5 Spooky Books for Middle Grade Readers!

Halloween is just around the corner. Okay, I know it's only Oct 1, but the countdown to spook night, candied apples, and carved pumpkins has officially begun. What better way to launch the Halloween season than to curl up with a frightful book? Here's a few to get you (and your middle grade readers) started!

The Girl in the Locked Room - a Ghost Story

When Jules and her family move into an old, abandoned house, she discovers a locked room and sees a pale, ghostly face peering from its windows. 

Jules embarks on a mysterious quest to open the locked door and change the fate of the family who lived in the house a century before.

"This gentle paranormal mystery is perfect for young readers."-Booklist

A World Full of Spooky Stories: Tales to Make Your Spine Tingle

This spine-chilling anthology gathers spooky stories from all over the world. Read about the bewitching Queen of the Faeries, the terrifying Baba Yaga, Father Death, and more.

Amazon Review: "My 2 elementary age kids love this book. The stories are spooky and I think that's exactly what keeps their attention. It's also very nice to have a variety of new stories from different cultures that were lessen known. Some of the stories can be a bit scary, so I would not recommend it for 6 yrs old or younger." 

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane

When twelve-year-old Emmy is shipped off to a prestigious British boarding school, she encounters a lot more than tea and crumpets. She discovers a box of mysterious medallions, strange symbols etched into walls, and a secret society: The Order of Black Hollow Lane.

And all of it seems linked to the disappearance of Emmy's long-lost Dad.

Amazon Review: "By cleverly intertwining history into the narrative, Julia Nobel has crafted a page-turning mystery in which a charming cast whose true-to-life interactions make them feel real investigates a secret society whose menace is made worse because it could rationally exist."

Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers

In this thrilling series opener, the three Greystone children learn of a kidnapping. The only thing is, the children kidnapped have their same first and middle names and birthdates, and other strange similarities. 

When the Greystones try to investigate their world is turned upside down. 

"A secret-stacked, thrilling series opener about perception, personal memories, and the idiosyncrasies that form individual identities." - Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Bestselling Haddix launches a new middle-grade series that blends adventure and sf elements into an engrossing mystery. The kidnapping alone could have made a compelling mystery, but Haddix throws in secret rooms, alternate realities, and a cliff-hanger ending to raise the stakes and delight fans new and old.” - Booklist

The Ghost Collector

This tender story, steeped in Cree folklore, features Shelly, who has a special role with ghosts, like all the women in her family. She helps those who are stuck transition on to the next life. 

But when her mother dies, she starts hoarding ghosts in her room instead. But no matter how many she hoards, she still hasn't found the one that matters most to her.

“Perfectly balances suspense and the supernatural . . . [A] powerful and moving story about coming to terms with the death of a loved one. It’s an auspicious debut that is sure to delight middle-grade readers.” - The Globe and Mail, 08/25/19

“Poignantly haunting.” - The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 09/19

These books will be a treat as we move into the cozy days and longer nights of fall! 

5 Middle Grade Summer Reads You Don't Want to Miss!

Summer is in full swing, with afternoons spent in backyard hammocks or whiled away on road trips. Whatever the choice of your summer time, be sure to tuck a few of these great middle grade reads into your kid's backpack - or even your own!

Protagonist Kiki Kallira is sure to thrill fans of adventure, art, and mythology in this action-packed novel. Readers will be drawn into this entertaining story within moments...and may even find themselves reaching for their own sketchbooks. This book is a great springboard for imagination! Buy Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna here!

Tae Keller weaves an enchanting story in When You Trap a Tiger, incorporating the wonder of Korean folk tales. When a tiger from one of the tales comes to life, her main character, Lily must unravel a secret family history and discover if she has the courage to face the tiger. Winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal. Available here!

Looking for a complex, riveting tale? The Kate in Between by Claire Swinarski may just fit the bill. Kate finds herself torn between her best friend, Haddie, and her newfound acceptance in the popular group. This book tackles issues of friendship, bullying, honesty, and guilt. Available here!

