Intro
Hi there everyone! Welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two, a teacher of 23, and always amazed at how much I learn from my students. Sometimes it’s something profound, or like last week it’s a snack suggestion! So a shout out to Jadyn and Malia for helping my daughters and I get completely addicted to these things called Flip yogurts. Have you tried them? They are these little flavored yogurts with a side sprinkle of sweetness. I have purchased an embarrassingly large amount of these in the past week - enough so that the Wegman’s cashier is giving me the side eye. You have to try them - delicious!
This is Episode #42 and Today I’m sharing with you a great opportunity to participate in the MG @ Heart Book Club, a fantastic interview with author Elly Swartz about her upcoming novel Smart Cookie, and then I’ll share with you some news about the All the Wonders website.
MG @ Heart Book Club
The first thing that I am really excited to tell you about is that I am teaming up with the Middle Grade at Heart Book Club to bring you great discussions and interviews with the authors of each month’s selection.
So you can read along with us all and at the end of the month or sometimes early the following month, MG at Heart will host a Twitter chat to discuss the book together and I’ll host an episode of Books Between featuring that novel.
First, let me tell you about all of the awesome 2018 picks so you can plan out your reading and pre-order the ones you want to get. There are lots of debut authors on this list so I’m excited for us all to meet some new voices in world of middle grade literature. (And remember that links to all of the books mentioned are in the show notes and the transcript posted on allthewonders.com so you don’t have to scramble to write anything down.)
After I list the reading schedule, then I’ll let you know where you can go to get more information about the MG at Heart Book Club.
In January, we are reading Love, Sugar, Magic by debut author Anna Meriano. It is about an 11 year-old girl, named Leonora, in a tight-knit family where all the women are brujas - witches. Leonora soon discovers that she - like her sisters and mother - have magical abilities that manifest through their baking. I’m about halfway through this book right now and I love the family, and magic, and food, and culture. It’s like a mix of the movie Coco and one of my favorite novels, Chocolat. I just know you and your kids will love it! So, I hope you can join us all for the Twitter chat about Love, Sugar, Magic on Tuesday, February 6th at 8pm EST using the hashtag #mgbookclub.
And February’s read is See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng! Oh my gosh - I just finished the audio version of this novel and I was blown away. Really - you HAVE to read this one! Or better yet since the premise of the entire book is that it’s recorded on an ipod - get the audio performance! You’ll just fall in love with Alex and his dog, Carl Sagan. So - stay tuned for the Twitter chat date for that book!
In March, we’ll be reading The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser. This one has been on my TBR pile for ages so I’m glad to have a reason to push it to the top of my pile and get ready for the sequel which, I think, is due out this fall.
April’s book is Varian Johnson’s The Parker Inheritance - which sounds like a fabulous historical mystery. Can’t wait to read that one - it looks amazing!
In May, we’ll be reading Every Shiny Thing by Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison - a contemporary novel in half prose, half verse.
June’s selection is The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by Diane Magras - a Scottish medieval adventure that sounds a bit like The Ranger’s Apprentice with a twist of Tamora Pierce. Doesn’t that sounds amazing?
In July, we’ll be reading Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno about a family struggling to find a lasting home.
August’s pick is Cindy Baldwin’s Where the Watermelons Grow - a book about twelve-year-old Della Kelly of Maryville, North Carolina, who tries to come to terms with her mother's mental illness while her father struggles to save the farm from a record-breaking drought.
And in September, we are reading The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio. This one is about a girl who longs to create a space of her own away from the small room she shares with her mother in their grandmother’s house that is home to her lovable but sometimes wild Filipino family. So - she decides to built her own ‘tiny house.”
October’s pick is The Three Rules of Everyday Magic by Amanda Rawson Hill. Listen to this description: “Magic doesn't work the way you think it will, but it's what Kate needs as she confronts friendship trouble, her parents' divorce, and Grammy's dementia in this lyrical middle-grade coming-of-age novel.”
And November’s pick is The Hotel Between by Sean Easley -a story where twins Cam and Cass uncover the secrets of their missing father in a magical hotel whose doors lead its guests to places all over the world.
And stay tuned for the December plans!
