Posts Tagged Rosanne Parry

New Year Reading Resolutions

By on December 30, 2016   /   For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers  
All of us at the Mixed Up Files would like to wish you a New Year full of inspiration and good books to share. We are moving into this new year with a group of new members. We are looking forward to hearing from them in the months to come. And as always we are eager to hear from you, our blog readers, about what moves and motivates you as a reader and writer, as a teacher, a parent, as a librarian, and a book-lover.
Earlier we shared a list of writing resolutions for the new year. We also wanted to share our reading resolutions because there is not good writing without equal time spent in reading the best literature available. Here are our hopes for our reading in the New Year. Please share your resolutions too.
Andrea Pyros

Find books that make me laugh. The news can feel pretty grim, so I want to make sure to have some lightness in my life, too. I just finished Amy Schumer’s memoir (not #kidlit, obviously!) and really enjoyed ending my day reading a chapter or two. More of that!

Jen Swanson

Find more time to read! Particularly middle grade books, both fiction and nonfiction, but also read more widely all kids books.

TP Jagger

 I will not walk into any telephone poles while read-walking.

Julie Artz

I only read a handful of adult books in 2016 because there are so many amazing things going on in the world of middle grade. So in 2017, I’d like to read more adult books.

Valerie Stein

 I have spent much of 2016 getting to know authors on social media from different walks of life and cultural/social backgrounds. My reading goal for 2017 is to continue to support those authors by purchasing their books and spreading the word about great stories I’m reading. In a more general sense, I like to have a specific reading goal. It keeps me looking for new titles to explore. I’ve read 150 books the past two years. I can do that again.

Rosanne Parry

 I’m interested in learning to write dialect effectively, so I’m going to begin my reading year by seeking out books that showcase a character’s dialect particularly well.
Michele Weber Hurwitz
I hope to make reading more of a priority in 2017. I read late at night and I get through only a few pages before I drift off! I’d like to try doing a 15-minute DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) break during each day.

Jacqueline Jaeger Houtman 

I will try not to feel guilty for reading middle-grade literature and enjoying it, because it is my job, and I will allow myself time to read during the day, not just at night, when all the other tasks are done.

Louise Galvaston

To read more classics and keep up with all the fabulous new middle-grade releases.

Natalie Rampella

To have social media guide me to the best new books of 2017…and of course read them!

Mindy Alyse Weiss

To read even more amazing middle grade novels in 2017 than I did in 2016.

Hillary Homzie

To become more of an omnivore and read books outside of my fiction comfort zone. That especially means more nonfiction–everything from development biology to essays on linguistics.

Laurie J Edwards

To read several award-winning books each month.

Michelle Houts

To read the classics I somehow missed but everyone else can seemingly quote effortlessly.

Tricia Springstubb

More poetry!

Amie Borst

 To read widely across genres including adult fiction.

Jonathan Rosen

Finish the book I already bought before falling to the allure of new ones.

Dorian Cirrone

To find the time to put a significant dent in the huge piles of unread books all over my house.

Kimberly Griffiths Little 

To actually READ a little bit every day from the tottering stack of books I bought this last year that’s been staring at me for months.

Kate Manning

4 books that show me a world different from my own
2 classics that I missed
6 books of poetry or novels in verse
25 books overall

 Sue Cowing

I’ll probably choose more nonfiction titles this year, and more outside my comfort zone, trying to really listen so that I can respond rather than simply react to people whose beliefs and values conflict with mine. And for courage and centering in this time of uncertainty, I will read and reread books of beauty and wisdom, including poetry. Of course I will always read middle-grade novels, stories of serious hope and humor that help us imagine better ways.

Thank you to my fellow Mixed Up Files members for another year of sharing and supporting the best in Middle Grade fiction. I’m grateful for your support over the years. And to you readers of our blog. Thank you for coming back week after week and sharing your thoughts with us.

Happy New Year

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Memories-Part 2 (& Book Giveaway!)

By on November 14, 2016   /   Book Lists, Giveaways  

A few days ago, I blogged about the important role that memories play in life and in writing. Today, I’d like to spin-off from that and look at a handful of middle-grade novels in which memories—shared, stored, hidden, and lost—play key roles in the stories’ plots.

written in stoneSHARED
Written in Stone by MUFs very own Rosanne Parry: Historical fiction that explores the importance of sharing memories as part of the cultural survival of the Quinault and Makah Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest.

