and will demand all of Stick Dog’s problem-solving skills. They’ll need to scale the tallest mountain in the suburbs and sneak into a restaurant filled with people. Dangerous humans—a strange-talking girl, a huge chef, and a penguin-man—lurk around every corner. But there’s more than danger in the air. Stick Dog has caught the scent of something even more scrumptious than spaghetti. And he’ll risk everything to find out what it is.

9781626723368Rebel Genius by Michael Dante DiMartino

In twelve-year-old Giacomo’s Renaissance-inspired world, art is powerful, dangerous, and outlawed. A few artists possess Geniuses, birdlike creatures that are the living embodiment of an artist’s creative spirit. Those caught with one face a punishment akin to death, so when Giacomo discovers he has a Genius, he knows he’s in serious trouble. Luckily, he finds safety in a secret studio where young artists and their Geniuses train in sacred geometry to channel their creative energies as weapons. But when a murderous artist goes after the three Sacred Tools–objects that would allow him to destroy the world and everyone in his path―Giacomo and his friends must risk their lives to stop him.

9780553536027Home Sweet Motel: Welcome to Wonderland #1 by Chris Grabenstein

Eleven-year-old P.T. Wilkie may be the greatest storyteller alive. But he knows one thing for a fact: the Wonderland Motel is the best place a kid could ever live! All-you-can-eat poolside ice cream! A snack machine in the living room! A frog slide! A giant rampaging alligator! (Okay, that last one may or may not be made up.) There’s only one thing the Wonderland doesn’t have, though—customers. And if the Wonderland doesn’t get them soon, P.T. and his friend Gloria may have to say goodbye to their beloved motel forever. They need to think BIG. They need to think BOLD. They need an OUTRAGEOUS plan. Luckily for them, Gloria is a business GENIUS, and OUTRAGEOUS is practically P.T.’s middle name. With Gloria’s smarts and P.T.’s world-famous stories and schemes, there’s got to be a way to save the Wonderland!

9780545642712The Trials of Cinderella (Disenchanted: Tyme #2) by Megan Morrison

Ella Coach has one wish: revolution. Her mother died working in a sweatshop, and Ella wants every laborer in the Blue Kingdom to receive fairer treatment. But to make that happen, she’ll need some high-level support. Prince Dash Charming has one wish: evolution. The Charming Curse forced generations of Charming men to lie, cheat, and break hearts—but with the witch Envearia’s death, the curse has ended. Now Dash wants to be a better person, but he doesn’t know where to start. Serge can grant any wish—and has: As an executive fairy godfather, he’s catered to the wildest whims of spoiled teenagers from the richest, most entitled families in Blue. But now a new name has come up on his list, someone nobody’s ever heard of … Ella Coach. This is a story about three people who want something better and who together find the faith to change their worlds. It’s Cinderella, brilliantly reimagined, and a delightful expansion of the wonderful world of Tyme.

9780062427731Foxheart by Claire Legrand, illus. Jaime Zollars

Orphan. Thief. Witch. Twelve-year-old Quicksilver lives as a thief in the sleepy town of Willow-on-the-River. Her only companions are her faithful dog and partner in crime, Fox—and Sly Boots, the shy boy who lets her live in his attic when it’s too cold to sleep on the rooftops. It’s a lonesome life, but Quicksilver is used to being alone. When you are alone, no one can hurt you. No one can abandon you. Then one day Quicksilver discovers that she can perform magic. Real magic. The kind that isn’t supposed to exist anymore. Magic is forbidden, but Quicksilver nevertheless wants to learn more. With real magic, she could become the greatest thief who ever lived. She could maybe even find her parents. What she does find, however, is much more complicated and surprising.

9781454920670Just My Luck (Zack Delacruz #2) by Jeff Anderson

Zack Delacruz is back—and eager to meet Abhi, the new girl at school. But things get off to a rough start when he accidentally knocks her to the ground during a game of dodgeball. And whenever he tries to make amends, she just ignores him. Nothing works—not his friends’ advice or his “lucky” cologne. In fact, he just seems more and more cursed! Then, at the Fall Fiesta-val, Zack finally learns the real reason behind Abhi’s cold shoulder . . . but not before total chaos erupts. With a runaway train, exploding confetti-filled eggs, and Abhi’s terrifying older brother, will Zackever get a chance to talk to his crush? In the end, Zack learns what it means to believe, to listen, and to be a good friend.