So - I hope you are just excited as I am to read some outstanding new middle grade books this year. So - go get your pre-orders in, adjust those TBR piles, and I’ll see on Twitter and in your podcast feed.
If you want to know more about the Middle Grade at Heart Book Club, check them out on Twitter at the handle @mgatheart. And you can find them online at mgbookvillage.org. And a big shout out to the creators of MG at Heart - Julie Artz, Cindy Baldwin, Laurie Morrison, Amanda Rawson Hill, and Kit Rosewater.
Main Topic - A Conversation with Elly Swartz
This week I am so excited to welcome Elly Swartz to the show - author of Finding Perfect and her upcoming middle grade novel, Smart Cookie. We chat about her new novel and the unconventional research she did to get the details right along with schools visits, her writing process, and what she’s been reading lately.
Take a listen…..
Interview Outline:
Smart Cookie
Your new middle grade novel, Smart Cookie, is released in just a few days - can you tell us a bit about it?
We all loved the Greene Family Bed & Breakfast - Angie wants to know - did you model it after a real place or a real situation?
We all loved the game inspired rooms - Yahtzee and Monopoly and Checkers and Chess! My daughters and I had so much fun deciding which ones we’d want to stay in. So, we all want to know - which game-themed room would you prefer to stay in?
And Lena wants to know - why did you decide to call the book Smart Cookie?
I really loved the relationship between Frankie and her grandmother. I also grew up with an energetic, card-playing grandmother who lived with me, so I really connected with the bond between Frankie and her Gram….
Were you close to your grandparents?
One of the parts of this book that had us laughing out loud (and cringing!) - were all the women that Frankie secretly sets her dad up with from the dating site!
Did you do research on dating sites?
I’ve been seeing a lot of pictures of your school visits lately! What are some of the things you like about visiting with students?
Your Writing Life
What is your writing process like?
I saw that you studied psychology and law - do you think anything from your time studying those subjects has helped you become a better writer or made its way into your novels?
What are you working on now?
Your Reading Life
Something that I think about a lot is the impact that adults can have on a child’s development as a reader - either in a really positive, encouraging way or sometimes in a negative way...
Was there someone like that in your life who impacted you as a reader?
What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?
Links:
Elly’s Website - http://ellyswartz.com
Smart Cookie Curriculum Guide
Books & Authors We Chatted About:
Ramona the Brave (Beverly Cleary)
Eloise (Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight)
Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren)
Radio Free Vermont (Bill McKibben)
Love (Matt De La Pena and Loren Long)
Everything I Know About You (Barbara Dee)
The 57 Bus (Dashka Slater)
Turtles All the Way Down (John Green)
Some news
Before we wrap up, I wanted to share with you some news. As you may have heard, Matthew Winner and Blake Hamilton (co-founders of the All the Wonders website) have decided to end the project due to some other demands on their time and energy.
However, all the podcasts happily - including Books Between - will still continue. Nick Patton’s Picturebooking podcast will be found on picturebooking.com. And the All the Wonders podcast will now be called The Children’s Book Podcast with Matthew Winner and will have a home at matthewcwinner.com.
And for me, this episode will be the last one at www.AlltheWonders.com. All the previous episodes of Books Between and the transcripts will still be there. And, as always, you’ll still be able to find links to every single episode at booksbetween.com. On the next episode, I’ll have an announcement with some further details about our new home.
For now, I just want to say how happy I am to have been part of the All the Wonders team. And how grateful I’ve felt for their warm welcome into that incredible family. I want to give a special thanks to Matthew Winner who within the first week of this podcast, has always been such an enthusiastic champion of the show and incredibly generous with his time, resources, and advice.
And Matthew, and Blake, and everyone else at the All the Wonders team have made this show so much better than it would have been on its own.
And as much as there is a twinge of disappointment at seeing the end of something so wonderful, instead of feeling like it’s a sad goodbye, I look at it like an evolution of how we all connect and collaborate.
And I am really excited to see what Blake and Matthew have in store next! Because you all know that the forces behind the awesomeness that was All the Wonders are going to be up to something brilliant!
Closing
Alright, that wraps up our show this week!
If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.
Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better - tell a friend about us!
Thanks and see you soon! Bye!
