Since I was eleven, middle-grade books for drama kids have come a long way.
"Where are your scary books?" That's what I hear all day long at school.
If I wanted to belong, I had to be intentional about it. Somewhere along the way, I came into my own.
What would you do if you found a magical device that could turn back time—but only by five minutes?
Be sure to check your local library or indie bookstores for all the other awesome new books out this month!
If we want kids to grow up reading for fun, then we need to give them books that captivate.
These are five books I've got on my fall TBR and hope to find time to read soon (if I can learn how to keep my eyes open past 8:00).
The thing about making these lists is that I always end up wondering why a mysterious benefactor doesn't just somehow KNOW how much my school could use a surprise infusion of cash for all the books our on collection development list.
All summer I basically just pet my dogs, read my books, and text my friends way too much. But you what I definitely did NOT do in July? Read any of these interesting books on this list, so onto my TBR list they go!
Why do none of us, including many, if not most, Puerto Ricans, know so little about our own mythology?
In creating these Take Five posts, I'm seeing so many books I wish I had read, so the TBR tower grows!
Apologies to everyone in my life is going to be so sick of me asking if they've heard of Tambora and the climate shock that followed. Tambora might be my whole personality now.
Obviously, every parent has their own version of these issues; these are just some of ours. But it’s a delicate balance, and we’re well aware of our risk of wobbling a bit as we try to strike it.
Join me in the Not-So-Way-Back Machine to catch up on a few May titles!
In eighth grade, I was scared of the world finding out the truth about me. But I think, even scarier, was admitting that truth to myself.
Next time you’re worried you’re not quite as alone as you think, remember that not all spooky encounters are what they seem. And you’ll maybe even get a fun story out of it.
Ali Terese: writing mayhem full of hilarity and heart! She's my new fav and should be yours, too.
Maybe I DO have something I’m hoping kids will learn from my books after all: That even when the world feels like it’s falling down around them, they can still find laughter.
Author Jamie Sumner joins us to talk about her new middle grade novel, SCHOOLED.
Young chefs and bakers will gobble up these cookbooks that run the gamut from spooky sweets and fake cakes to activism-inspired family recipes!
Entering portals requires bravery and hope and the willingness to see what happens, which are generally good things to apply to living life in general.
As a writer, it’s been fascinating to watch the publishing team and artists add a visual layer to these books. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how and why they do it.
These four titles discuss women's equality in America, as well as women's suffrage worldwide. Hand them to young readers for Women's Equality Day and throughout the year.
A cover reveal of the new middle grade book StEvEn & Parker: Dinos Are Forever by Parker James.
I have compiled a handful of more-or-less tangible examples: what they did, the doors they opened, and the things they made possible.
I'm reading as fast as I can, but the book mail is arriving faster than I can read! Scroll on through all these recent arrivals here at TLT to find some great things to add to your TBR!
I once heard an accomplished children’s author say, when asked what her new novel was about, “Oh, you know, growing up and stuff.”
Author Kristin Nilsen joins us to talk about her new book, THE SCOTT FENWICK DIARIES.
The authors of The Unraveling: The Counsel of Crows join us talk about their book.
Told in verse, this powerful and compassionate look at bravery, grief, climate change, and activism puts readers right in the heart of the action.
Author Donna Galanti joins us to talk about her new book, LOON COVE SUMMER.
From rollicking fantasy to heartbreaking realism, these excellent additions to the middle grade and hi-lo genres will have something for every tween to enjoy.
Our starred middle and high school nonfiction offerings for the first half of 2025 are sure to keep readers engaged and informed.
These three titles feature tweens with parents navigating incarceration and detention in the United States.
Children's and YA titles are vital resources in public health education.
In this follow-up to Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen is running for president of the sixth grade against popular Sonia Shah in this contemporary story of friendship, family, and community action.
If you are a teen librarian, please feel free to use any of these techniques to make sure THREAT OF THE SPIDER is at the top of your circulation list!
These recent, incredible titles cover under-explored events, figures, regions, and even creative literary approaches that warrant a spotlight in the WWII literary canon.
A great, immersive read that will leave readers anxious to see what happens next.
Friends. FRIENDS. Look at all this glorious book mail. Behold the GIANT AMOUNT of books to arrive at my house in the past few weeks.
Giving all the attention to the showier talents prevents us from seeing the true potential of many of the kids in our lives as well.
Benjamin Ludwig and Meg Eden Kuyatt talk about her new book, THE GIRL IN THE WALLS.
I wanted warmth to radiate off the page. Kids deserve a model of what respect looks like, what empathy looks like, what support looks like. Especially nowadays.
It took many drafts to get the Alligator Witch of West Bay right; mythmaking takes time and energy.
These three novels explore the fun, freedom, and complications of life on vacation for tweens.
This diverse list of titles includes prose novels, novels in verse, and graphic novels. It has solid middle grade books as well as selections more suited for upper middle grade or younger YA tastes.
The authors join us to talk about their experience writing THE COOKIE CRUMBLES and THEIR JUST DESSERTS together.
This list features two graphic novels about trying to find your place in the world, a tale centering a sweet friendship between a boy and his cat, a primer on Asian American history, and more.
Five questions with Meg Eden Kuyatt, author of the May middle grade book THE GIRL IN THE WALLS.
The Burning Season is a riveting read that I highly recommend. I was so emotionally invested in the story that I got choked up toward the end.
My new middle grade novel, This Cookie Will Change Your Life, is a love letter to libraries, which is a funny thing to write, but it’s true.
