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  • OhMG News!

    May 17, 2012: Her Side of the Mountain

    Award-winning author and naturalist Jean Craighead George passed away May 15 at age 92. George was the author of more than 100 books for young people, among them Julie of the Wolves, which won the Newbery Medal in 1972, and My Side of the Mountain, a Newbery Honor book in 1959. Ice Whale, her latest novel, will be published next year by Dial.

    For more...

     

    May 12, 2012: The Kids Have Voted

    Votes have been tallied for the 2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards. Winner in the 5th/6th grade category was Okay for Now, Gary Schmidt’s companion novel to his Newbery Honor-winning The Wednesday Wars. Illustrator of the year went to Brian Selznick for Wonderstruck, and author of the year went to Jeff Kinney for Cabin Fever, the latest installment in his Wimpy Kid series.

    For a complete list of the winners…

     

    May 10, 2012: Happy Children’s Book Week!

    In honor of National Children’s Book Week, award-winning author-illustrator Matt Phelan posted this delightful review of Polly Horvath’s new book on his blog… 

    For more about Children's Book Week…

     

    May 5, 2012: Oh Me, Oh May

    Check out all the new books releasing in May...

     

    May 5, 2012: Be a Fourth-Grade Somebody

    One lucky fourth-grade classroom will win a Skype visit from author Judy Blume this month. To participate, all you have to do is have your students write a sentence or two on why they like fourth grade. The contest, which ends May 15, is sponsored by School Library Journal.

    For details…

     

    May 5, 2012: Sturm und Drang for Kids

    Guardian columnist Julia Eccleshare tackles the question “Why are so many highly praised children's books gloomy?” in this April 30 article…

                            




    May 1, 2012: It’s No Mystery

    The Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery of the year was presented this past weekend to Matthew Kirby for Icefall (Scholastic, 2011). Publishers Weekly said of Kirby's Viking suspense novel, “Readers may be drawn in by the promise of action, which Kirby certainly fulfills, but they’ll be left contemplating the power of the pen versus the sword—or rather the story versus the war hammer.” 

    For more on the award…

    To read a Mixed-up Files interview with Kirby... 

     

    May 1, 2012: Crystal Clear

    Winners of the 2012 Crystal Kite Awards, the only peer-given awards in children’s publishing, were announced this week. The awards are voted on by members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Middle-grade winners include The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson and The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine.

    For a complete list of winners...

     

    April 30, 2012: Does a Pineapple Have Sleeves?

    What happens when a Daniel Pinkwater story is adapted for use in a statewide standardized test? The New York Times reports on the kerfuffle here...

     

    April 30, 2012: More than One Path to Publication

    The lines between traditional and self-publishing continue to blur as more and more traditionally published authors find ways to utilize the flexibility and freedom that self publishing offers. Author Kate Milford recently announced in Publishers Weekly that her new fantasy, The Broken Lands, which will be published by Clarion in September, will be accompanied by the release of a self-published novella, The Kairos Mechanism.

    Says Milford, "I want to experiment with self-publishing as a way to promote and enhance traditional releases by providing extra content to readers in the form of complete, related tales. I also want to use resources that support independent bookstores." As an added bonus Milford is planning a special digital edition of her self-published work that will include illustrations by 10 teen readers. 

    For more…

     

    April 14, 2012: It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!

    Check out all the new books releasing in April...

