Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
If you like historical fiction and humor, you’ll love The Nerviest Girl in the World (Alfred A. Knopf, 2020) by Melissa Wiley.
When Pearl’s three big brothers get hired to be “real cowboys” in Mr. Corrigan’s moving picture reels, she is fascinated. After hanging on to a runaway horse herself, Pearl is hired, too. But if her mother finds out, her dangerous career as a stunt girl will be over.
I love Pearl’s conversations with the ostriches–yes, they raise those too on their cattle and sheep ranch. I love Pearl’s conflicts with her nemesis. And I love her bravery. It’s great getting a look at what people thought about this new form of entertainment, too.
This book is a Junior Library Guild selection and Brave Writer Arrow book.
Melissa Wiley is also the author of a number of easy readers and the Martha and Charlotte books about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s great-grandmother and grandmother. Read about Melissa here and see her books here.
Moonpenny Island (Balzer and Bray, 2015) by Tricia Springstubb is a story about change and offers encouragement that we can do more than simply survive.
The Hop (Disney-Hyperion, 2012) by Sharelle Byars Moranville is a fun adventure story told in two alternating viewpoints: a kid and a TOAD!
Anything But Typical (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010) by Nora Raleigh Baskin has a main character who is “anything but typical.” 12-year-old Jason Blake is autistic kid living in a neurotypical world. “School doesn’t always go very well,” he says. Jason flaps his hands if excited, when he’s going to say something, or if thinking. Others think he is weird. He knows he’s supposed to look people in the eye, but he doesn’t like to. Besides most people look the same to him. “I know no girl will ever like me,” he says. But then PhoenixBird likes his stories on the Storyboard website. Maybe she can be his friend. But when they both get to go to the Storyboard conference, he’s afraid once she sees him she won’t like him anymore.