9780670016662Fanny in France: With French Adventures and French Recipes by Alice Waters, illus. Ann Arnold

Fanny is a girl who knows a lot about food and cooking since she’s grown up in and around the famous restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. When Fanny’s mother, Alice Waters, the chef and owner of Chez Panisse, starts to watch her favorite old French movies, Fanny knows soon they’ll be packing their bags and traveling to France for a visit. In this sparkling book of whimsical stories, Fanny recounts some of her most fun-filled adventures with French friends and food. Join Fanny as she helps cook a huge bouillabaisse in Provence; learns how to make fresh cheese from a shepherd high up in the Pyrenees mountains; hunts for wild oysters off the coast of Bordeaux, and discovers how one chicken can feed nine people, if served a certain way. Fanny in France is also a beginner’s cookbook with forty simple, French-inspired recipes that encourage children and adults anywhere to cook and share delicious snacks and meals with family and friends using basic methods and the most sustainable ingredients.

9780803739857Hamster Princess: Ratpunzel by Ursula Vernon

Princess Harriet Hamsterbone does not like sitting around at home. How’s a princess supposed to have any fun when her parents are constantly reminding her to be careful and act princessly? So when her pal Prince Wilbur needs help finding a stolen hydra egg, Harriet happily takes up the quest. The thief’s trail leads them to a wicked witch and a tall tower, occupied by a rat whose tail has more to it than meets the eye!

9780545880169Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II by Alan Gratz

World War II is raging. Michael O’Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth. But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies. Michael despises everything the Nazis stand for. But he joins in the Hitler Youth’s horrific games and book burnings, playing the part so he can gain insider knowledge. When Michael learns about Projekt 1065, a secret Nazi war mission, things get even more complicated. He must prove his loyalty to the Hitler Youth at all costs—even if it means risking everything he cares about. Including … his own life.

9780316384087Fairy Tail Ending (Ever After High: A School Story) by Suzanne Selfors

Meeshell is not an ordinary mermaid princess; she knows that someday, when she is older, she will leave her sea kingdom and live happily ever after on land with her prince. The thought of living on land is thrilling but also nerve-racking. Meeshell is glad she has years to prepare! But there is a change in the tides, and now Meeshell will start attending Ever After High. She has almost no time to do all of her preparing and planning. Can Meeshell fit in at Ever After High, or will she stand out like a fish out of water?

9780062284365Mr. Nick is a Lunatic! (My Weirdest School #6) by Dan Gutman

In this sixth book in the new My Weirdest School series, the teachers of Ella Mentry School are on strike! A.J. and the gang are getting a new principal, Mr. Nick, and he doesn’t believe in rules. Mr. Nick says the students don’t even have to learn if they don’t want to! What could possibly go wrong? Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman’s hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone.

9781484778654School of Secrets: Freddie’s Shadow Cards (Disney Descendants) by Jessica Brody

Freddie is the daughter of the infamous witch doctor, Dr. Facilier. She’s got voodoo in her blood, a deck of Shadow Cards in her hands, and a song in her villain-kid heart. When Freddie’s dreams of joining the acapella group at Auradon Prep fall apart, she uses her Shadow Cards to get her way. But dark magic always comes with a price.

 

9781338032871Magical Mission (Geronimo Stilton #64) by Geronimo Stilton

I was traveling to London, England on a secret mission! I had to investigate some strange occurrences—someone was trying to get their paws on the crown jewels! Trap came along, too, to compete in a big magic show. And before I could solve my mystery, Trap needed my help to perform an impossible magic trick. Could I do it all? Squeak!