In this heartwarming novel, an unlikely friendship is forged when Ro and Benji become science partners in school. They unite to seek his missing comic-book-writing Dad and to finish the rocket her Dad was building when he died. Together, they deal with grief and tackle some of the deepest questions of the cosmos. Find Clues to the Universe by Christina Li at amazon!

Barclay the mushroom apprentice accidentally bonds with a magical beast, setting off a rollicking adventure sure to keep readers turning pages. Buy Wilderlore: The Accidental Apprentice by Amanda Foody here!

Happy Reading!

Scary Stories for Middle Grade Readers and Writers

With Halloween around the corner, middle grade readers and writers are itching for some good scares! Here's a list of great books to tickle your terror, followed by writing resources for crafting spooky reads of your own.

Goosebumps

With more books coming out all the time, Goosebumps is a great series for budding spooksters.

The House with a Clock in its Walls

This family-friendly tale is rife with humor and horror.

Children of the Red King

Here's another great series with spooky themes. Middle graders will love discovering Charlie Bone's unique gifts as he explores the grim dangers of Bloor Academy. 

The Magisterium 

This series from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare delves into a world full of mystery and forbidden magic. 

Where the Wild Things Are

True, Where the Wild Things Are is a picture book. But this story is a long favorite of kids who love monsters and of parents who love to thrill them.

For more on spooky MG, check out the reading list and Q&A section over at spookymiddlegrade.com.

Scary Writing

Monsters

What Makes a Monster Scary?

How to Create a Monster That Terrifies Your Readers

Suspense

Tricks to Writing Suspense Fiction

6 Secrets to Creating and Sustaining Suspense

Horror

How to Write Middle Grade Horror

Capturing Kids: How to Write Horror Stories for Children/Teens

Enjoy your thrills!

Riveting Back-to-School Reads During Covid

I don't know about you, but my kids are a little creeped out right now. Not to mention feeling unsettled about the idea of wearing masks to school or sitting at a desk surrounded by Plexiglas. My son's school has decided on a hybrid classroom, with in-person attendance two days per week and virtual study the other days. Some families are choosing all virtual (my son's not-so-secret dream). 

Regardless of the structure decided on, middle grade readers need something to take their minds off how strange school (and life) are right now, during the Covid pandemic.This back-to-school list features books with a variety of educational settings that range from magical to downright creepy. They're sure to entertain, while also reminding kids that life isn't quite so crazy after all. These are not all strictly middle grade; some may appeal to more advanced readers.

The Charlie Bone Series by Jenny Nimmo

This story features Charlie Bone and other descendants of the Red King, who attend the magical Bloor's Academy. Students focus on art, drama, or music, which sounds pretty cool until you hear some of the school's draconian rules. 

Silence in the hall,

Talking not at all,

Even if you fall,

Never cry or call,

Be you small or tall.

Not to mention the hypnotic powers of some of the students. Prepare to be spooked!

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

In Battle School, young Ender trains to fight hostile aliens. But his training is not what it seems. It's also quite a contrast to what kids might experience today!

The Magic School Bus Series by Joanna Cole

This book series has been around forever, but new installments have been released along with a Netflix adaptation. The story centers around Ms. Frizzle and her students as they explore the world of science, large and small, through the transforming powers of the magic school bus.

 The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

Hogwarts, of Harry Potter lore, is a favorite fictional school the world over. Whether middle grades (or any of the rest of us) are reading them for the first time or the hundredth, Rowling will enchant and petrify in equal measure. There are tons of extras to read and activities to explore on the official Harry Potter website, https://www.wizardingworld.com.

The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

In this lyrical book, Miri and the other teenage girls from her mountain village are forced to attend an academy, where they are trained to become the potential princess. Needless to say, the competition is fierce, but not as harsh as the academy mistress or the bandits who invade the school. It is up to Miri to save them through a magic unique to the mountain dwelling people.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

The evil principal at Crunchem Hall terrorizes her students until Matilda discovers telekinetic powers and uses them to fight back.

What are some of your favorite fictional school tales? 