Intro
Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom, and spending a lovely weekend with my family inside away from the bitter cold playing epic games of Sorry and watching all the Star Wars movies. Again.
This is Episode #41 and today I’m sharing with you some fabulous 2018 titles to look forward to this year and an awesome interview with EngiNerds author Jarrett Lerner!
Book Talk - Most Anticipated Middle Grade Books of 2018
Typically in this segment, I share with you a few books centered around a theme. And during the last few episodes I was all about looking back at some of the best middle grade fiction and graphic novels of 2017. (If you missed those, go check out episodes #39 and #40.)
But this week I want to talk about some of the most anticipated books of the upcoming year. Some are long-awaited sequels or new installments in well-loved series. Some are new ventures for favorite authors. And some are by debut authors. So, buckle up and and get ready to add to your wish list. And just a reminder - before you scramble for a pen and paper. You can find every book mentioned here AND a picture of the available covers AND a link to pre-order them right through the Books Between Podcast link at AlltheWonders.com. I’ve got your back, I know you’re busy, so it’s all right there for you. And I’ve come to really love pre-ordering - it helps out favorite authors and it’s like a little gift to your future self.
Two quick things to mention before I start. One - this is just a sampling of all the incredible books coming out this year. I’ll add some links to some great resources in the shownotes where you can find more complete listings of titles to browse through and discover some gems:
http://www.readbrightly.com/middle-grade-books-2018/
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/98185.Middle_Grade_Novels_of_2018
https://mgbookvillage.org/2018releasedates/
https://electriceighteens.com/
And second - publication dates do change, so while I’ve mentioned the book release month - things sometimes change.
All right - let’s get to it!
Coming in January…
Let’s start with the some sequels because there are some AWESOME sequels coming our way to give us something to look forward to during this dreary month….
Some other January releases that are looking fabulous are….
On to February …
In March, there are so books I am really looking forward to! My principal won’t mind if a take a month-long reading sabbatical, right?
March lets us reconnect with some favorite characters with a great bunch of sequels coming out.
In April we have lots to look forward to including sequels, like:
On to the awesome May releases to watch for:
In June we have some really cool books coming our way:
And thankfully I have July and August off from school, so I can catch up AND snag some summer release books such as….
So after August, specific publication dates get a little harder to come by. BUT - a few things have popped up. Like..
So so much to look forward to this year! And of course - I’ll keep you posted about all the amazing books headed our way so we can stay up to date. And definitely make sure you check out the show notes and check out those links so you can dive deeper and discover awesome new books that you are looking forward to reading this year.
Main Topic - A Conversation with Jarrett Lerner
This week I am so excited to welcome to the show Jarrett Lerner - author of the fantastic middle grade novel EngiNerds. We chat about his plans for the sequel, the power of the perfect metaphor, and Project Runway!
Take a listen…..
Interview Outline:
Enginerds
Enginerds has been getting all kinds of love lately - congratulations!! I saw Colby Sharp used Enginerds as his example in his 5 ways to support authors you love video.
For those who aren’t (yet!) familiar with Enginerds, can you tell what this story is about?
What was your thought process like when deciding what your robots would look like and act like?
Enginerds is in a long and glorious line of children’s books and movies and TV shows featuring robots.
What are some of your favorites?
We are getting a book two, right?!
Other Middle Grade Projects
So I saw on Twitter last month that you have teamed up with Analiese Avery (@_AJAvery) to launch @MG_BookBot.
How did that get started and what are your plans?
And I am so excited about your new middle grade focused website - MG Book Village! Aside from the twitter hashtags, what are you hoping to include on the site?
Tell me about your KidLit Mentorship Project….
Project Runway
Your Writing Life
What is your writing process like?
What are you working on now?
Your Reading Life
One of the things I talk about a lot with other educators is the power of that one person to really influence a child’s reading life - either in a really positive way or sometimes in a negative way.
Was there someone in your life who impacted you as a reader?
What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?
Thank You!
Links:
Jarrett’s Website - https://jarrettlerner.com
Jarrett on Twitter and Instagram
Books & Authors We Chatted About:
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker
The Game Masters of Garden Place
Other Topics We Chatted About:
Melissa Roske’s Interview with Jarrett Lerner
Closing
Alright, that’s it for today!