9780545783972It’s a Doggy Dog World (Crimebiters #2) by Tommy Greenwald, illus. Adam Stower

Jimmy is sure that his dog Abby is special. After all, it was Abby who (with the help of Jimmy & friends) helped nab the criminal Barnaby Bratford and shut down Barnaby’s babysitting service, a front for robbing the nice folks of Quietville. Jimmy’s parents, on the other hand, are starting to feel like Abby is one destructive little dog (she chewed up Mom’s entire shoe collection!) and they insist on enrolling Abby in obedience training. The only problem is that the longer Abby’s in class, the more normal (read: boring) she becomes. Jimmy’s superhero crime-fighting vampire dog is slowly becoming just like every other dog. She doesn’t even sneak out at night anymore! At the same time Jimmy’s friends (the Crimebiters) are realizing that there’s just not very much crime to fight in their tiny town. But when Jimmy joins the lacrosse team & mysterious things start happening on and off the field, the Crimebiters realize that Abby better get back to her crime-fighting ways … and fast!

9780803738249Making Mistakes on Purpose (Ms. Rapscott’s Girls) by Elise Primavera

Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents is not your typical boarding school. Students arrive in boxes, birthday cake is served for breakfast, and two very talented corgis assist the rather quirky headmistress. This semester, the girls will learn how to get to The Top, but the semester is not off to a good start. One of the girls doesn’t make it back to school and when her friends try to rescue her, they wind up at the Bottom of the Barrel. Luckily, Ms. Rapscott knows that learning to fail is the secret to Going Far in life.

9780545928892Hot Cocoa Hearts: A Wish Novel by Suzanne Nelson

Emery Mason is not a fan of the holidays. She’s so over the tinsel, the shopping, and all the other trappings of the season. Unfortunately, this year, Em is forced to work—as an elf!—at her parents’ Santa photo booth at the mall. There, Em meets Alejandro Perez, who works at the hot cocoa shop next door and is always full of holiday spirit. Alex is cute, but he’s nothing like Em’s real crush—the brooding and artistic Sawyer Kade. But the more time Em spends with Alex, the more she realizes that she may not be the Grinch she always thought she was. Soon, a blizzard, a Secret Santa surprise, and a family disagreement throw Em’s world upside down. Can Em embrace the magic of the holidays and find the perfect boy to kiss under the mistletoe?

9780062392053Impyrium by Henry H. Neff

For over three thousand years, the Faeregine dynasty has ruled Impyrium. But the family’s magic has been fading, and with it their power over the empire. Whether it’s treachery from a rival house, the demon Lirlanders, or rebel forces, many believe the Faeregines are ripe to fall. Hazel, the youngest member of the royal family, is happy to leave ruling to her sisters so that she can study her magic. But the empress has other plans for her granddaughter, dark and dangerous plans to exploit Hazel’s talents and rekindle the Faeregine mystique. Hob, a commoner from the remote provinces, has been sent to the city to serve the Faeregines—and to spy on them. One wants to protect the dynasty. The other wants to destroy it. But when Hazel and Hob form an improbable friendship, their bond may save the realm as they know it…or end it for good.

9781101939758The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd

There are winged horses that live in the mirrors of Briar Hill hospital. In the mirrors that line its grand hallways, which once belonged to a princess. In those that reflect the elegant rooms, now filled with sick children. One morning, when Emmaline climbs over the wall of the hospital’s abandoned gardens, she discovers something incredible: a white horse with broken wings has left the mirror-world and entered her own. Tucked into the garden’s once-gleaming sundial, Emmaline finds a letter from the Horse Lord. He is hiding the wounded white horse, named Foxfire, from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by colorless moonlight. If Emmaline is to keep the Black Horse from finding her new friend, she must collect colorful objects with which to blind him. But where can Emmaline find color when her world is filled with gray?

9781481440424MINRS 2 by Kevin Sylvester

They are coming to get you. Hide. Hide. Hide. The children of Perses have been receiving this message on repeat, from Earth, for weeks. Christopher, Elena, and the other survivors of the attack on their space colony know two things: their victory over the Landers will be short-lived and a new wave of attacks is imminent. New Landers arrive sooner than expected. Led by the ruthless Kirk Thatcher, and armed with a new lethal kind of digger, they vow to hunt down and destroy everyone. The kids have nowhere to go but underground. Again. But resources and patience are running low and the struggle to keep everyone safe is complicated by all the infighting amongst the kids. As Christopher navigates the burden of leadership, he also has to decide whom he can trust. There are no easy answers. And with deadly consequences on the line, there is no room for mistakes. Will Christopher be able to successfully lead the group back to Earth? Or will Thatcher make sure no one survives?