STORED
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: People’s memories can be drawn from their minds then stored and viewed through the Pensieve. And those stored memories—Dumbledore’s, Snape’s, and others’—hold more than just a few surprises.

rules for stealing starsHIDDEN
Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu: Magic mingles with mystery as 11-year-old Silly (Priscilla) and her three sisters discover their closets are doorways to both dreamscapes and dangers…and to hidden memories of family secrets they never imagined.

LOST
The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari: After Charlie’s mother dies, his sister, Imogen, discovers a parallel universe where their mother remains alive. But something’s wrong. And if Charlie doesn’t figure out the truth, he could lose himself, the true memory of their mother, and Imogen…forever.

Dork-Diaries-11Finally, any booklist focused on memories would feel incomplete if it didn’t acknowledge the ultimate recorder of memories—a diary. That’s why MUF (thanks to Simon & Schuster) is giving one lucky commenter a free copy of Rachel Renée Russell’s latest book in the New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series—Dork Diaries 11: Tales from a Not-So-Friendly Frenemy.

Do you have a favorite middle-grade book that fits into this memories-focused booklist? If so, leave a comment and tell us about it . . . and earn a chance to win a free book in the process! (The winner must have a U.S. street address and will be drawn on Saturday, 19 November 2016.)

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In Praise of Grandparents

By on August 5, 2016   /   Book Lists, Diversity, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, MUF Contributor Books  

There are many relationships I’ve treasured through my life, and high on that list lives the bond I had with my grandparents. I was a late baby, and all my grandparents were elderly or gone by the time I came along, so I always felt I missed many special years of growing up with them, while I appreciated the time I did have. I’m so grateful that our own daughter, now grown, got to spend many wonderful hours with her grandparents.

On hunting down a title I know I’ve recently read that features a grandparent, I stumbled upon an eye-opening article written by the author of one such book here. Who knew that the comfortable role of grandparents I grew up with in my family dynamic and in the books I read as a middle grade kid has changed so drastically?

The following booklist is by no means comprehensive, and it’s quite diverse in style, content and approach to grandparents. Some of these books were childhood favorites that I read and re-read, like Heidi, by Johanna Spyri.

Our daughter introduced me to A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck, when she was in 4th grade. That grandma has such a strong voice.


The Hello, Goodbye Window,  by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka, may be a picture book but it is also an homage to grandparents and their relationship with grandchildren. It also proves how cool they can be. Students of all ages loved this vibrant book in my library.

Another book that features  a “cool” grandparent is our own MUF member, Barbara Dee’s Trauma Queen.


Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull, proves that we aren’t always right when it comes to thinking we’re going to be spending a boring summer at the grandparents’ house…


I’m eager to read the tender story many are talking about in Love, Aubrey, by Suzanne M. LaFleur.


Who wouldn’t love The Summer Book Tove Jannson?


Another book I read countless times was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl. The relationship Charlie had with his grandparents has stuck with me since I read it at 10 years old.


Seven Stories Up, by Laurel Snyder, a magical book featuring a beloved grandmother, is a lovely journey into this relationship.


A grandmother is not the character I think of when I remember the powerful The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, but one of many blog posts I read about grandparents in books mentioned this relationship in particular. I think it’s time for a re-read.


Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, by Ian Fleming, was another childhood favorite of mine, one I read when sick in bed, feeling blue, or otherwise at loose ends.  Do you remember them saving the grandfather? I remember more about the quirky things. Guess it’s time for a re-read of this one, too.

 

We’ve got talented members her at The Mixed Up Files! Two of our own  Rosanne Parry’s novels, Heart of a Shepherd and Written in Stone, feature grandparents in prominent roles.

   

It’s fantastic when a grandparent works to solve the problem, as in Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, by Sharon Creech, illustrated by Chris Raschka.

I was captivated by the description of Bird, by Crystal Chan, and can’t wait to read this story about a girl whose grandfather does not speak since he is blamed for a family tragedy.

And what about a grandparent you’ve never met, but your mom refuses to talk about it? Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It, by Sundee T. Frazier was a real hit with my students.

 

And last but not least, there are too many wonderful reads to list individually here, so I’ll send you over to Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog for this list of books featuring grandparents (you should just all read her blog regularly).

I’ve had this post on my mind for a long time without writing it, partly because I was afraid of missing some stand-out titles featuring grandparents. Do you have any to add?

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