From The Mixed Up Files

Lots of great new middle grade books out this month! Here area few to check out. An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Corinna Luyken All day long we can hear that Sea howl prowling wild inside our brains and every part of us is straining to feel it taste it twirl it whirl it swirl it inside our body again. Houdini the octopus lives in an aquarium, but she misses her home in the wild Sea. She doesn’t like the visitors who bang on her tank. Or the way she can’t feel...

According to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans, the 2025-2026 school year had the biggest number of unique titles banned in public schools. YA titles accounted for 58% of book bans, adult titles 26%, and middle grade 10%. PEN America reports that “The vast majority of recorded book bans this school year came from just two states: Texas and Florida. Both states have become blueprints for educational censorship, where special interest groups, state laws, and politicians have converged to pressure school districts to restrict and remove access to books.” It’s frightening and overwhelming to read about the ongoing assault...

Lots of great new middle grade books out this month! Here area few to check out. An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Corinna Luyken All day long we can hear that Sea howl prowling wild inside our brains and every part of us is straining to feel...

Welcome to October’s STEM Tuesday author interview! This is where you get a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to research and write a STEM book. This week we’re chatting with Penny Parker Klostermann, author of several books including The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army, illustrated...

Today’s interview is a little extra special for me. I’ve had the honor of working with Jackie Garcia-Morales as her marketing and publicity assistant, and along the way, we’ve become friends. Getting to celebrate her debut here at From the Mixed-Up Files makes me so happy. Jackie is a former...

Kids love fiction and nonfiction books, and among younger readers, studies often show that they prefer nonfiction books! Elementary school teachers know that certain nonfiction series fly off the shelves in younger grades: Who Would Win? or the Who Was? series. But at all grades should share, promote, and encourage nonfiction reading. Read Aloud...

Lots of great new middle grade books out this month! Here area few to check out. An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon, illustrated by Corinna Luyken All day long we can hear that Sea howl prowling wild inside our brains and every part of us is straining to feel...

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” This famous quote by Stephen King encapsulates an important truth for writers: We should always be reading, and the parenthetical in that quote tells us why. Reading gives us tools, and the only...