If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.
Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better - tell a friend about us!
Thanks and see you soon! Bye!
Intro
Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of an 8 and 10 year old, and oh so ready to welcome 2018!
This is Episode #40 and today we are celebrating some of the top middle grade graphic novels published in 2017!
And today’s episode is brought to you by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and publishing platform perfect for classrooms. If you are like me and are looking for an engaging and authentic way for your students to share their ideas with a wider audience, you are absolutely going to want to visit WriteAbout.com to check it out.
Main Topic - The Top 10 Middle Grade Graphic Novels of 2017
On the last episode, I shared with you my top 20 middle grade novels published in 2017 and unlike last year, where I had only one list, I decided to separate out the graphic novels since I read so so many more of them this year. And also - this way, I can share 30 books with you instead of just 20, so…. More love for more books is a good thing, right?
Okay - let’s dive in! Here are my Top 10 middle grade graphic novels of 2017!
If you already love Nathan Hale’s work from his fabulous Hazardous Tales series, then you’ll want to check out this book where he ventures into the realm of science fiction! This novel is set in a post-apocalyptic future where these creeptastic alien invaders are devouring every last trace of human-made metals and electronic devices. The only people keeping the flame of civilization going are a small band of survivors trying to outwit and outrun the aliens. The main character is a girl named Strata who finds a beautiful and rare robot pony named Kleidi which makes her a target of the aliens who are soon chasing after Strata and her brother. One Trick Pony is kind of like a blend between A Canticle for Leibowitz and an Hieronymus Bosch painting - both thought-provoking and beautifully creepy.
This is a gorgeous graphic novel with a 1920s flavor and a twist of steampunk that features a young orphan named Blue who is disguising herself as a newsboy for the newspaper called The Bugle. That paper is the only truth-telling news left in the war-torn city of Nautilene. When Blue meets a mysterious boy named Crow, they both need to decide whether to take the path of who they really are or take the path of how others see them. This is a powerful story about truth and ethics and humanity - and the warm, light-infused illustrations are just phenomenal.
This debut graphic novel tells the story of the quiet, un-noticed, hero-in-waiting Emmie Douglass who is dealing with the challenges of seventh grade. Things like finding time to go to the bathroom between classes, the awkwardness of changing for gym, not having a cell phone and feeling left out of things, and…. being completely embarrassed in front of your crush. What makes this book stand out is that the chapters alternate between the main narrative of Emmie and the secondary story of Katie. And I loved how Emmie’s parts are text with lots of illustrations in softer blues, and tans, and mauves. And the sections from Katie’s point of view are that more traditional graphic novel format with panels in bright yellows and pinks and greens. The blend of those two styles is really well done and I loved the surprise twist about how they connect at the end.
This is the sequel to Sunny, Side Up, and this book picks up with Sunny’s life right after her summer spent in Florida with her grandfather. She is now back home, it’s September 1976 and this story takes her through the school year, her complicated feelings about her brother Dale, who is now in boarding school, and the challenges of middle school. This is a book that is quick to read but has a lot of nuance to explore on rereads. Many of my students have read this one multiple times. It’s full of small slice of life seasonal stories and the 1970s nostalgia made me smile.
This series has totally won my class over - with this second installment having quite the waiting list. This fantasy/fairy tale blend has a lot of humor, heart, and cool characters. In this book, Jack, Lilly, and Maddy have ventured up the beanstalk into a world of goblins and giants and dragons who at turns harm and occasionally help. This is a great adventure story that I especially recommend to kids who want something fun. And I just loved the title character - the Goblin King - and that cameo at the end of this book.
This classic, I’ll admit, was one that got past me! But after reading this graphic novel, I know I missed out on something special - this story is wonderful! And Brenna Thummler’s illustrations in vibrant greens with seasonal splashes of pinks and lavenders and oranges are softly stunning. I especially love her scenes of Anne and Diana in the woods with the sunlight dappling the trunks of the trees - it’s just enchanting! If you are already familiar with Anne of Green Gables - you’ll love reliving the magic of her story through this graphic novel. And if you are NOT yet familiar or have kids who might find the classic text a bit daunting, this is a perfect introduction to this beautiful story about resiliency and imagination.
