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!
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...
The Hotel Between by Sean Easley, a review
The Hotel Between by Sean Easley, a middle grade fantasy published 2018 by Simon and Schuster, 341 pages: a review. Cameron, age 12, lives in Texas with his grandma and twin sister Cass, who is confined to a wheelchair. A vacant strip mall he passes every day on the...
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, a review
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, a review Published 2015 by MacMillan, 245 pages Genre: Middle grade, realistic with a touch of fantasy Crenshaw, a huge cat, used to be Jackson's invisible friend -- when Jackson was three years younger. So now that Jackson's starting...
The Hate U Give movie, a review
In the movie "The Hate U Give," 16-year-old Starr is an African-American living in what she calls "the 'hood," a place called Garden Heights, while attending a nearly all-white high school. She lives in both worlds, trying to fit in both places. When her childhood...
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, a review
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, a review Published in 2011 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Genre: Middle grade historical Not till I got to the end of this book did I realize how autobiographical it was. It features a 12-year-old boy, Jack, in the most bizarre...