Shaped by Books

The other day I had a brief exchange with a writer friend about the movie You've Got Mail -- in particular, that quote from Meg Ryan's character, about how when you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of you.

That quote resonates with me. SO MUCH!😍 All the resonance, lol. I believe books shape us, and yes, that more than at any other time in our lives, the books we read as a child shape who we are and who we become. It's a significant part of why it's so important to put diverse books into the hands of kids (and adults, of course). Stories help us become empathetic, compassionate people. They help us understand our world. They create hope, and they fuel the belief that we can -- and should -- make a positive difference in the world.

Do we recognize this shaping, this becoming part of our identity, as it's happening? Do we notice the many ways books are equipping us for the future? Do kids feel themselves growing, changing, being shaped by the stories they take in?

Personally, I don't remember -- childhood was a looong time ago, lol. But giving it some thought, honestly I don't recall noticing the impact stories were having on my beliefs and values and priorities. I only knew I loved reading them. And that was enough.

I wonder, though, how different were other kids' reading experiences? Do middle-grade readers notice the impact books have on them? I'd guess only the very self-aware among them do, except occasionally, all readers might, when a specific book comes along that precipitates a dream or drive for them (I must adopt a shelter dog just like Character A did! I vow not to be a bystander when I witness bullying, just like Character B!). But more often, the power of stories is subtle.

I recall loving certain books as a child -- some that I love still -- and I wonder if those books in particular were the ones that most became part of my identity. It's something I want to ponder more. Tell me, do you remember the impact of specific books from your childhood?

Interview with Angie Smibert, author of The Truce

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome author Angie Smibert to the blog!!! She's the author of the Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series. The third book in the series, The Truce, comes out May 26th, 2020.

First things first, can you tell us more about The Truce?

In the third book of the Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series, it’s December 1942 in the small coal mining community of Big Vein, Virginia. By now, Bone Phillips (12) is growing accustomed to her a Gift, a family Gift, as her Mamaw calls it, and maybe even begun to embrace it. Bone can see the stories or ghosts inside ordinary objects. But there’s one object her beloved Uncle Ash has forbidden her to touch: his dog tags from the first World War. He came back from that war a changed man, and every year about this time, he needs to escape for a while. He packs up the truck and his dogs and asks Bone to declare a truce with her dreaded Aunt Mattie while he’s gone. Reluctantly, Bone does. However, the truce is soon threatened by a discovery in the mine:  a body—wearing Uncle Ash’s dog tags. Bone has to use her Gift to solve the mystery. And that’s all I’ll say for now…except there is a ghost dog involved.

Ooh, a ghost dog!! Love it! Bone is such an interesting character. How was she born?

The story started with a sense memory of swimming in the New River as a kid, much like Bone does in the beginning of Bone’s Gift, the first book in the series. I remembered the feeling of being that kid who didn’t want summer to end or to particularly grow up and be the ‘little lady’ that other people expected. Bone was born out of that feeling.

This is the third novel in the series. Will there be more?

That’s it for now! I’m playing around with a short story, though.

These three novels are set in rural Virginia, where you live. How do you feel about the connection to place in your writing?

Actually, I live in a city—Roanoke—in Southwest, Virginia. However, I grew up in Blacksburg, a small college town west of here. And my mother’s family is from McCoy, a rural area outside Blacksburg along the New River, where there were coal mines until the 1950s. One of them was called Big Vein. My grandfather and his brothers were miners there—until he got hurt. Then he took over his father’s store. In fact, I kept that store in the books. In many ways, writing these stories has been an exploration of this place that I came from. And as Eudora Welty wrote, “One place understood helps us understand all places better.”

You weave folklore into the story. Tell us more about that.

Appalachian folklore is part of the place, the characters, and even the plots of the books. Bone loves stories, from folktales and legends to movies and books. However, she doesn’t like real-life stories—so, of course, that’s why I gave her the Gift of being able to see those.