     

    April 12, 2012: The Greatest Girls 

    Jen Doll, columnist for The Atlantic Wire, talks about “The Greatest Girl Characters of Young Adult Literature” in this April 5 article, the first in a series called “Y.A. for Grownups.” Among the characters Doll mentions are a number of middle-grade favorites, including Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time and Claudia Kincaid of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

    For more… 

     

    April 12, 2012: Moss Aims to Pick Up Where Tricycle Left Off

    Berkeley-based children’s author and illustrator Marissa Moss, best-known for her Amelia’s Notebook series, is starting a new West Coast publishing venture called Creston Books. Says Moss, “The idea’s been percolating for years. It came to a head after Random House bought Ten Speed and threw Tricycle away.” Moss got her start with the quirky, risk-taking Tricycle Press, which published Amelia’s Notebook at a time when traditional publishers were unsure what to do with the illustrated diary format.  “New York publishing is about: what’s the next Harry Potter, what’s the next Twilight?” says Moss. “When I’ve approached people, I’ve asked, ‘What is the book you’ve been dying to do, but New York won’t do?’ I want the books that they think won’t sell—because I think they will.”

    Creston’s first books are due to release Fall 2013. In the meantime, Moss is seeking kickstarter funds to help back the project. For more…

     

    April 10, 2012: After Chrestomanci

    An online celebration of the life of British author Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) will kick off April 12 with a two-week blog tour. In conjunction with the tour a special blog has been set up where fans can share their favorite books, quotes, stories, characters, covers, and memories of Diana with fellow fans around the world.

    Wynne Jones was the author of dozens of popular titles, including the Chrestomanci series and Howl’s Moving Castle, which was made into an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004.

    For details…

     

    April 6, 2012: Game Over!

    The Battle of the Books has ended. And the winner is…

    I’m not telling! You’ll just have to click on over to the School Library Journal site and read Jonathan Stroud’s incredible analysis of the three finalists—Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.


    March 31, 2012: Hiaasen Says There’s No Fooling Kids

    Newbery-honor winning author Carl Hiaasen talks about writing for kids versus writing for adults in this March 6 School Library Journal interview. Says Hiaasen, “The idea that you're fooling kids is crazy. That's the way I've been able to connect to and go between adult and young adult books. Kids love sarcasm and the idea of bursting a grown-up's bubble. It's a question of calibrating the story to the young adult market. Once I did that with Hoot and it worked, it opened up a new and rewarding way of writing for me.”

    Hiassen’s new middle-grade book, Chomp, was released this week.

     For more…

     

    March 29, 2012: What’s the Buzz in Middle-grade Fiction?

    A panel of editors will share their predictions for this fall’s breakout titles when BookExpo America convenes June 5-7 at the Javits Center in New York City.  You don’t have to wait until June to catch the buzz, though. According to the BookExpo on-line news, titles to watch are:

    Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

    The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (HarperCollins)

    • Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin (Little Brown)

    Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1: Professor Gargoyle by Charles Gilman (Quirk)

    With Love From Paris: Mira's Sketchbook by Marissa Moss (Sourcebooks)

    For more…


    March 26, 2012: Lindgren Winner Announced

    Dutch author Guus Kuijer has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award given by the Swedish Arts Council to honor an author whose body of work is in the spirit of Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren. The winner receives 5 million Swedish crowns (more than $700K), making it the richest prize in the world for children’s literature. Past winners include Katherine Paterson, Sonya Hartnett, Maurice Sendak, and Shaun Tan.

    Kuijer was selected by an international jury of experts who praised his "razor-sharp realism,” “subtle humor,” and “visionary flights of fancy.” Kuijer is author of more than 30 titles, most of them for young teens. Sadly, only one of his books has appeared in English—The Book of Everything, a slim but haunting novel published by Arthur Levine Books in 2006.

     For more…

     

    March 20, 2012: No Grownups Allowed

    It’s time for kids to vote for their favorite books of the year in this year’s Children’s Choice Awards. Winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, 2012. The awards are sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, which celebrates the transformative power of literacy. Kids can vote individually or librarians, teachers, and booksellers can log on to record their students’ votes.

    Finalists for the 3rd-4th grade Book of the Year are:

    Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel

    A Funeral in the Bathroom and other School Bathroom Poems by Kalli Dakos

    The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton

    Sidekicks by Dan Santat

    Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

    Finalists for 5th-6th Grade Book of the Year are:

    Bad Island by Doug TenNapel

    How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

    Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

    Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

    Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein

    For more about Children’s Book Week…

    To vote …

     



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What are teachers reading to Middle Grade kids these days?

