Category: Middle Grade

Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Featured: THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman. Eleven-year-old Viji and her younger sister Rukku quickly discover how vulnerable they are when they run away from their abusive father and try to make a home for themselves … Continue reading Featured: THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman

Michelle Leonard1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day- Featuring TWO Wonderful Biographies: VIRGINIA HAMILTON-AMERICA’s STORYTELLER by Julie K. Rubini and DELORES HUERTA STANDS STRONG by Marlene Targ Bill

It’s my honor to participate in Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 to celebrate the gift of story and diversity in children’s books. To celebrate, I’m featuring two recent biographies about important women trailblazers. First up, Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller by Julie K. Rubini. Virginia Hamilton was a shy, quirky, and extraordinary author that I knew very little about before reading VIRGINIA HAMILTON: AMERICA’S STORYTELLER. In this biography, … Continue reading Celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day- Featuring TWO Wonderful Biographies: VIRGINIA HAMILTON-AMERICA’s STORYTELLER by Julie K. Rubini and DELORES HUERTA STANDS STRONG by Marlene Targ Bill

Michelle Leonard1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Publishing & Promotion

Recommendation: Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas

Kids have so much going on in their lives today with school, grades, friends, and family, it’s hard to get through it all, especially for kids who keep their struggles to themselves. What I love about books is that they are friends, the kind who show kids they’re not alone. Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas, by Andrea Pyros, does that by tackling issues such as … Continue reading Recommendation: Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas

Halli GomezLeave a comment
Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Windows & Mirrors Feature: TIGHT by Torrey Maldonado

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. This week we are featuring Tight by Torrey Maldonado Bryan is a Puerto Rican sixth grader whose home life is always full of drama. He has a very awkward relationship with his dad, who is newly released from prison. … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors Feature: TIGHT by Torrey Maldonado

Michelle LeonardLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Featured: YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING, JILLY P! by Alex Gino

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino! Jilly loves hanging out on the fan site for her favorite book series, the Magically Mysterious Vidalia trilogy. She’s especially good friends with username=profoundinoaktown, a boy … Continue reading Featured: YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING, JILLY P! by Alex Gino

Michelle LeonardLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Window & Mirrors: BLENDED by Sharon M. Draper

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring BLENDED by Sharon M. Draper. Because her parents are divorced, eleven-year-old Isabella feels like she’s literally torn between two different worlds. Every other week, she’s Isabella who hangs out with her black dad, his girlfriend … Continue reading Window & Mirrors: BLENDED by Sharon M. Draper

Michelle Leonard1 Comment
Author, Four on 400, Interviews, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Interview with Author Christine Grabowski Four on 400 Winner

Welcome Christine Grabowski, young adult author and Four on 400 contest winner! We are excited to share news of your debut young adult novel and learn about your path to publication. Let’s start with your novel. Tell us about Dickensen Academy.  Dickensen Academy is a young YA contemporary fantasy that bridges the gap between MG and YA. It is about a fourteen-year-old girl, Autumn, who … Continue reading Interview with Author Christine Grabowski Four on 400 Winner

Halli Gomez1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

DACTYL HILL SQUAD: An action-packed middle-grade alt.-history fantasy set smack dab in the middle of Civil War times.

Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring DACTYL HILL SQUAD by Daniel José Older. Dactyl Hill Squad is an action-packed middle-grade alt-history fantasy set smack dab in the middle of Civil War times in 1863 New York *WITH DINOSAURS*! Magdalys, a twelve-year-old … Continue reading DACTYL HILL SQUAD: An action-packed middle-grade alt.-history fantasy set smack dab in the middle of Civil War times.

Michelle Leonard1 Comment
Book Cover for Trouble With Parsnips by Laurel Decher
Author, Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Publishing & Promotion, Writer's Life

Laurel Decher Talks TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS and Self-Publishing

Laurel Decher is an author and writer for The Winged Pen. We are very excited to share her story, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS, learn about her writing process, and decision to self-publish. When you’re 15th in line to the throne, it’s hard to make a name for yourself. The youngest princess of Cochem still needs a christening and she’s ten. She can’t get a word in … Continue reading Laurel Decher Talks TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS and Self-Publishing

Halli GomezLeave a comment
Author, Book Recommendations, Interviews, Middle Grade

Interview with R.L. Toalson, Author of The Colors of the Rain

There’s nothing better than a book that touches you, opens your eyes to different perspectives, and makes you want to tell all your friends. THE COLORS OF THE RAIN is one of those books for me. I was thrilled to review it and just had to talk with the author. R.L. Toalson, welcome to The Winged Pen! Before we jump into questions, let’s give readers a quick … Continue reading Interview with R.L. Toalson, Author of The Colors of the Rain

Halli GomezLeave a comment
Author, Book Recommendations, Middle Grade

The Three Rules of Everyday Magic

Back in 2015, Pitch Wars founder Brenda Drake put out a call for middle grade mentors to take on a second mentee. Without any idea who the writer was or what the story was about, Joy McCullough, Rebecca Wells, and I volunteered to co-mentor this mysterious project. That writer turned out to be Amanda Rawson Hill, who was working on a gorgeous story called The … Continue reading The Three Rules of Everyday Magic

Jessica VitalisLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade

Book Recommendation: The Colors of the Rain

The wonderful thing about historical fiction is that readers are able to experience many points in time. We’re able to learn what life was like for people decades, even centuries ago, in different regions and countries. But what I love most about this genre is that I always find the characters and their situations are not that different from today. R.L. Toalson’s novel-in-verse, The Colors … Continue reading Book Recommendation: The Colors of the Rain

Halli Gomez2 Comments