The recent news about Hurricane Patricia has got me thinking about the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Ten years out, there were several good books published about that event this year including Middle Grade Fiction nominee Another Kind of Hurricane by Tamara Ellis Smith. Our review comes from first round Middle Grade Fiction judge Debbie, who blogs as The Booksearch. She …
Interview with Dean Pitchford
First off, congrats! Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for Nickel Bay Nick? DP: Thanks for your kind words of congratulations! My inspiration for NICKEL BAY NICK was actually two-fold: First — the protagonist in my story, Sam Brattle, is 11-years old, but at the age of four, he’d had a heart transplant. For years I had been …
Review: Kinda Like Brothers
Mark, a sixth grade language arts teacher, first round Middle Grade Fiction panelist, and one of the few male presences around the Cybils blogs at the wonderfully alliterative Buxton’s Blog O’ Books. He recently reviewed Kinda Like Brothers, by Coe Booth, writing: Many books deal with stepfamilies, but foster children are kind of like temporary stepfamilies. Devon is treated like …
Middle Grade Fiction – Category Description
Middle grade fiction encompasses a wide range of stories that do not have magical elements and are geared toward the 8 to 12 year old age group. These stories could be mysteries, histories, humor, sports, adventure and other tales set in the real world. Middle Grade readers’ tastes and reading abilities can vary widely, and getting them a book that …
Meet the Organizers: Karen Yingling, Middle Grade Fiction
A middle aged, middle school librarian from the Midwest, I’ve been blogging since 2006 at Ms. Yingling Reads. When first hired at my school, I vowed to read every hard cover fiction book in the library so that it’s easier to get the right book for the right child at the right time. It was sad when I finished because …