Book Lists, Miscellaneous, Teachers

I have four daughters. Yeah… that’s right. Four. Your sympathy is welcomed and appreciated, thank you.

My youngest is now eight… just hitting the age to start reading Middle Grade novels. Her teacher is reading the students Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. The teacher read this same book to my oldest daughters nine years ago. They loved it then, my youngest loves it now.

So, as I did nine years ago, I’m reading Double Fudge by Jude Blume to my daughter at night.

 

It’s been a while, but I can remember my teacher (during the Middle Grade years) reading The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame to the class. It was that book that really sparked my love for reading.

All this got me wondering… what other books are teachers reading to Middle Grade students these days? If you’re a teacher… what are you reading (or have you read) to your students? If you’re a parent, what are your kid’s teachers reading to them?

 

27 Comments

November Books

Book Lists, New Releases

November New Book Releases:

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Amulet Books) – Jeff Kinney. Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays?

Secrets of the Magic Ring (AmazonEncore) – Karen McQuestion. The eagerly anticipated sequel to Celia and the Fairies!
When nine-year-old Paul explores the hole dug for his backyard swimming pool, he discovers a box containing a ring–a ring that turns out to be magical. Moments later, a mysterious boy shows up demanding the ring; luckily, Paul’s trusty dog, Clem, scares him away. To keep the ring safe, Paul hides it in his pillow case, where, to his horror, it’s discovered by his mother, who loans it to his Aunt Vicky. Things get even stranger when Vicky, a nonswimmer, falls into the now finished pool and discovers that her greatest secret wish has been granted–she can swim! As the ring gets passed around and wishes are made, a wild series of talents and circumstances threaten to turn their lives upside down forever. But Jasmine, a fairy of the woods, has an idea–and if everyone cooperates, she just might be able to put an end to the shenanigans and return
their lives to normal. Wildly original and full of vibrant, chaotic imagination, Secrets of the Magic Ring is proof of the old adage
“Be careful what you wish for.”

Ivy and Bean No News Is Good News – Book 8 (Chronicle Books) – Annie Barrows. Ivy and Bean need some money. Ten dollars, to be exact. Never mind what for. Okay, it s for low-fat Belldeloon cheese in a special just-for you serving size. Don t ask why. How are Ivy and Bean going to make ten dollars? Hey, maybe they should write a newspaper about Pancake Court and sell it! Great idea! And easy, too. All they have to do is snoop around the neighborhood. Wow…It s very interesting what they can find out. It s even more interesting when the neighbors read about it in the newspaper.

How to Train Your Dragon Book 8 (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) – Cressida Cowell. Stranded on the exceptionally dangerous, and possibly haunted, Beach of the Broken Heart, Hiccup must face Ug the Uglithug and complete the Impossible Task–or die trying. Along the way, he’ll have to battle Berserks, dodge Scarers, and save Fishlegs from being fed to the Beast, all while being hunted down by an old enemy with a dark secret about the mysterious Lost Throne. With Toothless by his side, and time to stage his rescue running out, what’s a Hero to do?

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline: An Enola Holmes Mystery (Puffin) – Nancy Springer. Enola’s landlady, Mrs. Tupper, is the closest thing Enola has to family these days, besides her occasional run-ins with her brother Sherlock. Even though Mrs. Tupper is nearly deaf and can barely cook, she’s an endearing presence as Enola longs for her absent mother. So imagine her horror when Enola comes home to find Mrs. Tupper kidnapped! Who would take her, and why? And what does Florence Nightingale have to do with it? From the master of mystery Nancy Springer, here’s another absorbing adventure for our award-winning, unstoppable heroine, Enola Holmes.