In Judaism, neshama describes the holy, everlasting spark inside every human being that lasts in the universe, even after a person passes away.
This month's SLJ cover story is my piece on school shootings in middle grade and YA books.
I always imagined GAMERS as a celebration of video games and how they can connect people, and I hope this book appeals to those who grew up playing them as much as those who are still growing up.
Full of righteous rage and a strong drive for justice and inclusivity, Maeve's story is an inspiring look at activism.
Here are five quick reviews of graphic novels I've read in the past few weeks.
Perfect. This book is perfect.
Saturday, April 26 is my favorite day of the year! That's right, it's time for Teen Lit Con again in Mendota Heights, Minnesota! I'm excited to be presenting for the sixth year.
How about some recent and forthcoming releases from Canadian middle grade authors? Canada seems nice, doesn't it?
Eventually, I decided that the nefarious plotting of my young tontine contenders was not only acceptable for middle grade but also funny—for the same reason that Home Alone is a comedy and not a horror movie.
Literally everyone in this fast-paced story is Up To Something and it's so satisfying as it's all revealed.
It's probably not wholly accurate to say that representation of trans and nonbinary characters seems more important than ever (again, it's always been important), but wow, does it sure feel extra necessary these days.
A great book told in two standout voices that takes young people and their interactions in the world seriously. A really good read.
Our characters, Bee and Alice, talk about the same things middle-grade readers do: how the world works, bodies, queerness, and what is fair and right.
Told with deep compassion and raw feelings, this book is not an easy read, but it's an important one.
In an attempt to make teaching research skills less "dry and boring," this middle school librarian hit on a mysterious new lesson plan, and the strategy has been a huge success.
What a great book. It's so full of love and joy and community, things that feel particularly needed considering the everythingness of everything these days.
From fish farts to how animal poop helps fight the climate crisis, these STEM books will inform and satisfy readers who enjoy supercool titles about the slimy and disgusting.
Author Sarah Moon joins us to talk about her new book FAMILY WEEK.
Another round of debuts to know about!
Author Sarwat Chadda joins us talk about his new book STORM SINGER.
In these three novels, the pace and proximity of small-town life play a vital role in characters’ disparate journeys that are ultimately bids for safety, recognition, and belonging.
Here are five new releases to read while sitting outside in the sun!
The author of Joyful Song, Heather Has Two Mommies, and Hachiko Waits shares the questions, anxiety, and outcome of a planned school visit in Missouri.
Disabled people deserve to appear in a variety of positive storylines, the same ones in which abled and neurotypical characters typically populate.
These three books poignantly explore characters whose relationships to the past heavily influence their present.
Fast Five is an author interview series. The author is sent 10 questions and is asked to answer five of them. If you are an author interested in participating in the Fast Five Author Interview series, please fill out this form. Naomi Milliner is the author of Super Jake & the King of Chaos (Running Press Kids) and […]
I'm so glad I had an afternoon of nothing planned, because once I got started on this book, I couldn't put it down.
These excellent middle grade and YA titles use poetry to get at the heart of kids’ experiences. Share them for National Poetry Month and beyond.
I usually talk about fiction in these Take Five lists, but there's plenty of great nonfiction out there too as well as plenty of readers who really prefer to read nonfiction.
For Jewish children, the Passover seder offers a portal to that world of greater meaning, but it’s one that’s often hard to access. In my new graphic novel One Little Goat, my goal is to open that door.
Pearl's story is one of deep sadness, yes, but more importantly, it's one of great hope. How wonderful that today's young readers get stories like this. An essential and fantastic read.
Here are some middle grade books that feature angry characters or made me angry for various reasons.
My grandparents may be long gone, but with Isle of Ever, I can’t help but feel this new story is as much theirs as it is mine.
Today I'm focusing on five collections of books about women's history for middle grade readers.
Books featuring grief, a magic school, a treasure hunt, a robot, and a young adventurer!
In The Peach Thief, my 13-year-old protagonist—a starving workhouse girl—poses as a boy in order to get a tenuous job scrubbing pots in the all-male world of an earl’s walled kitchen garden.
Two exemplary titles explore activism from distinct perspectives for young readers.
Science fiction is fun, curious, and adventurous. It bends the reality of our world and stretches our imaginations to explore all the “what ifs” floating within our universe.
This nuanced look at life with a mentally ill parent shows that change and hope are possible, but that one kid can't achieve those things on his own, nor should he have to.
Today I'm sharing a few titles from the beginning of this year that I hope to read, even though the one that is partially set in 1987, when I was 10, pains me to think of as "historical fiction."
Tear This Down is a book that I hope will spark lively discussions about topics that are front-and-center in today’s news: women’s rights, voting rights, and social justice.
If someone wants to ask if I planned the significance of these objects, you can tell them yes: with plane flights and research and a lifetime of reading about boats and sand and magical balloons that make large distances small, I planned it all.
Hopefully by drawing attention to these debuts, they will end up on more TBR lists and collection development orders, helping them find readers just looking to discover a new favorite author.
This look at community, protest, art, and feminism is an excellent read that will leave readers cheering for Freya's determination to create change.
Three middle grade titles explore climate change through a thrilling science fiction lens.
Graphic novels rules. Graphic novels are real books. Reading graphic novels is real reading.
These five heartfelt titles feature characters whose identities fall under the trans umbrella.
Today I'm sharing five new middle grade books coming out this month. Check in every Friday for themed Take Five lists of middle grade books!
This story begins with two middle school librarians, miles and miles apart, who both feel passionately that what publishers call middle grade literature is not what their students need or want.
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