Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Counting Thyme (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2016) by Melanie Conklin is an uncommon story, although too many kids are experiencing the affects of cancer in their lives. Here’s a brief introduction:
It’s November and eleven-year-old Thyme and her family have moved to New York for a drug trial that might save her little brother, Val. There are great things about being in a new place and new school–such as new classmates not labeling her as “the girl whose five-year-old brother has cancer.” But there’s bad things about not being in San Diego–missing her best friend Shani, her grandmother, her home. The drug trial is supposed to take three months, which is great as Thyme really wants to return home in March to celebrate Shani’s and her own birthday. But life gets more complicated than Thyme or anyone else plans for.
I loved sweet Val, sympathized with Thyme and her parents, and liked this touching story a lot. I hope to see this book win some awards!
On the author’s website there’s the story behind the story, a book trailer and more.
Tag: MMGM
Sweet Home Alaska
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Sweet Home Alaska (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2016) by Carole Estby Dagg is a fun and interesting historical read. I never realized there were pioneers as recent as 1935 until I read this book!
Here’s a brief summary of the story:
Terpsichore’s father is out of work like so many men during the Depression. He’s determined not to go on relief, so when he finds out about a chance to resettle in Alaska, he’s willing to take it. Unfortunately, since he isn’t on relief, the family’s not eligible. Terpsichore’s best friend and family are going, however, so she secretly fills out the paperwork. Yes, they end up in Alaska, but nothing goes according to plan. And what’s Terpsichore to do when her mother doesn’t want to stay?
This book is a Junior Library Guild selection. It is reminiscent of the main character’s favorite books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I love that the author included how she came to write the story on her website.
Mouseheart
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Fans of Runt the Brave series by Dan Schwabauer and the Redwall books by Brian Jaques will like Mouseheart (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014) by Lisa Fiedler.
Hopper is a mouse in a pet store. He wishes he was braver. But his bravery is about to be tested. Can he save his siblings? Can he survive when he gets washed from the uplands? And how can he tell who is telling the truth in this new world where he finds himself?
I was satisfied with the ending of this first book in the trilogy, but want to know more about Hopper and his the world. Fortunately the other books are already out. 
Book two is Hopper’s Destiny and book three is The Return of the Forgotten.
The author has a lovely website that even has games.
Beautiful illustrations are done by Vivienne To–see more of her work here.
The Year We Sailed the Sun
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
I loved this historical middle grade novel, The Year We Sailed the Sun (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015) by Theresa Nelson. It’s set in the year 1912 and took me into a unfamiliar world of Catholic orphanages and Irish street gangs in St. Louis.
Eleven-year-old Julia Delaney and her almost fourteen-year-old sister are being sent to The House of Mercy. Their older brother Bill, only fifteen himself, promises it will just be for a short time. Mary’s the good sister, so living with nuns won’t be hard on her. But Julia, that’s quite a different story. And you can tell so from the first sentence of Chapter One: “I suppose I will go to hell for biting the nun.”
That made me laugh. Yet I found Julia a sympathetic character as well. The author was a Winner of the PEN/Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writer Fellowship for this book. It’s also a Junior Library Guild Selection.
The novel is a fascinating blend of fiction mixed with actual history. (Of course, I had to read the Author’s Note at the end to know that.) On the book’s page on Theresa Nelson’s website there are great pictures of the time period, including one of the real Julia who inspired the story.
The author has a number of other books to put on my “to be read” list.
Circus Mirandus
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Circus Mirandus (Dial Books, 2015) by Cassie Beasley is a wonderful story of a grandson’s love for his grandfather and their stories, separately and together, in search for magic. It’s also a story of friendship.
Micah Tuttle’s Grandpa Ephraim, who has raised him, is dying. Great-Aunt Gertrudis is keeping Micah away from her brother. She talks about the “silliness” that Micah doesn’t need “stuffed between his ears,” which references Circus Mirandus. It’s just stories. But Grandpa has told Micah the stories are all true and that the Lightbender owes him a miracle. Micah is sure the miracle will save his grandfather’s life.
This amazing story is the author’s first book. Read more here.
The book has also been published in England. About that version, Cassie Beasley says she’s been “Anglicized.”