In each of the books, Bone or one of the other characters—like Uncle Ash—is always telling a folktale or ghost story from the region. Plus I also used a particular story as the “spine” (for lack of a better word) of the plot. For instance, in Bone’s Gift, Bone’s life mirrors a story she’s telling called “Ashpet”—the Appalachian version of Cinderella. In Lingering Echoes—which is set at Halloween—the ‘spine’ tale is Stingy Jack, the origin story of Jack O’Lanterns. At the heart of The Truce, there’s a ghost dog story.

Ghost or spirit dog stories are popular in the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. (And also found in many other folklores.) A ghost dog might come to warn someone about an impending death. Or the big black dog might actually be there to claim a wicked person’s soul. However, in a few stories, the dog is protecting someone or some thing, such as a fabled silver mine. And as I said, in the Truce, there is a ghost dog and he/she might be near a mine.

For more on folklore and history in the series, please see my resource page: https://www.angiesmibert.com/blog/?page_id=1861#ghostsresources

Wow! So many folklore connections! Now for the big question: what can we expect next from Angie Smibert?

I’m working (slowly) on a spooky magical realism-type story set in the early 1970s in Appalachia that involves (so far) an old resort turned into an artist commune and a ghost or two. I’m also still teaching writing. That takes up a lot of my time lately. ;)

Yup, I'm going to need that book ASAP! Sounds awesome!

Now it's time for the dreaded Lightning Round...muahahahaha!!!

Hogwarts house:  Ravenclaw

Favorite spooky book or movie: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (tho, as you'll see below, I'm also a Harry Potter fan.)

One fact most people wouldn’t know about you: I'm on level 38 of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. ;) (I'm a level 14 magizoologist, btw. Anyone want to ride the Knight Bus to come battle foes with me at Hogwarts Castle?) And, of course, I'm in Ravenclaw.

Best Halloween costume from your past: boxing aliens. This was in the late 90s. My friend had given me a boxing alien puppet. (Do they still make these? There were others, including a boxing nun.) So we decided to make matching boxing alien costumes. This involved making paper mache heads, complete with glowing neon eyes, and duct tape-foam boxing gloves. We got graduation gowns from a thrift store. The costumes were a hit at the party--but very hot! Did I mention this was in Florida?

Favorite board game: If you'd asked me this a few months ago, I would've said Pandemic. And I was thrilled when its designer, Matt Leacok, blurbed my board game book last year. Right now, though, I'd say my fave board game is either Code Names or Exploding Kittens (which is a card game). 

What are you reading now?: Actually, since I'm teaching an MFA thesis course right now, I'm reading A LOT of student manuscripts.  I have also been listening to short stories from a few recent volumes of The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (edited by Jonathan Strahan) on Scribd. One of my favorite these  is "Red Dirt Witch" by NK Jemisin. Love her stuff and have the latest on order!

Angie Smibert was born in Blacksburg, a once sleepy college town in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. She grew up thinking she wanted to be a veterinarian; organic chemistry had other ideas. But she always had stories in her head. Eventually, after a few degrees and few cool jobs - including a 10-year stint at NASA's Kennedy Space Center - she wrote some of those stories down. Visit her online at: https://www.angiesmibert.com/blog/

The Boogeyman: A Great Read During Perilous Times

Looking for something to keep your kiddos occupied during the Coronavirus scare? And to keep their brains from turning to mush while the days tick by without school?

The Boogeyman: A Monstrous Fairytale by Shane Berryhill will take their minds off COVID-19 and creep them out in a safe, fun way. In times like these, fiction can be a lot more fun than reality and can help us find the courage to face our real-life troubles.

In The Boogeyman, readers will find spine tingling thrills when thirteen-year-old Puck discovers a shady character emerging from his closet then apparently engaging in nefarious activities in the Mortal world. Puck doesn't know what to do.

But he can't just pretend he didn't see what he saw. He can't just close his eyes to a dangerous creature preying on his neighbors. No, Puck must take things into his own hands and save his family and the neighborhood. Except...the boogeyman is not what he seems.

In a fast-paced exciting tale, Puck and the boogeyman find themselves uniting to protect both the Mortal and Fairy Realms from terrible threats. This book is chock full of humor and plot twists that will tickle readers. It also shows that hope can come in unexpected ways and we can find courage even when we feel small.