NONFICTION

9780544319592Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet

“SOME PIG,” Charlotte the spider’s praise for Wilbur, is just one fondly remembered snippet from E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. In Some Writer!, the two-time Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet mixes White’s personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell his story, from his birth in 1899 to his death in 1985. Budding young writers will be fascinated and inspired by the journalist, New Yorker contributor, and children’s book author who loved words his whole life. This authorized tribute is the first fully illustrated biography of E. B. White and includes an afterword by Martha White, E. B. White’s granddaughter.

9780544824386The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay

Explainer-in-Chief David Macaulay updates the worldwide bestseller The New Way Things Work to capture the latest developments in the technology that most impacts our lives. Famously packed with information on the inner workings of everything from windmills to Wi-Fi, this extraordinary and humorous book both guides readers through the fundamental principles of machines, and shows how the developments of the past are building the world of tomorrow. This sweepingly revised edition embraces all of the latest developments, from touchscreens to 3D printer. Each scientific principle is brilliantly explained–with the help of a charming, if rather slow-witted, woolly mammoth. An illustrated survey of significant inventions closes the book, along with a glossary of technical terms, and an index. What possible link could there be between zippers and plows, dentist drills and windmills? Parking meters and meat grinders, jumbo jets and jackhammers, remote control and rockets, electric guitars and egg beaters? Macaulay explains them all.

9780399541582What Was the Great Chicago Fire? by Janet Pascal

On Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire started on the south side of Chicago. A long drought made the neighborhood go up in flames. And practically everything that could go wrong did. Firemen first went to the wrong location. Fierce winds helped the blaze jump the Chicago River twice. The Chicago Waterworks burned down, making it impossible to fight the fire. Finally after two days, Mother Nature took over, with rain smothering the flames. This overview of a stupendous disaster not only covers the fire but explores the whole history of fire fighting.

9780399541599What Was the San Francisco Earthquake? by Dorothy Hoobler and Thomas Hoobler, illus. Ted Hammond

One early April morning in 1906, the people of San Francisco were jolted awake by a mammoth earthquake—one that registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale. Not only was there major damage from the quake itself but broken gas lines sparked a fire that ravaged the city for days. More than 500 city blocks were destroyed and over 200,000 people were left homeless. But the city quickly managed to rebuild, rising from the ashes to become the major tourist destination it is today. Here’s an exciting recount of an incredible disaster.

9780316213882Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Jean-Michael Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocked to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art work had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City. Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe’s vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat’s own introduce young readers to the powerful message and art doesn’t always have to be neat or clean—and definitely not inside the lines—to be beautiful.

9780385383424My Name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter, illus. Terry Widener

In an evocative first-person account accompanied by exquisite artwork, Winter and Widener tell the story of James Madison Hemings’s childhood at Monticello, and, in doing so, illuminate the many contradictions in Jefferson’s life and legacy. Though Jefferson lived in a mansion, Hemings and his siblings lived in a single room. While Jefferson doted on his white grandchildren, he never showed affection to his enslaved children. Though he kept the Hemings boys from hard field labor—instead sending them to work in the carpentry shop—Jefferson nevertheless listed the children in his “Farm Book” along with the sheep, hogs, and other property. Here is a profound and moving account of one family’s history, which is also America’s history.

9780374302511Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat

Picking up where Tasting the Sky left off, Balcony on the Moon follows Ibtisam Barakat through her childhood and adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 and chronicles her desire to be a writer. Ibtisam finds inspiration through writing letters to pen pals and from an adult who encourages her to keep at it, but the most surprising turn of all for Ibtisam happens when her mother decides that she would like to seek out an education, too. This memoir is a touching, at times funny, and enlightening look at the not often depicted daily life in a politically tumultuous area.