This book is set in the same universe at Chmakova’s debut middle grade graphic novel Awkward, which is also awesome, but this novel is centered on the character Jensen. In his daydreams, Jensen is a swashbuckling hero with dreams of becoming an astronaut or saving his schoolmates from the zombie apocalypse! But, in real life, he’s having a hard time in middle school - math class is difficult, his art club friends seem to be ditching him, and he’s being harassed by two boys at school. I love this book for its diverse set of characters and for a realistic exploration of harassment - both from bullies and from friends. This one is a must-get for classrooms and libraries serving kids 9 and up.
This one took me a while to get to - mainly because my ten year old daughter made off with it as soon as it entered the house and then stayed up half the night reading it in bed with a flashlight. And - the two copies I brought into school were immediately snatched away - and I have no clue whose hands they’re in now and can only trust they’ll find their way home. Real Friends is an autobiographical novel in a similar vein as Raina Telgemeier’s Smile and Sisters or the Holm’s Sunny Side Up. This book tells the story of young elementary school Shannon as she struggles to break out of her middle child loneliness and make good friends at school and at home. I think what makes this book so powerful and appealing to kids is that Hale clearly understands those seemingly small but socially HUGE details that happen in the lives of friends. Who sits next to who at lunch, who gets invited to whose house, the intentional but unseen-by-the-teachers jabs in gym class, the ranking, and the lying. And after Shannon’s first Kindergarten friend Adrienne moves and then comes back, she gets attached to what’s called The Group - these popular girls lead by Jen and her friend Jennifer. Adrienne is clearly IN, but Shannon is sometimes OUT. I also really loved the sections about Shannon’s family - especially her sometimes contentious relationship with her older sister, Wendy. And how this book is also about learning how to BE a real friend as well as FINDING real friends.
Oh - how I LOVED this book! The swirling reds and oranges with shimmers of gold contrasted with those deep blues are simply a gorgeous feast for your eyes. Oh, and the story is pretty awesome, too! It’s about an Indian-American teenage girl named Priyanka. She finds a beautiful red pashmina hidden away in her mother’s old suitcase. A pashmina is an Indian shawl made of finely woven cashmere. After wrapping herself in this mysterious pashmina Priyanka is transported to a mythic India of her imagination filled with both light and an subtly encroaching darkness. Her journey uncovers the line between fantasy and reality and she discovers some truths about herself, her family, and her future. I really loved how the sections alternate between panels in black and white and the rich, vibrant colors. If you want some behind the scenes info about this book, absolutely check out Matthew Winner’s interview with Nidhi Chanani on All the Wonders, Episode 393 !
And - my number one most favorite graphic novel of the year is All’s Faire In Middle School! I have been waiting for a full-length follow up from Newbery honor author Victoria Jamieson and I gotta say - I might even like this one better than Roller Girl. She has a knack for digging deep into the heart and soul of a subculture. First roller derby and here - renaissance festival! This novel is about Imogene - an eleven-year-old girl who has grown up and been homeschooled within the Florida Renaissance Festival community. Her father works as a knight and she helps her mother run their family’s arts and crafts store there. She also has a little brother and a main thread in this book is a fracture in their relationship centered around his stuffed rat? Skunk? Ferret? Also - there’s tension around the fact that she starts her training as a squire, which mean more responsibility at the faire. And she’s going to public school for the first time and starting middle school. I loved this book so, so much - for the behind the scenes secrets of renfaire life, the fun banter of the Elizabethan speaking characters, the chapter introductions that look like illuminated manuscripts. It was just a full on pleasure to read! And absolutely please check out Jamieson’s conversation with Matthew Winner on Episode 386 of All the Wonders.
So - those are my top 10 middle grade graphic novels of 2017!
And as I said in the last episode, this list, just like any other, is flawed. It reflects my own preferences and biases. And the constraints of time.
So I’ve probably missed lots of amazing graphic novels from 2017 so which ones were your favorites?
Closing
Alright, that’s it for today!
If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.
Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better - tell a friend about us!
And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - if you head over to their website you’ll find awesome ideas to get your students writing this year.
Thanks and see you soon! Bye!