Tag: illustrated middle grade

Bright yellow cover with red words POPCORN, half of a face of a boy in glasses and a collared shirt
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Popcorn

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Popcorn (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024) by Rob Harrell is such a good book–full of humor and heart! And it only covers one day in the of the main character. Well worth a read.

Seventh-grader Andrew has problems. His grandmother, G, is living with them and has Alzheimer’s, he has to hide his odd behaviors at school, there’s always the threat of Mean Gene, and it’s school picture day. If that’s not enough to provoke anxiety in anyone, it’s worse for Andrew who struggles with anxiety. His biggest fear is to explode into a panic attack at school.

Andrew was inspired by the author’s own experiences with anxiety, so comes across as very real. I had such sympathy for Andrew and for others in the book. I loved his relationship with his best friend, Jonesy. I enjoyed all the mishaps during his day.

Popcorn received a Schneider Family Book Award for Middle Grades (2025) and has been nominated for others this year. Inside are sketches “by” Andrew of what his life is like.

Read about Rob here and see his other books here.

cover of The Hotel Balzaar
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Hotel Balzaar

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Hotel Balzaar (Candlewick Press, 2024) by Kate DiCamillo is a sweet story of stories within a story. It’s beautifully illustrated by Júlia Sardà.

Marta and her mother live in a hotel where Marta must be as quiet and invisible as a small mouse while her mother works. Marta obeys until a countess with a parrot arrives and invites her to visit. The stories the countess tells don’t seem connected and Marta is not sure they are even true, but they give her hope.

Part of The Norendy Tales, this book is aimed at ages 7-10, but I think older readers will enjoy as well. The first book in the collection is The Puppets of Spelhorst and coming in September is a third, Lost Evangeline. The books stand alone but share a world.

Kate is a two-time Newbery winner who writes picture books, early chapter books, and middle grade novels. Read more about this award winning author here.

Júlia is an author as well as an illustrator–read about her here and see samples of her work here.

cover of The Beatryce Prophecy
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Beatryce Prophecy

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Beatryce Prophecy (Candlewick Press, 2021) by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Sophie Blackall is an unusual but appealing story.

It starts with a prophecy about a girl who will “unseat a king.” Next we meet Answelica, the goat, whom the monks fear. One day Brother Edik finds a child in the pen with the demon goat. Beatryce doesn’t remember anything but her name. And king’s soldiers are searching for her.

Kate is a two-time Newbery medalist and Sophie is a two-time Caldecott medalist.

Read about Kate’s many novels here, her picture books here, and her early chapter books here.

Check out all of Sophie’s children’s books here.