Dorian Cirrone 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/

Hana Hou! Middle Grade Fiction About Hawaii

Fine and colorful picture books about Hawaii abound, as do adult books, both fiction and nonfiction, and there are a fair number of YA novels.  But what if a middle grader wants to curl up with a good novel set in Hawaii? These are few, but still there are some engaging choices.screenshot_1692

Graham Salisbury’s books stand out. Most are set in Kona on the island of Hawaii where he grew up, and they draw in part on family stories.   Under the Blood Read Sun (Yearling Reprint, 1995) is the story of a young Japanese American boy, Tomi, and his haole (Caucasian) friend Billy just before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Under the Blood-red Sun has just been made into a moving locally-produced and acted film that was featured at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival in May. I predict it will be the talk of film festivals all over when it is released  September 14. A twentieth-anniversary edition of the book will also appear in September.

Well okay, maybe Under the Blood Red Sun is technically YA because the main boy characters are thirteen, but the actor who plays Billy first read and loved the book when he was eight.  Also launching September 14 is the fourth and latest book in that WWII series, Hunt for the Bamboo Rat.  In it a 17-year-old Japanese  boy from Hawaii undergoes harrowing experiences as an undercover agent for the U.S. Army in the Philippines during the War.screenshot_1691

Among my other favorites of Salisbury’s books are Jungle Dogs (Yearling, 1999) in which a boy must overcome his fear of the wild dogs along his paper route and learn to hold his own with troublemakers at school, and Night of the Howling Dogs (Wendy Lamb Books, 2007), based on a true story of a boy whose courage

Hawaii MG #5 Hawaii MG #8Hawaii MG #6and leadership are put to an extreme test when his Boy Scout troupe is caught first in an earthquake and then in a tsunami while camping in a remote spot below the volcano.

Throughout his career, Salisbury has worked with one editor, Wendy Lamb, and this has proved a winning collaboration. In addition to MG and YA novels, Salisbury has written a collection of stories called Island Boyz (Wendy Lamb Books, 2002), full of the rich flavor of island life and the inter-kid relations and negotiations that are so much part of growing up in the islands. For those on the younger end of Middle Grade, he has also recently published an amusing series of books about Calvin Coconut, a boy character who lives in Kailua on the island of Oahu, where Graham also once lived and went to school.

Shan Correa’s Gaff (Peachtree, 2010) gives a glimpse into the semi-secret world of cockfighting, a rural island tradition Hawaii MG #7many visitors are hardly aware exists. Seventh-grader Paul Silva, whose disabled father raises fighting cocks for a living, thinks the birds are magnificent. But he has been sheltered from the nature of the fighting, and once he sees it first-hand, he vows to get his father out. A poignant story of courage and coming-of-age.

For mystery/thriller-lovers, try P.J. Neri’s Hawaii Chiller series (Bess Press) if you can find them, or Elaine Masters’ Thief in Chinatown (Island Hertiage, 1998).

Want something intriguing kids can sink their teeth into (or vice versa)? Don’t miss the exciting new Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy. Hawaii, with all its myths and ghosts and traditions, would seem an ideal fermenting ground for middle-grade fantasy, but whoever writes it needs to be well versed in the stories already here before making anything up or they’ll be off-pitch. HawaiiMG #3

Now we have we have Lehua Parker who grew up in the islands, knows the old tales, knows island people and life, and lets all reverberate through her own very original, page-turning books. MG Hawaii #2Two have been published: One Boy, No Water (Jolly Fish, 2012) and One Shark, No Swim (Jolly Fish, 2013).  A third will come out in 2015. In the series, 11-year old Zader has been adopted as a newborn under strange circumstances into a family of surfers and fishermen. Trouble is, he’s allergic to water, and when he eats raw seafood he has haunting dreams. His Uncle Kahana, a marvelous combination of mystic and down-home, no-nonsense elder, knows a lot more than he’s telling about Zader’s origins and destiny. Suspense and humor guaranteed.

Let’s hope, with the success of these books, there will be many more in the future for middle-grade readers to enjoy!

 

Sue Cowing is the author of the puppet-and-boy novel, You Will Call Me Drog (Carolrhoda 2011) and My Dog Has Flies, Poetry for Hawaii’s Kids (BeachHouse, 2005)