Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Badger Knight (Scholastic Press, 2014) by Kathryn Erskin may be historical since it is sent in England 1346, but it definitely isn’t boring. I found the book hard to put down as I experienced life with the main character.
13-year-old Adrian isn’t content to be small and sickly–he’s going to be an archer. And help in the war against the Scots, or at least become an apprentice bowyer to his father. But no one–not his father or his friend Hugh and especially Good Aunt–think he’s much use beyond collecting goose feathers to fletch arrows. The village bullies call him Badger since he puts dirt under his eyes to dim the brightness of his white face when shooting arrows. Adrian claims the name Badger himself when he goes to help his friend Hugh in the war.
This book is a 2014 Junior Library Guild Selection–you won’t want to miss reading it! And isn’t the cover gorgeous?
Adrian isn’t the only traveler–so’s Kathryn. See her bio!
I have a review of another of Kathryn’s books here: Mockingbird.
Tag: middle grade adventure
The Hop
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
The Hop (Disney-Hyperion, 2012) by Sharelle Byars Moranville is a fun adventure story told in two alternating viewpoints: a kid and a TOAD!
Tad, a small toad, lives in Toadville-by-Tumbledown which is in grave danger and he’s been selected to save it by kissing a human girl. Ughh. (Isn’t that an interesting twist?) But not just any girl–it has to be the Queen of the Hop. His trip is quite the adventure as he follows directions and ends up in . . . no, I’m not telling you where.
Taylor’s favorite place is the pond next to her grandmother’s, but the property has been sold and it’s going to be turned into a strip mall. What can she do to save it? And then there’s the complication that her grandmother, Eve, is having chemotherapy and she can’t stay with her all the time anymore, especially this time when her parents go to Reno.
Of course, our two heroes have to meet and kiss, but nothing is as you expect it will be.
There are fun illustrations by Niki Daly to add to the story. (You might want to check out more of his work here.)
Love this book–it makes me smile every time I think about it.
The author in her “questions from readers” tells how she came to name the toads. On the same page, you’ll find out how Sharelle came up with “night-smacky-goo.” You know you want to know…