Enjoy!

About the Author

Shane Berryhill is a novelist and comic book writer. His work has been praised by Publishers Weekly, NPR, NBC, Today.com. Wired magazine, Horror World and others.

He's been a guest speaker at events ranging from the national Council of English Teachers conference to San Diego Comic Con. Find Shane online at amazon, Goodreads, and Facebook.

Book Review, Q&A and a GIVEAWAY: A Trifecta of MG Goodness for Wendy McLeod MacKnight's, The Copycat!

What would you do if you could literally look like any living thing you wanted whenever you wanted…

I gravitate towards books with humor, heart and a bit of magic, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read The Copycat by Middle Grade Minded’s very own, Wendy McLeod MacKnight! (Make sure you enter our GIVEAWAY at the end of this post!)

Here’s what the publisher (Greenwillow Books) had to say:

A funny, unpredictable and heartfelt new novel from Wendy McLeod MacKinght, the author of The Frame-Up. Ali has always acted like a copycat to make friends, but when she unexpectedly inherits the ability to change her appearance at will, fitting in seems impossible! Luckily, with the help of her family, new friends, and touch of magic, Ali might just survive middle school after all. A great pick for fans of Dan Gemeinhart, Erin Entrada Kelly, and Diana Wynne Jones.

A Little Book Review...

Ali Sloane's family moves around. A lot! They've never had a lot of money, and now are living with great-grandma Gigi who's about to turn 100 in a place so shrouded in fog that it seems to shout out to the world, "We have secrets!" And Ali's family definitely has some of those. Ali's also starting 7th grade at her 10th school, which would be hard enough without having to worry about her family's special Copycat powers, a mysterious family feud, reuniting with estranged cousin Alfie, and making (and then saving) new friendships all while following the RULES. Because creating and following the rules for any situation is how Ali has survived her family's vagabond life. 

Ali's wise and often funny directives are interspersed throughout The Copycat, as are excerpts from a book Ali's Uncle Percy wrote about the fog in Fundy. These additions were welcome and original writerly devices that added depth, mystery and hilarity to the story. Still, Ali learns that sometimes the rules can backfire. Sometimes the rules can change. And sometimes the rules just don't apply.

This was a rich and satisfying story, filled with wonderful characters and so many layers that it kept you wondering and waiting until the very end. The Copycat is about all those things that middle grade readers care about; family, friends and navigating life...with a nice layer of magical possibility thrown in for good measure. I truly loved this book and can see MG readers finding a friend in Ali and her imperfect but loving crew. (Teachers and librarians...you'll want to get this for your kids!)

A Little Author Q&A...

Q: Where did you get the idea for this story?

A: I moved around a lot as a kid and sometimes, I really struggled to fit in. On top of that, I often went through a few friends until I found 'my people'. My main character, Ali, is so stressed from having to do this once or twice a year that she actually has no idea who she really is. 

I've always loved books with shapeshifter characters, but I didn't want to write a typical one. Then it hit me: what if Ali, who copies other kids' behaviours and likes/dislikes in order to fit in, actually starts to change into other people? The family feud idea followed shortly thereafter, because it made sense to me that not everyone would be happy to have that kind of power.

Q: The setting of the book, Saint John and the Bay of Fundy, are so important to plot...which came first - the idea or the setting?

A: I wanted there to be some kind of device that set the shapeshifting off, and I’ve always loved fog, so it seemed natural to set it in a city not far from where I live, Saint John, New Brunswick, which is often socked in by fog. It’s also where my mom was born and a place I visited all the time when I was a kid. I even made my grandparents’ old house the house where Ali’s great-grandmother, Gigi, lives! It is truly a magical place and well worth a visit! And the high tides in the Bay of Fundy are amazing!!!!

Q: There are so many interesting characters in this book at all different age ranges (I'm thinking of great-grandma Gigi down to Ali and her group of friends). Do you have a favorite? Is there a character you are most like?

A: I like to have different ages in my stories, because that’s what real life is like! And I also like showing parents’ vulnerabilities. Even when we parents try our best, we don’t always succeed!

