Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

What has everyone been reading?

Let's see. . . I think I only did two in Oct? That can't be right. . . too bad I can't remember breakfast, let alone what I read two weeks ago.
The Last Dragonslayer
Seventh Grade (Alien!) Hero

Definitely liked the Jasper Fforde and will be reading more of his stuff. I believe there will be a sequel; the rest of his work is for adults (which won't stop me).

Only read one The Creature Department by Robert Paul Weston. I won it as a first read. It was a cool little story and very appropriate for the middle grade bunch. My review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Been reading books with my daughter:
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
The Tree of Mindala

I enjoyed The Frog Princess series, especially the first two. For slightly older children, I was impressed by Stuck in Neutral and Inside Out, both by Terry Trueman.

The MG appropriate book that I read in October was Gabriella, The Tale of a Misfit Fairy (http://bit.ly/1bsh6fW). I gave it 4 of 5 stars. It's a charming adventure that takes place in a fairy kingdom, the peace of which is threatened by the ominous Dream Weaver.

I've been reading a lot of adult nonfiction recently, but finished S. Smith's middle grade Seed Savers.

SEED SAVERS paints a future in which the government forbids people to grow their own food and provides its population with only tasteless, processed nutrition squares. Kid protagonists run away from home in search of tasty tomatoes and peaches and honey slathered bread. There's nothing like making fruits and vegetables illegal to make kids want to eat them : )

Oh I just remembered one other book I read in October. It's the Adventures of Tomato and Pea http://amzn.to/1bnegoV It's by an 11 year old author friend of mine, Erik Weibel. It is his debut novel.

For years the evil villain Wintergreen had tried to destroy super crime-stopper, Tomato and his sidekick, Pea, and take over planet Oarg. In a plan gone wrong, Wintergreen traps himself along with his arch-nemesis in a runaway rocket ship that crashes on a strange planet called “EAR-TH”. Now these perennial enemies must learn to work together to survive the dangers on this strange world. Hungry birds, enormous snakes and the giant inhabitants of EAR-TH stand between this brawling bunch of aliens and finding a way home.

I recommend this humorous adventure!

For older MG, Stuck in Neutral could provoke a lot of discussion. I don't know how realistic it is, but part of the point of the book is that nobody can know how realistic it is.... A short book; I enjoyed (well, maybe that's not the right word) it enough to recommend it to adults, too.