Category: Middle Grade

Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Windows & Mirrors: Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring

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’re featuring Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring by Angela Cervantes. Before we get into this fun and wonderful story, I have to give a shout out about the cover, designed by award-winning artist Rafael … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring

Michelle LeonardLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, News, Publishing & Promotion, Young Adult

Cover Reveal! BRAVE NEW GIRLS

It’s here! The cover of the third BRAVE NEW GIRLS anthology. The newest edition, titled BRAVE NEW GIRLS: TALES OF HEROINES WHO HACK!, is a collection of twenty-three short stories featuring teen girls who hack not only computers, but any puzzle they encounter. And I’m fortunate to have one of my stories included: The Experiment Called Life.  These anthologies, created and edited by sci-fi authors … Continue reading Cover Reveal! BRAVE NEW GIRLS

Halli Gomez2 Comments
Book Awards, Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, News

Cybils Awards: MG Speculative Fiction

The winners of the Cybils Awards have been announced! If you haven’t heard yet, you must still be busy celebrating Valentine’s Day. The winner for the 2017 Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Category is … WAIT! First, what are the Cybils Awards? They are awards that recognize children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. Second, I had the pleasure of … Continue reading Cybils Awards: MG Speculative Fiction

Halli Gomez2 Comments
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Windows & Mirrors: Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

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. Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King award winner Rita Williams Garcia’s Clayton Byrd Goes Underground is one of my favorite recent middle grade reads. Full of voice, the musicality and raw emotion of the blues, and complex family relationships, … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Clayton Byrd Goes Underground

Julie Artz1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Windows & Mirrors: Grandma’s Purse

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’re featuring Grandma’s Purse authored and illustrated by the amazing Vanessa Brantley-Newton. I fell in love with Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s art the first time I laid eyes on it. Her illustrations are always bustling with energy and … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Grandma’s Purse

Michelle Leonard1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Windows & Mirrors

Windows & Mirrors: Betty Before X

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’re celebrating Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson! Ilyasah Shabazz is the daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. She’s the author of several books about her revolutionary family, including the critically-acclaimed adult memoir … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: Betty Before X

Michelle LeonardLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Love Letters, Middle Grade

Dear Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

I’ve been writing love letters to books that shaped me, as a person and as a writer, and for this month, it’s Karen Foxlee’s Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy. I so enjoyed this book, a dreamy and beautiful retelling of the Snow Queen. What I want to talk about today, though, is how it influenced my writing. I write contemporary fantasies, and love to come … Continue reading Dear Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

Kate HillyerLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade

Book Birthday: THE UNICORN QUEST by Kamilla Benko

Today we’re celebrating the publication of THE UNICORN QUEST, a middle grade novel that Bloomsbury describes as, “An enchanting, exciting fantasy about a real-world girl searching for her sister in a land full of magic and strange creatures, blending the timeless feel of The Last Unicorn and Wildwood with Frozen‘s powerful themes of identity, enchantment, and sisterhood.” Those of you who follow me through Pitch Wars know that I have a … Continue reading Book Birthday: THE UNICORN QUEST by Kamilla Benko

Jessica Vitalis1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Learning to Love Audiobooks

We do a lot of book recommendations here on The Winged Pen because between the lot of us, we read all. the. books. From MG fantasy modern classics to hot new releases to Native American literature for young readers. But recently, a fairly intense Mom Taxi schedule left me considering something new: audiobooks. I never got into audiobooks because I mistakenly imagined myself fidgeting while I … Continue reading Learning to Love Audiobooks

Julie Artz6 Comments
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade

Book Recommendation: Shadow Weaver

The shadows that surround us aren’t always as they seem… Shadow Weaver, by MarcyKate Connolly, is a middle grade fantasy story of family, friends, belonging, and betrayal – all woven together with beautiful magic. Emmeline has grown up with a gift. Since the time she was a baby she has been able to control shadows. And her only friend and companion is her own shadow, … Continue reading Book Recommendation: Shadow Weaver

Halli GomezLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade

Middle Grade Fantasy: A Roundup of Modern Classics

Part of the fun of writing fiction is that you never know exactly what’s going to happen when you sit down at your desk. Still, I have generally leaned toward writing realistic, contemporary stories, and that’s what I’ve read for the last several years (to the exclusion of nearly everything else). So when I started on my current work-in-progress, the last thing I expected was … Continue reading Middle Grade Fantasy: A Roundup of Modern Classics

Jessica VitalisLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Love Letters, Middle Grade

Dear The Phantom Tollbooth

Oh, this strange, wonderful, wise book. Every month, I’m writing a love letter to a book that has shaped me, and this month, it’s The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. For those poor souls who haven’t yet read this classic, it’s the story of Milo, who comes home from school one day to find a tollbooth addressed to him. He drives his toy car through … Continue reading Dear The Phantom Tollbooth

Kate Hillyer2 Comments