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It's true TCBR readers are fans of Star Wars! That's why, this month, Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary - The Ultimate Guide to Characters and Creatures from the Entire Star Wars Saga is The Children's Book Review's best selling middle grade book.

Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk snapped this selfie at BookCon in May where they launched Fashion Academy!

The following titles are favorite middle-grade read-alouds, books that inspired our own books.

Any author will tell you that one of the questions we get asked the most is What are your favorite books? When it comes to historical fiction, coming up with a short list is pretty much impossible.

I'd recommend these middle grade novels to kids who enjoy ... [a] strong voice and humor and who might like a peek into someone else's world.

Simon Nicholson writes for Nick Jr. including such shows as Tickety Tock, Bob the Builder, and Zack and Quack, as well as for BBC children’s programming.

It's true TCBR readers are fans of Greek myths! That's why, this month, the National Geographic Treasury of Greek Mythology is The Children's Book Review's best selling middle grade book.

This month, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Book 1, by Jeff Kinney, is The Children's Book Review's best selling middle grade book.

Backwards Moon is a tale of adventure, magic, and friendship for anyone who’s ever flown on a broomstick—or wanted to.

JEN CALONITA has interviewed everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Justin Timberlake, but the only person she's ever wanted to trade places with is Disney's Cinderella. She's the award-winning author of the My Secrets of My Hollywood Life series.

This book will appeal to middle grade readers who like spunky protagonists, are dealing with difficult family situations, and who like learning about earlier eras in America, (in this case the depression in the 1930s).

This month, A Boy and a Bear in a Boat, by Dave Shelton, is still The Children's Book Review's best selling middle grade book. And we're very happy to add the very popular Kid President’s Guide to Being Awesome and The Terrible Two to our selection from the nationwide best selling middle grade books, as they appear on The New York Times.

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This week I am celebrating three middle grade book birthdays! Hurray for MG!

Nikki Loftin and fellow Austinite Jo Whittmore are having a joint launch this Saturday at The Book People in Austin.

This week Nikki released her third MG novel, WISH GIRL. In this lyrical novel, a boy struggling with the overwhelming noise in his life meets a “Make A Wish” girl who is dying of cancer, and through their friendship, he finds the strength to live.

Read the beautiful summary on Nikki’s website. Kirkus gave WISH GIRL a starred review!

Jo Whittmore is celebrating her new her fourth book with Aladdin Mix!

COLONIAL MADNESS is the story of a girl who hopes to win a new home and debt-free life for her and her mother by accepting the challenge of a deceased relative: live for two weeks as in colonial times.

This fun book received great reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist.

I’m also celebrating the launch of a magical MG, Abi Elphinstone’s debut THE DREAMSNATCHER! Head over to Abi’s website for a sneak peek.

From the publisher: Twelve-year-old Molly Pecksniff wakes one night in the middle of the forest, lured there by a recurring nightmare—the one with the drums and the rattles and the masks. The Dreamsnatcher is waiting. He has already taken her dreams and now he wants her life.

Because Moll is more important than she knows… The Oracle Bones foretold that she and Gryff, a wildcat that has always been by her side, are the only ones who can fight back against the Dreamsnatcher’s dark magic. Suddenly everything is at stake, and Moll is drawn into a world full of secrets, magic and adventure.

Is this a gorgeous trailer or what?

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Cory Putman Oakes is a children’s book author from Austin, Texas. Her middle grade debut, DINOSAUR BOY, hits shelves in February, 2015 with its sequel, DINOSAUR BOY SAVES MARS, to follow in February, 2016.

February is African American History Month. Sharing these books with young readers comes with the responsibility to discuss ... progress towards equality.

This month, A Boy and a Bear in a Boat, by Dave Shelton, is still The Children's Book Review's best selling middle grade book. And we're very happy to add Brown Girl Dreaming to our selection from the nationwide best selling middle grade books.

Mara Rockliff's latest picture book, GINGERBREAD FOR LIBERTY, is the delicious (and true!) story of the baker who helped save the American Revolution.

Christopher Lutwick was a German immigrant and, in the 1770's, a vocal advocate of revolution as well as possibly the most celebrated and popular baker in Philadelphia. When the war broke out, though he was too old for fighting, he was determined to help, and his friend George Washington made him the "baker general" of the army. He also had an even more significant, albeit more secretive role... to talk starving Hessian soldiers working for the British into abandoning the King. And he could do it because he was a former starving Hessian soldier himself.

This remarkable tale shines a light on a little known figure of the Revolution who worked alongside George Washington and the other heroes we all know about. And the scrumptious illustrations by Vincent X Kirsch are the icing on the gingerbread!

"This appealing concoction is a powerful reminder of the good one person can do." -- Kirkus

"A sweet addition to Revolutionary War units." --School Library Journal, starred review

0 Comments on Gingerbread Spies and Magic Pencils - Two Book Birthdays! as of 1/27/2015 2:49:00 PM