Blog
As a homeschooling veteran, I review middle-grade stories to help parents, librarians, and teachers choose good books.
Look for author news here too!
Rise of the Dragons by Angie Sage, a review
Rise of the Dragons by Angie Sage (2019), a middle-grade novel and series opener, involves two worlds.
So, what’s happening with your book, Phyllis?
Getting published take time when you're not indie publishing. Which I am not. So, I have five book manuscripts in various states of finish. I'm hopeful for all of them, of course! And so glad to have an agent, Bob Shuman! I went to two writers' conferences so far this...
The Edge of Extinction: The Ark Plan by Laura Martin, a review
The Edge of Extinction by Laura Martin, a series of two books published in 2016 and 2017, provides a dystopian Jurassic Park tale for middle-graders. Plucky Sky Mundy, in an underground colony in what once was northern Indiana, is just one of a few hundred humans alive, survivors of a plague.
We’re Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey, a review
One thousand refugees from Earth, likely the only survivors, are in a spaceship orbiting a populated planet, hoping for permission to land. If they can’t live on Choom, they’ll perish --their food and fuel are nearly gone. They came because they were invited twenty...
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, a review
Three Times Lucky, by Sheila Turnage (2012), tells a middle-grade whodunit with the unforgettable Southern voice of a rising sixth-grader, Mo. Mo lives with the eccentric proprietors of the town diner, Lana and the Colonel. No matter that the Colonel has amnesia and...
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, a review
Sal Vidon, able narrator, is somehow calm when outrageous things are happening. And plenty of outrageous things do happen in this book, so the result is hilarious. Carlos Hernandez' middle grade novel Sal and Gabi Break the Universe focuses on out-of-this-world humor...
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, a review
I really enjoy time-slip novels--where two stories are told, one in the past, one in the present, alternating chapters. So I was glad to find this middle-grade mystery novel with time-slip, published in 2018. Also, it focuses on race issues, a topic dear to my heart....
Big Foot and Little Foot: The Squatchicorns, by Ellen Potter, a review
This chapter book, The Squatchicorns by Ellen Potter, tells a yarn just for that young reader who likes gentle, fantastic stories. Engaging illustrations by Felicita Sala bring it to life. It's the third book in a series about a friendship between a human boy, Boone,...
How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson, a review
I couldn't put this book down, and it's been a while since that happened! How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson, published in 2019, gives us a gripping middle-grade mystery about World War II. Thirteen-year-old Bertie starts volunteering as a bicycle messenger for...
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, a review
Louisiana’s Way Home, a middle-grade historical novel by Kate DiCamillo, took ahold of my heart somehow.
Flight of the Bluebird by Kara LaReau, a review
Flight of the Bluebird is the third and final book of the Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters. It’s a middle-grade adventure featuring the twins from Dullsville who are learning to like a bit of excitement in their lives.
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix, a review
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, by John Hendrix, is a hybrid graphic novel for teens and adults, telling an unforgettable story in an unforgettable way. It was published in 2018 by Amulet. The book alternates chapters about...