As for a favourite character, that is hard! I love Gigi, because she reminds me of my grandmother, but I have a soft spot for Murray [a new friend of Ali's], who steals every scene he is in!

Q: Can you give a timeline of your writing process with this book from idea to acceptance? 

A: This was the second book of a two book deal with Greenwillow Books and it gave me SO much trouble. Even though it is technically my third book, it felt like a sophomore experience! I’d say it took about 10 months to get it from first draft to acceptance by my editor.

Q: Is there anything you WISH someone would ask you about the The Copycat or your writing process?

A: I don’t know about other authors, but I seem to forget how to write a book every time I start a new project. That’s a bit of a gross exaggeration, but only slightly! I think every book teaches you how to write better, and every book has a way it wants to be written. For example, Uncle Percy’s Book about Fog in the Bay of Fundy wasn’t in draft one, but Uncle Percy insisted it be included!

In other words: we are always learning as writers!

And p.s. Who would I want to turn into if I was a Copycat? Either of my two childhood heroes: Wonder Woman and Batgirl!

You can find a list of places to pre-order The Copycat here!

Wendy McLeod MacKnight lives in New Brunswick, Canada and loves to read, write, cook, root for the underdog, watch movies and sometimes pretend she's living in the South of France. 

You can find her on Twitter, her website, and Goodreads. And, of course, blogging here on Middle Grade Minded!

And, a Little Giveaway... 

Be sure to enter below for your chance to win a signed copy of The Copycat! (And, we'd love to hear in the comments who YOU would turn into if you could be a Copycat for a day.) Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Amanda

12 Literary Quotes to Motivate and Inspire

At the start of a new year, we are all looking for a little inspiration, setting new goals, and hoping for the motivation to carry them past January. One of my favorite places to find inspiration (and get a metaphorical kick in the pants) is in literature. And sometimes movies. Or TV. But someone's writing those, too, so we'll count that as lit for now!

I used to keep manila folders stuffed with my favorite quotes. Now I save them to pinterest, post on social media, or tuck them away in my Evernote files for later reference. Sometimes I just highlight them on kindle or iBooks with the intent of going back to reference them later.

A few years back, I reclaimed my kids' toy room (they're teenagers and beyond!) and converted it to a writing room with the intent of filling the space with inspiration, mementos that represent my personality, and intriguing, motivating or inspiring quotes. I'm lagging a little behind on putting up the quotes. My hope is to eventually carve out enough time to plaster them on my slightly unfinished and more than slightly cluttered writing area. In the meantime, I'll share a bunch of them here. Maybe you'll scribble one or two on a sticky note. Or better yet, post them in your own writing space!

Feel free to pin or post these! What are some of your favorite quotes?

Review:A Time Traveler's Theory of Relativity

One of my all time favorite books is the Newberry Award winning A WRINKLE IN TIME. I loved it

as a kid. I loved it as an adult. I read it to my students. I couldn't find a book to match it - until now!

Author Nicole Valentine has done what I thought was impossible and has written as stunning book that captures the wonder of physics, time, and sacrificial love in a whole new story. This is a book you'll want to share with everyone.

Twelve-year-old Finn has seen tragedy in his life. His twin sister drowned when she was three and Finn's mother left the family without explanation. Finn longs for stability and finds it in his physics books and his best friend, Gabi.

Everything changes when his grandmother tells him about the family secret - the women in their family are time travelers. And they need Finn's help. Finn sets out on a journey across centuries and through worlds to rescue his mother and sister. In the end he learns that love is his greatest weapon and time is truly relative.

I won't give away spoilers because part of the joy in reading this book is all the delightful plot twists. Valentine not only has a firm grasp on the physics behind time travel, she also know the nature of middle grade kids. Her characters are vivid and real. I love that Grandma has a boyfriend! And her story pacing is perfect. Each twist at just the right moment.

Readers will love this book and writers need to study it as a lesson in excellent storytelling.
If there is one book you need to pick up this year - it's A TIME TRAVELER'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY. 
Now get yourself to the bookstore!