Tag: Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Okay for Now

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Just love this kid!
Okay for nowOkay 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.

Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

homer.jpgThe 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.

Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Heart of a Shepherd

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

heart_shepherd.gifHeart of a Shepherd (Random House Books for Children, 2009) by Rosanne Parry is a lovely book. I enjoyed the intergenerational relationships, the faith of the main character, and a look into a military and shepherd family’s life.

12-year-old Brother (Ignatius) is not happy. His dad, who is in the Reserves, has to go to Iraq. His older brothers are away at school and he and his grandparents have to keep the ranch going. Brother thinks that keeping the ranch the same will help bring his dad home safely. But sheep ranching is not really his thing.

Here’s encouragement for other writers from Rosanne’s site: “It took me seven years to go from my first idea for Heart of a Shepherd to a finished book. But in those seven years I also wrote another novel, two mysteries, lots of short stories and many newspaper and magazine articles.”

I next plan to read Second Fiddle, another book by Roseanne about military families.

Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Grounded

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Grounded compGreat first line: “I’m alive today because I was grounded.” How could you not read on after that?
But there’s more than one meaning of “grounded” in Grounded (Feiwel and Friends, 2010) by Kate Klise. Besides being a really good story, the book has a sympathetic character and a mystery to solve. No wonder it is an award winner!
Daralynn’s brother, sister and father die in a plane crash. After her mother fixes their hair, shaves her husband for their funerals, she gets hired to do the hair for corpses at the mortuary. When her mother gets so good at doing hair that live people want her to do their hair, she uses the insurance money to open a beauty parlor. Daralynn/Dolly gets to help with the parlor. But then Clem comes to town with a crematorium which threatens her mother’s job. So Dolly (nicknamed so after all the dolls she got after the funeral) puts a plan into effect: living funerals, so you can hear what people have to say before you die.
This is my first time to read a book by Kate Klise, but I plan to read more. Look at her website and see all the other books. I recently saw a mention on twitter from a librarian about Kate’s book, Dying to Meet You. @tgaletti says its a popular book in her library. Guess that’s the one I’ll need to read next.

Posted in MG Novels

Wild Things

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

wildthings.jpgThe title of the book Wild Things (Boyd’s Mills Press, 2009) by Clay Carmichael fits in so many ways: a wild main character, a wild cat, and other things you’ll have to read to discover yourself.
11-year-old Zoe has basically raised herself, but now she’s been sent to live with her Uncle Henry, whom she’s never met. She expects him to fail her as everyone in her life has done before, including her now deceased mother and all her various boyfriends. Henry doesn’t believe her when she tells him there’s a cat hanging around his place, but not only is Zoe right about him, but she senses the presence of others, too. And the cat knows more than he can tell. I love how the cat and girl viewpoints work together to tell the story.
Don’t miss the “Story Behind the Story” on the author’s website. And, take note, the author illustrated the cover herself, plus did the drawings inside the book!