Time for a KidLit Book Feast!!!!

 

Many of us at The Winged Pen are on Spring Break this week or heading there soon. And, of course, a vacation isn’t a vacation without a heap of books. We regularly swap book recs behind the scenes, so we thought you’d like to know what books we’ve recently devoured or are currently feasting our eyeballs on.

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Julie Artz

SUNNYSIDE UP by Jennifer Holm, ages 8-13, A touching graphic novel about a girl dealing with family strife in the 1970s.

RULES by Cynthia Lord, ages 8-13, Big sis helps her autistic brother navigate the world using rules.

HOODOO by Ronald L. Smith, ages 9-14, A young boy must harness his family’s folk magic to defeat an evil force threatening his town.

MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS bScreen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.16.27 PMy Brooks Benjamin, ages 8-13, A dancer/football player explores what it means to be yourself.

Rebecca Smith Allen

SOME BOYS by Patty Blount, ages 14+, Everyone turns against Grace when she accuses the golden boy of rape…except Ian.

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo, ages 14+, Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that will make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, if he survives.

HOW TO OUTSWIM A SHARK WITHOUT A SNORKEL by Jess Keating, ages 8-13, The wild adventures of a girl who lives in a zoo.

CHOMP by Carl Hiaasen, ages 8-13, A boy helps his dad/animal wrangler on the set of a reality show. Chaos ensues.

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.21.19 PMMAGGIE MALONE AND THE MOSTLY MAGIC BOOTS by Jenna McCarthy and Carolyn Evans, ages 8-13, Maggie puts on the boots and wakes up as her favorite pop star. Oh, yeah!

 

Gabrielle Byrne

LOCKWOOD & CO. series by Jonathan Stroud, ages 8-13, Three young operatives from the Psychic Detection Agency battle an epidemic of ghosts in London.


Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.23.40 PMTHE BLACKTHORN KEY
 by Kevin Sands, ages 8-13, Medieval kid apothocary/inventors outwit evil wizards.

 

Halli Gomez

DOROTHY MUST DIE series by Danielle Paige,Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.17.45 PM ages 14+, A retelling of The Wizard of Oz––a little magic, a little ninja fighting. About finding who you are and where you belong.

Mark Holtzen

THE THING ABOUT LUCK by Cynthia Kadohata, ages 10-15, Girl must help her Japanese grandparent migrant workers during a Nebraska wheat harvest.

PAX by Sara Pennypacker, ages 9-14, The graceful but haunting story of war, loss, and the power of friendship between a boy and fox.

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.17.01 PMSIX FEET OVER IT by Jennifer Longo, ages 14+, Girl who works at her family’s new cemetery must face grieving for her best friend.

 

Michelle Leonard

ROCKET AND GROOT by Tom Angleberger, ages 8-12, Zany “story” about beloved Guardians of the Galaxy characters.

MAGNUS CHASE: THE SWORD OF SUMMER by Rick Riordan, ages 10-15, Norse-mythology infused drama about a troubled, homeless, orphaned teen boy.

A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE by Carolyn DeCristofano, ages 10+, excellent easy to understand non-fiction book about black holes. Great voice.

ONE MORE DINO ON THE FLOOR by Kelly Starling Lyons, ages 3+, Dinos and dancing! Fun number concept book!

SHALLOW GRAVES by Kali Wallace, ages 14+, Haunting novel about murder, revenge, and a world where monsters—human and otherwise—lurk at the fringes.

THE FIRST TIME SHE DROWNED by Kerry Kletter, ages 14+, The beautiful struggle of a girl desperate for the one relationship that has caused her the most pain.

ZITA THE SPACEGIRL series Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.31.47 PMby Ben Hatke, ages 6-12, fun graphic novels about friendship and redemption. Cannot over-express how much I love this series. It single-handedly won me over to graphic novels.

Kate Manning

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.34.34 PMUNDER THE EGG by Laura Marx Fitzgerald, ages 8-13, Mystery explores NYC, the art world, and WWII.

 

Amy Kurtz Skelding

THE HEN WHO DREAMED SHE COULD FLY Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.35.56 PMby Sun-mi Hwang, ages 8+, a perfect read-together Korean fable/folk tale similar to Charlotte’s Web/Animal Farm. An enjoyable surface-level read as well as a deeper story for adults. Warning: this book may make your heart ache.

Kristi Wientge

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 4.17.23 PMROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson, ages 8-13, Spunky and heartbreaking journey of finding yourself.

 

 

Feel free to share books you’re munching on now in the comments!

IMG_2370MICHELLE LEONARD is a math and science nerd and a SCBWI member who writes middle-grade fiction and non-fiction. Connect with her on Twitter !

What do you think? Leave questions or comments below!