Social issues and building empathy have been hot button topics in middle grade fiction. The current way of thinking about this is windows and mirrors. Some books show us people who are like us and some show us people we never really thought about before. Reading some of both kinds of books is important for kids, so I'm happy to share some new ones with you!
The first one is called A Fish Out of Water by Joanne Levy. It's about 12 year old Fishel who is living with his mom, his stepdad and his baby sister. Fish is getting ready to celebrate is bar mitzvah and he needs to do a kind of community service project. His friends have ideas and would like Fish to do the project with them, but Fish really wants to think up his own project. He gets a great idea from his grandmother. He wants to knit socks and give them to people who need them. His grandmother says that boys don't knit. His stepdad agrees and encourages him to take water polo lessons at the community center. His friends all make fun of him for wanting to learn to knit, but Fish is persistent. This is a lovely story about knowing yourself and making hard choices. It also takes a big whack at gender stereotypes in a way that isn't in anyway related to romance. I liked Fish a lot and think the kids are going to like him too.
Here is the author reading chapter one.
And here is cover!
The second one is called My Life in the Fish Tank by Barbara Dee (hmmm,, maybe this post SHOULD have been about fish...). Barbara Dee also wrote another book that I really loved called "Maybe He Just Likes You" that was a terrific portrayal of gender based bullying. So I was looking forward to this one and I was NOT disappointed. This one is about 12 year old Zinnia who is a middle daughter in a big family. Zinny's family has been struggling for awhile because of her older brother Gabriel. Gabriel can be loud and funny and impulsive but he can also sleep for days and barely speak to anyone. When he goes away to college, things kind of go off the rails for him and he ends up in the hospital. When he is allowed to leave the hospital, he goes directly to a different kind of hospital because Gabriel has a mental illness. Zinny's parents tell her this is private and they shouldn't really discuss it and Zinny takes that to heart. Zinny throws herself into science and that helps, but it's hard. Her friends would like her to talk about it, her older sister is willing to talk about it with everyone and her younger brother is just trying to fit in and be cool. Zinny is a character I would like to be friends with. Her loyalty and love for her family seems boundless. Her confusion over the mixed messages that she's getting from her family is so clearly drawn it's easy to understand her feelings. This is a wonderful story to open lines of communication about all sorts of topics-respect, loyalty, shame, friendship. I can't wait to put this one in someone's hands!
Usually this time of year, I'm knee deep in middle grade speculative fiction as part of the CYBILS award list, which is super fun. But this year, they are taking a break (sad face emoji) but I'm still finding some fun things to read, it's just not the overwhelming glut I'm accustomed to, with stacks of books on hold for me at my local library and the stacks of books on my coffee table giving me the stink eye every time I sit down. Luckily, here are two amazing ones that just came out. The first one is in a category I like to call "not exactly speculative fiction". There are no ghosts or magical creatures in these books, but the kids face obstacles that I hope are not realistic. This one is called "The Free State of Jax". It's written by Jennifer Nielsen, an author whose work I admire greatly. Jax is a kid who has lived with his grandmother since he was a little boy. But his grandmother developed Alzheimer's disease and he was sent to ...
Sooooo many new middle grade fiction titles are coming out this fall. Check out these two new ones. The first one actually came out in May but Netgalley was kind enough to keep it on the shelf until a few weeks ago. It's called "The Curiosities" by W. H. Eatons, which is actually three people- Mark Wheaton and his two kids, Rowan and Wyatt. It's about two kids, Marlow and Zack, who just moved to a new small town with their mom, an exogeologist (a scientist who studies rocks from other planets) who works at the Rocket Propulsion Lab. It's also about the cats who live in the neighborhood, who are talkative, friendly, and capable of a great many things. The problem begins with a hum that a creature notices. The creature is unidentified until quite late in the book but is referred to occasionally. The hum seems to be disrupting insects and birds and eventually the people of the town. When the middle school science teacher, Ms. Layla, dis...
I'm sorry that we're not going to get to do the CYBILS award this year. The CYBILS award was created by people who blog and write about children's literature and has consistently been one of my favorite things to do each year. Imagine getting a list of 100+ middle grade fiction books, having to source them, read them and rate them and discuss them with a group of other people who love books as much as you do. It wasn't always easy but I always found a couple of titles that I would have otherwise missed that I totally fell in love with. But [sigh], this year, the organizers wanted to take a break. Or needed to take a break. I hope it's a short one and we can go back next year! Here are two of my new speculative fiction favorites this year. The first one is called Outside by Jennifer Holm. I adore Jennifer Holm's work and it was such an honor to get to meet her at the Nerdy Book Camp when that was still a thing. This new one is terrifi...
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