Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

Welcome to the merry month of May! I hope all is well wherever you may be reading. Before tackling fresh piles of books this month, I'm back to ask you to recommend any that we should be adding. Hey, what were your favorite middle-grade reads from April?

My favorites are gonna be all alphabetical, since that's how I'm tackling my first round through the A to Z Challenge. My Not-So-Great French Escape by Cliff Burke suited me & my fondness for stories that cross cultural boundaries. I'm also a sucker for team-building. And possibly goats. Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont by Nick Brooks was recommended here a while back, and I'm glad I added it to my To Read pile. Science-forward with friends who are there for each other in important ways. Oh, and aliens. I love me some aliens! This is a trilogy, so I'll probably be adding it to my Series Challenge. And then I picked up Obie Is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar, which is a sports story (did I mention how much I love team-building tales?) but also an honest account of one boy's struggles with being accepted because he's transgender.



So!? What were your April finds? Do share them!

Sunrise on the Reaping Into the Rapids

I found three great reads during April: 1. The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo, one of my favorite middle grade authors. I loved this comforting (fantasy) story because I love stories set in old big homes, in this case an old hotel, but it totally worked for me. Wonderful ink drawings helped support and tell the story. So many enjoyable and colorful characters! 2. All Four Stars by Tara Dairman was really fun about a sixth grader who loves to cook and whose passion it is to become a food critic--and all the pitfalls and adventures associated with that! I love food and food writing, so this was a fun read for me. 3. The Space We're In by Katya Balen was not an easy read, but one well worth the time. Realistic fiction, it is a difficult read told from the view of ten-year old Frank growing up in his family with his younger brother, Max, who is autistic. I'm so glad I read this book!

I had two 5-star reads last month...Lindsay Currie's newest and best yet, It's Watching, and Jasmine Is Haunted (a person rather than a place being haunted was an interesting twist). I do love a good middle grade horror! Two others worth mention are Roswell Johnson Saves the World! (although it's a little on the young side for our middle school students, it was a fun story) and The Last Halloween, an underdog tale about an evil magician vs. a kid who just discovered magic.

The best book I read this month was "Beasties" by Peter Lerangis. It's about a group of kids who accidentally get transformed into animals by a magical turd and they go on a big adventure into the city in order to find the other magical turd that can change them back to normal.