Kids like a little bit of mystery in their lives, so I picked out ten middle grade mysteries I loved. (And four more I’d like to read!) Take a look at these fun options… TEN I’VE READ (Click on the links for full reviews, if I’ve posted them.) The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell This book follows young Shenanigan Swift, who has always known she’s supposed to cause trouble. After all, everyone […]
My mom, my husband, and I headed to Europe to join my younger daughter Danielle, who had just finished her study abroad. She’s now very fluent in Spanish, which came in very handy since we definitely encountered a decent number of people in Spain that didn’t speak English (luckily the same wasn’t true in Italy). Jade and Noah didn’t come on the trip because Jade was absolutely not interested in a vacation filled with random […]
This is the first time I’ve ever done a post exclusively about a cover artist (though maybe I should do it again sometime?), but I just had to write this post when I discovered something astounding about the covers of TJ Klune’s and Sophie Anderson’s books: They aren’t illustrations; they’re created as 3D “sets” (as the artist calls them) and then photographed! That’s right, the gorgeous cover you see below is actually a painstakingly created […]
I often have kids coming into B&N looking for something spooky to read, so I thought I’d create a post with some of my favorite MG horror reads. I’m featuring ten of them, plus eight more books I’ve heard great things about and I’m planning to read (hopefully soon!). TEN I’VE READ (Okay, technically 11 – oh, wait, 12) (Click on the links for full reviews.) The Monsterious Series by Matt McMann I just recently […]
Since April is National Poetry Month, I figured it’s the perfect time to feature some middle grade verse novels I’ve loved. Check out my list below: Alone by Megan E. Freeman This book is a perfect bridge to NIVs for kids who aren’t sure about them. It has lyrical poetry, but also an exciting survival plot that will pull them in and keep them reading. (The MC survives on her own for years!) Plus, it […]
As I say every year, I’ve adapted this from The Perpetual Page Turner’s End of Year Survey! I’m just barely sneaking this in during January, but I was waiting for my book announcement, and then I had a whole bunch of already previously scheduled posts to go up. So, better late than never? 2022 READING STATS Number of Books You Read: 115 This just happens to be the exact number of books I read last […]
I’ve been hinting and hinting, and now I can finally shout the news from the rooftops: ORPHAN’S SONG, my MG novel in verse is coming in early 2025! I got the offer from Feiwel & Friends back in September and signed the contract in December, so it’s officially official! You can find my announcement on Twitter and Instagram as well (just click those links to see them). I can’t wait to share more with you […]
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books I Read in 2022 I’m working on my 2022 wrap-up post, but it will take a bit of time, with all the graphs and all. So, I thought for now I’d put up a TTT post to whet your appetite. To choose my Top Ten for the year, I used the very scientific method of […]
I know I disappeared. Didn’t even manage to get a Sunday Post up this week. But there’s a good reason! I’m participating in (a modified version of) NaNoWriMo. I’m not writing a new book from scratch, but I’ve been editing a current manuscript that’s written in prose into verse, and NaNo is just the kick in the pants I needed to keep me on task. My goal is to edit 50,000 words by the end […]
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It’s been a while since I participated in a TTT, but this week I thought I’d jump in (a day late, I know). This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books with Stunning Typography I chose five books I’ve read with covers that are pretty much all about the typography, and five where the incredible typography enhances an already cool image. You can […]