6th grader Mac (nicknamed after Mcgyver, but real name Christian) and his best friend Vince run a business from the fourth stall in the remote bathroom at their school. They solve problems for kids for pay or favors. They even solved a problem for the janitor which is how they get to use this empty stall for their business. But now Mac is having his own problems: an older kid encroaching on their school, disagreements with his best friend, a dwindling emergency fund… Will Mac and Vince’s friendship survive it all?
The Fourth Stall (Walden Pond Press, 2011) by Chris Rylander is a very fun read. It’s won the 2012 Sid Fleischman Award for Humor, too. Chris will be on the faculty for the SCBWI LA Conference this coming August.
Chris’ second book, The Fourth Stall II, came out this year, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Am looking forward to it.
On his website Chris Rylander describes himself as “author. unicorn collector. amateur drifter. etc.” If that doesn’t get you curious, nothing will. But at least you’ll want to check out his self-portraits on the About Chris Rylander page.
Category: MG Novels
middle grade novels (for 8-12 yo)
Clicks, Hicks and Ugly Sticks
Story with Humor and Drama
Clicks, Hicks and Ugly Sticks (Thomas Nelson, 2011) by KD McCrite is the second in a series, but not having read the first isn’t a hindrance to enjoying this story. Look at the opening lines:
Isabel St. James is a recovering hypochondriac.
She once thought she had hoof-and-mouth disease just because she skittered through the barnyard while the cows were there waiting to be milked.
It makes me want to know more about 11-year-old April Grace who obviously must live on a farm. In the first chapter we learn so much about her–not just age, family, hair color–but that she has compassion, and is opinionated and funny. Here’s a brief introduction to the story:
April has had to move in with her sister, Myra Sue, to give up her room for Isabel (the drama queen) and Ian St. James. Her sister is trailing after dumb ol’ Isabel like she’s the best thing since sliced bread. If that’s not bad enough, April’s starting Junior High and discovering how friends change, and not in a good way. Then her mother starts being grouchy all the time. And then there’s that boy at school who keeps eyeing her… What’s a girl to do? Especially when she has to spend so much time helping Isabel and Myra Sue?
Preteen girls will enjoy April Grace. (It may be Christian, but it sure isn’t preachy!)
The first book in the “Confessions of April Grace” series is called In Front of God and Everybody. The third book, Chocolate Covered Baloney is coming out this fall.
You might want to wonder over to KD McCrite’s website, where there are book excerpts, book trailers and more.
Blessing’s Bead
Isn’t this a beautiful cover?
Blessing’s Bead (Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009) by Debby Dahl Edwardson is an interesting mix of historical and contemporary. I’ll be honest I felt the historical section was a bit slow at first–maybe because there were so many characters–but once I got going it was good. The contemporary section pulled me in right away. I loved how the cultural information was done. It was great how the two stories meet up.
Here’s a brief look at each section:
It’s 1917 and Nutaaq watches her sister Aaluk and the young Siberian wearing the string of cobalt beads. Nutaaq does well in a race and gets one bead. Her sister goes off to marry the Siberian, then illness strikes the village and very few are left.
70 years later, Blessing and her little brother are sent away from their mother to live with their grandmother. Blessing feels like an outsider with the Inupiaq, but then begins to learn about her family’s history. She finds a blue bead, which she treasures without quite knowing why.
Debby writes with authenticity about her adopted culture in Barrow, Alaska. Read more here and the kudos for Blessing’s Bead. Debby’s site has many extras, so you may want to spend some time there. I did and now I’m putting her other novel and her picture book on my TBR pile!
Okay for Now
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Just love this kid!
Okay for Now (Clarion, 2011) by Gary D. Schmidt is about Doug Swieteck (who appeared in the Wednesday Wars*). He’s older now, 12. It’s 1968. His abusive father has lost his job and the family has to move away from NYC to a small town in upstate NY. Doug nicknames the house “The Dump.” There’s nothing to do in the town, but he follows this girl to the library. Of course, Doug doesn’t want her to know he’s following her so he goes to the top floor where he’s captured by a picture under glass – a tern by Audubon.
I just love this kid. Feel sorry for him at how he’s treated by his father and brother; how people suspect him to be a criminal; not knowing how to read; his loneliness in a new town.
Gary D. Schmidt is a two time Newbery honor winner. Read about him here. For anyone looking for an example of great voice, this story is excellent.
*You don’t have to have read the other book to enjoy this one, although it’s great, too. But if you want to know more about it, go here.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (Sky Blue Press, 2009) by Rodman Philbrick is not only very fun, but it’s very good. And that’s not just my opinion since it was a 2010 Newbery Honor book! I love how the cover presents a good picture of the flavor of this book.
Here’s a brief introduction to the story:
12-year-old Homer and his brother Harold have been entrusted to the care of their mother’s late sister’s husband. Squint, according to Homer, is the meanest man in Maine, and since he makes them sleep in the barn and starves them it must be true. When Squint sells 17-year-old Harold to the Union Army for $250, Homer escapes and goes to save him. Read about his adventures and misadventures and the people he meets along the way.
The author also wrote Freak, the Mighty, which was made into a movie called The Mighty. Read about that and other books on his website. If you’re a young person wanting to write, read what he has to say here.