The Cats in the Doll Shop (Viking Juvenile) – Yona Zeldis McDonough. When Anna spots a cat in the yard behind her parents’ doll shop, she is excited. Then she realizes the cat is about to have kittens-even better! And Anna has something else to look forward to: her cousin Tania is coming from Russia to stay with Anna’s family. Anna already has two sisters, but she and Tania are the exact same age-eleven-and she imagines they will get along perfectly. But Tania doesn’t respond to Anna’s friendly overtures, and her sisters don’t seem to like Tania at all. Luckily, Anna finds a creative way to use her love of dolls and cats to bring everyone together.

Daisy Dawson and the Big Freeze (Candlewick) – Steve Voake. It’s snowing! And Daisy Dawson couldn’t be happier enjoying the winter weather with all of her animal friends. There are even newborn lambs to meet, including Woolverton, whose curiosity about the world beyond the farmer’s field soon gets him into trouble. When Daisy hears that Woolverton is lost in the woods, she bundles up and, with the farm dog Boom at her side, sets out to find him. In her third adventure, Daisy finds out that no matter how far she travels, she’ll always find her way home. Steve Voake’s gentle tale and Jessica Meserve’s winning illustrations make this a perfect story for a snug winter’s day.

Gooney Bird on the Map (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children) – Lois Lowry. Mrs. Pidgeon’s second grade class has a lot to celebrate in February: presidents’ birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and school vacation. Of course, the students are talking about their awesome vacation plans every chance they get. It can be hard to focus on subtraction problems when you’re heading to Hawaii or Florida in seventeen minus seven days! But most of the class (twelve minus three of them, in fact) will be staying home during vacation.Can Gooney Bird Greene keep spirits up while everyone is feeling down? Gooney Bird has a great idea that sends her classmates and her on a snowy spin through U.S. history and geography!

The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture (Scholastic Press) – Brian Selznick. Brian Selznick takes readers on an intimate tour of the movie-making process as his Caldecott Award-winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret is turned into a 3-D major motion picture by Academy Award-winning director, Martin Scorsese, written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, John Logan. Lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs from the movie, and filled with fun, informative interviews of the cast and crew, comparisons of artwork from the book alongside people, props, costumes, and sets from the movie, plus fascinating information about automatons, and an essay on the birth of movies written by Martin Scorsese, The Hugo Movie Companion beautifully extends the experience of the book and the movie, and is a must-have for fans of all ages.

Poison Apple #8: At First Bite (Scholastic Paperbacks) – Ruth Ames. Ashlee Lambert, the queen bee from THIS TOTALLY BITES, has had a tough time ever since she became a full-fledged vampire. But now that she’s moving from New York City to sunny Los Angeles, she’s excited to make a fresh new start. But Ashlee never counted on a clique of popular mean girls or awful sunburns. Keeping her huge secret is suddenly harder than ever. And when something — or someone — starts attacking people at her school, Ashlee realizes she’s not the only vampire in town. It’s up to Ashlee to figure out who’s behind the attacks before her cover is blown forever!

Scholastic Book of World Records 2012 (Scholastic Paperbacks) – Jenifer Corr Morse. A LOT can change in a year, and the bestselling SCHOLASTIC BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS has been updated to include all the most recent events with a fresh new cover and interior design! Whether kids want to know what the world’s fastest shark is, which country eats the most fast food, who has the most career hits in the MLB, or which state has the largest teddy bear, the SCHOLASTIC BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS 2012 has all of the answers and much, much more! Over the past ten years, kids, parents, and teachers have come to love this kid-friendly book. Each of the 300 records on pop culture, sports, science, and more has its own page that includes a full-color photograph and a detailed description of the record.

