Halloween is over. Thanksgiving is in ten days. That means the gift-giving season is right around the corner! For most of us, it’s panic time. But the Pennies at The Winged Pen are going to make this holiday season easier for you. Below are some of our favorite books. They are great choices for the readers in your life (including yourself!) Gita City of Saints … Continue reading Holiday Gift Ideas: The Winged Pen’s Favorite Books
Though I relish everything having to do with ghosts and monsters, I’m also the person who levitates off the sofa during every single jump scare in “Stranger Things,” much to the amusement of my son. Today is Halloween, a time when, it’s said, the veil between the living and the dead grows thin, and we’re allowed both to scare and be scared. It got me … Continue reading Books That Scared the Bejeesus out of Us
This is the second love letter in the series we’re doing about books that shaped us, as individuals and as writers. Last month, I wrote about a book that formed me as a person. This month, it’s the book that inspired me to write middle grade. I discovered Skellig, by David Almond, as an adult. I fell into it by accident, intrigued by its strange … Continue reading Dear Skellig
Julie, congratulations on the release of your latest book, Mice of the Round Table (Voyage to Avalon) and welcome to The Winged Pen! Your cover is gorgeous––tell us about the story. Julie: Young mouse Calib Christopher has nearly completed his training to become a squire to the Knights of Camelot when news of a deadly plague reaches the castle. Soon all of Camelot is showing … Continue reading Q&A with Middle Grade Author Julie Leung
Happy Indigenous People’s Day! As the wind turns from humid to crisp and the leaves begin to change colors, we can’t help but think about Thanksgiving and our mixed feelings about this celebration. My education about Native Americans as a child was woefully inadequate and wrong for the most part. Understanding that our childhood views of colonialism were misrepresented is important to our history, our … Continue reading Native American Literature for Young Readers
Fall makes me long for crisply cool, slightly overcast days. Why? On days like this, I enjoy exerting myself in the yard, cleaning up my summer gardens and preparing the cool season garden, and then hopping in the hammock with a book. Here are a few new releases for fall that have caught my attention. Picture Books Miguel’s Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and His Dream … Continue reading Fall Releases on Our Radar!
Melissa Roske is the author of KAT GREENE COMES CLEAN. She completely embodies the MG writing community because she’s about the friendliest and most supportive person you will meet. Before I talk to Melissa, here’s more about her book: Eleven-year-old Kat Greene has a lot on her pre-rinsed plate, thanks to her divorced mom’s obsession with cleaning. When Mom isn’t scrubbing every inch of their Greenwich Village apartment, … Continue reading Interview with Melissa Roske Author of KAT GREENE COMES CLEAN
Happy Birthday to Jada Jones! She’s a “rock” star and a good citizen in two new chapter books released September 19th by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. Goodreads: Rock Star … Continue reading Meet Jada Jones! New chapter books by Kelly Starling Lyons
I am a huge fan of creepy. Books, movies, decaying abandoned houses. So when The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding by Alexandra Bracken became available on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. This book is the whole package of eerie while still having the humor middle grade readers love. “I would say it’s a pleasure to meet thee, Prosperity Oceanus Redding, but … Continue reading Book Recommendation: The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding
Releasing Today, August 1st, 2017!!! Brave New Girls: Stories of Girls Who Science and Scheme is a collection of 22 stories about brainy young heroines who use their smarts to save the day. Edited by author Mary Fan, the anthology’s goal is to inspire girls (ages 12+) to study science and engineering. Even better, proceeds from the anthology fund scholarships for women through the Society … Continue reading BRAVE NEW GIRLS #STEM Anthology: Inspiration for Future Female Engineers/Scientists
Three gutsy protagonist, three continents, three different time periods. How’s that work? Well, you won’t have to wait much longer to discover how middle-grade author Alan Gratz weaves these interconnecting stories together in a way that Kirkus Reviews has called a “feat nothing short of brilliant.” REFUGEE hit bookstore shelves in July 2017 and made it to the NYTimes best-sellers list for middle grade fiction twice … Continue reading NYTimes Author Alan Gratz talks about REFUGEE and BAN THIS BOOK
We’re psyched for the launch of Winged Pen member, Kristi Wientge’s, middle grade debut. Karma Khullar’s Mustache will hit bookstore shelves on August 15th! We invited Kristi and her agent, Patricia Nelson of the Marsal Lyon Agency, to talk about Karma and how this story became a book. Patricia, what first drew you to Karma Khullar’s Mustache? Patricia: I knew when I first started reading … Continue reading Interview with Kristi Wientge, Author of KARMA KHULLAR’S MUSTACHE, and her agent Patricia Nelson
