The incredibly talented author of the EVER AFTERSCHOOL series, Shelby Bach, took some time between book promotions and edits of her next book to answer our questions. I loved the opportunity to get to know her a little and pick her brain. The result was a wonderful interview that I know you all will …
The title alone makes this book appealing to middle graders. In fact, they might just buy it because of the title and the picture of the toilet seat on the front cover. Kind of like I did. It turns out Flush is a very creative and original story that is set in the Florida …
Once and a while you come across a book that reminds you why great books make great readers, and sometimes great story-tellers too! The Elevator Ghost is just that kind of book. Don’t save it for next Halloween. Read it now. The children of the Blatchford Arms apartment building are …
Writers face a unique challenge when they base their stories on fairy tales. If their story is close to the original, it’s called a “re-telling” and often is criticized as not being close enough. If the story is obviously intended to be different, it’s called “inspired by the original” …
Author Tricia Springstubb & her cat, Habibi One morning last week I brushed my hair, grabbed my cat, and clicked my ruby heels together. Quicker than you can say Toto, I was in Kansas. In a school library, to be exact, talking with kids and teachers as excited as I …
With main characters named Freak, River and Fiona how can you go wrong? You can’t. Henry Clark has created a fun, zany adventure that just begs for a sequel. When three twelve -year olds find a sofa on the curb near their school bus stop they assume it’s junk. But …
“In 1998, Jeff Kinney came up with the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a story about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley. Jeff worked on his book for almost eight years before showing it to a publisher in New York.” – www.wimpykid.com As both a writer and an …
Three friends, Poppy, Alice and Zach, have been playing a game of pretend since they were in elementary school. Plastic action figures and paper boats become pirates battling evil mermaids on the seven seas. The center of the crusade is the Great Queen, which is actually an antique china doll …
As we continue to expand the Middle Grade Mafia community, we have been able to meet some of the amazingly talented authors. This week is no different as I had the opportunity to connect with Jennifer Holm, author of the recent release THE FOURTEENTH GOLDFISH. She is a two-time Newberry Honor winner and has worked …
Counting by 7’s is a touching story about Willow Chance, a 12-year-old girl with an exceptional mind. She is a girl genius and looks at the world differently. She notices details that others might not notice and is particularly interested in nature and medicine. This however, does not make her …