Mousenet (Hyperion) – Prudence Breitrose. When ten-year-old Megan helps her uncle invent the Thumbtop, the world’s smallest computer, mice are overjoyed, and they want one for every mouse hole. The Big Cheese, leader of the Mouse Nation, has orders: follow that girl—even if it means high-tailing it to Megan’s new home on the other side of the country. While Megan struggles as the new girl, the mice watch, waiting for their chance. But when they tell Megan the biggest secret in the history of the world—mice have evolved, and they need her help—she isn’t sure anyone will believe her. With all of Mouse Nation behind her, Megan could become the most powerful girl alive, but just how will she create a Thumptop for every mouse? Brought to life with whimsical illustrations, Prudence Breitrose’s debut novel is full of charm and adventure and will captivate today’s computer-savvy middle-graders.

Mason Dixon – Fourth-Grade Disasters (Knopf Books for Young Readers) – Claudia Mills. Here’s the second entry in veteran author
Claudia Mills’ charming middle-grade series, which finds the lovably sardonic title character starting the fourth grade, which he’s dreading: everyone in fourth grade is expected to join the school choir. And sing. In front of everyone. Mason can’t think of many things he enjoys less than singing. But performing in front of other people might come close; Mason devises a foolproof plan that will keep him out of the spotlight on concert night. Of course, in the world of Mason Dixon, there is no such thing as a foolproof plan. There is only disaster.

Wolven Book 2 – The Twilight Circus (The Chicken House) – Di Toft.  Werewolves, vampires, furry little monsters: It’s a three-ring circus of spooky! After dodging mutant werewolves and mad scientists all summer, Nat and Woody have joined the Twilight Circus of Illusion, hoping it might bring them closer to Nat’s fugitive dad or, just maybe, any surviving members of Woody’s long-lost Wolven clan. But instead they end up in a stinking pile of peril! A pair of strange secret agents is sniffing out their every step, while underneath the big top the boys meet a brand-new batty batch of evil: a black widow vampire and her horrifying hive! Will they escape her sticky web so that they can search for the noble Wolven? And now that Nat has Wolven blood, too, how — when?! — is HE about to change? The second book in Di Toft’s fast-paced, funny series about
a boy and his pet werewolf!

I Before E – Except After C: Young Readers Edition (Reader’s Digest Juvenile) – Susan Randol. Just like adults, kids need easy ways to recall stuff-especially now, when they don’t even have to remember a phone number because their cell phones remember it for them. And just like the bestselling i before e (except after c) for adults, this book is jammed with easy-to-use tricks for remembering lots of stuff-especially stuff they need to know for school. Through entertaining (and often silly) examples, kids will learn to remember everything they need to know about: The Earth-including fun facts about geography, geology, and the weather- and the sky -revolving around planets, stars, atmosphere, and so on,  Reading and writing-covering everything from the smallest punctuation mark to the prickliest words to spell to the trickiest grammar to the grandest figure of speech, the mysteries of history-from Way Before You Were Born (ancient history) to the most recent American history facts every kid needs to memorize.

Sucked Under – Monstrum House (Hardie Grant Books) – Z. Fraillon. It’s exam time at Monstrum House, and the top students in Jasper’s
year will be rewarded. They’ll get to hunt a monster that lives at the bottom of the lake and likes to drown people for fun—so, maybe it’s just as well that Jasper hasn’t studied. Life’s never easy when you’re a student at the Monstrum house.

The Witch’s Revenge (Delacorte Books for Young Readers) – D.A. Nelson. Two months after she saved the Eye of Lornish, a large white stone that prevents the magical kingdom of Mor from being discovered, Morag is adjusting to life in the secret northern kingdom. But dark dreams trouble her, and a series of unsolved robberies proves that even with the protection of her friends—Shona the dragon, Bertie the dodo, and Aldiss the rat—Morag is still not safe.

The Winter Pony (Delacorte Books for Young Readers) – Iain Lawrence. In the forests of Siberia, in the first years of the 20th century, a white pony runs free with his herd. But his life changes forever when he’s captured by men. Years of hard work and cruelty wear him out. When he’s chosen to be one of 20 ponies to accompany the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott on his quest to become the first to reach the South Pole, he doesn’t know what to expect. But the men of Scott’s expedition show him kindness, something he’s never known before. They also give him a name—James Pigg. As Scott’s team hunkers down in Antarctica, James Pigg finds himself caught up in one of the greatest races of all time. The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen has suddenly announced that he too means to be first to the Pole. But only one team can triumph, and not everyone can survive—not even the animals.

Circus Galacticus (Harcourt Children’s Books) – Deva Fagan. Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect. But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it. SoonTrix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past if she can survive long enough.

Chico’s Challenge: The Story of an American Quarter Horse (Feiwel and Friends) – Jessie Haas. Set in Wyoming, Chico’s Challenge follows a young buckskin quarter horse who is trade to Sierra, a teen who works her father’s ranch and dreams of becoming a
cutting horse champion. Chico seems to have the makings of a great cow horse, but…he has never seen a cow in his life! Can he and Sierra, both novices, learn to work together as a team?

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Boys vs Girls vs Boys vs Girls

Book Lists

I had planned on writing this post way back in July – seems like a long time ago while simultaneously feeling like yesterday. Coincidentally, a discussion regarding the topic of “Writing for boys or girls” popped up on Twitter recently, you can find the transcript here http://mglitchat.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-18th-transcript-writing-for-boys.html , so the timing is right on.

Does it matter to the Middle Grade reader if the book is targeted for boys or girls? Should an author beginning a new novel take gender into consideration?

An author/teacher tweeted the following:

@jmaschari I am very reluctant to classify any book to my students as a “boy” book or “girl” book – really limits audience + puts stigma.

Of course there are topics that one gender would pickup more often than the others, as well as books specifically geared toward boys or girls.

THE DOUBLE-DARING BOOK FOR GIRLS AndreaJ. Buchanan (Author), MiriamPeskowitz (Author) 

   THE BOY’S BOOK OF SURVIVAL Scholastic (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

Also, some books are targeted to a gender by its cover.

THE MAP OF ME TamiLewis Brown (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other stereotypes:

Boys want action

Girls want quiet

Boys want boogers

Girls want mucus

Boy want pranks

Girls want drama

Boys want grime

Girls want love

Here are a couple of books that have broken certain stereotypes:

Boys want boy protagonist – Than explain this…

THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT (Maximum Ride, Book 1) JamesPatterson (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls want girl protagonist – Then explain this…

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE J.K.Rowling (Author), Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellow Mixed-Up File Member and potential genius Kurtis Scaletta tweeted – @mudmamba: If you ever say “boys like” or” girls like”… you are ALREADY WRONG. No matter what comes next.

I think this statement would have carried more weight had Kurtis not followed this tweet with: My favorite kind of jam is made from “toe” – I’m kidding, Kurtis would NEVER tweet that… :whispering: it was a direct message to me. I’m kidding! Really.

Here are some other books that break the mold:

SISTER’S GRIMM – The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (Author), Peter Ferguson (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRY OF THE ICEMARK by Stuart Hill (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The discussion brought for forth some other great comments:

@timothypower67: MG books with something for everyone can’t go wrong!

@jmaschari: I always based my suggestions on knowing the reader- not their gender.

@kellybarnhill: Why are we still having conversations in which books are gender identified? Why? Books should BREAK barriers, not build them.

@AngelaAckerman I think this is why covers are so critical–they need to appeal to boys and girls. Of course, @AngelaAckerman followed this brilliant comment up with Oh dear, washing machine is making angry noises…brb – And I’m NOT kidding this time!

To summerize… turn the heat up, lather on some suntan lotion, lay back on a lounge chair with an icy drink and a cool pair of sunglasses.

OH… WAIT… I’ll mean summarize this way…

It really all comes down to the individual, not all boys like one thing, nor do all girls like another. A good book will attract both. Let’s let the reader decide. No?

Thoughts? And if you have any book recommendations that break the stereotype, please give them a mention

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